Have you ever felt the sting of rejection? That’s a silly question. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t.
When I first started writing, I sent off sample chapters to various publishers. Shortly after, rejection letters came creeping into my mailbox.
“Thanks, but no thanks. “Nobody knows you.” “Your manuscript does not meet our needs at this time.” “Blah, Read more…
There she lay in her beautiful box. A two-foot bride doll dressed in a white chiffon, pearl-studded wedding gown with matching veil. Her short-cropped, curly brown hair fell softly around her delicate face; her pink, plump skin felt amazingly soft; and her movable eyelids lined with thick black lashes opened and closed with her changing positions. The bride had perfectly shaped lips and crystal-blue eyes that appeared strangely real. Read more…
Have you ever thought that you could be somebody’s miracle? Let me tell you what happened to me on an airplane one day. The girl’s name was Beth, and she thought the airline had made a mistake. Little did she know God was orchestrating a miracle.
See, to Beth it was the confusion of an inept airline. To me, Read more…
Who in the world would wait until Christmas Eve to do their Christmas shopping? I find it hard to believe the statistics that show December 24th is one of the biggest shopping days of the year, so one season I decided to venture out to the stores and see for myself. I usually have my Christmas list complete by Thanksgiving to avoid the crowds, Read more…
I wonder, has your life turned out like you thought it would? If you’re like most of us, your answer is probably “no.” Maybe it’s better than you imagined. Maybe it’s worse than you thought possible. Most likely it’s just different.
When I hit 40, I realized life wasn’t turning out like I thought it would. There would be no gaggle of laughing children filling my home, Read more…
My husband woke one morning with a nostalgic urge to revisit the small North Carolina town where he spent the first eight years of his childhood. At family gatherings, he and his twin brother recounted endless stories of playing kick-the-can and baseball in their front yard, which was “at least the size of a football field.”
They recalled long hardwood hallways where they slid sock-footed, Read more…
Have you ever felt like you just wanted to quit this thing called the “great race” of life? That’s your spiritual legs ache and you would much rather sit on the side of the road and have a good pity party than take one more step. I certainly have. And then I think of my nephew Stu and his mom, Read more…
Have you ever felt that your love for Jesus has just grown cold? Maybe you feel that way right now. If so, keep reading…
Most of us come to Christ with a certain “inloveness”—a stirring of emotion mixed with an inexplicable knowing that we’ve discovered our reason for being. But some years into our spiritual journey, the wonder that swelled during the early years ebbs into routine religion laced with busyness. Read more…
Today I want to share with you a story that I wrote a few years ago. In it, I tried to imagine what it would have been like to be one of the shepherds who visited Jesus at His birth. For just a moment, I want you to pretend that you are reading a letter that one of the shepherds wrote to his brother, Read more…
I opened the letter and read words of rejection. Thanks, but no thanks.
Several months prior, I had sent my first book proposal off to a publisher. It was a step of faith walking to that mailbox and dropping it in the slot. However, I knew this was what God was calling me to do. Then the rejection letter came. Read more…