Sometimes, when a follower of Christ answers the call to come out of the boat and walk a new path, the people they’ve been doing life with are more hindrance than help. Instead of cheering, they chide. Instead of rooting, they rebuke. Instead of praying, they pout. And far too often, the resistance comes from… [ read more ]

When this post goes live, I will be at Ridgecrest getting ready for the first full day of classes at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference . I’m both excited and terrified. Excited to hang out with writing friends from all over the country. Terrified because my husband and kids will be doing life without me this week. This is… [ read more ]

Motherhood has surprised me. I never imagined how much I would love to feel a tiny hand in mine, or how I would thrill when they want me—and only me. I never realized how each child would bring a whole array of new experiences—new favorites, new skills, new firsts. I never knew this level of… [ read more ]

For the month of May, I’m going to be focusing on motherhood—the joys and challenges unique to this particular calling. But before I do, I want to make one thing clear. Motherhood does not make me special. I know. Mother’s Day is in six days. (For the men who read my blog—and I really appreciate that… [ read more ]

Do you ever find a verse in the Bible that makes you do a double-take? You read it. Then you read it again. You wonder if it really means that in the Greek or Hebrew or Aramaic or well, any language, because you just don’t see it happening. I ran across just such a verse… [ read more ]

Today’s blog post was supposed to be about something different. But that was before the day ran off the rails. I had big plans for this day. Some writing, some housework, some exercise, some laundry. I even made plans to get my day off on the right foot. I went to bed a little earlier… [ read more ]

On a hot August afternoon, a small miracle occurred at my house. Both of my boys were asleep. At the same time. Which is the only reason I was sitting in my recliner at 1:51 p.m. While I don’t remember what I was doing (other than that I was sitting, which may have been all… [ read more ]

Sometimes I stink. (Okay, I stink a lot). Hmmm…maybe I should explain…. So far this morning, I’ve served hotdogs for breakfast (don’t ask), returned the contents of the silverware drawer to their rightful homes (Emma was, er, displeased, by my removal of her art installation), and reheated my first cup of coffee in the microwave… [ read more ]

I love the smell of sawdust. One whiff and I feel like a young girl standing in the barn, holding the end of a board while my Daddy cuts it with a Skilsaw. I’m transported to a safe place to talk, to spill my troubles, to ask questions, to get answers. With each deep breath,… [ read more ]

If you haven’t figured this out yet, I have a serious geek streak. I loved Calculus and I think Chemistry and Physics jokes are hilarious. I have several friends who make the guys on The Big Bang Theory seem normal. And if that wasn’t enough, I love fantasy and science fiction. I could watch Star Wars, Firefly, The Matrix,… [ read more ]