Reading the Bible In A Year

Leave a comment

I just completed my Bible in a year plan so I wanted to share my thoughts about it. It is an accomplishment.–that’s for sure. It’s not the first time I’ve done the Bible in a year plan and each time I’ve sort of had the same reaction.

There’s lots of good to it. It let me see the Bible as a whole. It reminded me of all the Old Testament heroes and the difficulties God helped them overcome. It demonstrated again and again God’s faithfulness. HIs love. HIs goodness. It showed me the beauty of the Psalms and the wisdom of Proverbs.

The plan I used was chronological order. Chronological in the order it happened, not the order it was written. That’s something I hadn’t done before and I definitely found it thought-provoking, especially when I got to the New Testament.

But…there were things I didn’t like about such a rigid Bible reading plan as well. First, it was as I said rigid. It didn’t allow for flexibility if I wanted/needed to read other passages for some reason.

Second of all, we didn’t get to the New Testament until day 274. Day 274! There’s only 365 days in a year so that left 91 days for the entire New Testament. There

 There were four days allotted to the book of Revelation. Only 4 days. I did a Bible study on Revelation a few years ago. I’m not exactly sure how long it took but I’m going to guess about two months.

And it wasn’t just Revelation, it was the same for many of the books. There just wasn’t enough time to go in depth the way I like to. It felt way too rushed for me.

One of the other good things is that it definitely helped me get back into daily Bible reading, something that I’d slacked off in the past few years. And I liked having a plan. It kept me on track so I’m coming up with my own plan for next year.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about reading the Bible in a Year plan. Or tell us about what plan you like to use. Thanks.

Introducing Shady Valley Mysteries!

Leave a comment

It’s that time again—a new book releasing! SMALL TOWN SECRETS is based in the fictional town of Shady Valley, but does resemble my hometown of Shreve, Ohio. Except nothing this exciting happens in Shreve–which is a good thing. That’s why I like living there.

But nothing happening would make for a boring book so Shady Valley has a few secrets–secrets that could kill!

On the surface, Shady Valley seems to be the ideal all-American place to live with beautiful flowering trees lining both sides of the street as you enter the picturesque town. Neighbors help neighbors. Doors are often left unlocked.

Serious crimes are practically nonexistent—almost but not quite!

When Angie McVey disappears on her wedding day, rookie officer Cami Martine is determined to find her best friend. Unfortunately, there are no leads to follow.

Angie seems to have disappeared into thin air.

But not everyone in Shady Valley is what they appear to be.  Some have secrets—deadly secrets—that they hide behind the masks they wear. If Cami is to bring her best friend home, she will need to discover the deadly secrets of her friends and neighbors and find the one who wears the biggest mask.

SMALL TOWN SECRETS is a fast-paced mystery and suspense novel that will keep you turning pages past your bedtime. It goes on sale October 13th, but you can pre-order the book right now! Just click HERE!

Thanks for all your support. BTW, I just finished final edits on another book–WALKING THROUGH THE RAIN. I can’t wait to tell you more about that as it gets closer to release time!

GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

Amazon Book of the Month Deals!

Leave a comment

I’m honored to announce that three of my books have been chosen as Amazon Book of the Month deals–and that means they’re on sale all this month!

When I write books, I work really hard at making it the best that it can be. I want readers to enjoy my books, but writing is one of the ways I serve God. So with that in mind, I definitely want them to be the best they can be, but… once the book is published, I don’t go back and read it.

It’s done and I can’t change anything so it would be upsetting to see a glaring mistake. But BETRAYED is one of three books that was chosen as Kindle’s Book of the Month Deals and on sale so…I decided to read the SISTERS BY CHOICE series. The first in the series is DECEPTION. As I’m reading it, I think to myself “Wow! I really wrote this!” So if you haven’t read the series, it features strong women who forge strong bonds with each other through the danger they’re facing.

The books in order are:

DECEPTION

BETRAYED

REDEMPTION

BETRAYED is on sale the month of June but you can also by the complete series as an e-book.

My other books that are on sale are:

JANE DOE is my latest book to be released. I set part of the book in Paw Paw, West Virginia where I worked for a short time as a speech pathologist so it was fun to go back to that area. It’s a beautiful area.

SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN is the third book in my PUZZLE HOUSE series. It’s not a thriller like the other books, but I love writing something that goes deeper to explore faith issues.

So that’s my big news for June. That and the fact that I just got back from an Alaska cruise! If you’re looking for some great summer reading, check out these books or any of my other books that you haven’t read.

GOD BLESS & GOOD READING–AND HAPPY SUMMER!

Happy Birthday to me!

8 Comments

I thought I’d share a few thoughts on my birthday

I hope you receive it in the spirit that it’s given.

In this life, we all have troubles.

But God is still on the throne–no matter what.

Today is my birthday!

I’m 68.

I have brain tumors and a genetic disease called Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2).

I can’t hear as good as I’d like.

I weeble and wobble when I walk.

I weigh more than I want to.

I have more aches and pains than I used to.

I’m slower than I used to be and I wasn’t all that fast to begin with.

But… God is with me always.

He is my God and Savior.

He is my protector and provider.

He is my healer.

But… God is with me always.

He gives me peace and joy.

He gives me rest.

He blesses in more ways than I have time to tell.

But… God is with me always.

He is faithful always.

He is loving always.

He is good always.

Thank you, God for this thing called life.

May I bring honor and glory to you in all that I do.

Book Review–Under Fire by Lynn H. Blackburn

Leave a comment

I promised a book review and here it is.

I just finished Under Fire by Lynn H. Blackburn. It’s the third in her Defend and Protect series. I didn’t read the first but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of Under Fire. However, it does make me want to go back and read the other two in the series. For those of us who love mystery and suspense, this book has plenty of both.

Blackburn does a masterful job of creating Christian characters that are real rather than two-dimensional characters of what Christians are supposed to be like. Tessa, the main character is flawed–just like most of us. But she’s also completely dedicated to her job of being a Secret Service Agent in Raleigh, NC. When she has a choice to save herself some embarassment by not revealing details from a personal trauma, she chooses to do the right thing. I applaud her for that. She doesn’t take the easy way out.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and the characters. My only complaint is that it seemed a bit slow paced for me, but still an enjoyable read.

Until next time, God Bless & Good Reading.

Life Happens

4 Comments

So I haven’t been paying much attention to my blog. Sorry about that. So just to catch you up on my news.

Last December, I actually got FIVE book contracts from my publisher. Yes, I said FIVE! That was amazing news and a wonderful Christmas gift. So I’ve been busy editing and polishing up those novels. I just sent the second one back to my publisher. In fact, I sent it a few minutes ago.

The current tile is Walking Through The Rain, but that’s subject to change. I love this story and can’t wait for it to be published. To me this story is simply a Christian fiction novel, but my publisher calls it women’s fiction. I happen to think men will love the story as well.

Earlier in the year, I sent in the edits on a suspense novel, Small Town Secrets. This is a fast-paced suspense that will keep you reading later than planned. It’s the first in what I hope to be a series, but we shall see.

Then I also received a contract for a three book series entitled Messenger, Uncitizen, And Exile. This is a dystopian series that’s set in NewAmerica–a place where even saying the name of God is a crime!

So that’s my book news for the time being. In a few days, I’ll post a book review. I have some other news which I’ll share with you another days.

For now, here’s the cover of Small Town Secrets!

Until next time, God Bless & Good Reading!

2023 Word of the Year

4 Comments

So a few days ago, I promised to share my 2023 Word of the Year. And here it is…FAITHFUL.

So let me tell you how I “found” this word. One of my FB friends posted about how difficult 2020, 2021, and 2022 have been. My comment to her was that these past few years made me very appreciative of biblical Jews as they struggled through very difficult circumstances for hundreds of years and yet they never lost their belief that God is FAITHFUL.

I thought about how the Jewish people remained faithful during those 400 long years when they heard nothing from God. There were no prophets to bring them God’s Word, but they remained faithful that God was faithful.

So FAITHFUL is my Word of the Year.

I want to focus on the fact that God is faithful even when life is difficult, even when life doesn’t go the way we want, even when we can’t feel Him.

Here’s a few verses that I came across about God’s faithfulness.

Deuteronomy 7: 9

 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

Hebrews 10: 23

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

What beautiful verses!

Happy New Year! May God bless you in the coming year.

2022 Word of the Year

1 Comment

So writers like to do nerdy things like have a Word of the Year that they focus on as part of the Bible meditations. Last year, I had planned on NOT having a word of the year.

No particular reason, I just wasn’t feeling it. But in between Christmas and New Year’s, I was walking on my treadmill and a word popped into my head.

HEALING

And there it was my word of the year. Now being a flawed human being, I thought that word was about ME and my healing.

After all, I live with bilateral brain tumors, had recently started back on treatment for them, and have more than enough struggles to make my days interesting.

But I was wrong.

As the year went on, I developed more compassion for other people’s suffering, especially physical suffering (something I know about). My prayer life began to reflect that compassion.

I wish I could tell you that I’m ending this year healthier (physically) than I began it. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. And that brings me to 2023’s Word of the Year which is…

I’ll tell you soon!

2022–HAPPY NEW YEAR!

4 Comments

Oh my goodness, it’s been a while since I’ve been here and I apologize for that. I hate to admit it, but I’ve been struggling as far as my writing goes. I submitted two stories to my publisher back in May and then BAM! I seemed to have lost all interest in writing. I would start a story but stop after a few pages, then I’d try a different story with the same results.

I just couldn’t focus on writing or anything to do with writing.

And that made me feel somewhat lost but…I decided not to panic so I took a break.

About a week before Christmas, I opened my email to find a letter from my publisher offering me a 3-book contract for a series I’d forgotten I’d even submitted to her along with contracts for the two stories I submitted in May. So that’s a contract for FIVE different books!

A few days after the contracts, the one story I was having trouble with came to mind. And in like a 30-second window, I saw how I needed to change the story to make it work so…I’m writing again.

And that makes me happy!

Life is often like that. We are way too quick to panic when something goes wrong or doesn’t go the way we expect. Instead of panicking, we need to take a step back, take some deep breaths, and focus on God. It will work out one way or another, panic, worry, and depression make nothing better.

So as we enter into a new year, let’s make a commitment to focus more on God and less on anxiety, worry and depression.

BOOK REVIEW-The Catch

Leave a comment

I recently had the pleasure of reading THE CATCH by LISA HARRIS. It’s book 3 in her US Marshals series. I’m not sure if book 3 was a continuation of books 1 and 2 or a whole new story line, but it seemed as if it was a continuation. Even with not knowing the stories of the other two books, this was an enjoyable read.

Her writing style was plain and simple, nothing fancy and nothing too melodramatic. I wish more writers wrote like that. I hate when writers try to show off their vocabulary to the detriment of the story.

It had lots of action (which I like) but also had well-rounded characters, especially the main characters. If I had any complaints, it might be that there were too many characters and at times I would get confused who was who. This was probably due to not reading books 1 and 2.

All in all, it was a good book that I would recommend to others.

GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!