history

Life is like a scrap book…

by Julie Worthington
May 5, 2018

We’re always building our lives, tweaking them, rebuilding them, adding things that make them better, removing things that we no longer need… Like life, making a scrapbook can be challenging and fun, it allows us to see with a unique perspective the things that are important to us at different times in our lives. We not only place pictures in our scrapbooks but also mementos that remind us of special times, or activities, or places that are important to us. Whether it’s making a scrapbook or living our lives we are drawn to what we love, what we want, and what will make us happy. Tweaking our lives or our scrapbooks is always a bit of work, okay, sometimes a lot of work, but in the end, we end up with something that we love…

In New Parish, Sarah doesn’t make a scrapbook per se, but in her scrapbook of life she’s making some big changes that gives her a unique perspective, and that she hopes will be just the right tweak…

Where will Sarah find a place to put her new life’s picture? In New Parish, of course!

New Parish Coming Soon!!!!

Excerpt from New Parish:

“Sarah nodded again, listening intently to what Brother Michael was saying.

“The last thing I want to suggest to you is to take some time to ponder and pray about this decision. This is your life. Is this really what you want for your life? This lifestyle has many blessings but it can also be considered a curse to those who don’t have the capacity to accept it in all its varied and sometimes complicated components. I want you to understand that I only want the best for you. If this is truly what you want to do, then I’ll do everything in my power to make it happen for you. But, if you have doubts about it, then take the time to find the answers you need to put those doubts to rest, before you make your decision. Okay?”

Still nodding Sarah said, “Yes, and thanks for helping me, and for letting me come out here and stay in your home, with your family.”

“You’re very welcome,” Brother Michael said with a smile and a wink, “I’ve got nothing to hide… really.””

Changing Seasons

by Julie Worthington
April 7, 2018

As Spring is rapidly approaching my thoughts wander off to the changing of the seasons. Everyone has their favorite season, mine is Fall or Autumn if one is formal. That’s where New Parish begins, I don’t think I planned it that way on purpose, but maybe that’s where it began because of my love of Fall. Oh, I like the other seasons too and they’re all present in my book New Parish, but I’ve always enjoyed Fall the best. Sarah enjoys Fall with her family in Savannah for Thanksgiving then the story moves on to Winter. Winter is nice, I like the cooler weather, but it can get too cold and have other challenges, such as wild winter storms. Sarah’s first visit to New Parish is in the winter, this visit, isn’t just fun, but very enlightening… Sarah’s first winter in New Parish becomes an inner journey of winter changing into Spring. Spring is nice, it’s like life begins again, after a long time of barrenness… Sarah’s first Spring in New Parish is by far the most unique one she’s ever experienced, I won’t give spoilers… Spring is also a prelude to Summer. Summer can be nice in New Parish, early in the morning and late in the evening, after the sun goes down, but it can get too hot and has lots of insects that like to munch on a person. I don’t talk about the insects much in my book, New Parish, there’s way too many other things to be getting on with. As summer fades in New Parish the cycle begins again, and Fall returns with a whole new situation…

Of all the seasons we enjoy in New Parish or anywhere else I remain firm in my love of Fall, it’s cool but not too cold, there are still flowers hanging around, and it kicks off the holiday season, which if I’m honest is really my favorite season…

I hope everyone will enjoy all the seasons in Sarah’s journey to New Parish!

New Parish Coming Soon!!!!

Excerpt from New Parish: Winter was Sarah’s first season in New Parish

“The next day after breakfast Sarah and Mary decided to get out and explore some of the community and enjoy the snow that had fallen. Several of Mary’s little brothers and sisters tagged along with them. They were all bundled up in coats, scarves, gloves, and boots. Sarah laughed at herself and the rest of the gang, they were definitely prepared. Sarah had already decided that the community was quite beautiful but now with a blanket of snow it seemed like a picture postcard of a Christmas village from long ago. There was even a wooden wagon with red painted wheels going down the road pulled by two large chocolate brown horses, it was all very picturesque.”

Places That Haven’t Changed in Over a Hundred Years…

by Julie Worthington
February 3, 2018

I’ve recently visited some places that haven’t changed in over a hundred years. They still look the way they did when the earliest pioneers came out west to settle the place. The raw rustic beauty was amazing, in some places you could see forever, in some places you were near walls of mesas that jutted up from the ground to the heights where eagles fly. These places reminded me of friendships I’ve had over the years, some friendships I know will go on forever, and some have elevated me to new heights… Each new friendship we make in our lives has the possibility to do that for us – be something that will last forever and or lift us to new heights.

In my book New Parish Sarah finds new friends that will last forever and lift her to new heights… It all begins with her new friend Mary who comes out to Atlanta to do her work study for the teaching program she’s in. Mary is from a community out west where they live differently, well… they live marriage a little differently. Mary tells Sarah about plural marriage in her community, New Parish, and about life out there. This leads Sarah into an investigation that will change her life forever and lift her to new heights…

New Parish Coming Soon!!!!

Excerpt from New Parish:

“Sarah looked in the full-length mirror to check herself out, everything was great except her hair, she frowned.

Mary noticed, “You look lovely. What’s wrong?”

“My hair,” Sarah complained grabbing a handful of her hair on each side of her head, “I’ve never really been able to tame it. I usually just pull it back into a pony tail because that’s the extent of my hair prowess, but this is an occasion I wish I had more skills with hair.”

“I’ll do it for you,” Mary cheerily volunteered, “What sort of “do” do you want?”

Sarah laughed, “I have no idea.”

“Humm, okay let’s see what you like. We can try a few different styles if that’s okay?” Mary suggested.

“It’s more than okay,” Sarah said gratefully.

Mary smiled and held up a brush in one hand and a comb in the other, and said, “Let’s do this.”

The next half hour was spent showing Sarah different styles of “up dos”. When one was finally selected Sarah looked at herself again in the mirror, holding another mirror so she could see the back of her hair too, “Wow, I didn’t know my hair could look that pretty.” They both laughed and quickly gathered their jackets to go.”

[Show slideshow]

New Year – New Year’s Resolutions

by Julie Worthington
December 30, 2017

As The Chimes ring in a new year, I have much to be thankful for and much to look forward to. There have been Hard Times over the past few years, but I have Great Expectations for this next year! The Long Voyage through this writing journey has taught me that The Battle of Life has many ups and downs for us all to learn from. My first book New Parish is looming on the New Year horizon! I’m so very excited about all the possibilities this will bring… I’m no Dickens but I do enjoy turning a phrase to maybe make someone think a bit, when I’m writing. New Parish is a bit of A Tale of Two Cities, because Sarah comes from living in a big city, Atlanta, to living in a small community, New Parish, and finding the life she wants to live.

A new book published, a new magazine in the works, lots of writing, lots of research, lots of good times ahead for me! I hope everyone’s new year is as fun, fulfilling, and wonderful as mine’s going to be!

New Parish Coming Soon!!!

Excerpt from New Parish:

“The flight to Atlanta ran into a lot of turbulence, Sarah felt like it was a foreboding warning of what was ahead for her. In her mind when the plane landed the turbulence didn’t end, her inner turmoil was in full force. What was she going to do? She tried to put the decision out of her mind. She was home and she needed to get back into her routine with work, and volunteering, and life as she knew it, “That’ll calm everything down,” she thought.

She was wrong, she was very wrong, although she tried very hard over the next few days to get back into her old routine, and to work through the turbulence of the decision, the decision was ever present and all consuming.

Sarah decided to get an email out to Hannah, before things got too far out of control for her. Writing to Hannah sometimes helped her calm down and see things in a clearer perspective.

Hi Hann

So, I went out to New Parish and had a really good visit, I asked so many questions you wouldn’t believe! They were very open and honest with me about everything. I met a lot of people who were very nice. I got to know Brother Michael’s wives a bit and they’re great. I tried to sort out which kid belonged to which mom and I’m still not sure on most of them…

I met a guy that was so incredibly handsome I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him. Too bad he’s one of those macho jerks we both avoid like the plague. He’s a full on cowboy, yeah I know you’d like his horse. LOL

It’s weird now to be back in Atlanta, I feel sort of out of sync like here or there, one, is surreal. I have to decide what I’m going to do, I can’t focus on work or anything really, so I have to figure this out soon. I’m going to check with mom and see if the condo is available soonish…

How’s school? How’s work? Any cute guys?

Love ya

Sarah

After being home for a week, she was completely miserable. She’d intentionally not contacted Mary or Brother Michael, because she wanted to make sure she was making this decision without any other influences, she wanted this decision to be her decision. Invitations came in from several friends for New Year’s Eve parties, she turned them all down and spent the evening alone thinking about New Parish, dating, children, and what she wanted for the rest of her life.”

[Show slideshow]

Christmas in New Parish

by Julie Worthington
December 23, 2017

My mind has been reflecting on Christmases past. There have been wonderfully happy times that will linger in my memories throughout eternity. Watching my children reach a level of joy that could only be associated with Christmas morning, reading the story of the first Christmas to them, and of course all the covert and sneaky activities throughout the year to create the Christmas morning that will last forever.

As I reflect on those Christmases past, my thoughts drift over to the Christmases I’ve written about in New Parish. These Christmases are filled with family, large families, and Christmas traditions that have been observed in these families for generations. Sarah’s first Christmas in New Parish is as a guest in her friend Mary’s home, as she investigates maybe moving west herself – she finds a Christmas morning that will linger in her memory forever…

New Parish Coming Soon!!!

Excerpt of New Parish:

“On Christmas morning Sarah and Mary were up early because Mary said Sarah, “didn’t want to miss this!” Entering the main sitting room, it looked to Sarah like a magical place of happiness. The tree was full of colored lights and was filled to the brim with ornaments that depicted children, toys, and candy, and all sorts of Christmas happiness. The tree had been there when Sarah first arrived and she’d immediately loved it. Mary had complained that she missed the decorating and explained to Sarah that the whole family gets in on the event, they put the tree up together, place the lights together, hang the ornaments together, make homemade things like popcorn and cranberry garland together and put it on together. She’d given Sarah the whole run down on Christmas at her home.

The presents that had been added over night were covering a third of the room and there was a table with hot chocolate, marshmallows, and cool-whip. The table, with hot chocolate, made Sarah think of that “incident” she had been trying not to think of, she quickly put that out of her mind. The room looked and felt like Christmas, the best part of Christmas, you could feel it when you walked in… the kids were all filing in with excitement in their eyes and big smiles on their faces. Everyone was in their pajamas. This made Sarah think of her own childhood and the wonderful feelings she had on Christmas morning. This made her both happy and sad, as a deep longing to share this type of experience with her own children filled her heart.

Brother Michael came in last and as the kids excitedly jumped up and down pleading with him for permission to open presents he laughed and said, “Okay, have at it.” They did just that, there was a present opening frenzy the likes of which Sarah had never seen. She watched as Brother Michael slowly walked over and put his arms around two of his wives and kissed each on the cheek. Sarah smiled thinking she might like something like this, “It could really work… maybe,” she thought.”

Oh yeah, just wait till you read what happens at Christmas time in Return to New Parish… I can’t wait to share that with you too!

Merry Christmas!

Winter Chill

by Julie Worthington
December 16, 2017

The winter chill has arrived early this year. Outside the wind feels like it’s coming from the polar regions, the trees have lost their leaves, and nature is going into brrrr mode. This time of the year is the perfect time for a nice cup of hot cocoa and warm visits with friends and family.

On Sarah’s journey to New Parish she finds new family and friends to share not only hot cocoa and warm visits with, but also a whole new life that’s more than she ever imagined.

New Parish Coming Soon!

Excerpt from New Parish:

“Sarah didn’t get a chance to thank the cowboy but she thought, “I do need to.”

By that evening, she felt like she could move once again without shivering. The exhaustion of the morning was prevalent throughout the night and into the next day. She and Mary skipped church and stayed home bundled in pajamas and blankets. Susan had brought them in some hot cocoa before they left for church so they spent their morning sipping the hot cocoa and clinging to their blankets.”

Brigham Tea Magazine Coming Soon!

The next section of Brigham Tea Magazine I want to share with you is, Life More Abundantly, the fiction section. The first story in this section is called “A Day in the Life of a Sister Wife”. This story is an outtake of a day in Sarah’s life after she’s found her way to her new family. This story isn’t in the book New Parish, just a day in her life to share with everyone who might be interested in how things might work in a wonderful home where there’s more than one mom.

Excerpt from A Day in the Life of a Sister Wife:

“The mug of hot chocolate warmed her as she braced for impact. She knew tomorrow would be a supreme test of her “mom” skills.

………

“Sarah looked over the now deserted kitchen, except for Parley and Annie, and saw that Leah had cleaned away the lunch mess. Her thoughts organized a to do list – first – give Charlie some Tylenol, then call Del, next clean the laundry room… Her list stopped building abruptly as she saw Annie begin to doze off while still sitting in her chair.

“Oh, baby,” Sarah said sympathetically. She quickly got a warm cloth and washed Annie’s face and hands, then gently removed her from the highchair and took her to the nursery for her nap. Sarah turned on the baby monitor before leaving and grabbed the carry along to take with her.

Returning to the kitchen Parley let her know he was not happy.

“Okay, Dude,” she soothed him as she extracted him from the seat. “Just give me a second. We have to take Charlie some medicine.”

Sarah quickly grabbed the chewable medicine, looked to see how many to give, filled a water bottle for Charlie, and headed for the family room.

“Here you go buddy,” Sarah handed the medicine to Charlie and checked the time so she’d know when he could have some more if needed. “1:20,” she thought, “remember that.”

“Here’s a water bottle,” Sarah handed the bottle to Charlie. You need to drink lots of water, okay?”

Charlie nodded his agreement and sank back down into the sofa.

“I’m going to go feed Parley, then I’ve got some cleaning to do. If you need me just give a shout. I’ll be back to check on you in a bit.”

Charlie nodded again.

Sarah went to the den to feed Parley who didn’t want to wait one second longer. Finding a comfortable seat, she sat and began nursing Parley. “Sheesh,” she thought as her body began to relax. “I knew I was tired but, wow, it feels good to sit and rest for a moment.”

Rosie and Mia came bouncing in the room full of energy and giggles, “Can we go outside and play in the garden?” Rosie asked,

“Sweetie,” Sarah began apologetically, “Maybe later we can go out. I have a lot of work to do now, and Annie’s taking a nap, and I need to keep a check on Charlie, he’s sick.”

“Oh, okay,” Rosie shrugged. “We can help,” she offered.

“Okay,” Sarah replied. “You can quietly check on Charlie for me, but, don’t get to close to him just in case his sick is catching. Okay?”

“Yes!” Rosie and Mia agreed energetically.

The girls ran out of the den and Sarah’s thoughts returned to her to do list, “Call Del,” she said aloud…”

[Show slideshow]

Home for Christmas

by Julie Worthington
December 9, 2017

Going home can be wonderful, difficult, complicated, or even a great adventure. This week has been a journey of going home to see family and friends… Without getting too personal, I’ll just say this has been a great adventure! Planes, trains, and automobiles…
I guess the most complicated part has been the unexpected snow… it impaired my ability to go and see someone I dearly wanted to see. Life can be that way, unexpected things happen to change our plans… We live with those things, we learn from them, and we grow…

Excerpt from New Parish:

“Sarah’s memory of last year’s arrival continued in her mind, last year when there were shouts of “Aunt Sarah,” and nieces and nephews coming out to greet her. She wondered what the greeting would be this year. She didn’t have to wait long for her answer to that uncertain quandary. The door burst open just like last year and the usual shouts of, “Aunt Sarah,” rang out.”

…………..

“The last evening with her family was spent telling old stories and sharing new ones. Sarah told about how she and Max first met, everyone laughed, Dave laughed so hard he almost fell off the sofa.

Falling asleep that night Sarah thought, “This was nice, I’ll miss them but it’ll be good to get home. Home, she thought… home.””

New Parish – Coming Soon! Summer of 2018! Brigham Tea Magazine – Heroes of the Past

by Julie Worthington
December 2, 2017

Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you chose to do something completely different? Sarah did…

In New Parish she finds a life that’s so different than she’d ever imagined she’d have.

Excerpt from New Parish:

“The cool air and busy sidewalks were almost enough to distract her mind from the pervading thoughts of how much this plural marriage thing could go wrong. She wanted to believe that things could be as wonderful as Mary said they were, but she knew how people could be, especially men… her thoughts went to, “Maybe I should just drop the whole thing,” then the idea of dating again entered her thoughts which almost made her nauseous. Then the thought of giving up on her dream of having kids and a family came to her mind. A tear rolled down her face, which she quickly brushed away, that thought was the saddest one she’d ever had…

Sarah looked up at the sky and saw a plane flying west, she knew she would be on one soon… flying west. She breathed out a sigh and with a new resolve walked back to her apartment.”

Brigham Tea Magazine:

The next section of Brigham Tea Magazine I want to share with you is Heroes of the Past… enjoy the slideshow.

[Show slideshow]

Thanksgiving in New Parish & Brigham Tea Magazine – Wild Desert

by Julie Worthington
November 25, 2017

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! I’ve always found that it’s not just the turkey that got stuffed on Thanksgiving… This holiday is about families coming together and really spending time together, catching up, and finding out what’s been going one with each other. Whether they live near or far, this is the holiday that brings them together… it’s that way for Sarah and her family each year.

The next section of Brigham Tea I’m sharing with you is the Wild Desert. It’s all about the western desert, the places, plant life, and the critters. Hope you enjoy the slide show…

New Parish Coming Soon! Summer of 2018! Excerpt from New Parish:

“Everyone went into Thanksgiving mode … and food prep was the main activity consuming everyone’s time, down to the smallest three year old who was transporting fruit to the salad area. After so many years of working together on Thanksgiving dinner they all knew what to do and did it with almost perfect precision. Christmas music was playing and children were happily giggling about the mess that was all over. This was the one time everyone was happy to make a huge mess – the rewards were always worth it.

The menu included:

The largest turkey they could find

Two hams crusted over with honey, brown sugar and pineapple

Green beans with butter, sea salt, and sprinkled slightly with sugar

Candied yams with cinnamon

Potato salad

Cranberry sauce from a can

Southern dressing which was made out of biscuit bread and cornbread with sage, sweet onion, chicken broth and shredded chicken

Giblet gravy to go over the dressing made with chicken broth, cornstarch to thicken, salt, pepper, and bits of boiled egg and chicken

Corn prepared in a skillet with butter, sea salt, and pepper

Yeast rolls which they never did from scratch the frozen ones were fine

The deserts always included:

Chocolate pies

Cheesecakes

Chocolate chip cookies

Sugar cookies decorated with Christmas icing

Fruit salad which always had pineapple, cherries, bananas, grapes, nuts, cream cheese, and whipped topping

This menu took the whole family two days to prepare and everyone had leftovers to take home with them after the dinner. Because leftovers are a necessity after Thanksgiving, or at least that was their family philosophy.”