A New Creation

Recently I read something fascinating about caterpillars becoming butterflies, versus pollywogs becoming frogs. Pollywogs simply transform—lose their tails and grow legs. These are natural changes of a young creature maturing. But the caterpillar? It actually dies, and its body liquifies into “caterpillar soup” inside its cocoon or chrysalis. In the process, specialized cells survive, andContinue reading “A New Creation”

Fighting Me

Fighting the “I don’t want to” Selfish tantrums reveal Unredeemed parts of me Needing to bow down Before the LORD For His will Immature places Not yet transformed Humble me Frustrate, yet Broken places are where Living water may pour in Come, Holy Spirit, come! Redeem my earthly soul Make my mind, emotions, will AlignContinue reading “Fighting Me”

Magnolia’s Run: Walking Through Walls

Hi, friends! I’m excited to announce my new Teen and Young Adult novel, Magnolia’s Run: Walking Through Walls. In 1952, nine-year-old Magnolia is abducted from her Idaho family and transported to Kentucky for purposes beyond her understanding. Desperately clinging to the hope of returning home, she faces years of entrapment before deciding to flee. Magnolia’sContinue reading “Magnolia’s Run: Walking Through Walls”

Our Tombs

The door slammed shut blocking any trace of light entering the pitch black room. He might as well have been dead and buried; the crushing experience was the same. Isolated, abandoned, rejected, ridiculed, he could only cower in a tight ball thankful he could still breathe. He had been beaten and bloodied…again. The boy wasContinue reading “Our Tombs”

The Man on the Curb

Traffic slowed. The right hand lane emptied at flashing lights ahead. At the stoplight an enormous white pickup sat at a slight angle blocking the right hand turn; a man sat on the curb nearby; three police cars parked parallel to the sidewalk faced him and the truck. No other vehicles evidencing an accident wereContinue reading “The Man on the Curb”

Voices

What voices am I listening toDefining life, how I should beNot only in the world around But also what I think of me Do they tell the truthHave you ever heard inside A voice insisting you are small Diminished in some unique wayNot good enough, somehow wrong Just because you’re youWhen I found in ChristContinue reading “Voices”

Forgiven

She was caught in the act, roughly snatched from her lover’s embrace and dragged naked by her accusers to be judged. The rule of the day: death. Humiliation covered her shame as she was thrust forward. The sun had warmed the ground, her feet barely aware. “What about her?” Challenging glares and upturned chins confirmedContinue reading “Forgiven”

A Tough Nut to Crack

Imprisoned in a rigid shell Protected from external force The meat, the heart of the nutGrew surrounded very well Defended from all foe Thinking it was self-containedIt realized not the greater strains That exert great pressure Causing change by measure Beyond what it did knowFearful of much transformation Holding sense of stiff controlIt toughened moreContinue reading “A Tough Nut to Crack”

Cloaks of Identity

“Belonging comes before identity. Ownership births purpose. Someone speaks whose we are, and out of that we become who we are. It’s just the way the heart works…” —Charles Martin, Keeper of Water. Having recently finished Keeper of Water, the above quote has resonated in my soul. Somewhere deep in one’s being there is thatContinue reading “Cloaks of Identity”