I’ve never been an adventure seeker. I don’t ride rollercoasters, nor am I interested in bungee jumping, parasailing, rock climbing, skydiving, or other risky sports or activities. A safe life has held enough excitement for me. When booking a hotel room, however, I avoid the lower floors as much as possible. I prefer higher floors …
Continue reading “Devotional | How to Overcome a Season of Fear”
I love stories. I particularly love the stories of the Bible’s Old Testament. During our worship time at the office where I work, we are reflecting on the life of David. His life reads like a contemporary drama series, including wrongful persecution, a king’s abuse of power, and thrilling pursuits. The stories of the Bible …
Continue reading “Devotion: One Step Back, Two Steps Forward”
There’s a lot of noise in the world. Since the evolution of television, computers, and mobile phones there’s been a gradual increase in the inputs into our lives. Most authors write on devices that are connected to the outside world. This portal tempts us to dive out of the world of our writing and into …
I’ve been using the word pause often after recently experiencing the sudden loss of my mother. Over the Christmas holiday, I gathered with my family to make funeral arrangements, and I entered the new year surrounded by the struggle of bereavement. Because of this, January brought the need for a pause from work, socializing, and …
This is the day the Lord has made;We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 New King James Version At this time of year, I often find myself wondering where the past year went. The questions keep coming: What did I achieve? How did I allow myself to let the year pass without doing all the things …
Walking causes a repetitive, spontaneous poetry to rise naturally to the lips, words as simple as the sound of footsteps on the road. L.M. Browning Creativity thrives when we break out of our same old routine. Even the smallest changes can help get us out of a rut and encourage creative thinking. Part of my …
My husband and I were invited to a church friend’s home to play games with his two other guests. After some discussion, we decided to play Uno®, a popular game we were all familiar with. One of the cards in the deck is a wild card. With it, the player has the power to do …
Continue reading “Devotion: Using Your Wild Card Power for Good”
As I write, I’ve just completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching Creative Writing. I used to be an English teacher and I know how to teach creative writing, but in this course, I focused on my work as a writing mentor. The last few years have seen me develop workshops for beginning writers who …
I am grateful for perfect timing. An unexpected situation recently brought my husband and me to New York City. Due to the serious nature of the trip, I did not follow my usual practice of planning sightseeing excursions, activities, and shopping. While researching the area of our hotel, I discovered that we would be within …
Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim. Dory, from Finding Nemo Lately, I’ve found it hard to write. I think about the novels I have in progress and struggle to actually get to my desk and work on them. There’s been a lot going on in our family–a …
