Ten Years Ago... A U-Haul, three pickups, and two cars pulled up in front of the house at 241 Holly Circle just as Richard Stephens pulled his mower from the garage and checked the gas reservoir. A man about his mother’s age climbed down from the cab of the U-Haul and called out, “Okay, Ruth! Continue Reading
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How a Silly Santa Story Exposed My Hypocrisy
I’ll never forget that evening. It was in Fillmore, California on Mountain View Street. I was four. We all sat around the dinner table, and Dad had just poured milk. I’m pretty sure he was about to stuff some cornbread in it. Thought you oughtta know. I’d spent the day with my cousin, Continue Reading
My Top 10 Genre Picks for Gift Giving This Year
“My wife [daughter, sister, brother, husband, uncle, aunt, friend, cranky neighbor, insert other person here] loves to read, but all I know is they like Christian fiction.” A question like that just begs one more. “Do you know their favorite subgenre?” Insert blank look here. “What’s a Continue Reading
How to Use This Special Quote Challenge to Begin a Commonplace Book
So, a couple of years ago, I heard about commonplace books again (something I vaguely remember being mentioned in my childhood--for reasons, I can't remember). So, I decided I wanted to do this. But how? Ronald Reagan's file boxes of index cards so tempted me. I mean, wow. How cool is that? I Continue Reading
The Best Thing about Motherhood Is Learning from My Kids
The Facebook post looked like one many of us have seen. A picture of toys and shoes strewn across the floor followed by the caption of a harried mother. The poster? My oldest daughter. She’s a wise girl. She’s also rather raw and “real” in the best sense usually. She’s human. She got that from Continue Reading
Another Way I Was Surprised at the SoCalCWConference
I already told you how God slapped me upside the head and taught me how to lay down my preferences and focus on Him in worship at the SoCalCWConference HERE. But that wasn’t the only way I was surprised. Amid all the hubbub, the people asking for help with this, offering encouragement for Continue Reading
Celebrating These 21 Indie Books for Independence Day
America. Land of the free--the ruggedly, independent, "don't tread on me" free. Our heritage includes innovation, expansion, settlement, and just a little more of that independent spirit. We didn't like taxation without representation, so we broke free of those chains. A couple of centuries Continue Reading
3 Reasons I Need an Inspiring Summer Reading List
Ocean breezes mingle salt spray with the distinctive scent of Coppertone. Beneath an umbrella and a two-inch layer of said Coppertone when you have skin that pleads with the sun to lobsterize every half-exposed toe, she sips iced tea from an In-n-Out cup. With the gentle undulation of waves lapping Continue Reading
7 Reasons I Think You Need a Journible Now!
Amazon. I swear it’s the 21st Century form of Santa Claus and the Sears Wish Book all rolled up in one package. How? Well, scroll through pages upon pages of anything you could ever want to purchase from any place in the world. It’s like Veggie Tales’ “StuffMart” on steroids. Because unlike a Continue Reading
Did You Know That It’s National Notebook Day?
Spiral bound. College ruled. Black cover. Seventy pages. I don’t know where I got it, because I didn’t like spiral ruled notebooks. The jagged edges when you pulled paper from them made my nerves do the jitterbug and my teeth itch. But I had one. And I distinctly remember the day I drew my first Continue Reading
How to Ruin a Great Book Review in 5 Simple Steps
The review burned holes into my eyes. On my youth adventure fantasy novel, Shadows & Secrets the insanely short, 1-star review mortified me. I can’t even bring myself to go look it up again, so I’m going on memory with my best recollection of the one-line review. “It was okay, but there was too Continue Reading
“Time, Time!” She’ll Cry, but There Is No Time!
“Where’s Madeline? I’m going crazy!!!” It’s encouraging when you get emails from readers who saw you say somewhere that you planned to release a book on February 20, 2018 and then they can’t find it anywhere. Add to this the fact that I have a blog tour for this book beginning… um… tomorrow, and Continue Reading
