WHEW! After finishing the latest installment of Cassie, I thought I'd take a "short break" and create that list I promised in the Reading Challenge blog post. It took forever. I should be going home, but I'm determined to do a couple of things first, so I'm working hard over here... on this post. Continue Reading
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Life Lessons and Insights in the Most Unexpected Places
Beautifully illustrated, the hardbound books looked like they might be children's books. However, as I flipped through them and disposed of the packaging, I realized they weren't. These books held deep, profound concepts that would take several reads to really appreciate. I sat down last night Continue Reading
What Happens When a Christian Doesn’t “Look” Like One?
He taught me a lesson—a strange man with body art who I’d never met before and would likely never meet again. The elevator stopped on my floor and the doors opened. There he was. He was big—really beefy, not overweight. Just a linebacker waiting to happen. Tattoos decorated his arms and lower Continue Reading
What Should You Do When You Fail To Show Compassion?
Male. Latino-Black. Average height. Cornrows in his hair. Muscular. Pierced ears—gauges. "Muscle shirt." Pants held on only by the grace of God. I’ll call him Joey. I think he looks like a Joey. Not a cute little boy, Joey—a cool dude Joey. I picture him with friends Marco and Ty. He may not Continue Reading
5 Easy (& FREE) Ways You Can Help Your Favorite Author
At least once a week an email arrives. While the words are always a little bit different, they all say the same basic thing, “I love your books. What’s the best way to tell everyone else how great they are?” Translation: “How can I help promote your books?” Look, I need to say something Continue Reading
Some of the Best Inspiration Comes from a Diner
Booth 14. It’s been my writing home away from home for several years now. I’ve seen it all there—and I mean all. In fact, I have two or three “Tales from Booth 14” videos up on YouTube and half a dozen more to share. From flying plates and police with shields (those poor guys looked like they Continue Reading
Have I Got a Birthday Gift for YOU!
The paper cutter sliced through another sheet of cardstock—another. One by one, I stacked sheets in piles. The base, the image layer, patterned paper, ribbons, tags… Once I’d gathered all the pieces, assembly began. Some needed coloring, others just layering. As much as I love to use ribbons and Continue Reading
When This Life Denies You Coffee, Wait 10 Years
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
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
