One of my greatest frustrations as a parent is wondering if Emma knows she is loved. Does she? Is she secure, certain, confident that her parents love her?  After years of therapy, Emma can articulate most words, but that doesn’t mean we have conversations. She gets her point across, but abstract feelings and emotions? No.… [ read more ]

I got home from the gym the other day, and I felt great. Well, I didn’t feel great physically. It took me an hour to stop sweating enough so I could take a shower. But mentally? I felt great! Why? Because that workout was the kind of workout I wanted to skip.  Because burpees. Burpees are my nemesis . This… [ read more ]

Stay in the Writing Gameby Lynn H Blackburn  @LynnHBlackburn I’d like to tell you a little story . . . I promise it is relevant . . .  Over the past few months, my family has had an unprecedented amount of illness and minor injuries. So much so that I’ve missed an insane amount of time… [ read more ]

MagnaTiles My kids love Magna-Tiles . Have you seen them? Each square and triangle is embedded with magnets, allowing the kids to build all sorts of creations.  A few weeks ago, my four-year-old came to me, beaming with pride as he showed me the “rocket ship” he’d built. He carried it around the house for a… [ read more ]

Writing Update I’m working away on a new novel. A secondary character from Covert Justice just showed up on the front porch and sent things in a very interesting direction. This guy is persistent! I looked at him and thought, “I’m so glad you’re here, but I wish you’d let me know you were coming!”… [ read more ]

Twelve Years Ago, I Was Afraid I’d given birth to our daughter at 5:22 p.m. The NICU team had gone to work immediately and rushed her away from me. I didn’t even get to hold her. A night that should have been filled with joy was tinged with fear. Knowing what I know now, I… [ read more ]

Happy Sunday Out of the Boat readers! Today, I’m starting a new weekend post. Let me know how you like it. 1st up – A writing update  (Because about three of you really want to know)! Covert Justice has a cover! Stop back by tomorrow for the big reveal! Book 2 is actually starting to… [ read more ]

Sometimes God asks you to skip Bible study. I know. Not really what you’d expect is it? Bible study is good. Fellowship with other believers is good. Showing up when you’ve committed to something is good. All good. But not always best. I will fully admit that when I skipped Bible study, I didn’t expect… [ read more ]

It’s resolution time. Whether we make them or not, we are all thinking about them. Because deep down, we know something is missing. We aren’t who we want to be. We aren’t living the life we want to live. We don’t understand it, this need, this desire, we just know we long for more.  But… [ read more ]

Lori Roeleveld One of my favorite writers anywhere ever is Lori Roeleveld . I’ve had a writer crush on her since 2010, when I heard her share her story in a workshop at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference …and then listened as her name was called several times during the awards ceremony a few days later.  I discovered her blog, Deeper With Jesus in Rhode Island ,… [ read more ]