Blog Stories
The Crux of the Matter
Jesus wasn’t only a great man. He came for a purpose etched throughout eternity past and future. The ‘crux’ of his life was the cross. Crux means cross. A cross is a form that intersects itself. This was the intersection of God reaching to man, opening wide the long-promised door of fellowship and forgiveness. The shadow became clear. The mist of cryptic prophecies lifted away as Jesus hung on the cross, as the barrier of the temple veil was ripped by God himself from top to bottom. This was...
Another Way to Flourish
Do you have a special theme word for 2022? I thought mine would be “flourish” because I’d chosen that one last year and wasn’t sure it had happened. So, I chose it again. But God gave me a different one: solidification. Not as pretty a word as “flourish”. “Flourish” conjures images of dew-kissed flowers and feathery ferns sprouting by a bubbling spring. There is a lot of plant imagery in Scripture, symbolizing growth and vitality as well as fruitfulness. What images does “solidification” bring...
Goodbye, 2021! (And Happy New Year!)
Are you glad to see 2021 go away? (And didn’t we feel the same way after 2020?) This time we might be less optimistic as we transition to a new calendar year. After all, we had high hopes last year that Covid would be a thing of the past but here we find ourselves in the midst of a new variant. One day this post will be history, evidence of a scary time in our lives, only a bad memory. We’ll all say, “I’m glad that’s over!” But not yet. So, how do we face the coming year? With enthusiasm about...
Points on a Timeline
It’s the norm for us to think of our lives as complete units instead of points on a timeline, isn’t it? Unless we step back once in a while and take a look at the sweep of years. Enjoy a memory. Notice how things have changed. A timeline has become more front of mind for me lately as I observe changes in the country and world around us, including a planet in the grip of a worldwide disease affecting everyone. I often wonder what our reality will be in two or five years, and what the big...
Remember, Mental Habits for Believers is on sale until Nov. 9
Just a quick reminder for you, in case you missed the date. Mental Habits for Believers: 28 Days to New Thought Patterns is on sale between November 2 and 9 for 99 cents in eBook format. I hope you'll take advantage of this special sale and this special book, which can improve your outlook for the rest of your life. You are more accustomed to my fiction and to hear (read) me talking to you about characters, settings, or upcoming novels. I guess I'm primarily a fiction writer. But really,...
Seasons and Other Changes
I hope your month of October is as crisp, clear, and exhilarating as mine is. The leaves haven’t started turning yet, though the acorns have begun to fall. (I have 5 oak trees in my backyard!) You can hear the acorns pinging and clacking on the roof, carport, and any other hard surface. It doesn’t last long, then the fall symphony will change from sound to color. Can’t wait! It’s great weather for biking, and this year I decided to get more disciplined. Discipline is less necessary than I...
Keep Dreaming
I’ve always been a gal who had a lot of dreams and lists of goals. Every January, I’d spend part of a day thinking, daydreaming about what I wanted to accomplish that year. Of course, I usually had way too many objectives to accomplish, but having many ideals meant I’d usually accomplish at least a few of them. In our current days, it’s gotten harder to dream. We wonder where we’ll be in our lives a year from now. Will Covid still be an unwelcome fixture on the landscape of our lives? Will we...
A North Carolina Story for You (and news)
Hello, friends! I hope July has you enjoying life, being entertained, or otherwise doing something fun, and taking some resting and family time. I’m trying to take advantage of the fact that in North Carolina, July and August are very hot. (In other words, making the best of it!) I’ll cut back a little on my French teaching this summer to focus on finishing the Sydney book and tweaking my website. I’ll do some brainstorming on the Eden book, the last in the series, as well as start dreaming...
Perspective
The other day I was thinking about perspective. We drift away from it, pushed or sucked into the wrong thinking by the world, distractions, pressures around us. But, like a bird returning to its perch, we remember, and with a sigh of relief, of joy even, we regain perspective. We may think the country is going crazy, irreparably upended. And the whole world, along with it. We may wonder and worry about the future. Perspective says: It’s always been this way. The events change, but there’s...
Already May
It’s the month of May, and I’ll bet your May has started out differently than usual. Often full of graduations, vacation preparations, and other transitions, this May is still virtual on a lot of those things, but slowly opening up. How is it going in your corner of the country? We’re still hearing dire news from many parts of the world, though, in the U.S., the talk is about vaccines. Getting them or not, or when, or what will happen when we do. Some lines are being drawn, a sort of vaccine...
Getting Books (Especially for Book Nerds and Other Story Lovers)
How do you get books? Do you like a variety of methods? How do you like to read? Paper? A Kindle? Audio? What are your reading habits? Do you binge-read a series? Read only on vacation? Do you buy the next book an author publishes? We all have our reading habits and preferences. I know people who love the feel of a paperback book. I like that, too, and if they were priced the same as eBooks and didn’t take up any space at all (and cost no postage), I’d probably just buy paperbacks! Where do...
Fears and Worries
Does this look familiar to you? A thread of irritation needled Bree. How could Lauren not worry even a bit? Bree wished she knew Lauren’s secret for taking life in stride, bumps and all. Sometimes her (business) partner was almost too relaxed. Bree felt enough stress for both of them, but her worry wasn’t going to rescue them from disaster. (from Prodigals in Provence) Indeed. How could Lauren...