We are facing another wildfire here in Colorado Springs: the Black Forest Fire. The fire erupted on Tuesday and has already become the largest and most destructive fire in Colorado history. As I type this, it is all of 5% contained. 360 homes have been burned — completely destroyed. 15,700 acres destroyed. We are safe — the fire is northeast …
In Others’ Words: Humility
There’s nothing like a good friend — or two — to keep you humble. The best of friends celebrate your successes when they are nothing more than dreams. These friends cheer you on, assuring you that you can do it, you will do it — whatever “it” is you’re pursuing. The best of friends tell you it’s okay to cry …
In Others’ Words: Childhood
In Your Words: Was Walt Disney right? Do too many people grow up? Have you retained any of your childhood — your childlikeness — despite the passing of years? How do you grow up and still stay young? How do you grow up and still stay young? Click to Tweet Growing Up: Was Walt Disney Right? Click to Tweet
In Others’ Words: Friction
I’ll be honest: I want the polishing without the friction. The perfection without the adversity. I can read the passage about counting trials as “all joy” and nod my head, thinking, “Of course I will. I’m your girl, God. Bring it on.” And then God goes about polishing and perfecting me. He reveals my sin, scraping it off so that …
In Others’ Words: Seeing
Faith convinces us of things unseen. (Hebrews 11:1) Sometimes I have more faith in the unseen “oh no’s” — the experiences I dread, the what-ifs that figuratively take me out at the knees. I open my eyes wide … peer into the darkness … and see more darkness looming ahead of me. My faith, my hope, is shrouded in fear …
In Others’ Words: Never Forget
Memorial Day is personal … to my friends whose husbands died while they were on active duty in the United States military. To my friend whose son was killed while leading a patrol in Afghanistan. Perhaps it is personal to you too, or to someone you know. Memorial Day brings to mind a name … a face … a loved …
In Others’ Words: Rest
I turned in my manuscript for my third novel one week ago. I finished teaching at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference yesterday. Today I exhale. Today, I rest, really rest, for the first time in months. I know what rest equals rest to me — and it starts with looking at the calendar and the word “deadline” isn’t …
In Others’ Words: Reputation
I’m in North Carolina this week, teaching at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. So, pardon me if my post is even shorter today than usual … it’s already after midnight on the East coast! I do love this quote by Abraham Lincoln (and I also love photographs of trees). When I read this quote the first time, I …
In Others’ Words: Finished
Guess who forgot to post her blog last night? That’s right: me. My excuse? I was caught up in prepping my manuscript so that I could push SEND and well, um, send it to my editor — all 87k+ words of it. I woke up this morning. Smiled at the thought of being done … and then thought, “Uh-oh. I …
In Others’ Words: Joy
I like to tell people that I don’t aim for happiness because happiness is based on circumstances — and circumstances come and go so quickly that there’s no way to get a firm grasp on happiness. Instead, I’ve learned to search for joy, something deeper and more substantial than tissue-paper-thin happiness. Joy anchors me no matter what the day holds. …