Today in America is the National Day of Forgiveness. In a country where we’ve set aside days to celebrate trivial things like corned beef, scarves, and crushing cans (all also today!), I can actually get behind taking time to focus on forgiving others. Books, too, can serve as reminders for important themes that need attention […]
Excuse Me While I Fangirl
I spotted her from, oh, maybe thirty feet away as she browsed the selection at the bookstore. I’d never met her before, but I knew who she was, and introvert though I may be, I just had to cross the distance and connect with her. With uncharacteristic boldness and excitement, I stopped beside her and […]
Two Steps Forward…
…one step back. And sometimes in life and in our books, it’s one step forward and two steps back. In life, this looks like my entire family coming down with the flu (yes, you read that right—the regular, run-of-the-mill, wretched FLU!), from the disabled senior to the four-month-old baby. We all suffered with fevers, sneezes, […]
Overcoming Adversity
Today has been one of those days where all I want to do is curl up with a book and read for a few years. I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about, and I won’t bore you with the details of what all went wrong today. And in the grand scheme of things, […]
The Black Moment
Last week, our own Lindi Peterson touched briefly on the topic of black moments framed from the perspective of The Storm Before the Rainbow. Many of you know I’ve experienced my own storm this past year, and I’ve clung to the hope of seeing the rainbow with everything I’ve had. Today I’d like to go […]
Behind the Scenes (of an author)
Browse the internet for a book. Purchase book. Open book. Read book. Review book. Put the book away. I was a reader before I became an author, so I remember when things were this simple for me. My biggest struggle was choosing which books I wanted to spend my Amazon gift cards on. But now, […]
Characters of an Age
One of the “Big” birthdays is about to happen in my life. Though it doesn’t feel nearly as big as it did when I was in my twenties. Amazing how the number 40 loses its ability to scare a person the closer she draws to it. But it does have me thinking. Even though I […]
Reflections
Lately I’ve been reading a lot of stories that have brought tears to my eyes. Am I in a season? Am I choosing all the same kind of books? Who knows. But I enjoy reading books that bring out emotions, and cause us to think and reflect on life. On the importance of relationships and […]
Insecurity
I teach a couple of different Bible studies at church. I’m generally comfortable with my teaching style and how I do things. Sometimes a study doesn’t scratch somebody’s itch, and they stop coming. Or they have a schedule conflict and take a break for a while. Things happen. I get that. Every time somebody stops […]
What’s So Good About Conflict?
I don’t know about you, but I hate conflict. If there’s a conversation that involves confrontation of any kind, you can count me out! Knowing this about myself, I really shouldn’t have gotten married, huh? Lol. My poor hubby had to practice a LOT of patience in the early years of our marriage as I […]