The first time I heard “Where God guides—He provides,” was during the time I desperately wanted to own a home, so we wouldn’t have to keep wondering where we’d live. I was standing on someone’s deck in Tahoe and staring at an expansive, grassy lawn. Bordered by pine and aspen, the lawn sloped down into a strawberry garden. It was that typical tour you get when you visit people’s homes for the first time. This is how my husband always gives ours: My first thought (and I probably said it back then because I’m still only an orange belt in watching my mouth) was, “I wish God would guide me.” Granted, I’m sure financial reward isn’t the original intention click to continue reading…
Category: Irony
Irony and poetic justice
Gimme some sugar, baby
One recommendation for a creative block is to change something. For the example of a writing book: write in a new location like a coffee shop, or write by hand instead of on your computer. Changing something works for other types of mental blocks as well and that’s why people find solutions in the shower or on a walk instead of while staring at the problem. I used this recently and when I switched up my typical fiction genre I was able to finish a few books. I ended up reading several rom-coms about contracts and fake relationships. I’m not really sure why being bound to a man by contract, who has control over you, especially what you wear and click to continue reading…
My life’s work at a garage sale
Many years before the Breaking Bonds Series, I had two completed manuscripts which only family had seen. I met a man with a published book and told him how wonderful that would be—it was my dream. He sort of shrugged and said, “Yeah, but then one day you walk by the bargain bin and see your book, and it’s worth so little.” Regardless, I wanted to see a story of mine bound and to hold it in my hands. A decade later, I had to let go of those first two stories to be ready to write Sovereign Ground. After Heart of Petra was published I found it in a discount bin. It was almost like a bucket where a hundred click to continue reading…
What choice gives you
I used to make myself finish a book before I started a new one. Somewhere during the last year or two, I picked up a second book and before a hot minute, it quickly spiraled. My currently-reading shelf is almost competing with my to-be-read shelf and I feel like I need to rein it in. It might have something to do with getting into books above my pay grade. I’m still picking through The God Shaped Brain by Timothy R. Jennings, M.D. He says in that video (link above/video below) they used to believe a placebo effect meant that pain was in your head, but modern brain science has shown that what you believe can create physiological responses. It’s not click to continue reading…
Subjectively Speaking
I have a memory of standing next to my grandmother in church and hearing her sing. She didn’t have an especially pleasant voice, but I found comfort in the sound. (To this day, I am more apt to sing out loud in corporate worship if someone nearby is singing imperfect and loud.) There are several phrases from old hymns that bring the image of her right into my mind. It gives me a special affinity for hymns. I’ve been thinking about both hymns and her lately, and wondered if it’s because I’m aging. Older generations seem to prefer hymns, and I used to assume that when you aged, you returned to the songs you first experienced with God. Sort of click to continue reading…