The Key to Persevering in Publishing
I’d barely begun to dabble in writing for publication when someone spoke these words to me: “If God has called you to write, then don’t stop until He says so.” That advice, given 22 years ago,...
Continue ReadingFeeling Inadequate? God Will Give the Increase
Growing up, I loathed Language Arts. Conjunctions, prepositions, adjectives and all the like were dispiriting topics for my mind to comprehend. Singing along with Schoolhouse Rock! was when I felt most grammatically...
Continue ReadingWhat I Really Wanted To Write
Can I share a secret with you? When God told me what I needed to write for my first book, First in the Family, I wasn’t all the way in. Of course, there was an initial...
Continue ReadingWhere Is Your Focus?
Have you ever taken a picture using “portrait mode”? On my phone’s camera, it is an effect that essentially sharpens the focus on what is exactly in front of the lens and blurs the background a...
Continue ReadingWhy Context Matters When We Write About God’s Word
A few years ago, I drove past a billboard that screamed “WPS!” in giant letters, with the name of a heating and air company along the bottom. If you were visiting my area and saw that...
Continue ReadingWhat Is Entrusted to You?
“By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you." (2 Timothy 1:14, ESV) The blank screen on my desk taunts me. I hear whispers from...
Continue ReadingA Disciplined Draft-by-Draft Process
A quote pinned to the bulletin board in front of my desk reminds me that writing is a process. “Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it.” —Emma Coats Continue Reading
The Story I Never Should Have Told
Recently, I spoke to a women’s Bible study and opened with this story.
I spent five summers lifeguarding back when we reached for baby oil instead of sunscreen. Now, I schedule regular skin cancer screenings.
5 Ways You Know You Are Called To Write
As I typed the words on the paper, mixed emotions filled my mind. Were my words worth it? Did they make any difference? The sacrifices made felt weighty in the moment, and the sting of a...
Continue ReadingPerfectionism, a Beginner’s Plight
In high school I enrolled in many art classes, and as a natural procrastinator, I was often behind on projects. One day, in an effort to catch up, I hastily swiped 20 strokes of charcoal...
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