The 2nd Edition of Beyond the Valley is available now! ORDER HERE What Makes the No Eye Has Seen Story Unique? Lydia’s Isolation. Imagine the only world you’ve ever known included just you and a single parent? That parent is the only other human you’ve interacted with and you’ve had no choice but to believe all their reasoning about your existence and your purpose? Lydia’s Innocence. In our present age, we are bombarded by
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Ten Tips Toward a Healthy Spirit, Mind, and Body Amidst COVID19 and other 2020 Crises
I’m not sure when or where the three elements that make us human were ordered as mind, body, and soul. But I disagree that our minds should come first as far as care. For me, it’s when my soul is in a healthy, thriving place and space that I can thrive in the areas of my mental and physical health. As of late, it’s my spirit that grieves. The day
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For such a time as this – Thoughts on Easter 2020 amid Covid-19
Tomorrow will mark the first Easter in 20 years that my husband and our kids haven’t gone to church. It will also be the first Easter that we haven’t had all five of our kids home. With three of them living on their own, that makes us four separate households and technically, we shouldn’t be gathering to celebrate. These past few weeks have been hard on me. Even though I’m
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Top 10 – #4 The Back and Forth of Moving
NINE MOVES IN EIGHT YEARS In the past decade my husband, children, and I survived many financial challenges, job changes, health challenges, and NINE MOVES! I’m not sure all our children realize how the past decade truly impacted them. Looking back at my childhood and youth, moving was definitely the marker of many events in my life. And the nine places I’ve called home in the past decade mark a
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Fourth Baby, Faith Baby Turned 18!
On Tuesday, February 4, 2020, we celebrated our son, Jared’s 18th birthday. Our fourth child to enter adulthood, Jared is by no exaggeration the polar-opposite of his brother Dawson (I wrote about him for his 18th a few years back — see that post HERE.) While our ever-expanding family ate dinner in the center of Tucano’s Brazilian Grill, I briefly summarized how Jared came along right after we had overcome
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Top 10 — #3 Back and Forth of Health, Plus 10 Tips for Partnering with God to Stay Healthy!
Decade at a Glance Over the past decade I’ve learned to care for my own personal health and eventually recovered from severe chronic pain and fatigue as I carefully weighed every choice in order to gain the ability to work full-time. Also, our youngest son acquired severe eczema, which led to me spending most of my free time in the kitchen. Then our oldest son received a diagnosis of Celiac
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A midnight epiphany — am I supposed to write time-slip novels?
I’ve been reading them from the start– probably as far back as 2009. My first attempt to draft No Eye Has Seen started with me reading several “time-slip-like” YA novels. At the time, I was writing “Momma Jane” (original title) as a YA and was taking a course in writing children’s fiction. The two books I read as examples, and which I loved so much I still have copies on
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TOP 10 — #2 The Back and Forth of Work
My intention to create a record of the top ten life experiences from the last decade and my goals for using those experiences as a springboard to live out the next decade in more positive, less draining ways has shifted a bit. After reading Chapter Nine – The Most Important List in Emily P. Freeman’s The Next Right Thing, I did not take the timing of this reading as a
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TOP 10 — #1 The Back and Forth of Finances
Starting New Rhythms… This morning I woke up late after having a bit of insomnia. In part, I blamed the two cupcakes (sugar, chocolate, gluten and all!) that were leftovers from my granddaughter’s 1st Birthday Party on Sunday. Second, my 17-year-old hadn’t sent me a Snapchat saying he was home from work (our agreement so I don’t wake up at 2am wondering if he made it home safe!) However, after
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Will 2019 Be the Year I Finally Simplify and Enjoy Life?
As 2019 approached, I found myself melancholy as I reflected on all the major events and milestones in 2018. So many amazing things happened (so many I might forget one or two) — my older daughter’s second pregnancy announcement my other daughter getting engaged and getting married planning and executing a wedding in 6 months (with my daughters of course) hosting our grandson’s 2nd bday and the reveal that our
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When the Third One Left the Nest – The Differences Between Sons and Daughters
Maybe it’s because I’m the mom and he’s my son, but I had no idea it would be so hard to watch my boy leave home. After all, his sisters have been on their own for years and they are doing amazing. So, why did the smallest thought of him being on his own bring so many tears? I admit his dad and I haven’t done the best job allowing
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Short-term Character Arc as Set Up for a Series
Depending on the type of story, the timeline of a character’s arc process varies. For my particular WIP based on three sisters overcoming the onset of major life changes, the present-day part of the story only takes place over a weekend where they all attend their grandmother’s 80th birthday party. Although I plan to incorporate certain elements of backstory in the form of triggered memories and dialogue, each woman will