I’m currently in the midst of an intense revision of my manuscript. It is NOT fun. I have to force myself to do it.  I keep finding excuses to do everything else. Maybe I should whip up a blog post? Great! Clean the bathrooms? Absolutely! (Um, not really, but sometimes the idea is appealing). Revise?… [ read more ]

image courtesy of photobucket.com I don’t know the exact date. I didn’t mark it on my calendar. I probably should have. It was a pretty big deal. Oh. Who am I kidding? It was huge. To me anyway. A year ago this week, I sat down at my computer and emailed my sister the first… [ read more ]

My friend, Edie Melson Edie Melson is a gifted author, co-founder of The Christian Writer’s Den , and a faculty member of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference . Her resume is impressive but the reason I love her is because she is one of the first people who made me feel like a “real” writer. Now, for those of you who read this blog regularly, or just want a laugh, scroll back… [ read more ]

image courtesy of photobucket.com I’m a wimp. A cream puff. A marshmallow. I’m so not cut out to be a writer. I’m anaphylactically allergic to criticism. And this doesn’t apply only to my writing life. This is just who I am. I have the type of personality that always wants to be right. Not in… [ read more ]

***Please know that I am not claiming any of this as an original idea of mine. Like I said previously, our pastors spent weeks fleshing out the concept of Living into God’s Story and if this idea intrigues you, I would encourage you to listen to the sermons . My blog posts are simply my way of sharing what… [ read more ]

image courtesy of photobucket.com Knowledge is a funny thing. For example, when we head out to the local ballpark and grab a hotdog and a coke, we don’t really want to know how that hotdog was made. We know that some people who do know have chosen never to eat these things again. But as long… [ read more ]

Story trumps all. At least, it does for me. I come from a long line of readers. My Pa loved Zane Grey. My Granny – well, Granny’s den could pass for a Christian bookstore. She reads all the time. My parents and sister are avid readers. Reading is in my blood. My mother claims that even… [ read more ]

I come from a long line of storytellers. My great-grandfather on my dad’s side of the family, Pa Everett (shown here with my great-grandmother, my Pa, my dad, and a very small me) knew how to tell a story. I have no idea how much formal education he had. He was a stonemason and a good one. But he… [ read more ]

image courtesy of photobucket.com Are you laughing? Thinking – “yeah, like we needed more proof”? Well, it’s true. I am weird. I accept this about myself. But every now and then, something happens to confirm my weirdness. I understand some of it better than I did before. While at Blue Ridge, the amazing Vonda Skelton shared with… [ read more ]

Don’t worry. I’m not confused. I know the conference ended Thursday. Technically. But I think it may take a few weeks to get back to normal. My husband and children were so glad to have me home. They had flowers and a plan for supper that did not include cooking! I so appreciate their –… [ read more ]