The first fruit listed, of course, is love, which could also be called unselfishness. Love is a choice and not a feeling; it is a choice for someone else’s highest good. Every inspiring and heartwarming story that has ever been told involves this true kind of love. It is a mother or father giving of themselves for their spouse and children, it is brothers and sisters looking out for each others' well-being and not just their own. It is neighbor helping neighbor, the rich sharing with the poor, the stronger helping the weaker. It is doing unto others as I would have done unto me, and it is loving my neighbor as I love myself. It is not political; rather, love is personal, and it is always self-sacrificing. 

Jesus showed us exactly what it looks like to love, all the way to the cross. Love is a lifetime of saying no to myself for someone else’s benefit, and it isn’t remotely sad or unfair—it is beautiful and purpose-filled and life-giving. Our culture is lying to us, telling all of us that we need to watch out for ourselves and to take care of number one, because everyone else is going to take advantage of us. While there is a tiny grain of truth in this way of thinking, taking it too far it is leading to a whole lot of selfishness, which not surprisingly is accompanied by a whole lot of depression and purposelessness. We are created to be connected with God and one another, and selfishness causes us to be little islands of loneliness and unhappiness.

Love is the antidote, and you can’t have love without someone else in the equation. There must be an object in order for there to be love, and love of self doesn’t take any of us very far at all. Yes, we must love ourselves properly in order to love others, but it truly is in giving that we receive the most out of life.

So in this season, with rival political signs yet again dotting the landscape, how can we love our neighbor as we love ourselves? The very air we breathe tempts us to dislike and distrust the person with the other guys' signs in their yard. The daily narrative is a suspiciously one-sided story of, "see? Another person failed—you can't trust anyone or anything." How can we love in spite of this; how can we overcome the onslaught of darkness and shine brightly for the real people in our lives?

We can see them, and know them, and care for them. Instead of tuning out our families and neighbors, we can be a part of our communities and help those who need it. Many of the problems we are experiencing in our nation stem from the fact that we have closed ourselves into our own business, and have let the “experts “ handle family and community affairs. The money we can earn in doing this will never be enough to compensate for the damage that is done when we disconnect. The enemy knows this, and what a clever plot twist in human history is the phenomenon of social media, which makes everyone feel more connected than ever, but in a truly impotent and unreal way. It has created a strange virtual world which spills out its poison into the real world, a pseudo-world of disconnected, anxious and angry people. In the real world, we can be friends with our relations and neighbors who think differently than we do, and we can actually help people who need help, be it financial, temporal, or just the gift of presence. Real love is real connectedness with real people and with a good God.

Love is demonstrated through forgiveness and mercy, things which flow freely and readily from the heart of God. Unforgiveness is the bane of human existence, and every conflict begins when forgiveness is withheld. Divorces happen when forgiveness is withheld, estrangement in families happens when forgiveness is withheld. Unforgiveness is a terribly destructive force, worse than any weapon of warfare that mankind could ever devise, and it flows readily from the unsurrendered human heart. The way to stop it is to tune in and connect with God and His Spirit, and let what flows so easily from the heart of God flow from our own hearts. Forgiveness is the ultimate self-sacrifice; we lay down our right to retribution and put all of it in God‘s strong, wise, and utterly judicious hands. And if it is hard for us to forgive, we just need to dwell on how much God has forgiven us. It is a dangerous place indeed to think of oneself as not needing forgiveness—Jesus told the very true story of the unmerciful servant to help us understand that when we realize how much we’ve been forgiven, it will be so much easier for us to forgive others.

These are wonderful aspirations, and they become truly world-changing when we don't just acknowledge them, but apply them. Christianity took the ancient world by storm, not by dictate or weaponry, but with love. Our earliest brothers and sisters did not light up the darkness with anger and strife, but with self-sacrifice and forgiveness. It is truly amazing to think that just a handful believed when Jesus ascended back to heaven, and now we number in the billions—what a tremendous glow this could be! The modern world is much like the generation that saw Jesus walk the Earth; all creation still waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God, the holy ones. The light of Christ shines just as brightly now as it did then, and what an opportunity for those of us who are filled with Him to make a difference in our generation like the earliest Christians did in theirs. This is an amazing week to practice God‘s love flowing through our own lives, in our homes and communities—let your light shine! 

​There certainly has been a lot of bad news lately, hasn’t there? So many tragic and unthinkable things happen all around us, all the time. Of course, there is something deep within each of us that knows very well that this was not the way life was supposed to be, but it is our ever-present reality. If we do not take care, we can become despondent and despairing about this situation. Sadly, it often seems like there’s not much we can do to combat the brokenness and chaos and death in the world. 

There are a few directions our hearts can go with giving into this feeling.  One is that we might adopt the stance that it’s just too big of a problem and there is not one thing we can do to help, and completely disengage. We can cauterize our hearts as we go about our days, and just not care about the hurting people all around. Another is that we might try to pinpoint a quick fix for our generation. We might decide that there is a particular era that we need to return to and then everything would be all right. Or we might decide one group or the other is to blame for the current maladies, and focus too much attention on “battling“ that group. Sometimes we might even become convinced that it is a particular person who is to blame, say a spouse or a child or a coworker or friend or family member...or even a political figure.  

But these strategies are found wanting. Disengaging is so bad for a heart, and stunts all of the growth of character that might have happened. And it's just a fact that there has never been an ideal era since humankind departed the Garden of Eden. For me as the bearer of a colonial American soul, I happen to think that a New England village from the 1730s is pretty perfect looking,  and to this day I love those historic places. Unfortunately for me, as a person who had terrible ear troubles when I was a child, I surely would not have lived out of infancy in the 1730s, meaning that time and place wouldn’t have been very great for me at all! There is a lot to say for the progress that is being made as God’s beautiful kingdom expands across the globe. And as far as picking a particular person or group as the enemy, the reality is the true battle is "not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." There’s only one battle raging, and it includes all skirmishes on every front throughout human history—that is the cosmic battle of the kingdom of God versus the kingdom of darkness. We must not allow anything or anyone to convince us otherwise.

So what can we do? Of course, we can actively reject all of the overtly evil things floating around like sexual immorality, deceit, slander, unforgiveness, chaos, and the like. But even more importantly, we bring God’s Kingdom wherever we go and into every relationship.  After all, the Kingdom of God is not merely a matter of latitude and longitude—it is a matter of hearts yielded to Jesus, and it grows every time someone believes. It is helpful to picture the vast expanse of the nighttime sky as the stars begin to come out. Little by little the darkness is pierced by rays of light; so it is with the kingdom of God, which continues to grow thirty, sixty, and one hundred fold as the years go on and the generations go by. The brightness of his kingdom increases, and the blackness and darkness and hopelessness of the kingdom of death loses its grasp year by year. The very gates of hell will not be able to prevail against the might and supremacy of God‘s glorious kingdom.

We can shine like stars everywhere we go and in everything we do! This is scriptural, after all, and here is where the immensely generous and talented Dolly Parton comes into the picture. 

A Life of Beauty and Generosity
There is no doubt that Dolly was a beautiful woman on the outside, but her inner beauty is what makes her so noteworthy. It is quite difficult to find a story of her doing anything but amazing and generous things for others, and that is truly remarkable. In the last week I have heard stories of her anonymously paying for a single mother's home when it was about to be foreclosed upon and repossessed, of how the Dollywood theme park in her home county lifted that entire region up out of poverty and despair, and how she once refused to comment on politics in an interview saying, in her colorful and delightful way, that she loved to talk but also knew when and how to keep her trap shut. She energetically promoted literacy and poured much of her own fortune into helping children all over the country, especially in impoverished places,  have access to great books.

When opportunities arose to donate, she did so in great measure and the list of examples is lengthy—quite recently she gave one million dollars to help the people impacted by Hurricane Helene's devastation, and that is by no means the only million dollar gift she gave, either personally or through one of her many foundations. But I think the most gripping account of her inner beauty and generosity that I read was how she treated Porter Wagoner. Younger readers might not recognize his name, but he was actually the famous one at the time and gave Dolly her big break back in the day. Arguably her most famous song, "I Will Always Love You", is a breakup song she penned for their working relationship as she was ready to move on, and he later sued her for breach of contract and bad-mouthed her all over the place. But she forgave him, understanding that he had his own side to their story, and when he fell on hard times in later days, she actually bought back his music catalog back from his creditors and gave it back to him. Her love and honor for God was evident in her actions;  in her words, "Forgiveness. That's all there is."

A Life of Creativity
I love her song and story of the coat of many colors that her mother made for her so long ago when they lived in abject poverty, and feel that colorful garment was reflected in so many ways throughout her life. She was obviously a very gifted businesswoman because her talent and creativity were on display everywhere—a theme park, dinner theaters, cookbooks, cake mixes, cookware, home goods, movies, television shows, and much more. But she never forgot or turned her back on where she came from, or the people who lived there. She used her gifts to make life more beautiful for others and shared her zest for life with people everywhere for decades, and it always seemed like she was having a wonderful time doing so.

She always looked fabulous—colorful and bright, and as if she was on her way to a fantastic party. But as much as her look was a part of her act, the real story was always her music. There is no one to compare to Dolly! She could sing the paint right off the walls, and was an incredibly talented songwriter. Whether it was her own composition or someone else's, an old gospel song or a Christmas carol, Dolly's voice had the power and control to move hearts. If you have never heard her sing "He's Alive" I encourage you to do so as soon as possible. God gave her many gifts, and she generously shared each one to bless and encourage countless others. 

A Life of Togetherness
Dolly's musical legacy is certainly impressive, but perhaps most astounding is the number of collaborations in her catalog. From her earliest days all the way up until this year, she made music with people, and always made them sound better! Her energy and sheer love for the songs rubbed off on whomever she was singing with and made magic happen. I was a child when "Islands in the Stream" came out, and though we lived in New England at the time, her voice made all of my Texan blood pulse with joy. And I was no longer a child when she sang "When I Get Where I'm Going" yet it still makes me cry every time I hear it—I can't even sing along to that one because her harmony is so masterful that I just want to listen.  

Her great love for music shines through in each collaboration, as does her generosity of spirit. The list of artists and genres is long and impressive, and she brought her characteristic joy and fun into every recording session and concert. It would have been very easy for her to just keep her star power to herself and to kick back and enjoy the fruit of her success, but she never stopped lifting others up as long as she lived. She truly lived according to the truth that all people are God's image-bearers, and gave dignity and respect to all regardless of their political persuasion or bank balance or any other defining factor. People were her passion, and she loved and encouraged everyone. Her love for God was evidenced by her tireless love for people.

Whitney Houston famously recorded Dolly's song, and it changed the world. Rather than be jealous of the success, Dolly celebrated Whitney, and even presented her with the Grammy she won for that recording. This situation perfectly encapsulates the shining star that Dolly was—her life glowed brightly with faith, generosity, beauty, creativity, and togetherness, and made the world a more bright and beautiful place. 

Be encouraged—your life is also something to celebrate! God has gifted each of us in unique ways, and has put us in the middle of many people who need to know how good He is. Let your light shine brightly as you share your gifts and time and forgiveness with others today. This is what we can do to make a difference in the darkness.  

​Today is a great day to order a copy of my newest book, The Gray Lady of Galveston! Click the link above to order a print copy or ebook, and please consider sharing the link with your friends and family. They are also available on Amazon, or anywhere you shop for books online.

​I'd be so grateful for help in getting the word out about this wholesome, adventurous Teen/YA mystery series—thank you! 

The Gray Lady of Galveston is out and available for purchase! If you have any teen/YA readers in your life, please let them know about the Booksellers Mystery series—I so appreciate your help in getting the word out!

Caroline Mason navigates life, family, and growing up from the attic of her family’s historic Texas bookstore. But Caroline has a secret—the characters from her favorite classic novels come to life to train and assist her in solving real-world local mysteries. Blending the nostalgic charm of classic whodunits with a magical coming-of-age twist, this wholesome YA series is perfect for fans of cozy mysteries, literary adventures, and clean, high-stakes storytelling.
​

Order your copies today with the link below!

I am always astounded to recognize that I have essentially won the jackpot of time and place in life. I do not take it for granted, and I’m so grateful to God for every single experience I’ve had that has led me to today. I love that the fact I was born in 1972 means I can remember the bicentennial celebration. I was four years old, and my parents took me and my ten-year-old sister to Disney World for our first trip there. It truly was magical, and I love to look back at our few photos from that time to see the array of plaid pants, bellbottoms, and 1970s fashion in all its glory at the Magic Kingdom. People have all kinds of things to say about the 70s, but for me, it was an idyllic time with my wonderful, godly parents who loved my sister and me so well, and who gave us every opportunity to flourish and fly in this wonderful country of ours. My father spent many decades in the service, and his example along with my mother’s gracious attitude as his wife and partner gave me such pride in our nation. What an incredible place! We are free, and there is so much wonderful opportunity for anyone who chooses to avail themselves of it.

My father’s time in the US Navy afforded me an eclectic education and experience, both in school and in Christian fellowship, as we moved to some very different places of the country and got to experience so many cultures and perspectives. People in the northeast, the south, and on the west coast are wonderful—we have far more in common than not, and I'm so grateful to have known people from every corner of the nation. And with no idea at the time that it was a relatively new thing for girls, I loved sports, and enjoyed softball and swimming until my love for swimming overwhelmed the other, which led me on a path to a swimming scholarship at a division one school. That was such a wonderful part of my early years and my educational experience. I learned so much from swimming at that level, and I’m grateful every day for the things the sport taught me about discipline and grit and being able to handle much harder things than I ever would have imagined I could.

I was so blessed to attend university, and earned a degree in elementary education with a specialization in English, which allowed me to explore my love for literature, while at the same time gaining a very useful tool for my future. I am employable, and have availed myself of that privilege quite a few years of my adult life. Even more than that, my education made me feel so much more confident in homeschooling my own children, which we did, and I’m forever grateful for that opportunity.

It is quite an indulgence to write all of these paragraphs about my own experience, which I take simply because I recognize that I have actually personally experienced the very best that America has to offer. I am so grateful for our godly family, both up the line and now down the line. and for the many friendships God has blessed my husband and me with, and recognize how all of these wonderful people have been such a rich part of life. I am so thankful for the gift of literacy, for the Bible, and for all of the wonderful authors and historians who have had part in shaping my thinking. And I treasure the wealth of experiences that life in this very special place has afforded me, and the perspective all of this has given to me.

This country is seeded with the blood, sweat, tears, sacrifice, and love of men and women who left everything that was dear and familiar to them to come to a place, sight unseen, with the hope of a new and better life, for themselves and especially for their children. Some left the old ways and the old countries willingly, some under duress, some literally sold themselves into service for the chance at opportunity that would not have been available to them in the old system (as did my distant great-grandfather), and some came simply because they had been expelled from the old world and had nowhere else to go—looking back was no longer an option. With a holy combination of God’s grace and sheer grit they built a life—a good, hopeful life—and something new and shining began to rise. People who would never have been more than a rich man’s servant in the old countries suddenly had modest farms and homes and businesses of their own. They were free to live and worship as they pleased, and God prospered them. 

This nation is unique. Regardless of how polarizing that statement can be, it is just true. I do not say that to disparage any other place or people at all—after all, God made the whole world and everyone in it, and He loves them all. But there has never been a nation like this one, founded on the audacious idea that men and women can actually govern themselves. Of course, our founders recognized that it would take a special kind of men and women to keep the new republic—and it is here I would love to park for just a moment. 

What kind of people can govern themselves? This is so dangerous, as we know that our hearts tend to be so selfish, and it is too easy to only watch out for ourselves and our own people and possessions without much care for anyone else. A people who can govern themselves need to be people who have access to someone who always knows exactly what to do and who always acts with the utmost wisdom and mercy and justice. It needs to be a people who are committed to one another's highest good so that no one is left behind or overlooked. The founders of the nation spent much time in discussion over this problem and possibility, looked back to the Bible and the wonderful law that God gave to His people as they came out of slavery in Egypt, and came out of those discussions with the wild notion that there actually was hope for this new kind of nation.

And so the United States of America was founded on the idea that people can govern themselves only when they allow God to help them. When they believe the most high God is real, and that the inalienable rights that we hold so dear come directly from Him. When they obey God's prescriptions, believing that He truly does know best. When they really do love their neighbors as themselves, and treat each person with dignity and respect. 

What a wonderful birthday gift it would be to our nation if we could recommit ourselves to be this kind of people! We spend far too much time and energy looking for politicians to heal our land when the power is in God's hands and in our own. We can believe God, and commit our hearts to obey Him in believing loyalty. We can truly strive to do unto others as we would have them do to us, even (especially!) when it inconveniences us. We can watch out for the poor and the needy and the downtrodden, actively doing something to alleviate their plight. We can look around ourselves in our own homes and our own towns to extend the love and grace and forgiveness that God has first extended to us. We can love and trust God, and ask Him to have grace and mercy on us as we celebrate a special birthday. 

Thank God for the first 250 years of such a wonderful nation, and may there be so many more years to come, for ourselves and our posterity! 

I am so pleased to announce that the second book in the Booksellers Mystery series is out! Allow me to present to you the blurb on the back cover...

The Gray Lady of Galveston continues the story of Caroline Mason and her family, this time as they track down a missing friend in a beach town. Caroline could ever have imagined the opposition and danger they would face as a story from the past made its way into the present. With the help of both fictional mentors and real-life friends, Caroline navigates complex clues to unravel this newest mystery, deep in the heart of Texas. 

The book is available on Amazon (with a Kindle edition for only $5.99!) or wherever online books are sold, or you can follow this link to purchase yours today!

We can read in the Bible that on the day of Christ's death on the cross, the veil in the temple which separated the Holy Place of God from the regular people was torn in two. (Matthew 27:51) Only the high priest could enter into the presence of God before then, but on that day the massive, heavy curtain of separation was torn in two from the top to the bottom. A very common understanding of this event, no matter what flavor of Christianity you come from, is that this means we no longer have to have someone else be the mediator between ourselves and God. Jesus is the mediator, and when we believe Him we can approach God’s throne with confidence. And this is exactly what God has wanted all along—an intimate relationship with each of His children.

He is speaking, and we can learn to hear Him.

I have mentioned this before, and I think it is worth mentioning again. When my husband and I were first dating, he went home to Texas for the summer, and I stayed at our school in California to swim and work. So we did a lot of talking on the phone as often as our schedules aligned. One time early in the summer, I called and was chatting away for probably five minutes or so before I realized that I was talking to his brother! Of course, his brother could’ve told me that he was not who I thought he was, but he was enjoying the joke too much. Fast forward several decades from that time, and there’s no way I could be fooled, even by someone as close as that.

​I know my husband‘s voice. I know how he thinks, I know the kinds of things he would and would not say. I have lived with him and listened to him and talked to him and walked through life together with him for such a long time. I know his voice.

​And the same is true when we walk with God; we can learn to know His voice. When we spend day after day and year after year reading His word, listening to His heart, and growing in our understanding what He is doing, we can become familiar with His wonderful voice. We can read the Bible, of course, and that is often where we sense God speaking: so many passages minister to people every day, even thousands of years after they were written.  It might also be a particular passage or verse that stands out to you as you read a book, or as you listen to a sermon or podcast. It might be a thought in your heart as you listen to  beautiful music or watch a glorious sunset. God speaks in so many ways, and it is lovely to realize this more and more as you listen for His voice. 

Of course, one huge difference between knowing my husband‘s voice versus knowing God‘s voice is that very rarely do people try to fool me with what my husband would or wouldn’t say. My brother-in-law only did it the one time, and every now and then someone tries to tell me my husband said something that I know for a fact he would never have said. But with God's voice, there really is a lying enemy trying to fool each of us all the time. And much of the World Wide Web is daily causing confusion by trying to convince us of what God would or wouldn't say. Then there is our own strange inner dialogue that can also confuse us from time to time—we are far too quick to agree with the lies of the enemy, especially when thinking ill of ourselves and others.  So, how can we be sure that we are hearing God’s voice when we pray and listen? 

​My husband and I listened to a book recently called Hearing God by Dallas Willard. In it, the author gives three very helpful thoughts for knowing whether or not it is the voice of God you are hearing, and I think they will be an encouragement to you, too. ​If you find yourself in the situation where you are wondering whether it is God you are hearing, use these thoughts as a guide:

The quality/weight of the words - God's words carry weight—they are so meaningful and timely, and they speak directly to your question or situation. They are not empty platitudes or meaningless babble. They bring hope, healing, and wisdom at just the right time.

The Spirit of the words - His words are full of life and hope and encouragement. They never leave you empty or cold or despairing. He always bids you to come closer towards Him, never to turn away, no matter what has happened in your life. 

The content of the words - God's words won’t ever contradict the Bible and the principles therein.  They always align with what He has always said from the beginning, and are filled with mercy and hope and life. 


Yes, this world truly is bent and broken by sin and rebellion, and truly is difficult to navigate—but God has not left us alone or abandoned. Jesus Himself said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) God sent his Son to save us, He gave His Word to teach and guide us, and His Spirit lives in each of us who believe. 

Be encouraged today—God loves you and created you because He wants to be with you forever. Yes, someday in Heaven, but also right now. Even today, He is right there to listen to your cares and to speak comfort and truth into your heart. He is there to help you love and forgive others, even in the most difficult situations. Take your burdens and questions to Him, and listen for His counsel. Draw close to Him and let Him remind you of His great love for you. Lean into this most important relationship and conversation, and let His words of life fill you with hope and peace. 

I'm so grateful you're here—please also join me on my new YouTube channel, where I have some more thoughts and encouragement for you, and a fresh place to share what I am reading and writing! 

​I​ think there’s something so invaluable about the older generations passing along their faith and wisdom to others. Not just those vitally important things, but also their memories, stories, and experiences. It is so healthy and helpful to hear how life was for our parents and grandparents, and the way we learn about those things is through connections and face-to-face interaction—not just once or twice, but often and with repetition. Think family holiday get-togethers where the same stories are told again and again, adding new memories all the time. The youngest and newest among us need to hear those stories as the generations age and expand.

There is so much happening right now, and it threatens to make me a bit disheartened that anyone could think that these things are just the way things have always been, or that they are normal and acceptable. We have the unusual situation in our nation of being what folks call ”post-Christian,” a sad term meant to communicate something to the effect that we might have been a Christian people once, but we’re beyond that now.

Not so fast!

This might have some validity if you’re talking about the public or political arena only, but I want to encourage us all to take another look. God has not fallen off of His throne, nor has He forgotten us who believe Him here in our beloved country, or anywhere else for that matter. But His purposes and plan are so much bigger than we know how to think or imagine—God so loves THE WORLD and gave His Son for whomever will believe…and that number grows each and every year!

Just 100 years ago, there were roughly 2 billion people on the planet, now there are 8 billion and rising. What a lot of unique and beautiful lives God has in mind to create and love! The fact is that not much more than 100 years ago, both the life expectancy and infant mortality rates were pretty atrocious, even in our own country. We actually live in a day and age and place where we can all learn to read, to learn, and to study up on anything we please, regardless of where we are from or whether we are old or young, male or female, rich or not. We can create amazing art, literature, music, and products to enhance life for those around us, and add beauty and peace to push back the chaos. It truly is an amazing time to be alive.

When I was a teenager in the 1980s, so many of us watched a brand-new thing called MTV on the brand new thing called cable television as a certain pop singer sang day and night that we were material people living in a material world. This was never true, but the repetition of the lie had great effect on that generation. A lot of people entered adulthood believing that anything spiritual was a relic of a superstitious past.

Thank God that lie has passed its expiration date—more and more people all the time are waking up to the fact that the world is quite spiritual after all and that we had better think about such things. The sad part to this is that the material world lie left too many people both without a relationship with God and also searching for meaning and power without knowing how deadly and dangerous so many spiritual things are. Young people today are being lured back into the thrall of deadly, ancient things that never went away. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

On the other hand, there is the wonderful and positive development that calling yourself a Christian just because you were born here is now a thing of the past. It is back to the way it ought to be—each person must count the cost and choose to believe God is who He says He is and that He is as good as He says He is. For too long, too few people were ever faced with that most important decision. It was too easy to just coast along in a society so influenced by "church culture" without ever bowing their hearts to Jesus. The time of going to church because you would be fined or ridiculed or because it was the socially acceptable thing to do is firmly in the past—there are so few people left sitting in any Christian gathering who do not truly believe in the Most High God and His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

​And you never hear this on the news, but the Lord is moving around the globe, and the vision of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation being together in heaven someday no longer sounds like a pipe dream. Yes, there are many hearts yet to hear the Good News of Jesus, but there are so many who have heard the news and have BELIEVED!

I was visiting a church gathering in another city recently to see the beautiful sight of several of the children of some long-time friends being baptized. Our faith which is more precious than gold has been passed on to another generation in that family, and I will never tire of witnessing that. While there, I heard a great sermon on Jesus’ Parable of the Sower. He brought His Kingdom here to earth with Him when He came the first time—the beautiful Kingdom of God is still coming, but it really is already here. Jesus personally sowed the first seeds and showed a bunch of others how to do the same, and from that time to this the Kingdom of God and the life, beauty, wholeness, and peace that it brings have been growing and spreading thirty, sixty, and one hundred fold. Yes, sometimes it gets met with all kinds of different reactions—hostility, ambivalence, and doubt to name a few—but sometimes it lands in a ready heart. And then it takes off and can spread like wildfire, in this day and across the generations.

Yes, we are in a huge cosmic battle that we little understand. Yes, we must all do our part by believing God and trusting and obeying Him in every way. But I would remind us all that we are fighting in a war that has already been won by our great King, who waits patiently for us to share and for all the world to hear the Good News of His victory. We are not holding the fort—we are storming the castle of the terrible imposter's kingdom of death.

The Maker of Heaven and Earth is not wringing His hands in heaven, wishing all of us would go back to some particular point in the past where folks somehow got things exactly right. As many wonderful pieces that God's Kingdom has injected into the world, that perfect era has not yet existed in the fullest sense of what God hopes and dreams for His beautiful world and His beloved children. There is more, and it is ahead—the best is yet to come! He is always doing and making something new, and that is exactly what He is doing now. God’s beautiful Kingdom of life and peace and beauty is growing and spreading, and Jesus Himself said that the sorry gates of hell will not be able to withstand it. The kingdom of death that we are all born into was served its eviction notice when Jesus defeated death, and its reign of terror will end forever when He returns. 

So today, from one generation to another, let me encourage you to not be discouraged by the 24/7 message of chaos and death that you hear and see. In fact, I will once again encourage you to turn off that phone or computer or television and talk to your family about wonderful, hopeful things instead. Or invite some friends or neighbors for dinner to share the goodness of God together. Or spend some time just talking to God and hearing His heart. The Lord is doing amazing things in hearts and lives everywhere—let’s be a part of that!  

Today is an exciting day! I am launching a YouTube channel to accompany this blog. Please come spend some time with me there, as I hope to share thoughts like this, books I've written, things I'm learning or reading, and so much more to encourage you more often. The link below will take you there...

One of the most well-known passages of scripture is Jesus' Parable of the Sower: 
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That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” - Matthew 13: 1-9

There is so much to learn from this story. Here are a few thoughts to take from this parable today...

1.  We can read all we want to about gardening, and technically be “gardening experts”, but nothing is going to grow until we actually plant some seed.  We must take care not to fall into the trap of being Christians who are all knowledge and no action. Many of us have read so many books, have heard so many sermons, and could repeat everything you need to know about walking with God.  And yet the statistics prove that too few of us have fruitful lives; too few of us regularly lead people to Jesus. We do often wonder why so many people around us are lost and hurting, and we are concerned about the lack of morality in society, but we do little actual sowing of the seed of the Good News of Jesus.  Perhaps it is because we are afraid to try and fail. Or perhaps we lack the faith to believe that something might actually grow if we plant some seed. Or maybe we think that such things are definitively the preacher's job. We have many reasons and excuses not to do it,  and when we plant nothing, we get nothing every single time. But the mystery and miracle of it is that when we do plant seeds in the ground, very often something grows!

2.  Once the seed sprouts into a tiny plant, it needs daily nourishment and tender care to thrive. It is wonderful and beautiful when a new life is born, when someone is born again.  The gardener sees this miracle in the natural when the seeds she planted push up out of the soil into the sunlight. But if you let those little seedlings sprout up in the starter containers and then walk away before you get them into the ground where they can really take off, they are likely doomed to failure.  They will be green for just a short time before they wither away and die. And the weeds—where do they come from, and how in the world do they grow so fast?  You can pull all the weeds in a certain corner of the plot, and two days later they are back and threatening to choke the plants. All of this is the same in the spiritual—it is not enough just to take someone to a worship service or big event where they hear the gospel and respond. We must take them by the hand and go with them as they learn to really walk with the Lord.  We must help them learn how to feed themselves, how to grow, how to thrive, how to deal with the weeds of life, and how to be fruitful themselves. This, of course, takes a lot of time and commitment. We must leave behind our selfish excuses and become willing to sacrifice our time and lives to build the Kingdom.

3.  When the seed falls in good soil, a great harvest can take place.  I love the generous nature of God. He did not just make one kind of flower or one kind of tree, He made a grand array of types and colors and varieties. And He made them so that when their seeds fall into good soil, the reproduction is thirty, sixty, even a hundred times what was sown! This is true in the spiritual sense as well. When the seed of the Good News of Jesus falls into a ready and receptive heart, that person can be so fruitful and lead many others into the Kingdom. It is true that some hearts are stony or thorny or shallow, but none of those things are scary to a seasoned gardener. It just means some good hard work of getting the soil to a healthy place. Every gardener learns that you have to dig out the rocks, pull out the weeds and thorns, add nutrients to poor soil, and shoo away the birds. Not all soil is good for growing things, but it can almost always be made that way with time and care—and the same is true of the human heart. Some hearts are like the desert, but with someone's time and care and prayer, and with the love of Jesus, that barren, hard heart can turn into a fertile field. 


Think of all of the hearts you interact with each day—your spouse, your children and family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, businesspeople, people from your church gathering...the list goes on and on for each of us. Now think of the many ways you could encourage each of those hearts in your time together; think of the ways you could plant a seed, or water, or work the ground of a hardened heart. If all of us thinking this way would act on it, the world would become a more lovely and fruitful place. 

​I think there is such a beautiful poignancy to the fact that the amazing story of humanity begins in the Lord’s garden. We too often settle for such a drab and stunted version of life, when all the while God wants us to know and share in His abundant and vibrant reality of fruitfulness.  This is a beautiful season to bloom and grow. 

If you haven't already, here is a link to order Friday Night on the Frio River—the first in a series of Young Adult mysteries featuring Caroline and Kasey Mason and the rest of The Booksellers. You can also find it on Amazon or wherever books are sold online.

This is a fun and wholesome read that will encourage your pre-teen and teen reader as they navigate this complicated world. I'd be so grateful if you could help me spread the word to your friends and neighbors!  

And PS—Book 2 will be out later this year!

But I also happen to know that my relatives and friends on the east coast, especially in the northeast, are pretty much buried in snow today. A huge blizzard has blown down, and the deep winter chill has settled in for the foreseeable future. We down here are certainly praying for you up there. 

​I spent most of my formative years in Connecticut, and remember how long and dark the winter could feel. Of course, the first snow of the season or a white Christmas was always a welcome dream come true, but after the New Year, the hard part of winter began. The long weeks of dark and cold could really impact life and health. It was important to bring a hat to wear after swim practice, or my wet hair would actually freeze on the way from the natatorium to the car. I learned the hard way that warm socks and boots were a necessity at the bus stop, or I couldn't walk up the bus steps easily. And even with central heating in our home, I remember having to talk myself into getting out of the warm shower because it was going to be so cold. As a teenager, I often used my blow drier not only on my hair, but on myself in general. It hurts to be cold for too long! 

This is also true for the human heart.

My silly teenaged (and admittedly pampered) memories of the dangers of being too cold are nothing compared to the real dangers of actually freezing to death in a blizzard. But what I would like to point out is that the analogy holds—our hearts struggle to survive extended periods of cold. I'd love to get us considering what we think about when our minds get a moment for free thought. There are so many things to think about each day—family, food, clothing, shelter, work—but what do we dwell upon when everything else has been tended?

​For some of us, the moment for free-thought is a wonderful time for worship and prayer, for gratitude and thanksgiving. And thank God for that! But for too many of us, that lull in action is a time to rehearse and re-live something awful that has happened in our past. This is where the kids would say, IYKYK—if you know, you know. 

I must say that I had never understood getting stuck in a negative thought pattern before, but lately I better understand. I am naturally a completely optimistic person, and have never been truly mistreated by anyone of importance in my life. But recent events have helped me know that when someone hurts us, the temptation becomes living and re-living that scenario again and again. It suddenly brings up the temptation to fantasize about endless imaginary conversations with the perpetrator, letting them know exactly what we think, even imagining worst-case scenarios for them (which reveals that our own hearts are no better!). 

It is so strange to feel so angry for such a long period of time, and it is easy to see that such a thought pattern is not helpful or life-giving. Jesus encourages us to forgive, and even shares His grace with us to do so, but it is just not easy or natural for any of us. And the real danger is that what we think about, we will become.  With this real and present danger lurking, the question at hand becomes...how do we get out of such a rut?

We must daily thaw our hearts. 

Just like me and my blow drier from long ago, we have to take the initiative to warm up our hearts before the cold sets in forever. 

Of course, there is a wonderful passage of scripture to turn to for help! Let's look at the letter that the apostle Peter wrote, what we now call the book of Second Peter. Take a fresh look at the first few verses...

From: Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To: Those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours...(That's you and me!)

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Peter, who certainly must have known a thing or two about the temptation of dwelling on hurtful things, encourages us to actively remember the amazing things God has done and made possible. He reminds us that God has given us everything we need to live an amazing, godly life of peace, joy, and love. We don't have to become stuck in the rut of becoming nearsighted and blind. Through Christ, we can have mastery of ourselves, we don't have to be frozen-hearted and stuck, and we can love and forgive one another in an increasing manner. 

When we find ourselves trapped in a rut of anger and unforgiveness, it means we've forgotten the most important thing. We must stop and remember the gospel! 

What is the gospel? Literally, it means the good news. Historically, when a king won a battle, a soldier would announce the victory in the home city with a great shout, "Gospel!" It means the king has prevailed and victory has been won—the kingdom is advancing. And this is what Peter is reminding his readers about with his letters: our great King Jesus has defeated death and His kingdom is advancing all the time. The great evil that was unleashed in the world by rebellion can and will be overcome by the goodness, hope and love of Christ. We are not helpless and doomed, and this truly is great news! 

All of this sounds infinitely better and more life-giving for contemplation than a hurtful situation. How odd that so many of us default to dwelling on something horrible when we could be thinking about the most powerful and wonderful thing in the cosmos. 

​My husband and I listened to an old Tim Keller sermon about this letter from Peter, and Keller pointed out the fact that our hearts are so warped by sin that the many good things that people say and do to us don’t stick, while the bad things that people say and do to us do stick. The people who love us can say and do hundreds of wonderful things to and for us, but we are all much more likely to dwell on the one terribly hurtful thing that happens. 

If we dwell on affirmation, we are confident. 

If we dwell on the hurts, we are likely to become bitter and angry.

What we think about, we become.

The world doesn't need even one more bitter person to wreak havoc. The enemy's greatest trick is to use us to hurt one another—we too often do the dirty work for him. Our families and friends and neighbors will be blessed as we let Jesus melt our cold hearts, and make us into people who shine brightly in the darkness. Our lives can be so filled with joy and peace as we let God fill us with grace and forgiveness.

Take a moment to re-read that advice from Peter. "Make every effort," he says. Please recall that Peter is the one who denied Jesus three times at His hour of greatest need. It must have been a terrible temptation for him to kick himself over that one night for the rest of his days. In this letter, he is telling us what he learned about overcoming that temptation--remember the good news of Jesus every day, and you can be confident and filled with hope! Your frozen heart can melt with the warm and gentle breeze of the Spirit living in you.

If you would like even more of an encouraging refresher of the good news of Jesus Christ, I encourage you to take the time to read the introductory remarks to all of the other letters in the New Testament. Let your heart be warmed and filled with the confidence and hope that Jesus brings—His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life. Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord!

But now many long centuries have passed and philosophers have thought their thoughts and made their impacts, and the momentous reality of death's defeat has been toned down and forgotten. We think very generally and somewhat hazily that sure, one day we will live again somewhere, somehow, but it does not impact our everyday life as much as it could. We are much too easily derailed off the new Way of the resurrection power of Jesus back into the chaos. We are content to think that His resurrection power is for someday, never quite grasping that it is also for today. 

I don’t know about you, but recent events in my life have stretched my faith very much. When life is easy, we can go weeks, months, even years on something like auto-pilot, without having to really wrestle with what we actually believe. But occasionally circumstances in life suddenly require serious thought about our choices. We can go for years doing the same old thing, running with the same people, going to the same places, doing all of our normal routine without much deviation. But then comes an explosion...or is it an opportunity to see which path I am choosing?

​It would be very difficult to know what kind of shape our faith was in if we never had some difficult choices to make. And here is the major choice in life—do we believe that what God says is right and true, or not? Are we going to walk with Jesus along His Way, or choose the way of chaos?

I have found in my own life, and I would encourage you to search your heart along these lines, that an easy tell for whether I believe God or not is my use of the very small conjunction, but.

As in, I know what God says about forgiveness, but...

Or I know what Jesus said about loving your enemies, but...

Or I know what the Bible says about generosity, but...

Today is an absolutely gorgeous day to begin a fresh, new year. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and there is such a crisp feel to the air. But as tempting as it is to start marching ahead into the newness of a new year, what an opportunity the slower holiday season affords to spend at least just a few minutes looking back.

Somehow, so many of us are wired to look back and focus primarily, and much too deeply, on the things that we regret, or that disappointed us, or that we got wrong. When we turn and look back, we too often see the negative or the not-enough, and concentrate on our own failings. Sadly, we neglect to see the many ways God met us in so many situations.

So today, many of us might be relieved to start again with a new year, really ready to leave 2025 in the dust. We might look backwards and see frustrating relationships, or unmet expectations, or unresolved conflict. Frankly, there is always plenty of that no matter what the calendar year is.  Of course, at least part of the problem is with who we put at the center of our lives—ourselves, or God?—and how we look back is quite telling. When we can only see the negative, it is a sure sign that we're putting too much emphasis on ourselves and our own abilities or lack thereof. If we think the entire burden of life rests on our own shoulders, we are sure to be disappointed, year after year. But if we put God at the center, and train our eyes to see that, it can absolutely revolutionize our faith moving forward.

Focusing on only the negative in life would be like keeping a photo album of the worst days of your life, or constructing a shrine to purposely remind yourself of something awful. Strangely, there actually seem to be people out there who do this very thing, and then wonder why they are always miserable and bitter. But in His wisdom, God asks us to remember the beautiful, joyful, victorious things—and there are so many wonderful things that God in his faithfulness does for us, all the time!

And this is where I will round out my musical theme of this year with one more song that has been a heart song of mine, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" . The verse that I am particularly thinking about right now goes like this:

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
hither by Thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
interposed His precious blood.

The word Ebeneezer refers to a remembrance stone, and this idea is found throughout the Old Testament, most specifically in 1 Samuel chapter 7. The Lord loves for us to purposefully remember! I hope that there is some sort of enormous photo album room to go through with Him someday, when heaven comes down. So often in the scriptures He encourages, even commands, His people to build something or to make something so that every time they pass there again, they will remember His great faithfulness.

So what better day is there to take a look back at the recently departed year than today? Eli and I have allotted ourselves sometime in the afternoon of January 1 to spend some time together reflecting on the highlight reel of this past year. Together, we hope to compile quite a list of the many beautiful things that God did for us,  showed us, or spoke to us in 2025.

You might not have time today, but I encourage you to let this thought lodge in your mind, and sometime this week take at least a bit of time to compile your own list. We know in our hearts and would even tell others that God is always there, that He really never leaves us or forsakes us. But too often we neglect to actually believe this. Our thoughts are too crowded by the many disappointments life brings. And those heartbreaks are what comes to the forefront, even when we’re looking forward to a new year. We’re left sort of bracing ourselves for what awful things might happen this next year. 

But instead of beginning this year with that outlook, taking a backward glance specifically to focus on the faithfulness of God can give us such a different vantage point as we march into the new year. Take the time to at least think of them, better yet write them down. What wonderful things happened in your life last year? Think of the...

-Relationships that were mended

-Miracles of provision

-Healing in your own body

-New experiences, new friends, and all of the new things God led you into

-Moments of peace and contentment

-Any of these things in the lives of people you love

-Or fill in the blank!

The point is just to look back and look for the wonderful things, which are surely manifold. The enemy wants you to focus on the negative, on the lack, on the frustration, and to fool you into thinking that you ought to really live in despair and hopelessness because so many things go wrong, surely God can’t be as good as He says He is…  

But God IS as good as He says He is, and you can trust Him!  All of those frustrating things are just part of wading through this broken world. And, guess what—God uses and redeems those frustrating experiences to make us stronger and more full of faith.

The wonderful news is the fact that Jesus is making everything new, and those encouraging points in life where we see that in such a real and powerful way can propel us and sustain us and encourage us through the dark bits. Don’t let the negative things of the past be your point of reference. Instead, let God and His faithfulness be your north star as you walk into 2026.

A few posts ago, I mentioned how in our church gathering we’ve been learning that faith is looking backward at how good God has been in the past, love is realizing all of the amazing things He is doing right here and right now, and hope is resting on both of those things as we look forward. We can be sure that He is going to be just as good as always as we move into the new year. 

So sometime this week, I encourage you to take time to remember His faithfulness. Build your own mental photo album or memorial with God and share some great memories together. Let Him build your faith, let Him fill you with his love, and may you be absolutely full of hope throughout the new year!
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