Cast Out All Fear

Hello, friends! Thank you so much for your patience as I'm figuring out how to fit everything into a condensed sit-down schedule, due to my current back discomfort.

{Remember when I mentioned an article on color-coded editing, to be looking for that in June? Well, my schedule did not go as planned in June. I have not forgotten about that article, and it will be coming. My new goal for that is before summer is over (so before the end of August). I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get it to you sometime in July.}

How many of us have experienced fear in the last few months? We've had lots of reasons to be afraid, and I don't think I have to list them all out. Just scroll through any social media site or mainstream media news feed if you want details. (I don't recommend this, for your sanity. Search for conservative news outlets instead. There's more truth and less fear in these outlets.)

I wonder if we've forgotten what the Bible says about fear.

Pockets of Time {Focus on Jesus + Life Update}

My next verse to learn for our Focus on Jesus Scripture Memory event is a long one, so it may take me a few weeks to really get it remembered.

We'll still be adding another verse to the mix in a couple of weeks, so I suppose I better find some extra pockets of time for studying between jobs.

Speaking of which, it's time for a bit of a life update.

I know I'm due (overdue, really) to deliver to you another short story. As much as I've tried to pen a few, my mind hasn't been cooperating for such things lately. I'm hoping to be able to get one written in the next few weeks.

You see, I've been working hard on a full-length story for Camp NaNo last month, and the story isn't finished yet, so I'm still plugging away at it. The research has been random, the plot pretty fun to play with, and the characters surprising at times. It's a blast hanging out with this crazy cast of folks, and I can hardly wait until you get to meet them too. Of course, I've got to straighten them out a bit first. First drafts can be pretty rough.

Hope for the Rough Days {Focus on Jesus}

Welcome back to the Focus on Jesus Scripture Memory 2020 event.

How did your first couple of verses come along? Can you spit them out at the drop of a hat? Pause and practice right now.

Yes, this is a pop quiz. ;)

I was late starting my second verse, but it didn't take long to get it memorized. I'm still practicing several times a day, and that's helping the words really sink into my heart.

Many of you may be wondering how this whole thing got started.

Silent Shadows by Natalie Walters {book review}

The third and final book in the Harbored Secrets trilogy was a pretty good suspense story. The first half seemed much more like a medical romance, as there was a lot less bad-guy movement than usual for the suspense genre, but the dates were fun and surprising, and Maceo was pretty adorable. I really enjoyed Colton’s battle with a movement disorder I was unfamiliar with. I felt I was taught a lot about it within the context of the story in a way that did not feel like being preached at over the topic.

There was some confusion about Pecca’s profession. She was declared to be a nurse, yet she seemed much more like a physical therapist. The only identifier ever given was “nurse.” A friend pointed out that there is such a thing as a “nurse psychotherapist,” whose job description lines up pretty well with Pecca’s behavior with her patients. I wish this job title would have been given from chapter one (or at all), as it’s interesting, different, and something I would enjoy reading about. Since all I was given was “nurse,” it felt like she (or at least her job or title) was misrepresented.

Oh, my heart loved the sports angle. During the COVID-19 illness the world is facing right now (in spring 2020), sports are absent from my life, which is abnormal to be sure. So reading about a child with only one leg being encouraged to play a sport was just what this sports fan needed during the last couple of weeks. Maybe there won’t be any NBA or NHL finals this season, but at least the little Warriors were there to be cheered for!

Focus on Jesus {Scripture Memory 2020} - Part 1

During these unsettling times when an illness has shut down the world for an indeterminate amount of time, there is only one place to look for peace and comfort.

Jesus Christ.

Let's focus on Jesus together by memorizing Scripture that encourages us. You may choose your own verses. You may go at your own pace.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic? Don't Panic! {DIY Hand Sanitizer}

So we're living through a pandemic right now.

Crazy, isn't it?

I must say, I never once in my entire life anticipated anything like the coronavirus, nicknamed COVID-19.

It was very strange going to the store for a regular grocery run and seeing zero packs of toilet paper on the shelves. All I needed was one pack, yet there were none. Why toilet paper? This isn't an illness that causes the runs, so I'm not quite sure why there's a run on TP, other than stocking up in case you get quarantined for weeks on end. Even that doesn't make much sense to me, though. If everyone only purchased what they need for a week or two, like we do under normal circumstances, there wouldn't be shortages now. But panic-buying is apparently a thing, and it's just as contagious as the coronavirus is presumed to be.

Even with the shortages of available sanitary items, I've remained calm through the entire thing. Why? Because if it's my time to go, I'm prepared to meet my Maker. He has taken wonderful care of me through the ups and downs of life so far, and I don't see why that should change simply because a new illness has arrived on the scene. The question through this event, for me, has been...

Do you trust God or do you not?

My answer is a resounding yes.