pinterest Archives - Tricia Goyer

June 17, 2019 by Tricia Goyer 1 Comment

End of Summer (or anytime) Cookie Recipe

During the summer my kids are like little mice–always in the kitchen scurrying around to find a snack. They especially love a sweet summer treat. Of course, chocolate chip cookies are a favorite for us so I thought I’d share a cookie recipe guest post from Lathe Weymouth. Now that we are ending summer, your little mice will still love this as a school snack. Or really, who doesn’t love these ANYTIME!?

Be sure to give it a try and let me know what you think!

Everyone’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

In my family, there is one recipe book to end all recipe books. It is the last word on cookery. This wonderful book contains numerous recipes requiring bathtub-size mixing bowls and is the only place where I’ve ever found the instructions necessary to make both Butter Soup (what???), Head Cheese, and Pickled Pigs Feet.

The cookbook is called The Mennonite Treasury of Recipes (A Canadian Best-Seller), and today I’m here to share with you my family’s favorite treat as featured in the Treasury. Don’t worry, it’s not Head Cheese. It’s a recipe for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies which I’ve made countless times. They’re by far my husband’s favorite baked good, and I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like these cookies. I generally make them in batches of 5 dozen, and they’re gone within one or two days. Without further ado, here is the recipe for Everyone’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies. As you can see, it’s what we call a “scratch and sniff” cookie recipe around here.

Print The Recipe

Everyone’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Author: Mrs. Eleanor Neustaedter

From “The Mennonite Treasury of Recipes”

Ingredients

1 cup shortening (I use butter)
⅔ cup white sugar
⅔ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 package chocolate chips
½ cup chopped nuts or shredded coconut if desired
2 cups oatmeal

Instructions

Cream shortening/butter.
Add sugars gradually.
Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.
Sift flour, salt and soda and add to creamed mixture.
Add nuts, chocolate chips and oatmeal last.
Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets and bake in a 350-degree oven for 12 minutes.

This cookie recipe, as printed in the Mennonite Treasury, makes about 2.5 dozen cookies. If you want to make 5 like I do, you’ll have to double the recipe. To add a copy of the Mennonite Treasury to your cookbook library, you can purchase a copy here. It’s somewhat pricy, as it’s hard to find but well worth the money if you ask me. All the recipes are tried and true, submitted by Mennonite homemakers. Credit for this chocolate chip cookie recipe goes to Mrs. Eleanor Neustaedter in Steinbach, Manitoba.

Want to save the recipe in your Pinterest? You can find it here on my Pinterest board for Delish Desserts!

~Tricia

Making Pinterest-Worthy Graphics for Your Blog

I’ve been blogging for many years. I write to encourage, educate, and inspire. I love to hear from readers. I like to know my words are getting out and making a difference!

Over the last year, Pinterest has revolutionized my blogging. Blogs that used to get a few hundred readers get readers in the thousands or tens of thousands. Most of these readers come from Pinterest and Facebook.

Readers are inspired, educated, and encouraged by my words, but the first step to getting readers is creating graphics that capture their attention. Here’s how to do that easily.

I

1. Create a watermark

This is my most recent watermark and matches the branding on my website. Watermarks are your blog’s branding. That simple watermark will represent you. Readers will start looking for it!

You can also make your own watermark. One easy way is to use PicMonkey.

PicMonkey is my favorite, and it’s free. (Although I did upgrade for more features. To upgrade is only $5 a month!)

Trish a Mom on Time Out explains how to create your own watermark here.

2. Find Stunning Photos

If you’re a great photographer you can take them yourself.

I use some of my own, but I also love photos from Thinkstock.com. I found a special deal where I got a 30-day trial for $99, and I was able to download 25 photos a day. I was faithful to download every day! That’s 750 photos!

Places to get FREE photos:

Pixabay: http://pixabay.com/

Pikwizard: www.pikwizard.com

Morgue File: http://morguefile.com

Compfight: http://compfight.com/

Creative Commons: Free Picture Pool

CreationSwap: http://www.creationswap.com/

Unsplash: unsplash.com

Check out Canva’s great list of websites with free photos, too!

Non-expensive options:

Dollar Photo Club: http://www.dollarphotoclub.com/ <– This is my new favorite! Click the image below to sign up!

And for non-cheesy Christian photos, Lightstock: https://www.lightstock.com

3. Use Picmonkey.com to create graphics

With Picmonkey you have four options:

Edit photos you have.
Design with their tools (no photo necessary)
Create a collage
Touch up your photos

The easy way to edit a photo

Click EDIT

Download photo

For the most attention on Pinterest, crop the photo it so it’s tall, not wide. This takes up more space on Pinterest.

Click Text to add words

Text Button

Click Effects to add drama

Effects Button

Add your watermark

Add Watermark with the button that looks like a butterfly

Then SAVE your finished graphic!

I love these tools. They making creating Pinterest-worthy graphics easy! The best part is that I’m able to connect with even more readers to inspire, educate and encourage!

What about you? Do you have any tips for great graphics?

July 19, 2014 by Tricia Goyer 14 Comments

Christian Fiction Shares Good News Even When You’re Not Looking For It.

When did you first start reading Christian fiction?

What kept you reading?

Here is my story… I was a very rebellious kid in highschool. A Christian friend of my mom’s loaned her some novels by Jeanette Oke. I was a big reader. I usually read stuff like Stephen King, but I loved those Jeanette Oke books. I read them over and over.

When I was 17 and pregnant out of wedlock, I gave my heart to the Lord. A few years later, when I was first married, I remember going to a Christian bookstore and glancing at their fiction section. We didn’t have much money, and I only had enough for one novel. I was looking through a few and someone pointed me to Bodie Thoene. I picked up Vienna Prelude and LOVED it! (And amazingly, people often tell me that my books remind them of Bodie’s.)

After that, I started reading more Christian fiction.

And then I started writing it. (Although it took about nine years for me to have a novel published from the time I first started writing.)

To me Christian Fiction became light, hope, and peace to my soul. There was tension, intrigue, and conflict but I felt good after reading those stories–unlike the angst I felt after books like Pet Sematary!

To me Christian Fiction became light, hope, and peace to my soul. @TriciaGoyer

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Christian fiction shared good news to me when I wasn’t looking for it or wanting it.

I once received an email from someone who said she read my novel, Night Song, and it was the first Christian novel she’d ever read. She was surprised she liked it!

It’s my goal to share the hope I’ve found.

So how about you?

When did you start to read Christian Fiction?

When did you start reading Christian Fiction? @TriciaGoyer

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I have a few books on sale right now! Now through August 18, 250+ books are available in the Buy 1, Get a 2nd at 50% Off deal — including my book The Kissing Bridge!

Are you new here? You might want to subscribe to my email updates, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, or Instagram.

November 14, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 3 Comments

Snap It to Win It Contest!

We all have that moment when we realize our lives are too stressful, too busy, too filled, and instead of feeling content with ourselves, our relationships, our lives, we end up disappointed, overwhelmed, and burnt out. Sometimes even the simplest reminder—whether it’s a photograph or a page of encouragement from a book—can help us de-stress and re-prioritize our lives.
My new book, The One Year® Book of Amish Peace, taps into the wisdom of the Amish in order to help us draw closer to God and hear his voice—encouraging believers to carve out more time in each day to listen to God and experience his presence. These daily devotions are a way to help us re-prioritize our lives and focus on what really matters.
In celebration of the book release, I have a challenge for you: to look at your daily lives and find peace, joy, and inspiration in them. When you find something that inspires you in your life, take a picture of it. Upload it to your computer. Make it fancy and beautiful. Then upload it to Pinterest with the hashtag #OneYearAmishPeace and #TriciaGoyer.
The contest will run from 11/14 to 11/30, and on 12/2, I’ll announce the winner (chosen at random) on my blog.The winner will receive this cool camera so you can continue to find inspiration in your life and photograph it as a reminder that peace is achievable. You can pin one photo per day to be entered into the contest.
What do you think? Can you take some time this Thanksgiving season to be thankful and to find peace with the simplest things in life? I can’t wait to see your photos!

Want to help me spread the word? Add this button to your blog!

Pin to Win Today – 11/14 – 11/30!

The One Year Book of Amish Peace Tricia Goyer Tyndale

Just past this code into your blog sidebar:

<center><b>Pin to Win Today - 11/14 - 11/30!</b><br /><a href="http://wp.me/P3k8nw-1Dp" target="_blank"><img alt="The One Year Book of Amish Peace Tricia Goyer Tyndale" height="170" src="http://bit.ly/1aFCmKT" width="170" /></a></center>

Want to win a Canon PowerShot? Snap it to win it with @TriciaGoyer! #Pinterest #Giveaway

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Looking for a Christmas present to give to a reader this holiday season? Why not give a copy of The One Year® Book of Amish Peace?
Are you new here? You might want to subscribe to my email updates, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, or Instagram.

August 8, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 12 Comments

Social Media Success: What’s All the Attention About?

Recently Chipotle had a hack on their Twitter account. Someone got onto their stream and posted nonsense tweets. It turns out, they did it themselves, for a publicity stunt. After all it worked for Burger King who did the same think and gained 30,000 followers. Read more about the stunt.

Thirty thousand is a lot of people. In the eyes of business, that’s a ton of new customers. Yet is that the point of social media—to get attention? To build “the numbers”?

It’s understandable why that seems important. A larger number “followers” impress our bosses and our friends. A larger number of followers attracts more people, too. (People like to be connected with important people.)

I understand. I have great connections on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, and I continually have to tell myself that each one of those numbers is a person with joys, desires, and needs. I know this to be true. There are people whom I’ve connected with on Twitter whom I now consider good friends. We’ve met in person. We’ve celebrated birthdays together. We are even friendlier in person than online! (I know, can you believe it?)

I’ve also met some of my online friends on vacation and at booksignings. I love giving a hug to those who’ve encouraged me through tweets and posts!

I love social media, but an important question to ask is, “What’s all the attention about?” @TriciaGoyer

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I love social media, but an important question to ask is, “What’s all the attention about?” Is it about making ourselves look good or about finding new customers for our products—whether it is books or hair clips?

For me, I’m awed to have this reach to share the good news of Jesus. I’m amazed to read my stats and see that every day thousands of people visit my website/blog from all around the world. (Jesus took it seriously when I prayed, “Send me!”)

Yet there’s danger that comes with that too. It’s tempting to seek attention. It’s tempting come up with nonsense that will draw and entertain the crowds. Thankfully, I have a case study on how Jesus handled it.

During the first year of His ministry, before the official opposition began, Jesus was immensely popular and great crowds followed Him. However, the crowds did not impress Jesus, nor did He cater to them, because He knows what is in the human heart (John 2:25). Anybody can join a crowd and go with the flow, but it takes courage to stand alone for the truth and obey it.

It looked as though that crowd was seeking spiritual enrichment from Jesus, but the Lord knew better. Most of them wanted to see something sensational, like a miracle, while others were concerned about something to eat (John 6:26). A generation later, the Roman satirist Juvenal wrote that the Romans “longed eagerly for just two things—bread and circuses,” but this Jewish crowd was just as bad, and so are many crowds today. The apostle John would have called them “worldly” because they focused on “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life” (1 John 2:16 NASB). Warren Wiersbe, Jesus in the Present Tense

Friends, the truth is that many people visit blogs for the same thing: “bread and circuses.” They want free stuff, and they want to be entertained. If you’re not going to give it to them, they have millions of more sites to visit. I’m not saying that free stuff and entertainment are wrong. Personally, I love both. I just need to make sure I’m spreading the messages Jesus has asked me to, without being worried about the number of views my posts get. I’ll leave that in Jesus’ hands.

As tempting as it is to try social media stunts, I want to point people to Jesus Christ. @TriciaGoyer

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I’ll never have all the answers, but I just might have a few I’ve learned (from experience) that will guide men and women to the Truth.

What about you? What do you think of social media attention?

Are you new here? You might want to subscribe to my email updates, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, or Instagram.

Wondering what’s up next for me? My book The One Year of Amish Peace releases soon. You can pre-order it here!

Interested in some similar posts to this one? Check out these:

July 1, 2013 by Tricia Goyer Leave a Comment

Must-Follow Pinterest Boards for Readers

When I first started writing fiction one of my mentors Robin Jones Gunn taught me how to create character notebooks for my novels. I’d bring home stacks of free magazines from the library and faithfully flip through page after page until I found models who looked like my characters. I’d cut out living rooms and settings, too. It did help me visualize my characters and story world. With Pinterest this is so much easier! As an author I can fill a story world and characters in a quarter of the time it took looking through magazines. (And not paper cuts!)

These seven boards were created by others to help them (and their readers) step into their story world.

Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors Series by Tricia Goyer. A board with the characters, setting, and scenes from my books in the Seven Brides series. It also include some video and photos from the Big Sky Series since the series are located in the same place with crossover characters. Author website
Barefoot Summer Storyboard by Denise Hunter. The Barefoot Summer storyboard is a collection of images featuring the characters, setting, and some of the scenes in Barefoot Summer. Denise put the board together as an extra for readers’ enjoyment. No spoilers! Author website
The Face of the Earth Storyboard by Deborah Raney. Deb created this as a quick reference photos of her characters, setting, and inspiration for her novel The Face of the Earth, which released May 14. Author website
Class Reunion Series by Debby Mayne. Debby’s books: Pretty Is as Pretty Does, Bless Her Heart, and Tickled Pink. Debby had images of celebrities in her head, so she created the board on Pinterest. Author website
Work-in-Progress board by R.J. Larson. An idea board by R.J. for her current fantasy series, which is yet unnamed. She’s a visual learner/writer, and she often refers to this board and others for inspiration while writing. Author website
Beloved by Robin Lee Hatcher. Robin created picture-boards for her books. While she’s working on a book, all of this information resides in the software program, Scrivener. But it’s kind fun for her to see it take shape on Pinterest. This is the board for her September 2013 release, Beloved. Author website
Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball by Donita K. Paul. Donita has several boards. One is character development; three are a collection of pictures that remind her of the setting; the last one is from her picture book website and has pictures from the site. Author website

What are your favorite Pinterest author boards?

April 9, 2012 by Tricia Goyer 3 Comments

Things I’m Pinning: Organization

I love getting organized! Lately I have been pinning a lot of good organizational tips, tricks, and ideas. Here are a few of my favorite!

This is a great idea for organizing books! I can’t wait to get my books unpacked so I can work on this project!

Great ideas on this website!

A fabulous checklist for making sure the house stays clean! Love this one!

You can find all my of favorite organizational pins on my organization board on Pinterest.

What about you? What are your favorite ways to stay organized? Do you have a organizational Pinterest board? Leave me the link in the comments! I’d love to take a look!!