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LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: HEART OF THE FATHER
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” ~ 1 John 3:1 (The Bible) What comes to your mind when you hear the word “father”? Is it good? Is it bad? A source of inspiration—or disappointment? Do you cringe from unwanted memories or do happy tears fill your eyes? Perhaps nothing comes to mind because you never really had one, or perhaps you are one and you’re still trying to figure out exactly what that means? This past Sunday was designated and duly celebrated as “Father’s Day”, yet I wonder how many of us actually had something to celebrate?…
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KID’S CARTOONS AND RACIAL RIOTS
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ~ Jesus Christ Last Friday was a wonderful day. After weeks of busyness, my family and I were finally able to take a much needed “day-cation”, traveling to one of our favorite places in Tennessee to sight-see, eat some BBQ, and generally enjoy the beginning of what promises to be a beautiful summer. It felt so good just to laugh and relax together—especially after the tension and intensity of the past two months. When at last we arrived back home, I felt rested, refreshed, and grateful to the Lord for being able to enjoy some peace and normalcy. Then I got on Facebook.…
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THEN LIFE HAPPENED: CONFESSIONS IN A QUARANTINE
“So I’ll celebrate the truth | His work in me ain’t through | I’m just unfinished” ~ Mandisa, “Unfinished” Okay, confession number one: this blog post was supposed to be completed and posted last Thursday, April 30. Confession number two: the first draft of my latest novel was also supposed to be completed last Thursday, April 30. Confession number three: neither one of those things happened. 😊 I’d like to blame it on the Coronavirus. That would be convenient. After all, thanks to it the life of basically everyone I know has been turned upside down (or right side up, depending on who we’re speaking of) and none of us…
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LESSONS FROM A HOPEFUL ORCHID
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” ~ Proverbs 13:12 Hope. Such a simple word, just four little letters, yet what power it holds. The power to hold on when everything tells us to let go. The power to believe when all around us mocks our faith. Even the power to live when all the natural world chants “die”. Hope is a powerful word, indeed. And yet, to be so powerful, it is amazing the vulnerable places where it so often appears. Such as an orchid. I am not a gardener. Though I know it runs in my family—my Aunt…
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“NATION CHANGER”
{This was the final entry in a series I posted on Facebook entitled “Heart of a W.O.M.A.N.”. It is a message very much on my heart during these days as both an encouragement and a challenge—to me and all my fellow sisters—to take God at His Word and walk in His ways…no matter what.} We all want to make a difference. Man or woman, every person is born with a desire to leave their mark on the world and, as Christians, we desire that mark to leave it a better place. But how can we actually do that? As women, we hear all kinds of messages from all kinds of…
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SAINT PATRICK’S BREASTPLATE
So much has happened over this past week. For many of us, the world feels rather flipped on its head and the talk of so many lips has been consumed with “viruses”, “pandemics”, “government overreach”, and “social distancing”. In the midst of the chaos and confusion, however, one thing came and went with quietly normal precision. The holiday of St. Patrick’s Day. His story is truly powerful. Kidnapped from his homeland of England as a young man to be sold as a slave in Ireland, escaping six years later by the miraculous leadership of the Holy Spirit only to be called back to Ireland as a missionary through a dream,…
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MY LOVE STORY (SO FAR), PART FOUR: EVEN SO COME
“Like a bride waiting for her groom | We’ll be a Church ready for You | Every heart longing for our King | We sing | Even so, come!” “Even So Come” by Passion Worship Band It’s amazing where we can find God sometimes. A sunset. A word from a friend. A song on the radio. A sign on the side of the road. A blog post (hopefully 😊)…. I find Him in a love story that looks non-existent to the world. If you’ve been following my last three posts, you know I take this romance thing pretty seriously. Originally it was the one thing I wouldn’t give to God…
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MY LOVE STORY (SO FAR), PART THREE: INTENTIONAL WAITING
“Like waking up from the longest dream, how real it seemed…until Your love broke through.” “Your Love Broke Through” by Keith Greene I once heard a heroine in a story say the fear she felt at being captured by bandits “paled in comparison” to how safe she felt in her hero’s arms when he came to her rescue. That’s certainly how it was for me. As I walked out of that gymnasium (see my last blog post) into the parking lot of South Laurel High School, I knew my life had turned a beautiful corner. Peace overwhelmed me like I hadn’t felt since the early days of my childhood when…
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MY LOVE STORY (SO FAR), PART TWO: SWEET SURRENDER
“Oh, to tell you my story is to tell of Him.” – “My Story” by Big Daddy Weave October 22, 2000, is the sweetest date of my life. For a year after I slipped the promise ring on my finger, I struggled with holding onto life on my own terms. I knew Jesus wanted more—deep down, I knew He wanted everything—yet I just couldn’t bear the thought of what that might mean, especially in regards to my love story. As mentioned in my last blog post, the infamous image of what life would be like if God took over haunted my imagination in vivid color: me, aging and miserable, stuck…
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MY LOVE STORY (SO FAR), PART ONE: PURITY RINGS AND SELFISH PROMISES
Part of me really does not want to write this blog post. For one thing, it has very little to do with being an author or writing consultant or story explorer, which are the main points of this website. For another, I’m a fiercely private person—especially in the romance department. My love life is something I guard like a bulldog and rarely ever discuss with, well, anyone, let alone the whole world. And, finally, I like being liked. I don’t enjoy making people uncomfortable, I hate being offensive, and I never want to purposefully do something that would either cause someone to laugh at or be angry with me (or…
