All Blog Posts (746)

The Counterintuitive Kingdom

Human reason is a wonderful gift and a useful tool for many things. It is a God – given faculty that helps us to understand and navigate the world around us. We use it every day. Many a mystery has been solved through good old fashioned intuitive thinking and common sense. However, there is one realm where human reasoning will not suffice. That is the Spiritual realm, namely the Kingdom of God. Spiritual…

I’m so excited about my new and improved business logo! My fabulous designer, Janet Aiossa of Adam Hill Design in FL, once again took my idea and ran with it. She has combined three photographs of my dearest animal-friends into the prefect logo. I wanted to include the species I communicate with the most; canine, equine, & feline. You will meet the best horse I’ve sat on, Follow your Heart aka Stormy, who just turned 11 years old on Mother’s Day; my smiling Yellow…

It’s Mother’s Day and I’m lucky – I have a Mom who cares.  Some people don’t have it this way.  Whether by circumstance, intention or luck of the draw, theirs isn’t/wasn’t the Hallmark kind of Mom.  And it must be tough to hear all about that wonderful, unconditional acceptance when you’ve never experienced it.  I believe though that all of us have someone out there who thinks we’re special.  It may be a friend, lover, brother, daughter who loves us for who we are. …

Rita Pierson*, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, “They don't pay me to like the kids.” Her response: “Kids don't learn from people they don’t like.’”  A blunt but true message about the authenticity of children that also rings true of adults who have re-claimed their genuineness.  When you have the courage to step into yourself, you lose the desire and need to hang out with people who rub you the wrong way even though they may be influential,…

The Honor of Kings

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory (honor) of kings is to search out a matter.”

Proverbs 25:2

Some of God’s mysteries will only be revealed in Heaven. But He has many for us to uncover here and now. He delights in our desire to search out things and will patiently lead us in our pursuit of answers. Sometimes these searches are to unlock spiritual mysteries and sometimes they are…

Most of us have dreams we want to fulfill.  Once discovered and defined, we go after them.  Where challenges have arisen for me, is in the execution – the rollout if you like – of “how” I’m getting to said destination.  I plan what steps I should take and proceed accordingly.  When things are not unfolding as I think they should, frustration and disappointment result.  Main tip here?  Forget about the “how” and let the flow of circumstances and people that enter…

Sustainable Fruit

In the last month I have spoken to three different groups, a church, university students and a business management team, and each time the Lord has focused on this theme. “How can I have results that last and make a difference in my world?” It all comes down to two words, roots, and fruit.

Picture a fruit tree. A fruit tree has three main parts, roots, trunk, and fruit. All of these parts are essential and…

       There wasn't any noise or movement or any other logical explanation that night for Kirsta waking up. She was a sound sleeper and far from the habit of waking randomly during Earth's dark hours. Her bed was soft, adorned with sumptuous, one-hundred-percent cotton peacock patterened sheets, with matching down throw pillows that she claimed to her mother she had to have.…

I went to the opera last night – something I’m not a fan of, not into, but my mom was in town and is an opera buff so we went to Barber of Seville. Guess what?  It was funny, entertaining and Rossini’s music is easy on the ears.  I may even go see another performance…  Interesting to move from, “I don’t like” and “I’d never do that”, to “I’d like to try that again.”  Makes me wonder what else I’ve missed enjoying  because “It’s not for me.”  Time to break the mold,…

Free Kindle download for Lady Justice and the Assassin, the 13th volume in my Lady Justice mystery/comedy series.…

The world is unique during the switch from night to day. Early morning carries with it its own look and smell and feel. She knew. She, by now, was very well aquainted with all of these.

       At this point, she was quite familiar with the sensation of the blanket sliding off her body, bunched off to the side like a downy cliff, and her feet, sockless, touching down on the cool floor by her…

Tokyo Bossa Nova, by Martin Roth, introduces Feisty Ferreira, a unique and interesting character that is sure to show up in a sequel or two. Geologist turned financial analyst, she is a divorced Christian in her thirties; originally from Brazil, educated in the States, and now living in Australia. If that isn’t enough, she’s a philanthropist of sorts and owns an orphanage in the Philippines. She’s also a bit of a sleuth,…

If only it were this easy.  Logic spells out all the advantages for you to take a certain path – whether it involves a job, a relationship, a move, or your health.  Reason, of course, agrees and your road ahead is perfectly clear.  But something inside tells you otherwise.  There’s no safety net here only the sense of being unreasonable in the eyes of the world.  Be you.  When you seize the day, you may also be jumping off a cliff.…

http://www.scribd.com/doc/94855635/The-Island-of-Lote

Darkest Hour is the fourth in the Sanctuary Point Series of murder mysteries by author Nike Chillemi. The series takes place during the post World War Two era in Sanctuary Point, a quaint New England town. In this fourth installment, Chief Medical Examiner Hank Jansen champions accused murderess, Lucinda Byrne when her boss, one of the town’s doctors, if found shot to death. There are plenty of twists and turns as the mystery unravels, and of course, love blossoms as Hank and…

Still Life In Shadows by Alice Wisler is a book with many layers. There is a thread of romance, but the real theme of the book is learning to forgive, learning to let go, and learning to trust yourself. The very unique thing about this book is that it is written from two very different points of view, and not those that you would expect. Gideon Miller escaped from the Amish community fifteen years ago. He has managed to carve out a life for himself as a mechanic and an…

When she becomes stranded on an unknown island, feisty fourteen-year-old Milo Hestler accidentally gets engaged to the boy who rescues her.        Being a girl of high principles and plenty of attitude, she is furious, believing that she is far to young to be involved in something as profound and serious as marriage. Not to mention, her new fiance is virtually a stranger and they don't even speak the same language!

       However, despite her strenuous objections, an interpreter on the…