​Hey everyone. Although it was two weeks ago, I hope your Thanksgiving was fabulous ~ as was mine. Too much food though. Hee hee, hah ha.

What a weekend for football, this past weekend. Our Titans beat the Jags last Thursday and the Army beat the Navy yesterday! GO ARMY! (More on that later). Exciting ending for the Dolphins-Patriots game today. But on a sour note, Major Scott’s team, the Ravens lost in OT to the Chiefs. Next week, Major!

Before the Army-Navy game, did you catch that prayer by the chaplain? Awesome! He quoted John 15:13, “And there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for his friends,” because military men and women are willing to lay their life down to protect others. That’s what Major Scott did. It is what my dad does…and it is what I’m willing to do when I come of age. I want to be like my dad, and free the oppressed…become a “Green Beret”, maybe by then…even the first one! Why? Because Jesus died for us (Romans 5:8). With Jesus, the hopeless can find their hope.
​
The radio stations are filled with Christmas music now. Don’t you just love it? I do! Seems every year I have a different favorite. This year? I particularly enjoy “Do you hear what I hear,” especially how it ends: “He will bring us goodness and light.” Do you have the light? If not, just remember, it shines on the darkest nights.
 
Well, bah for now,
Asha (One each)

​Early this month the nation voted for their candidate of choice in record numbers. When it was finished…well, it really wasn’t. Seems that there were some vote count issues, which really makes no sense at all in our day and age, especially for a “First-World Country,” with the technology we have.

So what gives? What seems to be the problem? I mean, beside the fact that our favorite form of math across the country is division. Yes, you heard me right…division. America is more divided now than it has ever been before, at least in my short lifetime of sixteen years. I do wonder why, or do I?

There are many fingers being pointed by both sides at each other and frankly, they are all correct…and all very wrong. At least in my view, anyway. My father taught my brothers and I that we were always one Nation under God. So what happened?

I have my viewpoint on the whole matter; however, I am not going to share it. Why bother? Half of the readers will agree with me and the other half will be angry with me. So, I’ll leave you all guessing…hee, hee, hah, hah.

I will share what I believe the problem…and the solution is though, even if it is viewed negatively. I’m still entitled to my opinion…since I am an American.

The Problem (Simply stated)
Matthew 12:25- “Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.”

Romans 16:17- “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.”
 
The Solution (Bottom Line)
Ephesians 1: 3-10- “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship (and daughtership) through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,
9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,
10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring UNITY to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”

Well, I believe this anyway, and besides, even if you don’t, why would you get mad at me for expressing my opinion?
​
Bah,
Asha (One each)

           Coming in 2019! ESCONDIDA

​ In the winter of 1973, Mike Brown and 
 Tanya Taylor arrive to their new school
 in San Jose, Costa Rica while their
 missionary parents study Spanish.

 Wandering together from the Country
 Day American School one afternoon, the
 two encounter an abandon old church
 tucked away in a small patch of jungle.

 When the church’s front door hangs  
​ open, Mike and Tanya slowly approach ​the marble-stepped entrance. But
​ when a misty blue and white ghost-like image of a teenage girl suddenly appears  
​ before their eyes, the ​two discover that the church, known by the locals as La
  catedral escondida, hides a horrible secret…one that threatens ​to seal ​their fate
​ forever. 

Hey everyone, it’s me Asha! How was your week? Mine was okay—you know, school, karate lessons, family time—all that jazz. Remember my last ramblin’ when I told you I went to our Homecoming Dinner? After Chris brought me home, my brother Caleb was taking a bunch of pictures so I was messing around like a model for him. He sent me this one and said I could use it with my next Ramblin’. He’s a good photographer—I think so anyway.


So, you probably already know how much I love to read books. I have my own personal library and try to read one book per week. Yep, I read lots of books. If you want to know what I like to read the most, you’ll have to ask me. 


One book I love reading, especially during my quiet time, is the Holy Bible. I have read through it twice. Although there are a lot of mysterious scriptures, I believe that it is God’s word to the human race. Recently, I came across some words from Isaiah chapter 12. After meditating on it a bit, I came up with a way to remember it in a distinctive way. I call it, “358”. I’ll explain:


God is three things to me according to Isaiah 12:2—my salvation, strength, and defense. Because this is so, I can react in five ways, according to Isaiah 12:2-5—trust, not be afraid, be joyful, praise Him, and tell the world how great He is. The eight? Well, three plus five equals eight—hee hee, ha ha.


I have a prayer that is like this: Lord, because you are my salvation, I will praise your name and proclaim it to the world. Since you are my strength, I will rejoice and be glad. And, because you are my defense, I will trust and not be afraid. Cool, right? It helps that I know karate for that last part about defense. Ha.


The only other thing I wanted to say is that Major Scott is doing well and has several book projects up his sleeve. He will send out a newsletter to those who subscribed for one. He was reluctant at first but there were readers at the BookFest that wanted his newsletter. 


Okay, gotta go. Until later ~ 
Bah!
Asha (One each)

​Hello everyone! Asha here with more ramblins’. You know what? This past week, including today, has been very special in so many ways! Want to know why? Of course you do. Hee hee ha ha.

Well, last Friday night I went to our Homecoming football game (we won big) and I was on the Homecoming court representing our awesome junior class! Cool, huh? Then the next night, I went to the Homecoming dinner, which was really cool—and yes, I had a date. His name is Chris and you can read about him in, The Hawkins: Army of One. We’ve been good friends for a long time. His parents and my parents are really good friends too.

The other cool thing? I turned 16 last month! Yep, I’m so excited! I can get my driving permit now! Oh, you know what my dad did to me? He stuck an alarm clock under my bed last night and set it to go off at 0100, which is 1:00 AM for you civilians. I woke up frantically searching for the thing blasting the crazy song call Jump, by Van Halen, and I was doing exactly that—jumping all around looking for it. When I finally found it under my bed, I fumbled in the dark to turn it off and when I finally did, I could hear my parents laughing. So I yelled, “Ha ha! Payback is a…” Don’t worry, I stopped right there.

My mom stopped laughing abruptly (I could hear my dad snickering) and says, “A what?”
I answered, “Nothing."
"That's what I thought!" she answered sternly.

Well, after finally getting back to sleep, the annoying thing went off again at 0200—yes, 2:00AM!! This time I grabbed that little—alarm and yanked the batteries out of it before going back to bed. My dad is really going to pay—ooogh he’s going to pay.

Besides my birthday, the Major’s birthday was at the same time. He and his wife also had an Anniversary, their 37th! How cool is that? He told me that he got married at age 22 and two days later on their honeymoon, his wife baked him a chocolate cake! That’s awesome! I think maybe, whenever I get married, I want to have a wedding on my birthday! Maybe my husband will bake me a cake? Hee hee ha ha. There’s a cool verse about finding a wife of noble character. He found his wife in the Amazon jungles of Ecuador! How cool is that?

Until next week ~ Bah!
Asha Hawkins (One each)
​
Verse of the day: Surely God is my Salvation; I will trust and not be afraid-Isaiah 12:2

Hello everyone! It’s me, Asha...of course. I hope ya'll are doing well and had a great week. Today, I would like to talk about the Major’s books and how my family and I fit into the big picture—give a little historical perspective.  
 
First, Major Scott has lived quite a unique life. His parents were missionaries and he attended thirteen different schools in twelve years that included places like Chicago, East Tennessee, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Colombia, where he graduated.
 
If that wasn’t enough, he joined the Army less than four years after graduation and served at Fort Bragg, Fort Sam Houston, and Berlin. He was an AirBorne medic for seven years before he left the Army to get his Bachelor’s Degree and join ROTC.
 
When the Major completed college in 1989 with a BA in Secondary Education, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in Military Intelligence. During his remaining fifteen years before retiring in 2005, he was deployed to the Middle East three times, earning a Bronze Star in 2004. After retirement, he went back to Iraq for his fourth deployment as a contractor.
 
Holding a MA degree in Information Management and a MBA in Business Administration, he now lives in Orlando, Florida, teaches Business and Computer courses at a local college, and of course, he writes books. The Major enjoys weekends with his wife, two grown kids, their spouses, and four grandchildren. Living near Disney World, Sea World, and Universal has its advantages. : )
 
I share all of this with you so that you, the reader, might have a better understanding about his writings—his diversity, multi-cultural experience, exciting adventures, and uniqueness, especially with his characters—like me. Hee hee, ha ha.
 
So that you will not be confused by Major Scott's numerous books, he always edits after a proof and since he has been doing his own book covers lately, you may see some of them with the same name but different covers. He may also have the same story line under two different titles.
 
His non-fiction memoir comes in two forms, either Stone in a Sling (Creativia), or All I Could Be. Next, he wrote a time travel novella, which also comes in two forms, Eternal Eye (iUniverse) and Duty Recall.
 
When Major Scott signed a contract with Tate Publishing, he had a pen name, Al M. Scott, but they eventually went out of business. His two books with them were, Love in the House of War and Flame in Paradise. He has since changed the name of the second one to The Hawkins: Army of One. 
 
My dad meets my mom in Love in the House of War, and there is an exciting surprise at the very end! The sequel, The Hawkins: Army of One is what replaced Flame in Paradise and introduces me as an eleven year-old about to turn twelve. This novella also introduces my two brothers, Caleb and Seth, as well as my newly adopted sister, Miriam, who is part of the story plot. She is an Iraqi refugee—something the Major has personal experience with since retiring.
 
Since the major signed a contract with Creativia Publishing, Love in the House of War and The Hawkins: Army of One, was combined into one novel, two parts, with Love in the House of War being the book title and The Hawkins: Army of One being part two of the book.
 
Verse of the week:
If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. - Isaiah 7:9
 
Websites for the Major's books: 
www.amazon.com/-/e/B006E6H8YA
 
Bah,
Asha (One each)








 

Hey everyone ~ Asha here. I hope y’all are having a good week…considering. I mean, the craziness in southern California was insane! Why? Why does this happen? Well, rather than trying to dissect evil and tag a human label to satanic activity, can’t we just pick up the pieces and mourn with those who mourn? Those hurting need a comforter right now, someone who understands their pain. Thank God I have not experienced any horror like this—my dad has though…in Afghanistan and Iraq. He shared these verses with me:

"Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted"
Matthew 5:4

“May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise…” Psalm 119:76

“The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” Psalm 9:9

He shared a lot more too but I’ll just share those three. Plus, I’m going to pray for our country and all those affected by another shooting terror.

Sigh...on a positive note, this may be a good time to remind readers that Major Scott's contest is still valid…the one where he is looking for an aspiring young author. The contest is for one to write a novel, novella, or short story to fill in the gap between my birth and age 11 and/or a second book to fill in the gap between my ages 12 and 22. I think that would be so cool! By the way, Major Scott is currently working on a YA/Teen mystery, an adult military mystery, and a YA/Teen historical thriller...all set for a 2019 release.

 Remember my introduction blog? I mentioned that we are looking for other submissions to share on this PTSIO.weebly.com (PTSIO.org) site. Well, we have one from a new author—an advertisement actually.

Author S.M. Soto, the granddaughter of a Navy Veteran has a book called, THE DARKEST HOUR. It  is a Contemporary Romance novel published with InkSpell Publishing. amzn.to/2QspUeY

A brief blurb:
 
“Aliza Anderson’s whole world imploded three years ago, in a devastating accident that took her entire family. Her life is now filled with the lingering pain and tearful memories that continue to haunt her day and night. She merely exists. Barely living. Barely breathing. She picks up her semblance of a life and leaves a small town in Pennsylvania that holds nothing but painful memories and the excruciating weight of guilt for her past transgressions. In one of the most desirable cities in the world, she crossed paths with a man whose intensity frightened her and blue eyes captivated her. The alluring stranger was…irresistibly charming, and intensely domineering. Aliza doesn’t want to feel. She can’t. It’s safer that way. One thing about running from the secrets of your past…they always catch up and find you.”

Pretty cool if you ask me. So if you like reading Contemporary Romance, like I do—hee hee ha ha, you might want to look for this novel by S. M. Soto. 

Bah,
Asha Hawkins (One each)

​Original posted on September 7, 2017
Hey everyone, Asha here. I hope you are doing okay—I mean, do you ever get that feeling of…being overwhelmed sometimes? That’s me now—although it’s not all bad.

I told you last week that Major Scott had a heart attack and had to spend four days in the hospital. He is doing okay now, recovering with rest and medications. He still cannot drive anywhere or go to work yet. His wife took off from school to take him to his Cardiologist appointment and after waiting nearly two hours was informed that he would not be coming in and he would have to reschedule for the next day. As Pooh would say, “Oh bother.”The other thing is that Major Scott’s dad was admitted to the hospital after he arrived back home in Tennessee. He has Shingles and a high fever. At least he made it back home safely.

Now, as America turns their attention from Hurricane Harvey to the massive Hurricane Irma, Major Scott and his family will hunker down like the rest of the Floridians in preparation for the worse but hoping for the best. Folks from south Florida are already evacuating north.

Texans are still recovering or trying to, from Hurricane Harvey and could face another one in its wake, Hurricane Katia in the Gulf of Mexico. Ahh, does it ever end. I am glad that I live in Tennessee but that’s rather selfish of me not to think of others and their plight. So, I have been praying in our prayer room—earnestly.

I found that the most comforting words for the weary—like me sometimes…hee hee, ha ha, are from the book of Psalms, my personal favorite. So, here’s a quote that I’ve meditated on and will share with y’all.

“Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”  –Psalm 111:2; 112: 6, 7

Keep your heart steadfast Major Scott. The rest of y’all too—please.

Bah,
Asha (One each)

​Hello, I'm giving Asha a break. During my twenty-five year career in the Army from 1980 to 2005, I deployed to the war zone in the Middle East on four different occasions. Each deployment presented its own unique mission challenges and the experiences that accompanied them. I wrote about them in my memoirs, Stone In A Sling: A Soldier's Journey (Creativia) and All I Could Be.
 
When I was on my first deployment in 1991 for Operation Desert Storm, I decided to memorize Psalm 91. One night as I was standing outside my tent near the Kuwait border in the desert of Saudi Arabia, I watched the orange glow over the horizon where our Air Force had been bombing the smithereens out of the Iraqi forces on the front lines. Then I remembered Psalm 91:9 & 10. “If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.”
 
Days later when truckloads of Iraq prisoners arrived at the Kibrit prisoner of war camp, my driver and I counted sixty per truckload with a line of sixty trucks, giving a fair estimate at 3600 enemy soldiers compared to a hundred or so Marines, Special ops. and National Guard MPs. The verse from Psalm 91:7 came to mind: “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.”
 
Fifteen years later, I remembered Psalm 91 when preparing for bed one night while on an assignment in Baghdad. I heard the swishing sound of rockets fly overhead followed by thunderous explosions approximately two miles away. I prayed, “Lord, cover me with your feathers and under your wings may I find refuge. May your faithfulness be my shield and rampart. I do not need to fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day” (Psalm 91:4 & 5).

Scott A. Meehan
​USA, MAJ (Ret.)

Hey everyone! Asha here. I’ve been extremely busy since school started again. I’m a sophomore, can you believe it? My parents can’t. They keep telling me to stop growing up so fast. Hee hee, ha ha.


The Major wanted me to tell ya’ll that he is still giving away books. You don’t even have to say, “I dig Asha.” Just indicate your interest. He will give away three books of your choice for the next three readers to respond to my Blog.
So, my Blog today. Um, I want to share a poem with you. I’m in Lit. class and had to do one—so why not share it? Here goes:

     I’ll help others see the light
     By doing what is right
     I’ll be strong and courageous; won’t hide
     There is a greater power on our side
     No need to be rattled
     God will fight our battles
     Refrain from war when throwing the dice
     Prepare for war with wise advice
    The most high is my rock and fortress
    My God in whom I trust
    My heart has heard you say,
    Come and talk with me
    And my heart responds
    Lord, I am coming
    The Kingdom of God is not just talk
    It is living by God’s power and my daily walk

I hope you liked it. Until next week ~
Bah,
Asha (One each)