I am pleased this week to welcome guest blogger and debut author, Norma Gail Thurston Holtman, with her encouraging words about the storms we all face. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. …
Springtime in cow country means the babies are running and romping. I love watching them bound away from their mamas, squiggley tails straight up like a cat’s, then bound right back again. They exemplify the season’s name: Spring! These calves have convinced me that this is the …
I’m working on a Cowboy Brides story for Barbour Publishing and loving every minute of it. I’ll be the first to admit, I like to escape into a good book, and trying to write a good book is just as much a form of escape as reading …
My guest blogger today, author Amy Blake, spotlights an important balance point. Be sure to leave Amy a comment and check out her latest release, Whitewashed. To me, the gospel is all about the intersection of mercy and truth. The truth is as sinners, we deserve …
The shadow of His wings has become an important theme since a family member has fallen so ill. Two weeks ago I blogged about the juniper branches in our yard spreading like protective wings over the birds and rabbits and squirrels, providing shelter during winter storms. Yesterday …
This photograph captures three birds. The first two are obvious; the third one is entering their shelter. Can you spot it? The snow-blanketed juniper in our back yard is one of many spreading varieties around our Colorado home that offer dry haven to rabbits, birds, and squirrels. …
Seriously? Women are supporting the book, Fifty Shades of Grey? They approve exploitation? Where are those who will stand up and say, “This is not a story of love”? If you want romance, read romance. Read uplifting, liberating stories of “love wins.” There are countless books by …
Doubt crawls up my shoulder and whispers: “Writing make-believe stories is a worthless occupation. What good can fiction possibly do? And romantic fiction? Ha! What a joke.” And then I walk down the hospital hallway to the coffee room, past artwork and photographs of my genre – …
My heart stops when I see the hospital number displayed on my ringing cell phone, but it is only the nurse helping my loved one call me. Other callers I don’t have to answer, though I cherish their hearts and prayers, for they weave together into the …
I spotted the bill on the carpeted hospital hallway as I rounded the corner from the rehab unit where I’d been sitting with a loved one. Folded twice, it looked like mine. Instinctively, I reached into my left pocket and felt the few ones and fives I …
… especially for the believer who knows his God awaits him. Death of the human body, of a dream, of a goal—not necessarily painless, but easy if one lets go in faith. The death is not an end, but the beginning of a new life, a new …
I’m learning the difference between expectation and expectancy. Expectation weights my foot on the gas pedal because I need to arrive at an appointed time. Expectancy allows me to enjoy the ride, respond to careless drivers without elevating my blood pressure or hand, and consider the view. …
Not exactly the plan. No, I take that back. Not at all the plan, not even a little bit. Who wants to ride a spinning teacup across a snowy road only to slam into a highway sign? Sometimes things don’t go as planned. I’m sure Mary didn’t …
This final tale in the 12 Brides of Christmas collection is well worth the wait. The delightfully complex heroine had me empathizing with her insecurities and laughing at her dilemmas—not in a bad way. But who doesn’t need a good chuckle now and then? Lighthearted moments in …
I had such fun writing The Snowbound Bride, imagining that I could really step back in time to a cold Colorado winter in 1885 … and wondering what I would do if I were the one traveling alone, stalked by a less-than-reputable character. And then I met …