When it happens, it feels like a gift, a treasure to be guarded. Sometimes, I can read faces. This gifting started during a time when I worked for a nonprofit which helped women who had been abused. All sorts of abuse at different times in their lives. Their faces mirrored the pain, horror and sadness. …
The celebration of Easter this year felt bittersweet. Although I enjoyed the holiday — who doesn’t love bunnies, colored eggs and the excited squeals of children when they wake up to find an Easter basket? Easter falls smack in the middle of one of the most beautiful seasons in Kansas. When life bursts from the …
Two days. 23 hours in a van. Stiff joints and screaming muscles. We finally arrived in Orlando. Why? Because my great niece and her band were marching at Disney World. The family traveled to encourage and support her. And she did a great job. I am sure I heard her trumpet above the rest of …
She was just a little girl when her parents told her, “We have to leave. The tzar is forcing us to leave our home. We will travel to America.” Little Anna Barkman did not understand all the politics of the time. How the Mennonites were summoned by Catherine the Great to farm the land and …
She always fought for the underdog. The sports team nobody else liked. The almost-invisible missionary. The poorest people living on the other side of our small town. The nurse accused of stealing, as she gave her deposition to the lawyer. “Anyone can make a mistake,” she said. Her compassion came from her own background of …
So many people I know are stuck — waiting for an answer to prayer. The answer that will help them move forward or make a life-changing decision. Even a little boost to nudge them out of the rut. They have prayed, fasted, cried out to God and yet — nothing. The silence, the no-answer, seems …
During the Creatives Conference in Santa Fe (circa 2018), I was struck with the beauty and acceptance of New Mexico’s racial diversity. But a different type of diversity also encouraged me, humbled me and taught me to be more open to those around me. During my week in Santa Fe, I met writers who were …
We planned it as a family weekend in Branson, and I looked forward to a leisurely drive through eastern Kansas and western Missouri. What I did not realize – until it was too late – was the massive fear-mongering I would face at the end of the journey. Although I grew up a tree climber, …
The following post reappears in March, a favorite post of my followers. Every year, as I struggle to survive February, I look forward to March Madness. Then for several weeks, I indulge in TV watching, cheering for my teams and yelling at double the volume. March Madness provides the perfect emotional release, adrenalin rush and …
As a writer, observation is one of my most important tools. Awareness of this tool causes me to listen for dialects when people speak and watch how their actions synch with emotions. This practice helps me develop realistic novels as I incorporate those rhythms into the characters who people my books. Observation notes interesting quirks …