So tomorrow, I turn 26 years old. I’m now officially closer to 30 than I am to 20. Weird. I was thinking about what I should write, and I got the idea of writing a letter to the girl I was 10 years ago at 16. 16 was the turning point in my life. I …
Growing up, I used to have this image. An image society placed in my mind, which grew to consume my entire perception of what a woman should be. She was taller, and She had bigger curves. She had long, glossy brown-black hair and big, blue eyes. And She could flirt. She was confident that she …
I’m so excited to have Renee Fisher, published author and blogger from Devotional Diva, on my site today! We became friends over the blogging world last year, and it always amazes me just how many things we share in common about our past struggles. Her writing has really encouraged me through some tough times. She …
I’m posting a special post today in honor of my good friend who is launching a nonprofit called Mainstay International. Lawrence Wagner and I met over our mutual passion against fighting human trafficking. He’s a man I respect a lot, and he is talented in the engineering/business/entrepreneurial arenas. So here he is to tell you …
It’s the week of Valentine’s Day. Barf. (Okay, not really. But I’ve never been a fan of how people obsess over this overly-commercialized holiday.) For the past few years around V-Day, I’ve been posting pieces about singleness and how amazing it is. Stick-it-to-all-those-sillies-who-make-such-a-big-deal-out-of-this-stupid-day type posts. Because I’m fine with being single. Okay? Okay??? Geez. (In …
When my grief post went viral, one thing that was mentioned was that males often don’t take the time to grieve. Today, I’d like to share a guest post by blogger Pat Rhoads, who lost his wife a few years ago. He’s writing to the men who are dealing with grief. I’m glad to have …
After a year of grief, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve also made some mistakes along the way. Today, I jotted down 15 things I wish I’d known about grief when I started my own process. I pass this onto anyone on the journey. 1. You will feel like the world has ended. I promise, it …
ChurchLeaders.com asked me to share my thoughts on grief. So I did. This is a rather raw article full of honesty. Grief seems to be a very uncomfortable subject for many. I do hope that this will help people process their own grief and be there in deeper ways for others who are grieving. Read …
For the month of June, I’m going to be writing about why I write fantasy. This series will be a three part series on fantasy. Often, when people find out I’m a writer, the conversation almost always goes like this: “Oh, you write books? What’s it about?” “Well, it’s a fantasy, and it’s about [insert …
Today, I’m guest posting over at Convergent Books. Not sure what to say about this post, except that it’s kind of a lament about what I wish I’d been taught growing up in Christian subculture, a challenge for Christendom to do better, and a rejoicing in that fact that I have come so far. Why … Continue reading
The last post I wrote on grief, I wrote about triggers in grief. Well, just a few weeks ago, I experienced one of the biggest triggers in grief that I’ve had in a while. It was, strangely enough, while watching the newest Disney movie, Frozen. It was painful time, but then something really incredible happened. … Continue reading
For those of you newer to the blog, I love having guest bloggers on my site sharing their stories of brokenness and finding God in the midst of these places. These are what I call Identity Renewed posts. I’m privileged today to have a blogging friend named Mara Rose on my site. We became friends … Continue reading
It’s already more than a week into 2014. I really can’t believe it. After taking a bit of a blogging break over the holiday vacation, I’m back for the new year. But I’ve got to do an obligatory post looking back on 2013 and forward to 2014, even if I’m a week behind… Looking Back … Continue reading
There is a lot of profound mystery tied to the Incarnation–the coming of the God of the Universe in the form of an infant. It’s something I often ponder with great wonder and awe. To celebrate Christmas Eve, I’m sharing a poem today that I wrote many years ago in awe of the birth of … Continue reading
For the grieving person who has lost someone (to death or other reasons), there is a lot of unknown in the grieving process. For a while, everything makes you want to cry or react in anger. As the months progress, though, you probably aren’t crying every day. Oftentimes, there are triggers that set off grief. … Continue reading
I wrote this post two years back, but I wanted to share it (with some edits) again with you this holiday season. It really bothers me that, as the commercialization and materialism of Christmas continues to get worse every year, meaningful words that have great depth are used carelessly and disingenuously as marketing ploys. I … Continue reading
I’m guest-blogging over at a friend’s site today. Mara and I met via Twitter and became good friends this year through some hard circumstances (we both faced death of close friends). She’s a wonderful woman and blogger at Words by Mara. She’s a freelance writer and is a featured blogger on iBelieve.com, if you’d like … Continue reading
For those of you don’t know, I’m a major fantasy fan. I grew up reading Lord of the Rings. My parents read it to me when I was five. Yes, five. Needless to say, I had no hope. I was hooked on fantasy. I’ve read many fantasy books over the years, but my favorite is … Continue reading
For those of you who who haven’t read my own story of grief, you can read it here. My Kindred Spirit was allegedly murdered last October. She was in an increasingly abusive relationship with her husband (we didn’t know it at the time). She’d changed so much that it actually pained me to see her, … Continue reading
Identity Renewed 