tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-335486992011-07-20T23:58:40.019-07:00The official blog of author Lauraine Snelling and the fictional town of Blessing, North DakotaCity of Blessing, N.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02196005139360174443noreply@blogger.comBlogger281100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33548699.post-20655092823093858942011-07-13T10:26:00.000-07:002011-07-13T13:18:36.426-07:00

Hi Everyone,A Heart for Home and the Home to Blessing boxed set are now in bookstores. Is A Heart for Home the last Blessing book? This is what so many of you have written to ask.I thought Blessing in Disguise was the final book about the Bjorklunds, but my readers wanted more, so I wrote the Return to Red River trilogy.And then along came the Daughters of Blessing and the Home to Blessing

City of Blessing, N.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02196005139360174443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33548699.post-52673316043661907432010-05-18T12:07:00.000-07:002010-05-18T12:10:17.302-07:00

Dear Friends,I am so pleased. In July Roald, Kaaren, Carl and I will again take to the stage to perform Bound For Blessing. In July come to Drayton, ND, watch the play and meet Lauraine Snelling. Performance dates are July, 9, 11, 15 and 18. For more information contact Marlys at president@oxcarttrails.net or visit www.oxcarttrails.net. Blessings,Ingeborg

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Why did I write No Distance Too Far?So we can all find out what happens in Blessing. Even though I outline my books before and as I write them, I am often as surprised as you at what comes next. I just get surprised first. Case in point: Astrid's calling to serve Africa. That pastor took the pulpit and extended his call before I had time to delete him!Since my job is to make life difficult for my

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Myra and the Messiah, Part 4Taryn G, 17 The sound of a baby crying was heard distinctly a couple hours later. As Myra's mother went back to the inn to help the guests and finish cleaning for the night, Myra stayed and talked with the new mother."My name is Myra. I forgot to tell you that earlier. Your baby is beautiful. What are you going to name him?" "My name is Mary and this is my husband

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Myra and the Messiah, Part 3Taryn G, 17 "I am extremely sorry. There is absolutely no available room. We have people squeezed in everywhere; there are even some guests sleeping on the floor." Myra's mother quietly shut the door as the travelers walked away and turned towards her daughter. "I dislike turning away people, but there's nowhere they can stay." Myra replied, "There are so many people

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Myra and the Messiah, Part 2By Taryn G, age 16 "Look around you. There are fields, mountains, trees, bushes, animals, and people. Someone had to create all this and not just any someone: a Creator. One who loves." Danya's face looked like someone had turned on a light inside. The two girls were sitting on a green hill that Danya's family used for pasturing their sheep. Down below them, they could

City of Blessing, N.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02196005139360174443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33548699.post-27462347397265863852009-11-30T13:07:00.000-08:002009-11-30T13:12:58.274-08:00

Myra and the MessiahBy Taryn G., age 16The soldiers marched down the street. Line after line of dirty, hot, weary men stared straight ahead and missed the looks of hatred and rage from the people of the town. Unwanted strangers, the soldiers longed to get back to their hometown, just as much as the villagers wanted them gone.Myra grimaced as she remembered that awful day and the horrible days

City of Blessing, N.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02196005139360174443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33548699.post-22275683788620912692009-05-29T12:03:00.000-07:002009-05-29T12:17:58.906-07:00

1880It has been decided! My husband Roald, his son Thorliff and I will travel to America. His brother Carl and Kaaren will accompany us. Uff da! Thorliff is only five years old and Kaaren is possibly with child. Join us as we are Bound for Blessing.Blessings,IngeborgBound For BlessingTheatrical production based on Lauraine Snelling's Red River of the North seriesDrayton, NDJuly 16, 17 and 19,

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The Unexpected GiftBy Danae HiltnerWeek 5 The Blessing Church glowed that evening as everyone gathered to celebrate Christmas Eve. Ella was grateful to be able to make it to the service. "Do you feel all right?" Andor whispered in her ear. "Ja, I'm fine." Ella replied. She glanced around the room. People filled the church from wall to wall. Ingeborg waved to Ella from a few rows up. Ella waved

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The Unexpected GiftBy Danae HiltnerWeek: 4 The shrieking wind woke Andor early the next morning. He sat up glancing beside him. Ella wasn't there. Had she gotten up earlier than usual? He saw her clothes still draped neatly over the chair. What are her clothes still…? Realization hit him. He dressed in a flash and ran out into the hall.No, no, no! Please God, please don't let it be…A blast of

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The Unexpected GiftBy Danae HiltnerWeek 3The Unexpected GiftBy Danae HiltnerWeek: 3 The next morning, when Ella walked out to the barn, music from inside reached her ears. She found Steven in one of the empty horse stalls, playing his violin. The notes to O Christmas Tree rose with each graceful move of the bow. Steven's back was turned to her, so he didn't see her. Did he not hear her, either?

City of Blessing, N.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02196005139360174443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33548699.post-57199421447287471002008-12-19T11:44:00.000-08:002008-12-19T11:47:15.519-08:00

The Unexpected GiftBy Danae HiltnerWeek 2: Ella looked up. "I'll get it," she said to Hanna. She hurried from the room. "Someone's here," Freja and Josef, followed by Simeon, almost collided with Ella as she hurried into the hall. "Someone knocked, Mrs. Bischoff." "Thanks for telling me," Ella patted both of their heads, receiving grins in return. Where's Steven? She opened the door and invited

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The Unexpected GiftBy Danae HiltnerWeek One Ella Bischoff and her husband, Andor, descended the snow-covered front steps of the Blessing General Store and crossed to their wagon at the hitching post. The horse nodded his head, his breath rising in a cloud in the cold air. "Let's hurry home or your mother will be worried," Ella said as Andor grasped her arm and assisted her up the wagon wheel. She

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A Sheepish ChristmasByJesse N. VisserThe Final InstallmentThe shadow loomed around the corner and…it wasn’t just one creature, it was three men. They were dressed in fine robes, crowns, and jewelry. They wore gold necklaces, rings with precious gems, anklets and bracelets. And each one of them had a box in their hands, and grins on their faces. Each one presented their gift and left their boxes

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A Sheepish ChristmasByJesse N. VisserInstallment ThreeIn what seemed like seconds, the two people who had come in earlier had become three. The donkey made himself a comfortable place to lay near the people with whom he had come, and the cats that were once oblivious to the people, were now curiously sniffing the air around the new baby. Daniel couldn’t help but stare, until he was jolted out of

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Installment #2 "A Sheepish Christmas"byJesse N. VisserDaniel decided that he must run away. If he wasn't home, then there wouldn't be a stubborn sheep to lose. So, in the middle of the night, Daniel fumbled around his bed, gathered some of his things, tied them up in a sack, and took his water jug. As he headed for the doorway, he stepped on a squeaky floorboard and froze in his position. He

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A Sheepish ChristmasbyJesse N. Visser Once upon a time, long ago in the city of Bethlehem, there was a boy named Daniel, whose father was a shepherd. One day Daniel went with his father to help tend to the sheep. Daniel loved to help with the sheep, except for that one stubborn sheep. On this day, his father went to gather supplies, so Daniel was on his own for a small time. And just

City of Blessing, N.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02196005139360174443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33548699.post-23153037915771585352007-09-19T09:07:00.000-07:002007-09-19T09:09:33.198-07:00

Greetings from my new Mercantile!As many of you know, from the stories of Blessing that seem to spread to all corners of this big world God made, I own and operate Penny's Mercantile in Blessing, North Dakota.Over the years, I've found many items which bless people's lives. Why, I was the first in the Red River Valley to bring in what was called "that newfangled" washing machine! Sophie bought

City of Blessing, N.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02196005139360174443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33548699.post-22563090040284724832007-06-04T15:46:00.000-07:002007-06-04T15:53:49.414-07:00

By Pastor John SolbergWhen I was sixteen I attended the birthday celebration of a close friend. During the event we played a few parlor games, one of which I have never forgotten.My friend’s mother introduced it as the game of “Gossip”. She had us sit in a circle, and then handed the person closest to her a message to be whispered into the ear of the person adjacent to him. This message was to

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My dear friends, It seems I must start every letter off with an apology. I have the best of intentions to correspond with you regularly and then so many things get in the way. I must say I appreciate your letters and all your encouragement. We are still in the throes of winter here in Blessing. A blizzard came through and I thank our God that everyone was prepared with ropes strung

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My dear friends,I must plead for your forgiveness for not writing to you at Christmas. I had the best intentions but the days flew by and here it is the end of the year. In my son's newspaper, The Blessing Gazette, he ran an article about the word January that is taken from the Roman god's name of Janus who was two-faced so he could look forward and back. Two-faced is the last thing I want to

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That night Donkey observed a strange thing in the stable. A man in shining white clothing stood before Joseph and said to him, "Thou must rise and flee from this place tonight, for Herod is seeking to kill your son, Jesus. Leave this country immediately and go to Egypt. There he cannot find you." Donkey blinked his eyes and the stranger was gone. He was astonished. Who was the man

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"I'm very sorry," said the inn keeper, "but I just don't have any rooms left. It seems as if all of Judea is coming to Bethlehem. But wait, I have a small clean stable. I beg your forgiveness for not offering something better, but my rooms are full. If it will be of any help, please stay there for the night." "Thank you very much," said Joseph, "we will

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Ah, my dear friends,I had thought to have this finished last week, but somehow the days slipped away. It has been very cold here in Blessing, making us thankful that Haakan and Lars were forward thinking enough to fill the walls of our houses with sawdust to help keep out the North wind that blows so fiercely. Right now as I look out my kitchen window, the snow is so bright with diamonds cast

City of Blessing, N.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02196005139360174443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33548699.post-40940276179980399322006-12-16T15:22:00.000-08:002007-03-01T14:40:47.057-08:00

By Laurie Clauson The next morning when he saw Joseph, he brayed a great l-o-n-g bray to tell Joseph how glad he was to see him. Joseph tickled his long ears, then brushed his long, shaggy coat. Donkey was so happy he could hardly stand still. When Joseph saddled him, he nearly kicked up his heels for joy. Carrying Mary would keep him from being lonely. They left

City of Blessing, N.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02196005139360174443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33548699.post-23014381047560987902006-12-11T21:03:00.000-08:002007-01-11T11:34:37.554-08:00

Dear Readers,It is my pleasure to present The Lonely Donkey by Laurie Clauson, our first serialized story in The Blessing Gazette.Miss Clauson, sixteen years of age, is a new student at Blessing School and dreams of becoming a writer. Thorliff Bjorklund Editor, Blessing Gazette------------------------------------------------------------------The Lonely Donkey By Laurie Clauson Sixteen

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"Giving thanks always for all things to God." Ephesians 5:20My dear friends,I cannot believe how quickly Fall is flying past. Why it seems like just yesterday I was canning string beans and now we are thanking our heavenly Father for all He has provided. Come along with me and let's take a walk through my root cellar, I can't tell you how much I enjoy doing that.Haakan dug this one when we built

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My dear friend,It's been awhile since we talked, so I decided to write and let you know what is happening here on our farm. Each year seems to fly by faster and here we are nearing the end of summer and harvest is in full swing. For us here in Blessing, that mostly means wheat first and then oats for cattle feed later. The field corn is the last because it can still be harvested after a frost

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