Do you remember the old adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”? I’m sure whoever came up with it meant well. In fact, it originated in the Christian Recorder March 1862, so the author may have felt it was biblical. But the truth is, words do hurt. Proverbs 8:12 says, There is one …
Review of Secret Beach Boyfriend
About the Book Book: Secret Beach Boyfriend Author: Kari Trumbo Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance Release Date: September 29 , 2020 She met Rafe on the beach when she was just five and it seemed like fate tied them together. When a chance encounter returns him to the islands twenty years later, Annie finds her beach friend has grown up and …
Review of The Refrain Within
About the Book Book: The Refrain Within Author: Liz Tolsma Genre: WWII Fiction Release Date: September 29, 2020 To save a life, would you betray everyone you love? Hungary in 1944 is a dark place. The Nazis have invaded and turned the country upside down, their evil making its way into every life. Clarinetist Eva Bognar is engaged to conductor …
Challenges
Do you give much thought to being physically challenged? Maybe it’s just me, but there is something about pushing my body to its limits on occasion that reminds me of what I’m capable. Of course, the older I get the lower the bar. Did you know women start losing muscle mass in their 30’s? Inactive women lose 3-5% every decade. …
All That Glitters
Becoming a published author was a dream of mine since I was a kid. The motivation behind publication might have changed as God shaped my heart, but that desire did not. For years, I attended writer’s conferences and critique groups to hone the craft and make those oh-so-necessary connections. I acquired an agent with a well-respected literary agency and continued …
One Brick at a Time
Our house has a 185-foot retaining wall that starts at the edge of our front yard and curves around to end at the edge of the back yard. At its tallest, it stands eight feet and some odd inches. There is a gradual step-up at the beginning and end. Not a small feature by any means, and yet I didn’t …
A Little Spontaneity Goes a Long Way
What is it about small towns that hold so much appeal? Maybe nothing for you. I know some people prefer big cities, but crowds, cars, and chaos exhaust me. I grew up in a series of small-ish towns. Nothing as small as Bell Buckle, Tennessee (under 600 people) or Volcano, California, where we moved from. Our little population sign coming …
When You Come to a Fork in the Road…
It was on our second day driving home from California when Chris announced, “I can’t wait to be back to our old routine.” I concurred. He had flown out to northern California on September 1st, so by the time we pulled into our driveway in Tennessee on Friday afternoon, he’d been gone for twenty-five days—nearly a month. I’d flown out …
Sold for a Song
Never in my life have I attended an estate sale. Even “garage sale-ing” (as my daughter calls it) hasn’t been part of my M.O. It’s not that I have anything against them, I’m just not a shopper by nature, unless I’m looking for something specific. Although, I do love a good deal. In fact, my sweet mother-in-law taught me an …
Quite a Day
It was only seven in the morning and already it had been quite a day. I sat on a stairway tread to await my ride to the airport, my heart beating a staccato, bum-bump, bum-bump, bum-bump. Rubbing my face, Anna Nalick’s voice singing the chorus, breathe, just breathe from her old song, “Breathe 2 am,” ran through my head. I …
