Voices from the box on my desk tell me the world is too hot, too wet, too cold, too out of control. Those voices shout doomsday declarations about the industry I’m involved in. They tell me that evil is on the rise and justice is on the …
Too many books; too little time. No one can read all the good books out there, but everyone can read a few, and what a great way to relax, learn, experience, escape. Last week I shared some award-winning novels with you. This week I’m adding a few …
Last week’s comments about why you read fiction were enlightening, encouraging, and as varied as the titles on my office book shelves. But it was the results that really touched my heart. Here’s a breakdown: Reasons for reading fiction: Refueling Entertainment Emotional and mental relaxation Stimulation Mental …
Last weekend I met a scientist who shared with me her recent bout of burnout. Blackout, checkout, whatever term fit, she needed out. The only books she had in her home were nonfiction, science, history, how-to. They weren’t what she needed during those weary days. Too much …
Our daughter Amanda came out from California to spend a few days here last week, and one of the first things she noticed was the blue sky—a crystal clear, sapphire canopy right overhead. Where she lives, the sky is typically white. While she was here, we went …
Contrast is everywhere, especially where I live in Fremont County, Colorado. On one side of the Arkansas River Valley, paleontologists have spent nearly two centuries uncovering dinosaur fossils including encrusted footprints, fossilized eggs, and the complete skeletal remains of a stegosaurus. A few miles to the …
I watch my 1-year-old granddaughter one day a week. She slows me down, thank God. She draws my focus to tiny hands, the floor I thought was clean, the lower shelves of my book case. She forces me to look at things from a different perspective. And …
It rained at our house on the Fourth of July. But not as much as it did at this mud-eo a few years back in Drummond, Montana. Only once have I seen a rodeo canceled due to weather, but I guess standing water in the arena would …
Our dear friends, Mark and Lynne Schricker, took my husband and me on a picnic-lunch tour of true Cowboy Country last week – the country of my heart and the country that serves as the setting for my recent book, Branding the Wrangler’s Heart. Hop in the …
I was so thrilled to learn that one of my books was named a finalist for two awards this year, that I kept opening the email notices over and over again just to read the good news! Silly, I know, but it’s not every day one receives …
I found my epitaph—at least it’s what I hope my family will choose: “Though she never performed a miraculous sign, all that she said about Jesus was true.” That’s an almost direct quote from John 10:41 in the NIV Bible, and refers to John the Baptist: “Though …
“Trusting God with her eternal soul had been easy for Livvy. She had been raised to take Him at His word, and she believed what He said about salvation. It all made sense to her—God’s gift of love and salvation in Jesus. But trusting Him with her …
“Blot out my transgressions” is printed in blue ink on the back cover of my new book, Branding the Wrangler’s Heart. That phrase is from Psalm 51:1,2 and it undergirds one important question in the book: Will Livvy forgive Whit for how he treated her in the …
Every Easter brings to mind the years my family participated in a passion play at our church. Those re-enactments of key events in the life of Christ left an indelible mark on my heart. I played the part of a woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her …
Our local ranch and farm supply store is singing a song of life. As soon as you step through the sliding glass doors, the music tickles your ear and draws you to a warm spot where peeping chicks are bobbling around in their fuzzy jackets. And keeping …