I love everything about the creative process. From spinning a story world into existence, breathing characters to life or muddling through their spiritual and emotional transformations, I find the entire journey exhilarating. I even love the grueling grind of editing. (Most days, at least.) Even with the exhilarating side to creating, writing is a tough gig, especially when you consider you’re putting your deepest thoughts and musings out for everyone to see. It’s an open invitation for anyone to take a peek inside your most vulnerable, shadowed places. And people, as we all know, judge. For a recovering people pleaser,…

My heart hammers as the doors open wide. Smiling faces blur. I duck my head. Greetings call out and all I long to do is drag in one free inhalation of air. Breathe in, breathe out. I come yet again to the place where I was wounded, yet I know it’s where I should be. Why is this so hard? How strange that both Hope and Goliaths should occupy the same pews. Music floods the air. My mind struggles to focus on the words, the melody, the rhythm. My voice sounds strange in my own ears. Are people watching me?…

Scenario: Girl gets married. Girl’s church is excited and throws her a big shower. In only a few months, girl discovers her new husband is an abuser. Girl manages to escape and seeks godly counsel. Godly counsel advises girl to return home to her family that lives far away, ensuring safety from her abusive husband. Girl’s church sends her a harsh letter not long after, demanding she apologize for leaving. After all, they had given her a beautiful shower and supported her through some tough years. How could she just up and leave without a word? Girl’s heart was broken,…

My home is known as the Hibiscus House on our little road. The tropical plants are everywhere, blooming as huge bushes with hand-sized blossoms. Pinks, crimsons and even a few white-blush hibiscus surround our house. The original starters were put it in intentionally, hoping to attract migrating hummingbirds. Boy, did they. These gorgeous flowers, along with my ability for growing green beans, somehow made me think my gardening abilities were greater than they were. I had one good year growing zucchini so I quickly dubbed myself the zucchini master. Year two rolled around and my plants flopped. I shrugged the…

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and realize that the prisoner was you." ~Lewis B. Smedes There are a lot of false ideas floating around about what forgiveness truly is. These distorted concepts and ideologies are so rampant that upon hearing phenomenal acts of forgiveness (like those of Rose Mapendo, Corrie Ten Boom, and others), people are quick to shake their heads. "I could never forgive that." Let's be clear: forgiveness is not saying what the offender did is okay. It is not excusing bad behavior. It's not rolling over and letting someone abuse you over and over…

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. " (Matthew 5:43-45) I don't know about you but loving my enemies can be a tall order sometimes. People can be hurtful. Even downright mean. It's easy to want to defend ourselves or our loved ones, to right the wrong, or inflict the same kind of hurt we have suffered. After all, the world tells us to destroy our enemies. We must…