Inspiration

  • Inspiration

    The Value of Authenticity

    This is a guest blog post I wrote for She’s Intentional (Dainty Jewells). You can find the original post HERE. I’ve been wanting a Coach purse for a while. Many times, I have found myself browsing their website or slipping into an outlet store to drool over the elegant styles and colors. My eyes inevitably lock on some beauty with gold hardware and buttery-soft leather, and I fall in love all over again (As I said, I’ve done this many times!). My mind drifts off to my closet as I imagine what she (all purses are she to me…) would look like against that linen suit I bought last year or that dress I…

  • Inspiration

    One Day at the Well

    This is a guest post I wrote for Dainty Jewells about how one Samaritan woman’s encounter with Jesus not only changed her life but also led to the salvation of many of her people. You can view the original post HERE. The midday sun scorched the back of her neck as she bent to her task. She worked alone. It had been her fate for years and she accepted it. Even preferred it that way. Anything to avoid the disdainful glares from the others. The woman was wary as she watched the man approach. A Jew. She tugged up the heavy clay pitcher and dumped the water into the vessel…

  • Inspiration

    He Knows My Name: Having Faith for Myself

    This is a guest post I wrote for Dainty Jewells. You can view the original post HERE. It was just after four in the morning. I had gone to bed late. Yet, I had awakened moments before with a sudden urgency to pray for my daughter. I pulled back the covers and went to obey the call. After the burden lifted, I crept back to bed, careful not to wake my husband. Less than a minute later, a chirp from my cell phone on the nightstand informed me of an incoming text. It was from my daughter. “Mom, can you pray for me right now?” God had known the need. I told her…

  • Career,  Inspiration

    The Myth of Writer’s Block

    I stared at my laptop for ten minutes before realizing there wasn’t one word typed on the screen. Instead, my mind had drifted off to my mental checklist of things to do before the weekend. Refocusing on the blank screen, I shook my head, chastising myself, “Get something down, girl–anything.”  Why was this so hard?  During other writing sessions, I can have a rough draft of a blog post or a book chapter tapped out in thirty minutes. Today, and–realistically–over the past several days, I have lacked even a morsel of creative inspiration or focus.  I was obviously in the throes of a full-blown case of writer’s block.  No, that’s…

  • Dear... (,  Inspiration,  Relationships

    Dearest Daughter, You Are Enough

    Her body trembled as she pressed against me. I could feel the weakness and uncertainty she felt seep from her skin into my body as I absorbed the waves of emotion. She was hurting because of the cruel words of another. The icy dread and anger crept quietly into my soul although I spoke softly and comforted her with my words. This gentle, fragile girl I cradled was my daughter. A part of my very soul. The soft essence of her was an extension of myself. The cry of her heart matched the tones of my own in perfect harmony. She wept. Tears slowly drifting down her pale cheeks while…