Where do you get your ideas? We writers know, love, and sometimes hate this age-old question. My Jo Oliver thriller series started with a desire to write compelling stories of triumph, choice, and the power of emergent faith and community. Each story was fueled by a strong character, a plot idea, or an idea of what justice might look like via a twisty series of events. And while I am playing around with my next installment, I find myself distracted by new dreams. For the past year or so, I’ve been toying with a new story that I finally had…
Month: January 2020
This is our archive pageLiving in Joy Is a Choice
I was just eighteen when I landed my dream job writing for our local newspaper during college. After graduation I joined the full-time staff, covering news stories and writing special features and a weekly column where I shared my Christian convictions. This brought invitations to speak for church and civic events. What wisdom did a twenty-something have to share? My favorite presentation, “Living in Joy,” I packed with quotes and Scriptures about happiness and how to find it. Being young and eager to tackle life’s big questions, I didn’t have much spiritual depth—but I offered a solid solution to every…
Stop Checking the Rear View Mirror
I was going through a difficult time,and was replaying the hurt, pain, and offense over and over. And God has the ability to get our attention when we get stuck in life–especially when it is not a healthy place we are stuck in! In my daily devotions I read Phil 3: 13: Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead… Then later that day, after I had recounted the depressive situation once again, a dear friend said to me:…
A Conversation with CAN Volunteer Linda Goldfarb
Happy Friday, CAN Family! I’m writing to you from deep within the Iowa farm country. It’s chilly, but a small price to pay while on my way to ride my horse this morning. To warm the heart and soul, I’m thrilled to share an interview with professional coach, author, speaker and teacher Linda Goldfarb. A favorite on the AWSA and CAN circuits, and serving as Regional Group Director for CAN, Linda blesses others with her thriving coaching practice. I caught up with her today and look forward to sharing the wisdom with you. Thank you for joining us today, Linda! Let’s start out learning about…
A Chat with Author Peggy Blann Phifer
Greetings from Sarah Sundin in chilly-for-us California! Today I have the joy of interviewing one of our newest CAN members, novelist Peggy Blann Phifer. Although Peggy never planned to become a writer and didn’t start until she was in her fifties, she has definitely made up for it since then! Peggy, please tell us about your book, Somehow, Christmas Will Come. Molly Dugan sets aside her life in St. Paul and flies to Las Vegas to help her brother Patrick deal with the loss of his wife in a boating accident. But once there, things are not what Molly expected,…
Make It a Priority to Get Your Rest
“The LORD replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest’” (Exodus 33:14 NIV). I yawned and groaned as I glanced at my goals and my to-do list. Instead of getting shorter, the lists seemed to be growing—exponentially. The past year had been insanely demanding. In a regular year I would have worked a job, invested time into writing on evenings and weekends, and farmed my small acreage. Enough to keep a single woman hopping. But this last year I added designing a cottage and barn to build on my farm. Then I acted as…
Power for Tough Times
that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. Phil 3:10 This verse has special meaning to me. I met a curly -haired, tan, fit college student leader at Campus Crusade for Christ headquarters in the late summer of 1978. His Bible was so used and worn he had to have it rebound in rough tan leather and burned into the front cover was “That I may know Him” I fell in love with Bill Farrel not just for his good looks, but rather, for his God-chasing heart. …
SKEE BALL, PIZZA FIGHTS, AND FUN!
I had been dating Roy for a while, and he decided the time had come for me to meet his children, Jill and James. Very apprehensive but knowing this was the essential next step, I flew down from New Jersey to Atlanta with him. You wouldn’t think a six-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy could terrify a thirty-plus-year-old woman, would you? I’d never been around children much, other than an occasional babysitting job while I was in high school. And having the approval of these two kids meant everything. We went to Chuckie Cheese for the afternoon and for dinner….
A Chat with Author Donna Schlachter
Greetings from Marti Pieper in rainy and windy South Carolina! My husband and I are still adjusting to our new life here—and right now, we’re missing the warmth of Florida. Today, I want to bring some warmth to our CAN blog by introducing you to author Donna Schlachter. She has some delightful things to share with us about her newest book and more, so let’s get started! Welcome, Donna! We’re so glad to have you here on the CAN blog. Will you tell us about your book, please? Becky Campbell’s father is murdered. Zeke Graumann, a local rancher, might lose…
Bûche de Noël Yule Log Cake (part two)
No need to put away favorite holiday traditions just yet! I have more to say about the Yule Log tradition. In a previous post, “The Christmas Yule Log (part one)” I explained the origin (see December 23). Since most homes now have central heat and gas fireplaces, the Yule log custom has been replaced by a log-shaped cake called Bûche de Noël. In my new book Sara’s Surprise, a Bûche de Noël cake was Sara’s special Yule Log wedding cake. The name Bûche de Noël originally referred to the Yule Log itself, but was transferred to the dessert after the custom…
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