What makes a picture a favorite? Sometimes it’s startling vibrancy of color. Sometimes it’s tender sentiment. Sometimes it’s the response it evokes, from laughter to sadness to awe. And sometimes it’s the story it tells. The picture I am using here is somebody in my extended family on a very proud day. At this time [...]
Some of you may have read a feature I had on the blog for about a year called Mama Says. (And if you haven’t, it’s all still there.) My mother has said many wise and hilarious things over the years. Recently while helping her move I came across a binder labeled “Things to Keep Forever. [...]
In Plain View, the second book in my Valley of Choice series, releases June 1. While I’ve been waiting a long time, it also seems hard to believe the time is here! You watch the trailer here. In Plain View continues the story of Annie Friesen and Rufus Beiler and their common ancestors. While [...]
“Every cloud has a silver lining.” I am not fond of that expression. It’s a little trite, as if a small thing that goes right somehow trumps the big things that go wrong. Don’t get me wrong. I can think of plenty of situations in my life when I experienced unexpected blessing. But I think [...]
Everybody has a story. Childhood memories. A high school prank. College sweethearts. Broken bones. First jobs. First losses. Adventures. Disappointments. Risks. Failures. Recoveries. In the moment, it is easier to feel as if this story, this season is the main story. But the reality is, a lot of people have come before us. Generations of [...]
I’m visiting at my sister’s for a couple of weeks. It’s a thousand miles from where I live on more than one level. The agenda for the trip is to help with the complex task of settling my mother into a new living situation. Until now, she has lived independently or in her own home [...]
Last weekend I had the opportunity to spread my wares at a library event in a town about two hours from where I live. I don’t have a lot of experience at library events as an author, but I am a big fan of public libraries. Some of my fondest childhood memories happened in the [...]
I like to tell stories and often do in this spot on my blog—filed under “Lens on Life.” Small moments, routine events, a few words of conversation from the everyday can lift us from the ordinary to a surpassing wonder about this beautiful thing we call life. By putting the lens on life, my life [...]
Do you read past book 1? In the last year, I’ve had the privilege of rolling out the start of two different series, Avenue of Dreams and Valley of Choice. Ten months from now, both series will be complete. Out there. Out of my hands. Up to the readers to judge. The two series don’t [...]
Recently an urgent, stressful family situation snatched me out of town abruptly and bumped me through several states. That trip backed right up against a planned business trip. I ended up being away from home for three straight weeks. Believe me, I was ready to go home. I was in a rental car following signs [...]
