I’ve seen the photos and memes of one particular phrase floating around the past several years and I bet you have too. It’s this: God gives the hardest battles to his strongest soldiers. Judging by how frequently it’s shared, it’s a rather popular sentiment.  After all, it sounds good. Perhaps even a trifle comforting. There’s nothing we need more in the middle of our personal storms to know that our crisis won’t destroy us. That we’re strong enough to handle it and emerge victorious. I understand the warm fuzzies that come from this well-intentioned phrase but honestly, I believe the idea that…

The opposite of love is not hate. It's fear.  How many lives have been destroyed because of fear? How many marriages ruined, how many children scarred, how many dreams unfulfilled and how many people chained in the terrifying prison of addiction because of fear? So many of us are experiencing a life half-lived. We cower in the shadows, afraid to confront the wounds we need to expose to God's light. This hissing snake tells us no one will understand if we share our feelings. It says people could never love us and God could never forgive us if they knew…

In my debut novel Engraved on the Heart, the heroine Keziah battles epilepsy at a time in history when epilepsy was widely misunderstood and resulted in many of the sufferers to be placed in asylums. I grew up battling epilepsy as well. I remember the shame, the horror when consciousness slowly trickled back as dozens of wide eyes stared at me in shock. I’ll never forget the frustration of grasping for a gaping black hole of time in my memory that couldn’t be recovered. What I learned, and what Keziah must learn, is that broken doesn’t mean worthless. Challenges make…

"Great musicians should have only the finest instruments in their homes." The caustic comment from the piano tuner who had curled up his nose at my old spinet piano has bothered me for fourteen years, though I've had a hard time figuring out why. I thought maybe it was the man's attitude when he entered my home. I had been desperately searching for a tuner willing to take on my pawn shop find but from the moment this guy laid eyes on it, his annoyed smirk told me the piano didn't meet his criteria. Maybe it was the chipped places…

"Momma, I love you."  "I love you too, buddy." "Momma, know what else? I like you." My sweet boy tells me the same paired sentiments day after day, usually multiple times a day. One day, a friend overheard his loving thoughts. "Why does he say the same thing twice?" I smiled as I ruffled Nate's dark hair. "He's not. My little guy is pretty wise. He's learned there's a big difference between liking someone and loving them." It's true, isn't it? God told us to love everyone, but to be honest, there are some folks I love that I don't…

"You gonna replace your phone?" I've heard the question countless times. I suppose it's a reasonable remark considering the state of my cracked phone screen. How the multiple shards of glass have managed to keep from falling out or cutting my fingers is a mystery. Still, the question rankles me a bit. Why? Because the phone works just fine despite its cracked appearance.  We are a people obsessed with perfection. If something is broken, just toss it away and replace it with a new model. A better one. Sometimes our attitude about objects bleed into the way we treat people…