Thoughtful Thursdays
Musings on faith, family, & fiction
Though a novelist by trade, one of the trademarks of my books is the spiritual depth and exploration I includes as my characters work through what it really means to walk out their faith. Faith, in fact, is one of the things I like to ponder most. In these once-a-week articles, I gets thoughtful at the crossroads of faith, family, and fiction.
Coming and Eternal
We are officially in the Advent season. I love that this is the traditional beginning of the Church's year--the time we mark, waiting expectantly for Jesus. Living as we do so long after Him, we obviously know that He came...but we continue to pause and reflect and...
My Unceasing Thanksgiving
"Why do I follow you? Because you are who you are, Lord, and because I rejoice in having been called by you. Let the swiftness of my feet in following you be my unceasing thanksgiving." ~ Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word When I read those words a few weeks ago, they...
Shine Like the Stars
Those who are wise shall shineLike the brightness of the firmament,And those who turn many to righteousnessLike the stars forever and ever.~ Daniel 12:3 Having not grown up in churches that strictly follow the Liturgy, I didn't realize until recently that the...
Quiet Warriors
One year ago, I shared about "The Day That Changed Everything...and Nothing" -- the day my son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. That day that, had we lived in the eras I so love to write about it, he would have died. I know I've mentioned this new life a few other...
Not a Virtue
This begins in a rather silly place, but bear with me. When we went on vacation to the beach in September and I was slathering on the sunscreen and noting the amount of tan I was getting each day through walking and spending the morning at the water, I realized...
Easy Answers…or Deep Questions?
When a family is made up of a novelist wife and her publisher/filmmaker husband, there are a lot of conversations in the house about story--what makes them powerful, what makes them fail. What makes them lasting, what makes them forgettable. A few weeks ago as David...
A Storytelling People
We are a storytelling people. It only takes a look at modern society to see the truth of it. Our advertisements, our movies, our books, our games...we love them and are persuaded by them not because they tell us facts or make promises. We are persuaded and enchanted...
Fruit
Not going too far back for today's throwback post...Revisiting FRUIT. Original Post Published February 27, 2020. We love fruit in our family. Fresh fruit, canned fruit, dried fruit, jammed fruit, fruit from our own garden, or fruit from the other side of the world. We...
The Mismatched
A little throwback post today...Talking about the mismatched Original Post Published June 2, 2016. When I got married, I filled out a registry. A wish list. It had on it all the things one would expect–dishes and cookware, sheets and towels. All of them, sets....
Where Risk and Faith Meet
I want to talk today about where risks and faith meet. And how we walk the line between "foolish for Christ" and just foolish. I'm not saying I have all the answers on where that line is...but I am saying we all need to ask the questions, and I think I've seen a good...
39 Things
Last year I had great fun with my "38 Things" post, and on my anniversary in June I had a blast with "20 things" about marriage. So of course, I have to keep up the tradition and give you "39 Things" from this past year. =) My birthday is on Saturday, but I figure...
Because of the Storms
"And immediately [after feeding the 5,000] He compelled His disciples to get into the boat and to go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd. And having said farewell to them, He departed to the mountain to pray. And evening having...
Not Blank Slates
A couple years ago, a newsletter email came into my inbox from Tricia Goyer. It was on New Year's Day, I believe, and was introducing a new Facebook group she'd created, called Write That Book! (Great group, by the way). But part of her intro was a musing that has...
Thowback Thursday. . . Book Lovers
***Today's Throwback post was originally published January 7, 2010*** I will never forget my shock. There I sat, an innocent, in the admissions office at my college. All around me were the usual people that made up my day--the admissions counselors, the office...
Other People’s Problems
We've all heard some version of this wisdom, whether it's an anecdote, an object lesson, or a punchline: if you want to feel better about your problems, just look at someone else's. You're going to be far happier with your own than theirs. The irony, of course, being...
Approaching the Throne
Way back in the day, when I wrote Jewel of Persia, I had to study not only the book of Esther and Old Testament history, but Persian history as well. It was interesting to learn that Xerxes was called "the king of kings" because of the vastness of his empire, and the...
The Right Gospel
When you read through the epistles, there's a common theme to many of them: Paul is admonishing them for following after false versions of Christianity. Listening to teachers or prophets who said Christ wasn't fully man or fully God . . . getting tangled back up in...
What He Asks of Us
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..."~ John 3:16 It's the most memorized verse of the Bible. One we know so well and see so often that we probably don't really pause to think about it anymore. But the other week in church, it was one of...
Twenty Years and Twenty Things
Today's my 20th wedding anniversary, so I thought I'd steal a page from my new birthday tradition and enumerate Twenty Things...things I've learned through marriage, things I've loved, things that I take joy in remembering, things that have helped make me who I am....
The Purpose of Passion: A Million Little Fires
The Purpose of Passion A Million Little Fires There's something in this world that you're passionate about, something that really stirs you to action. A cause you want to advocate for, that you're willing to suffer for. Maybe it's racial reconciliation. Or the rights...
Warriors of Praise
In II Chronicles 20, we get the story of Jehoshephat, one of the godly, faithful kings of Judah. He was a good king. He loved the Lord and sought Him in all things. But enemies were coming against them, a vast army made up of three kingdoms united for the purpose of...
Thoughtful About . . . His Kingdom
The other week while I was in Ocracoke, my morning devotional began with this passage from Acts 1:4-9 (NKJV): 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you...
Good Friday – Dayenu
Today is the Thursday before Resurrection Day. The day before Good Friday. A day I'll be spending in part making unleavened bread and apple clay . . . we're not having an official seder this year, but eating these familiar, symbolic foods will help me get my head out...
Walking Worthy
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.”~ Ephesians 4:1 (NKJV) Walk worthy of the calling. This is a phrase that's been lingering in my heart and mind for the last year, ever since I really...
Imitation or Truth
Last week my husband was reading The Picture of Dorian Gray -- a book that neither of us had read before, though we assumed we knew what it was about. Turns out our preconceptions were a bit off, LOL. As he was reading, he would update me on what was going on in the...
When Fear Whispers
Fear. As Christians, we know we’re not supposed to live in it. We have all the awesome verses to trot out in proof. And I even hear it as the reason behind not wanting to be cautious–we don’t want to live in fear, after all. I admit it: I’ve said the same things...
Interruptions
Interruptions. We all know them. And we all hate them (unless of course we're being interrupted in a task we don't want to do, LOL). They are distractions. They are things that keep us from doing what we want to be doing, or what we should be doing. They are those...
Free But Costly
In the book world, there's a lot of talk about whether it's worthwhile to give things away for free. People are of multiple mindsets on this. Some think it's a great way to draw in new readers. Others think it devalues our work. What I know is this: when I get...
In Abba’s Arms
Over the weekend, I had a dream that my kids were little again. That Rowyn was maybe 18 months, and he was crying from another room. I heard him so went to find him, and he looked up at me as he did in reality a million times, saw me, stretched up his arms, and just...
What We Do Next
"Our faith isn't all the things we say we believe; it's what we do next."~ Bob Goff, Live in Grace, Walk in Love That. 😉 I feel like I could just leave you with that quote--shortest blog post ever, LOL. Because really, it says it so well, doesn't it? It...
Love the Sinner
Love the sinner, hate the sin. You've heard this saying. I know you have. I've been hearing it all my life, and in its truest sense, it's right. We are certainly called to hate sin. And we are certainly called the love everyone, neighbors and enemies alike. That...
Do We Look Like This?
Tomorrow is the inauguration here in the US. And the word tense doesn't begin to describe the state of America right now. I don't know your political stance or who you voted for. I don't need to know. But if you're reading my blog, chances are pretty good that you're...
Seeing the Story
I've always believed that stories change the world. This is no surprise--it is, in fact, one of the reasons I love writing novels, editing novels, publishing novels, and designing covers for novels. I believe in the power of fiction to touch hearts and tug on souls....
Word of the Year – Intentional
Looking for insight into how to choose an intentional Word of the Year?Check out that post here.As 2020 wound to a close, my best friend and I were talking about a Word for the year to come. I mentioned how I usually come to mine...namely, I pray about it and wait for...
The Third Way
A couple weeks ago at Bible study, we were talking about our reactions to things like aggression and violence done to us or our families. We saw, of course, the human response--"hurt my kids and I'll go all mama-bear on you." And then we dwelled a while on the...
Being Thankful…Especially Now
In the U.S., we have one week until Thanksgiving. I won't be posting on the day itself as I normally would on a Thursday, so I wanted to share some thoughts on it now. Something to help us all get our minds contemplating the purpose as we move into Thanksgiving week....
The Day That Changed Everything…and Nothing
If we lived a hundred years ago, my son would be dead. That's something that has haunted me this last month. I can't tell you how many times, as I write historical fiction, that I wish I lived in a different time, or could at least experience it. But I can't wish that...
Hope and the Image of God
I've recently begun listening to a really great (specialized) podcast called "Juicebox," from a dad of a Type 1 Diabetic. Many years ago he started a blog called "Arden's Day," back in the day when there weren't any others, and he is now one of the best-known voices...
Who Are Our Allies?
It's election season here in the US when I'm writing this post. If you've followed me for very long, you'll have noticed that I never voice an opinion on politics per se. I have zero political agenda and, frankly, next to zero interest in politics, LOL. But I do have...
The Sins of a Nation
I’m honored to be part of a new blog series about racial reconciliation, hosted by Alexis Goring, focused on how we as Christians can be the change we want to see in our world. In preparation for this, I’ve been reading a few books to help me better understand the...
Big, God-Inspired Dreams
I'm a dreamer. I've always been one. I've dreamed of everything from being a princess with a magical winged unicorn to being a teacher who inspires kids to love learning. I've dreamed of discovering new species of dinosaurs and of striking it rich with a diamond mine...
38 Things
It's my birthday, so I thought it would be fun to do a list today. You know, one of those lists that has the same number of items as the year I'm turning. Of course, I first typed in "37" in that heading, because apparently I don't know how old I am, LOL. Literally...
Thoughts Without Action
Ideas are easy. Change is hard. My husband and I were talking about this the other day, as I contemplated why we balance each other out so well. I said—and I’d been giving it some thought—that one of the things I most appreciate about our relationship is that he holds...
An Angry Dilemma
What makes you angry? Maybe you’re frustrated with the state of the world right now. Maybe someone you love has been ill-treated. Maybe politics makes you red in the face. Maybe your spouse ignores your feelings or your kids don’t listen or your neighbor keeps doing...
Unity Begins with Us
"How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!" ~ Psalm 133:1 (NIV) I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say they wish for unity among God's people. But as my husband pointed out, what they usually mean is "I wish everyone...
The Story of Truth
One of the reasons I've always loved fiction is that it can take mere facts and make them mean something to us. More, they can take a familiar story and show us a side of it we've never considered. Stories can take the truth and shine the Truth upon it. They can help...
Thoughtful about . . . Watching, Speaking, Listening
—Ezekiel 33 begins with the talk of a watchman: Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and...
Helping or Serving?
In the church today, we hear a lot about helping others. Volunteering. Making sandwiches, serving at a soup kitchen, that sort of thing. “Help those less fortunate than you” is a phrase I’ve heard for years. And the work—the work is good! Necessary. But something...
Our Time Is Not Our Own
7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8 But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I...
Digging Out Roots
Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these...