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When Mountains Sing

8/7/2019

I met Stacy Monson through our local chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. In fact, Stacy helped start Minnesota N.I.C.E. and I’m glad she did. The monthly meetings in St. Paul and the writers who come together there have been a big encouragement to me. Award-winning author of The Chain of Lakes series and Open Circle, Stacy has become a critique partner and friend. She describes her stories as “an extraordinary God at work in ordinary life.” Unlike the typical Christian romance, Stacy’s books are always about something so much more significant than boy meets girl.

Her newest book, When Mountains Sing, releases today, August 7!

When the truth cost her everything, she thought there was nothing left to lose.

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To the Class of 2019

5/18/2019

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I’ve been teaching Sunday school to fourth through sixth graders for seven years now. The first kids I taught are graduating from high school this spring. Perhaps they won’t be thrust out into the world this week as they leave the auditorium, but by fall they will be more or less “on their own.”

It’s a pretty scary world between #MeToo and

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When Research Hits Home

4/3/2019

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My current WIP (work in progress) is about anger with God from the standpoint of a Bethlehem woman who loses her child in Herod’s massacre of the innocents. I’ve been doing a lot of reading about first-century Palestine, and having fun tracking down connections and the impact of the historical context on my characters. I am also on the lookout for books that deal with my theme. The first one I turned to was Philip Yancy’s Disappointment with God.

It’s a book worth multiple readings.

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What if "Racism" Doesn't Equal "Bad"?

3/16/2019

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I just finished reading a book called White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. It’s about how hard it is to talk about race in our society, but if we don’t talk about it, we can never overcome the divisions that keep us apart. DiAngelo is white and addresses us whites to tell us that “colorblind” is not good enough, because it makes us blind to the challenges that our neighbors of color face. If we are blind to the problem, we have no hope of fixing it. The truth is that the white viewpoint is not the authoritative definition of reality even though in our society dominated by whites, it may seem so.

DiAngelo takes issue with the idea that we have clung to since the 1960s that racism=bad and non-racism=good. That concept keeps me

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A Literary Kick in the Gut

5/14/2018

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From time to time I have the opportunity to participate in the creation of quality Christian literature by being a beta reader for a colleague or editing for a client. One such book was Cradle Snatchers, the latest in British author Henry Brooks’ Will Houston mystery series and definitely his best so far. Brooks is an enthusiastic young father with seemingly boundless energy and creativity. He has a sharp mind and is eager to use story to communicate ideas he feels very passionate about. I’m usually pretty impatient with agenda-driven fiction even when I agree with the agenda, but in Cradle Snatchers Brooks has given us fast-paced action and laugh-out-loud characters that slam home his human-life agenda with gut-punching force.

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After the Games

4/3/2018

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I'm an adult figure skater and a major fan of the sport. I loved watching North Korean pair Ryom and Kim skate to a Beatles medley in the recent Olympic games. I cheered for South Korean Choi Da-bin who finished 8th in the ladies competition with a beautiful skate dedicated to her mother who passed away a few months ago. The South Korean short track skaters took home six medals (three gold) and their long track speed skaters added seven more to the country’s medal count. (I shared the ice with dedicated future short track competitors when I skated in Korea last spring.) South Korea was praised for the way the games ran and the beauty of the region. The closing ceremonies highlighted the South Korean love for technology and K-pop.

But now the games are over.

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Let's #Meetathisfeet Again

3/12/2018

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This Wednesday, March 14, 2018, thousands of students and teachers plan to walk out of class at 10 AM for 17 minutes to mark the one-month anniversary of the shootings at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that took the lives of fourteen students and three staff. The walk-out is also a cry against gun violence and a call for legislators to “do something” to protect our communities.

Let us make Wednesday a day of prayer for God to open hearts to honestly talk about this problem and seek solutions that will protect all without infringing on the legitimate rights of any.

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Praying in Unison

2/22/2018

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Did you join us in prayer on Wednesday, February 21? Maybe you didn’t choose to fast or dedicate the day to prayer, but I hope you spent some time holding up this broken nation before the God of the Universe.

I watched the morning news with the pause button in hand, so that I could stop and pray about individual news stories. My instinct was to curl up with a bowl of cereal or stick in a piece of toast as I watched; I wasn’t yet hungry enough to remember I was fasting.

I even found myself thanking the Lord for a stand by President Trump. He is calling for strengthening background checks and a ban on accessories that turn legal guns into assault weapons. So common sense that it should be bi-partisan.

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#MeetAtHisFeet Prayer Prompts

2/20/2018

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Some who have said they want to pray with us tomorrow on the one-week anniversary of the shootings in Parkland, Florida, aren’t on Facebook or for some other reasons will not receive the hourly prayer prompts I have prepared. So here they are for your convenience. Feel free to share. Please address any comments to God, not to me. The point is to bring our concerns to him.

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Meet at the Feet of Jesus

2/19/2018

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I am frustrated by the ranting on Facebook since last week’s mass shooting—the 18th this year and we are only halfway through February! Arguments aren’t going to change anyone’s mind. So I am proposing an alternative: Let’s make Wednesday, February 21, the one-week anniversary of the latest killings, a day of fasting and prayer for a change of heart in this nation that we may be able to work together to find practical solutions that neither hinder the legitimate pursuits of honest people, nor endanger ourselves and our children. We aren't meeting in any meaningful way on Facebook; let's meet at Jesus' feet instead.

“I’ve never done that,” said one friend when I suggested fasting. “Will you tell me how?”

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Times and
Places

When Mountains Sing

To the Class of 2019

When Research Hits Home

What if "Racism" Doesn't Equal "Bad"?

A Literary Kick in the Gut

After the Games

Let's #Meetathisfeet Again

Praying in Unison

#MeetAtHisFeet Prayer Prompts

Meet at the Feet of Jesus

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