Uncomfortable Praise

Since announcing my contract signing with Winslet Press, I’ve been flooded with congratulatory emails, phone calls, notes, hugs, etc. Needless to say, it’s been pretty wonderful. But along the way, a few compliments have made me uncomfortable, not because what they said was bad. No, just the opposite. Their praise *felt* too good, describing me as persevering, faithful. Certainly they described …

The Reason We Sing

Thank you! Those two words seem inadequate, but I doubt additional words would say it better, so I simply say, Thank You! Thank you, readers, for the overwhelming response to my post this past Tuesday. So many came running to help me–a nobody, really. Someone just singing the song God gave them to sing. It always amazes me when people …

Living Out Our Gratitude

Fluorescent light and a thump on the bed awake you. You blink, slowly bringing your child into focus. His eyes are wide with expectation. “Wake up! Santa came!” And though, as a teenager, he doesn’t believe in the Santa of the red hat and white beard anymore, Santa’s spirit is very much alive. You shoo your teen from the room …

Happy Thanksgiving!

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise …

A Thread of Hope

This past weekend I received one more “No” to add to my Rejection Collection. (sigh) It’s never easy to hear no when your dreams are attached to it, even though it was a very kind no, and it did offer a thread of hope. But on that day, the thread seemed awfully weak and appeared to be fraying. So, I …