“This is not right.” Lost. It's a lonely word for someone who has come to a sister's retreat and figures on having lots of conversation. I sat in my car in the deserted parking lot of the city beach in Sandpoint, Idaho. It was past midnight. I was totally alone. I discovered that Sandpoint has no beach nightlife in October, so I was fairly safe. I saw no high life, low life, or life at all. I was lost in a town of 8,000 people, most of whom were all in bed, as I tried to find the train ... View the Post
Knock Their Socks Off — First Steps to Writing Amazing Fiction
You have an idea for a book, a blog, or an article that consumes your thoughts and sets your fingers tingling. You can’t wait to sit down and write. It is the most intriguing, interesting, captivating plot ever, filled with wonderful characters and amazing twists. In your mind, you can see it now: the finished project, a book with a compelling cover and large bold type across the front. And inside, it is filled with all the clever words you have amassed, sentence after sentence, paragraph after ... View the Post
Four Lives Down – God Answers Prayer
They say cats have nine lives. If this is true, then my cat had better find some more because he’s running out of them fast, and he’s only a year and a half old! We call him Taffy. It’s a strange name for a male kitten, but at the time we thought he was a female. My daughter, Sherry, said he had soft fur and a sweet temperment. It sounded like Taffy to me. When we discovered he was a male, we didn’t have the heart to change his name. But we should have. We should have called him Rocky. Or ... View the Post
Evacuation Level Three: Get Out NOW! — Are You Ready?
In our neck of the woods, fire has been on everyone's minds the last few weeks as we have had several raging close by. There are many people who have been called on the phone or have had a fireman knock on the door with the fearful news that they have to get out of their house. NOW! Evacuation Level One means to be ready to leave. Evacuation Level Two means to have your things packed, it may happen soon. Evacuation Level Three means: GET OUT NOW! I believe we have the same message from ... View the Post
The ONE Thing
Mary found it. Martha missed it. I want it. An intimate story in the life of Jesus as recorded by Luke takes us into the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. Jesus and His twelve disciples stopped by for lunch that day. Martha must have known they were coming, and she had to prepare a meal for sixteen people, possibly more, most of them men. I'm sure they had servants, but I'm sure you can sympathize with Martha in the rush of that morning's preparations. Let's go back in time to the morning ... View the Post
Out of Control!
I heard recently that we should pray that God would lead us to a place where, unless He shows up, we will die. That's a scary prayer! It's kind of like praying that we will have a huge trial so we can grow in patience. Who would pray for trials? Isn't that a little masochistic? It seems to me that God allows abundant experiences in our lives that present opportunities to grow and to reach out to Him without praying for them. Maybe I'm unspiritual, but that's how I see it! Yet sometimes we ... View the Post
