As the school year draws to a close, and summer thoughts dazzle the senses, I wanted to remind any of you teens or tweens who had a less than great year that there is life and meaning and hope even in the worst years. It’s super hard to see this when you’re young, but one of the benefits of getting older is developing a telescoping lens where I can see now that things that really were the hardest for me in childhood have helped me and shaped my life’s directions. Especially with how I handle challenges and adversity. After someone…
Through The Rainbow’s Edge
Spring Thoughts From My Journal It’s been a wet and windy day in Northern California and I’ve been in our new home for just over a year and a half. I’ve noticed in certain conditions, this season especially, dewy rainbows hug our area with the green, sloping hills in the far distance. I’ve been on a Spring cleaning and organizing binge as part of celebrating hopeful new beginnings with my fiction, making ready for dreams to take root. My children are also growing at alarming rates, one popped up a whole shoe size in a month and his voice dropped…
Tools In Your Holiday Toolbox: Devotionals
Practical suggestions for placing stress and loss on the back burner, and remembering the reason you’re celebrating with great devotionals to help. If you’re like me you’re yearning to give friends something with a deeper meaning, that can actually touch their lives in a special way. I’ve got two special devotionals to recommend that can help with that desire. Adored: 365 Devotions for Young Women Written by Author Lindsay Franklin and illustrated by Micah Kandros, and published by Zondervan, Adored meets teen girls in that moment where real life brings scratches and bumps—in short, breakfast-portion meaningful thoughts that come into…
Our 10-Year Wildfire Anniversary
Today is our 10 year anniversary from the Witch Creek wildfire in San Diego. My son Jonathan wrote this for our MakeUsSmile.com thank-you website a few years ago. This year, we’ve moved to the Bay Area and again lost 1/3 of our possessions (somehow the movers misplaced them!) so we keep learning to hold “things” loosely and remain resilient in the face of challenges. That Night…What Happened With The Fires You can focus on the worst, or you can focus on the best We try not to focus on the bad part, but in case you’re wondering, here’s some of…
Safe In His Embrace with Author Darlene Turner
We all look for a hiding place when stormy times come. Someone to keep us safe and offer help. Author Darlene Turner is a spunky, spark of delight when you first meet her, but beneath the surface has a deep, tender faith earned through rough years dealing with divorce, a husband who was secretly homosexual, and building a new future for her life. No wonder her suspenseful fiction has won so many awards – she’s turned every life lesson into great stories with a Canadian twist. I’m so grateful to share Darlene’s story with you as part of the #LetResilienceArise…
Guest Blog Posts and Amazing April Plans
Announcements! We have an amazing array of authors covering historical, young adult, middle grade, fantasy, nonfiction, and more all participating in the #LetResilienceArise series starting next month. Get ready for some amazing moments with authors you love! April will feature Middle Grade and Young Adult Author and Lauren Brandenburg, Actress Amanda McDonough, and Author Loretta Eidson! Stay tuned for more very soon… Last week’s blog about helping friends who are hurting got a lot of attention on social media—if you’re wondering to help someone you care about, check it out HERE and share with a friend in need or group…
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…
The Hidden Hearts
On a wonderful vacation recently I started seeing things. No, really. First, after swimming with the turtles, I was resting and taking photos when I felt one in particular might be special. Get it this direction, a little voice whispered. After I peeked at the frame, I saw why. As you gaze into the pool of water as it reflects the sky, you’ll see a shape. A heart. And its twin smiled at me through the windswept clouds as a slight drizzle began. Two hearts. The next day, on a boat tour around the island, a lush landscape came into…
Don’t miss the Christmas whimsy
The holidays are here and elves have appeared, ballerinas dance with nutcrackers that come alive, and all kinds of stories and historical tales find renewal underneath Christmas trees and other scenes. It seems like the child’s eye of life takes over once a year, briefly, and allows us all to relax into the memories of our youth along with them. How can we capture more of those moments this Christmas season? And what is the special magic of whimsy? Whimsy gives us an opportunity to recharge our batteries. During a very challenging day, with hours at the car dealer, more…
Stolen Candy, Second Chances
Thoughts for today’s teens, and anyone needing fresh perspective. The first day of acrylic painting instructions in high school, someone ate my main project. No joking. We showed up with large canvasses, wide as I could stretch my arms. A 3×5 index card. And piles of very colorful salt-water taffy in wax-paper wrappers. Then the assignment: don’t eat the sweets, blow them up huge on the canvass! First, we glued them to the cards and made notes of the lighting so we could work on it for a few weeks. Then we carefully watched proportion and sketched the lines, shadows,…
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