I met Kathleen Freeman through ACFW and have reveled in her positive attitude, wit, and humor in writing circles. When we began to spend more time together at conferences, I realized her personal story had circles of depth, like rings in a tree, where she’d chosen to learn from very tough situations and chose to persevere once again. She is definitely an expert at rebuilding, in many kinds of circumstances, which I appreciate as a wildfire survivor. I hope you’ll be encouraged by her very open sharing here in your own journey to continue building hope and faith into the…
Author Amy Brock McNew’s Journey From Tornadoes To Peace In The Storm
I met Amy Brock McNew through writing friends and was thrilled to sit next to her during lunch at an ACFW conference. In that crowded restaurant in Nashville, seated at a long table filled with enthusiastic writers, Amy huddled over her phone and looked very worried. I asked what was going on and she was waiting to see if her step daughter was all right after a second tornado struck her community, and crushed the Starbucks where she was inside. I’ll never forget Amy’s heart for her family and we all stopped right there to pray for them all to…
A friend hurts…Don’t stand by idly waiting to help
Recently people keep asking me for advice about how to help others in need. You see, I’ve walked through very dark seasons of life with losing all our possessions, surviving wildfires, dealing with death or sickness, chronic pain issues, financial challenges, and more. You name it. We’ve seen it. Surprisingly, one of the hardest lessons to learn was to accept help. When you’re a giver the last thing you want is to need help from others. I’ve learned so much about grace and hope from being at that deep point of need. My children not having shoes or toys. Not…
10 Ways To Help A Family This Holiday
Do you know a family going through a rough patch? Perhaps they’ve just had tough news about health issues or a significant loss through natural disaster or other ways. With all of the recent fires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and seeing some friends recovering from hurricanes in other parts of the country, I yearn to help. Sometimes it’s easy to send a quick prayer up and then get on with life. The echoes of our own weary years as wildfire survivors who lost everything still keep me tender when I hear of another family that may need extra kindness. But what…
The Walk of Gratitude
After finishing my manuscript for my fantasy where the main character is a wildfire survivor, I was talking with a friend about those first weeks, months, and years—what it was like. And the words spilled out about all who helped us. Suddenly I knew what we could do with long hours on hot days this summer. We could each use our gifts to not focus on ourselves but on others’ goodness in a new way. Jonathan with his engineering side, Chief Tech and Director. Joey as Chief of Fun with dances and camera angle insights. Mom writing some of it…
For 2015 Wildfire Victims, How To Emergency Evacuate
I’ve been watching the maps with more than seven states dealing with wildfires and wanted to post some tips if you or your friends know anyone that might need to evacuate. As a wildfire survivor, we’ve learned a few things along the way and wanted to share them in this difficult time. I’ll also be making a video with tips for starting over soon, so stay tuned to my YouTube channel. Hope this helps someone in need. Please share the word. Thank you, Elizabeth Van Tassel How To Emergency Evacuate, Five considerations: 1. Video your home – even if it’s…
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