Marsha
Jordan
author, humorist, and all
around fun lady
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"May
the righteous be glad and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful."
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Jordan, also
known as the |
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Marsha describes herself as a ten year old kid masquerading as an adult and trapped in a grandmother's body. She's placed her youth on the endangered species list and says it's evaporating faster than spit on a hot griddle. Instead of aging like a fine wine, she says she's more like moldy cheese or curdled 2% milk. Jordan has two boys, ages 34 and 60. She's been married to the 60 year old for 35 years. (To read an essay about him, click here.) Marsha has been held hostage for nearly half a century in the north woods of Wisconsin with her rocket scientist husband, "Hunky Magoo." (She calls him H.M. for short, which he likes to think stands for "His Majesty.") They share their empty nest with a badly behaved and toothless, brain-damaged toy poodle, King Louie, who rules the household with an iron paw. (Click to read the essay about Louie which was published in "A Cup of Comfort for Dog Lovers") Jordan, who has eaten enough chocolate to make the Guinness Book of Records, spends her days ignoring her dirty oven and dreaming of the things she'd like to accomplish but probably never will -- including overcoming the trauma of class picture day in second grade (check out the picture here and you'll understand). Her hobbies (besides eating and napping) include rubber stamping, collecting antiques, riding her pet pig Shirley, and studying do-it-yourself dentistry. If there's such a thing as a typical author, Marsha Jordan is NOT it. She's seen or done just about everything and is considered by some to be the wisest woman in the world. The fascinating jobs she's held over the years include being inspector in a flea dip factory, body guard for Barry Manilow, and Phyllis Diller's stunt double in the movie, "Kick Boxing Granny." She's raised two dogs, a cat, one son, several rabbits, a husband, two pigs (named Lois and Clark), and a flock of turkeys. After her grandson was badly burned in the Fall of 2000, Jordan created The HUGS and HOPE Foundation, a non-profit charity devoted to cheering critically ill and injured children. She’s received many awards for her work with children and appeared on Wisconsin Public Television and on WGN television's Unsung Heroes program. She was featured on Billy Graham's radio program, and in "ROSIE," "Woman's World," "Ladies Home Journal," and "Lady Ingenuity" magazines. Jordan's stories have been published in several anthologies, including two "Cup of Comfort" books. Her articles have appeared in "Heart Light" and "Obadiah" magazines, among others. She's a regular columnist for "Handmaidens" magazine and "My Walk With Jesus" newspaper, and she has contributed to over 60 online newsletters and e-zines, such as "Heart Warmers," "Power to Share," and "Warm Fuzzy Stories." Jordan is known as the Peanut Butter Queen because of her slogan: "Love and joy are sticky like peanut butter. Spread them around and you're sure to get some on yourself." Her inspirational and humorous book incorporates that slogan and the name of her charity in its title, "Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter." The award winning book is illustrated with 40 drawings by kids who are battling life-threatening conditions. It's endorsed by comedic legend Phyllis Diller as well as Wendell Potter, writer for Jay Leno. It earned Parent to Parent's "Best of the Best" award; and sales from the book benefit kids across the country. Combining hope with humor in her book, Jordan draws on her experiences of living with chronic pain and depression, coping with the injury of her grandson and living with her son's diagnosis of lung cancer. The book is filled with "slice of life" stories about her own experiences, lessons she's learned, and practical coping skills. Once active and
energetic, her busy schedule came to a screeching halt when she fell victim to
a mysterious connective tissue disease, causing migraines,
fatigue, fibromyalgia, and
joint pain. Due to illness complications, she was temporarily struck
blind; so she can relate to
children who are sick, in pain and afraid. |
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