God is so good! Life can get tricky sometimes. I would rather go through it with Him, His way, than without Him, my way.

While I liked crafting stories from a young age, the stories were always for my own entertainment. When God put it on my heart to write one down, I had no idea He would then give me the whole of the story, a part two and three, and then more stories to tell. So I’m now going forward by faith, regularly a bit surprised at this adventure He’s taking me on. Keep me in your prayers! I welcome your comments and prayer requests!

Growing up, I knew there was a God. I knew the name of Jesus. And I knew He was supposed to be a pretty cool guy who liked kids like me. But, I was mostly curious, not really interested in giving up my ideas for His.

Why He made Himself known to me of all people is a mystery. It was and is a gift He gave me, and I didn’t even know it. I certainly didn’t recognize its worth when I was young. I do now though.

When I was in seventh grade, I decided to read the Psalms. I have no idea what prompted it, but I do remember well the determination to read a whole book of the Bible. Perhaps I should have picked Jude.

I enjoyed the Psalms for the most part, but I did wonder what Zion meant and why it kept being talked about. And I wondered about Israel and if all of the Psalms were even meant for this suburbanite kid. Nonetheless, I liked them, even if I never finished them back then.

I made it through most of high school with one foot in the world and one foot in Christ. Then, the summer before my senior year, I made a vow to the Lord. I told Him that He was all I wanted.

My senior year was quite different from the rest of my school days. I was singularly minded: follow and honor God. I was immature, legalistic, and full of myself, yet He took my vow and remade me.

In college, my desire for my God deepened. I wanted more. I wanted the constant fullness of joy and depth of love I had heard about, but had eluded me except in moments. I wanted everything He had for me, no matter the cost. I told Him so.

He took me at my word, answering that prayer, testing and trying me, making me into His image more and more.

I got married young to a man of integrity, uncompromising in his faith, desiring all that God has and is for him.

Together, we’ve laid our lives down before the Lord. We’ve been blessed with ten kids and an adventurous life in the country. Always, always our hearts are to seek Him first, asking Him to make us one with Him and in Him.

It’s a dangerous thing to tell the God of all creation to do whatever it takes and whatever He wants in your life, no holds barred.

It’s been a wild ride and rarely easy. It goes against the world and, even harder, against my flesh. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

My God is faithful and makes all things new and beautiful in His time. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

About This Site

Reflections

This is the section of my blog where I started. For years, I’ve written these posts where I share my personal reflections as I read scripture and dwell on all the amazing attributes and abundance of my God. I write from my heart, so it’s not always very scholarly–it’s pretty much never very scholarly–but hopefully always genuine. Some days are full of struggle, and others are full of joy and peace. My desire is to lay it all out there. We all have our ups and downs and by sharing the raw truth, we can be as iron sharpening iron and encourage each other on the journey, using the gifts He’s given each of us.

These days, I don’t post Reflections very often, but stick around because occasionally, the Lord puts one on my heart for sharing. Meanwhile, the bulk of my public writing is in the form of novels.

Flash Fiction

I also periodically publish flash fiction on this blog. Flash fiction is fiction composed of a few hundred words up to 2,000. It’s a very quick read and the ideal way for me to practice my story-telling skills and techniques. I like the condensed format where I go from beginning to middle to end very fast, leaving the reader with something profound, or at least a little entertaining to chew on. It’s a pretty intense way to tell a story and get my point across. There’s no time to get side-tracked. I also enjoy the sense of accomplishment in writing flash fiction. Unlike a novel, I get to present and get feedback on a finished work in relatively short order.