Today Tara chats with her sweet friend Jean Shepard who is a speaker, pastor's wife, and first-time author of Worthy to be Loved! The ladies talk about the dangers of comparison, women's conferences, and what's it like to feel like you never measure up. They discuss bullying, knowing our worth in Christ, and the enemy's lies. Also in this episode... Failure, inadequacy, Washington D.C. traffic, losing children, The Grand Ole Opry, and hope for the hurting. Buy Jean's book here: WORTHY TO BE LOVED: BY MYSELF AND OTHERS: Shepard, Jean Branson: 9798813901874: Amazon.com: Books

Deconstructing is all the rage these days. You can see it on cooking shows. Deconstructed lemon meringue pie or apple crumb cake. You can see it in political speeches and written texts. You can even find deconstruction when it comes to faith. If you haven’t heard of this latest fad in Christian culture, it’s a focus on untangling beliefs a person has held on to for years to see if it aligns with truth. This can be related to traditions, the way we ‘do’ church, or any number of issues. The dictionary gives us an interesting perspective. Deconstruction: To analyze,…

Today, Tara chats with a phenomenal author and woman of God, Erica Vetsch! Erica talks about her passions--history, teaching, and museums--and has discovered the greatest stories of local lore come from small county museums. Tara tells Erica about the Ganster Museum near her town in Hot Springs, Arkansas and Erica shares that St. Paul, Minnesota is the gangster capital of the world. Who knew? Erica talks about her transition from writing stories based in cowboys and westward expansion to Regencies, and how Julie Klassen and Mary Connealy encouraged her to delve into something new. Tara and Erica come up with…

It's here! The ultimate Summer Reads Sweepstakes is live now! Each time you sign up for an author's free newsletter, you are entered for another chance to win ALL 24 books! Contest ends on July 22nd and the winner will be announced on July 25th. Enter the contest here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9f9885a13/?

My family was chatting Bible over dinner one evening and I asked my nine-year-old son if he could remember the Ten Commandments. Nate nodded and put down his fork. “Sure. God is number one. There is no one before Him. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not lie. Thou shalt be nice.” “Whoa.” I felt my eyes bugging out as my fork paused in mid-air. “The Bible doesn’t say to be nice.” “Sure it does,” my teenage daughter piped up. I arched an eyebrow. “Where does it say that?” Callie searched through her memories but threw up her hands in…

Tara can't wait to introduce you to her talented friend, writing partner, and cup of sunshine Ane Mulligan! The ladies start off talking coffee and how Ane got her start in writing. Tara and Ane talk drama in church, the stretch between writing for stage versus novels, theatre roots, and drama for kids. Ane shares her passion for theatre and how it allows people to let down their guard to receive the message of the gospel. Also in this episode: Planting seeds, criticism, what readers see, Diann Hunt, finding the humor in life, socially inappropriateness, shocking Broca, hilarious life moments,…