A Grateful Heart
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. —1 Chronicles 16:34 Every year, my pastor-husband officiates a Thanksgiving Eve service. It’s one of my favorites. The quiet steadiness of evening worship always puts me in a calm, contemplative mood. And I find that this service is the perfect way to hit pause on the otherwise chaotic preparations for the holiday celebration. Although every part of the service is lovely in its own way, my favorite moment it when my husband reads the prayers of thanksgiving offered by the congregants. As settle [...]
The Book Launch Week That Was
Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. —Isaiah 43:19 This week’s blog post will be another short one, because I’m currently attending the fabulous WriterFest Nashville conference, where I facilitated a group in the Practice Your Pitch session. I loved hearing what the authors were working on and brainstorming potential opportunities for them to share their work with the world. What a joy and blessing, to support writers on their unique and incredible journeys! [...]
Book Launch Reflections
Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore! —Psalm 118:29 Daylight savings always wrecks my sleep schedule (seriously—who do we have to talk to make time changes go away???), so I slept in a bit Tuesday morning. When I finally opened my eyes, I did my usual routine of grabbing my [...]
Bonus Blog: A Blessed Veterans Day!
Thank you to all our veterans! I’ll have more to say about launch day in this week’s regular blog post on Friday. But before today gets away from me, I want to wish a blessed Veterans Day to all who have served or are currently serving in our armed forces, and for the families who support them. Both my husband and I have veterans in our families, and we’re grateful for all our relatives who heeded the call. The featured photo for today’s blog includes items from my mother-in-law’s father’s military service as a Lieutenant Colonel in the [...]
What Is a “Patriotic Woman” Anyway?
What does being a patriot mean to you? ***This is post 2 of 2 exploring the title and subtitle of my forthcoming book. Click here to read part 1, “What Does It Mean to Be ‘One Nation Under God’?” As I mention in the introduction to my forthcoming book, I was raised in a patriotic military family. However, politics were never discussed in my household. In fact, I don’t even know if anyone in my family ever voted. So I certainly don’t know who they voted for, if they voted at all. At least in my home, patriotism [...]
What Does It Mean to Be “One Nation Under God”?
The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The Lord is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved. Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting. —Psalm 93:1–2 ***This is post 1 of 2 exploring the title and subtitle of my forthcoming book. Part 2, “What Is a ‘Patriotic Woman’ Anyway?” is now available for your viewing pleasure. People tend to have strong opinions about book titles. When I work with authors, I caution them that their publisher will likely want to change their [...]
May God Heal Our Land
Genuine repentance always opens the way to restoration. I feel that one of the saddest realities of life this side of heaven is the way we can drift away from the Lord when all is well in our lives. When we have full bank accounts, good health, and other temporal blessings, we can become like the rich fool in Luke 12:16–20, self-satisfied and self-absorbed. As the parable shows us, that kind of heart orientation can have eternal consequences. We see this reality play out in nations too. For instance, when the economy is booming and we live in [...]
A Dream Come True!
The Lord has done great things for us, And we are glad. —Psalm 126:3 Something very exciting happened. I received the author copies* of my book! I’ve been anticipating their delivery for about a week, since my publisher, Post Hill Press, emailed me to ask for a good mailing address. Over the past few days, every time a package landed on my porch, I snatched it up and eagerly looked at the recipient’s name. Thus far, all of them had my husband’s name, not mine. So, when a tidy little box with my name on it arrived the [...]
The Rejection of Knowledge
Are we seeking true knowledge or mere information? Last week, I blogged about my daily Bible reading and journaling habit. However, I have a confession: I don’t spend as much time reading my Bible as I can or should. Do I read it every day? Yes. But am I investing as much time in it as I do other activities, like watching YouTube, playing games on my phone, or falling down research rabbit holes? No. What if, instead of queueing up the next video the algorithm recommended to me, I listened to beautiful hymns? What if, instead of [...]
A Daily Habit
Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. —Psalm 119:11 I started my first diary in December 1989. I’d received one for Christmas that year—the kind with a small lock and tiny key. It was one of my favorite gifts and initiated a lifelong love of journaling, although I’ve never been consistent with keeping a daily journal. Like many people, I can keep a bad habit going strong forever. But establish a good habit? Not so much! About a decade ago, I asked God to help me establish a daily Bible [...]