Blog Posts

Read All Posts

New Life in the Valley

When I read the story of Ezekiel standing in a valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1–14), several people in my small group broke out singing spontaneously: Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,Now hear the word of the Lord. The catchy tune made…

What Holds Us Up and Sees Us Through

Last July, my friend, Jenny, broke her leg in two places. Ow! That was painful and meant no weight-bearing for at least seven weeks! But that didn’t stop her from celebrating her new book, leading a retreat, canning a huge batch of applesauce, baking ten dozen cookies, and much more…. I’m grateful that Jenny continues…

On Managing Money Well

In Proverbs 11, money is good because we receive good pay for good work (v. 18), and money allows us to be generous which enlarges our world and relationships with others (v. 24). But while money can be an asset, it can’t save us from the difficulties and distress of this life. It cannot save…

Precious to God Despite Our Weakness

I met Keren Dibbens-Wyatt through the Redbud Writers Guild, and was delighted to learn that like me, she would have a new book published by Herald Press this year. We’re not quite publishing twins, since my Hope Beyond Our Sorrows was released in June and her book scheduled for September, but we’ve been on a…

Hope Beyond Our Sorrows and the Bite-Sized Book Club

The Bite-Sized Book Club is a one-hour online conversation with one book, one author, and anyone who registers. It’s truly bite-sized, since you register for just one conversation at a time without having to commit to the whole series. I’m looking forward to the different books and authors taking part over the next months, and…

What Is Faith?

It’s been over a month since the release of The Message Women’s Devotional Bible! What a joy to hear from women who appreciate the everyday language of The Message by Eugene Peterson—paired with character profiles and topical devotionals written by women for women. I’m grateful to be one of the 82 contributors—a diverse group of…

Music for Hope Beyond Our Sorrows

“Do you use Spotify?” I asked my niece. “I’d like to create a playlist with the music and the Stuart McLean story that I include in my book, but I have no idea how to do that. I don’t even have an account.” She immediately offered to help me, and we spent an evening listening…

Hope Beyond Our Sorrows Now Available

Two weeks ago, I was still reeling from the news that my publisher’s entire shipment of Hope Beyond Our Sorrows: Learning to Live with Life-Changing Loss had been lost in transit. This week I received the happy news that the books have been re-printed and are now in stock at my publisher’s warehouse! Hope Beyond Our…

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.