There are no words to encapsulate the pain of watching someone you love dearly fade before your eyes. Like a flower in the field so beautiful one moment but all too quickly the bloom has wilted and the stem is drooping. In my second book in the Shenandoah Valley Brides, Amelia's Heartsong, I had a key hero pass away so that I could intentionally write about grief and how to walk through that valley. Those words come back to haunt me now and bid I live my own advice. I've traveled through grief before losing my dear nephew Tyler, my dad,  my brother-in-law Colin, and a number of good friends, but it never gets easier. My baby sister,...

Day 2 AD A somber lies over the city of Jerusalem. Jesus is dead. The skies open and heaven weeps a thousand tears. The Messiah has been cornered, crushed, crucified. Tortured for our transgressions. A mammoth rock and soldiers that guard the tomb seem to have the final word. The day is dark. Dreary. Disappointing. The disciples huddle in an upper room full of defeat. Their Teacher has departed. The women weep. But WAIT FOR IT! All is as it should be… The quiet is part of the quest for hidden treasure. The sorrow is part of the solace. The tears are part of the triumph. A plan with a purpose slowly unfolds. WAIT FOR IT! God is never aloof, or...

If you are agonizingly lonely, or suffering for any measure of reasons, I know that the pain is amplified at Christmas when all should be merry and bright. Please read on… All month long when I pondered what to share in this blog, every Christmas theme seemed done a thousand times over. No inspiration came. Then I received sad news and did not feel like writing at all. However, God had a plan, and His timing is perfect. Now, mere days before Christmas I received a journal entry from my sister, and all was made clear. Trust me, this will encourage your suffering soul, but let me share the back story. (All with my brave sister's permission...

I ask the question. Who doesn't need hope? We all need hope. Being hopeless is one of the saddest states to be in. In fact, Proverbs 13:12 says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." Suicide is at an all time high. Why? Because people have lost hope. Are you currently in a situation that seems hopeless, helpless, or heartless? If so read on. If not, then you are to be the hands and feet of Jesus and give hope and encouragement to others. In either case, we need the God of Hope to fill our day. This name/title the God Of Hope is one of my favourites. I love to pray using this name....

I was all of the above until ... Wow! Isn't it wonderful when the Scripture pops off the page and God directly speaks? This does not happen every time I pick up the Bible but I sure appreciate how so often my reading is divinely appointed. I've been particularly stressed at the learning curve needed to launch a book. Writing was the easy part. What is expected of authors these days is next thing to ludicrous and I was having a meltdown. I literally had a list of 52 things that authors do to launch a book and most of which I would have to learn by taking tutorials. From making book trailers, to monthly newsletters, to videos, to learning Canva...