PAULA NEAL MOONEY

...makes for a nice 365-page (or so) book in one year. It helps to think of it that way.

This morning when I began my workday and checked my checking accounts, I noticed an interesting new " Google Inc. EDI PYMNTS CCD US00000LA1 " in my business account for more than $200 and wondered what it was. After all, I thought for a second it might be a nice little unexpected bonus or something from the Big G -- because that was an unfamiliar term to me. It's not like the deposits I get from Amazon, whereby I have to figure out if they are the blessed monies from my product sales on Amazon that blessedly pay off my American Express and other credit card bills , or the trickle of Kindle book income that Amazon pays me (till I get on my duff and fricking write that " From Slut to Saint " best-seller already!) or the regular Amazon Associates referral income that surprisingly and wonderfully pulls in close to $500 for the month off of mostly one-off articles like this about Kindle coupon codes and stuff: My Amazon Associates Income from August 1 ...

I love getting money in the mail box, snail-mailed in the old fashioned way that some places who don't pay me via direct deposit or through my PayPal account still pay me. Today I got an unfamiliar check in the mail, like a little postcard with a curious return address: Hanson v. Google Settlement Fund c/o Gilard & Co. LLC P.O. Box 719088 San Diego, CA 92171-9088 With that "please open immediately -- important material inside" message on the front and my name following the "pay to the order of" line inside, I wondered if it was a scam. So I Googled information about the lawsuit and vaguely perhaps remembering hearing about this Google Adwords settlement that those of us who've paid Google to advertise various things are now receiving checks for as recompense for overpayment. I love it. My cut of the booty thus far? A whopping 17 cents...but I'll take it. Plus, other folks are getting more than one check. Perhaps one check for each A...

I remember my friend telling me the story of Jeff and Cheryl Scruggs -- about how they got divorced and remarried and how they help lots of other couples, but I never knew Cheryl admitted to having an affair until I watched their video testimony this morning . I've been blogging about how much I love the " I Am Second" book and all the honest stories of people inside it, and how they eventually came to know Christ in the midst of their pain. There was the pastor addicted to porn , and now there's the Scruggs' amazingly honest story of how their fairytale marriage turned horrible when their expectations of each other were revealed as false. It took Jeff seven years to forgive his wife and remarry her... ...after Cheryl divorced him and found Christ and realized she'd made a huge mistake. It's a good thing they were knit back together in holy matrimony to be able to stand strong together for what they would face when their daughter Lauren met wit...

I flipping love being a writer. And I love reading the work of other great writers -- especially those bold enough to interview folks who are bold enough to tell their real truths -- warts and all -- like Nate Larkin did in a section titled " Porn Again Pastor " in the book "I Am Second" that I'm devouring. His honesty moved me so much that I knew it was the next thing I wanted to appear on the writing platforms I'm privy to possess. It's not everyday that you meet a Christian willing to drop the church façade and admit that yes, we do have the victory in Christ Jesus -- but it's not via our own doing or because of any virtue of our flesh that we can brag about. The Apostle Paul wrote that if he were going to brag about anything, he'd brag about his weaknesses so that Christ's power can rest upon him -- that is, when he wasn't going off on that New Testament church for being proud of some man having his father's wife. M...

This post brought to you by éclos Skin Care . All opinions are 100% mine. It was time for a new face. I turned 43 years old last month, and I always love it when people say I look younger than my years, like the guy on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad wine tour who said “You look good for 43!” as the whole train car sang “Happy Birthday” to me – or the babysitter who told me I looked like I was in my early 30s, like her mom. I pointed a “God bless you…” and an “I love you” to them, respectively. So when éclos Skin Care sent me their Anti-Aging Skin Care Starter Kit with sample sizes of their complete product line, I ripped that puppy open and dove into the following products: • Facial Cleanser Skin Prep • Cellular Activator Face Serum • Moisture Therapy Regenerative Cream • Restorative Eye Cream • Instant Radiance Facial Scrub • Skin Renewal Clay Mask • ...

That's what I asked this morning. I wanted to make sure. He was kind of dogged and dissed and dismissed by me last year, in 2011, at times. And 2012 is so much different -- we feel so much closer, so I needed to verify. He answered, "Just keep running the race, and don't worry about whether you're in the race or not." I am his. He paid for me , putting down a seriously healthy and worthy down payment. The best dowry any man could ever pay for a woman, or anybody... "I already told you 'It is yours...'" He told me, and doesn't lie. It was nearly 10 years ago when that promise was spoken resolutely in the space of my tummy, and it's almost our anniversary. At least, the 10th anniversary of that powerful spring day when the Holy Ghost showed me without a doubt that Christ is real -- and He is closer than we sometimes think. Or act like. But I am moving on. Moving forward. Despite mistakes. Keep on trucking...