Thoughtful Thursdays

Last night the semi-finalists of the Genesis Contest (for unpublished authors) were announced. On Monday, the nominees for the Christy (Christian Fiction's most prestigious award) went public. And as award season gets into full swing, I imagine we'll see many more...

We're doing a study of the cross at church, and last week as we discussed how Jesus knew all his life where he was headed, knew that he was to be the Servant talked about in Isaiah 53, the one that would justify the world. He knew, always knew, that he would have to...

In both my personal Bible reading and what I do with Xoe for her home school, I've been immersed in the Gospels lately. And of course, it's no surprise that, being in the Lenten season, our studies at church have centered around Him too. But the more I read, the more...

Allow me to draw your attention to Mark 4:37-41: 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat,  so that it was already filling.  38 But He was in the stern,  asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, ...

Dear Lord, Thank you so much for all you are. Thank you for hands big enough to craft a universe and small enough to cradle our hearts. Thank you, Father, for the comfort in your invisible touch and the assurances you've given us because you know we need them. You are...

I tried to think of a blog post for today, I really did. But you see, every time I turned my mind over to pondering, it defaulted to pondering the last three chapters of my work-in-progress. I'm mere days away from finishing it and in a total book haze. So my...

I should probably have saved this topic for two weeks from now, when, if all goes well, I'll reach the end of my manuscript. But I'd probably forget by then, so . . . 😉 I'm an optimist. I can find hope in anything. That's probably why I love stories of romance--you...

Another thoughtful day as a result of our home school reading. =) This week we saw Elisha take over for Elijah, and during his stay with all the young prophets-in-training, we got to a story I remembered from when I was a kid but forgot the context of. So one day,...

Yesterday in our homeschool Bible reading, we got to one of the best-known stories of Elijah--where he challenged the 450 priests of Baal to an alter competition. (Okay, my words, not theirs, LOL.) You remember it, I'm sure. The priests of Baal build their alter, put...

Last year when I prayed for a word from the Lord to encompass my year, I received it in a thunderbolt of realization. A chill up the spine, a near overwhelm of feeling and knowledge. I was waiting for that again this year . . . but since when does the Lord do what we...

This is the last post I'll have up before Christmas . . . and probably the last before I do a look-back-over-the-year on next Thursday. So first and foremost, I hope each and every one of you has a fantastic Christmas and that 2011 wraps up well for you! Excitement is...

We have two cars. The one my hubby was given when he was learning to drive--a '95 Jeep Cherokee--and our Lincoln LS. (These aren't actual pictures of our cars, just online images of the same models--approximately, LOL.) Xander, the Lincoln, is ten years old but still...

Thank you, Lord, for all You do for me. For sending Jesus to save me, for knowing me from eternity, for setting me on this path, surrounding me with friends and family, and holding my hand all through it. Thank you, Lord, for placing me in a loving family, one that...

I'm sitting here with a little boy climbing all over me. Sitting on the arm of my chair. Hanging from my neck. Inching his finger closer and closer to my keyboard. When I send him one of those Mommy looks, he flashes those cute little dimples of his and giggles in...

I've realized something over the last two weeks: I can't do it all. I know, right? SHOCKER. Call the local news! Roseanna White cannot do everything! 😉 But seriously, this was a big deal for me. This realization that I have finally reached my saturation point, that...

I'm going to try to share news in a way that doesn't tell what I'm not at liberty to tell yet. =) Let's see how I do. This much I think I can say: In the last two weeks, I've gotten two offers for book contracts. One for a three-book deal. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm...

We love to torture our kids. And by torture I mean tickle them, "eat" them up, chase them around, pretend our hand is a monster . . . you know. Torture. The sweet kind. I imagine that's a fairly universal love of parents the world over, and it's no great secret why....

Round about five and a half years ago, my family started a church. Why? Because we felt the conviction to worship on the Sabbath, and there were no sabbath-keeping churches around whose doctrines we believed in. So we became a branch church of a Seventh Day Baptist...

Back when I worked in the Admissions Office of my college, I made friends with one of the (non-student) staff who manned the office. Patricia was a total sweetheart, and we had many a laugh together over the four years I worked there. At 6'1" tall, Patricia towered...

Am I the only one out there slightly amazed that the ACFW conference is only a week away? I knew it was coming. I had in fact thought, for a while, it was coming this week rather than  next. But I've been so focused on finishing my Revolutionary War novel that...

First, I want to thank everyone who shared their story yesterday of where they were on 9/11. If you haven't yet, I'd love to hear from you on yesterday's post. Tomorrow I'll be asking for folks to share the tales of heroism and miracles they've heard--from the small...

As I wrote up the posts about the fun time I had in Oregon, picking and choosing what I ought to share and what I ought not, it got me thinking about a few things of the utmost importance to all of us--and how to balance them. The first, as my post's title would...

Though I don't have organizational skills that would wow anyone, I'm a planner. A goal-setter. And someone who doesn't often budge on those goals. When I say I'll have a book to the 75% mark by August 14, for instance, I do whatever it takes to hit that point in the...

I have a family of drivers. My husband goes for drives to clear his head. My sister was one of those kids who begged her way behind the wheel on our farm vehicles as soon as she could see over it. My mother-in-law has a list of dream-cars. My dad is the proud owner of...

Last night, as we were flipping through the TV, we came across a new-ish show. It's another of those reality shows, this one following an archaeologist and writer who specializes in symbols. Who, naturally, is jetting around the world in search of lost legends. Like a...

In a few short weeks, I'm going to be hopping a cross-country flight and winging my way to Oregon for the Oregon Christian Writers Conference. This will not be my first conference, or my first solo flight. But it's my first time flying so long at all, and my first...

"You crown the year with Your goodnessAnd Your paths drip with abundance." ~ Psalm 65:11 Yesterday, when I sat down for some much-needed reading and praying, I read Psalm 65, and this verse really struck me. In church last weekend we were talking about how this has...

I'm finally giving in. After years of refusing to label myself (and not really needing to), I' ve found myself wanting a tagline. Primarily because I need to upgrade my website and want something to put under my name, LOL. But I could use some help. Who's up for...

Yesterday started like any other. Namely, with the kids calling, "Mommy! Mooooommmmmyyyyyy! I ready to get uuuuuupppppp!" Followed by getting them each what felt like 10 breakfasts, blogging, torturing myself with exercise . . . you know, the norm. When I finally got...

How many times in life do we get do-overs? Do we get to fix the things we've done wrong and make them better? How many times do we have the chance to rebuild, to repair, to refine before anyone sees our first attempt? I know there are many times I wish we could do...

You know how it goes. You're going through your day, probably thinking about the twelve things you're juggling at that particular moment. In the back of your mind you've been turning something over. And over. And over. Not exactly worrying, not exactly fretting (or...

Thanks to the wonders of Facebook, I think many of us get to connect with old friends we otherwise wouldn't see, right? It can be super awesome to exchange even a few lines with a buddy from high school you haven't spoken to in a decade. It is for me, anyway. =)...

As I'm doing some basic research for a new story idea, I wanted to figure out what my heroine would call the Lord. She comes from a congregationalist, rather Puritan background, so I started by looking up Puritan prayers. And wow, am I glad I did. These prayers are so...

Happy Cinqo de Mayo, everyone! We'll be having enchiladas and arroz con leche tonight. (Homeschool, you know. It's educational, LOL.) Now onto the actual blog. 😉 Last night I had the honor of visiting the women's group at Trinity Assembly of God in Midlothian,...

I'm not a worrier. I am, in fact, convinced there's a worry gene, and that my sister got it double strength, leaving me with a lack. And sometimes it definitely feels like a bad thing, this no-worrying. It makes me lax about things I should be on top of. I...