First Impressions

, by

It was my first book to be published, and I was excited about flying to Colorado Springs to meet my publishers at their headquarters.  Coming from Florida and having been warned of the possibility of a late spring snowstorm in Colorado, I carefully picked out my clothes for the trip to make the best impression, strategic about packing a separate suitcase for cold weather and snow.  But the next day when the plane arrived in Colorado, my suitcase with my cold weather gear was missing. I awoke the next morning to find a blanket of freshly fallen snow outside my hotel…

Read More

Collected

, by

            The bear showed up again last night, and trash lay all over the driveway and front lawn.              Black bears start bulking up from midsummer through fall before they hibernate for the winter here in the Sierra Valley. It’s easier for them to forage through people’s dumpsters than through the forest that surrounds our mountain valley, so they wander from neighborhood to neighborhood looking for fridge castaways.             Groaning, I began the gross and time-consuming task of collecting the litter. One more thing. It was one more thing on my cluttered to-do plate.             After a four-day conference halfway across the country, I…

Read More

Asthma Treatments in History

, by

In the process of writing Testing Tessa, I learned that asthma is not a recent affliction but has been around for thousands of years. First mentioned in Chinese records around 2600 B.C.,  the disease wasn’t given its current name until around 600 B.C. when Hippocrates linked the symptoms to environmental triggers. He recommended a concoction of owl’s blood and wine to alleviate symptoms, not recognizing that asthma was, in fact, a disease. Through the years, other cultures attempted other treatments, including heating of herbs on a brick and then inhaling the fumes in 1500 B.C. Pliny the Elder, in 50 B.C., realized pollen…

Read More

On Telephones & Stethoscopes

, by

Did you ever play telephone with the tube inside paper towel rolls? You aren’t alone. The first stethoscope was nothing but a rolled-up piece of paper. In 1816 Dr. Rene Laennec wanted to listen to the sounds of his patient’s heart. Rather than place his ear on the person’s chest, he improvised. It worked! He coined the name stethoscope and called the process auscultation. About twenty-five years later, Dr. Camman added earpieces so he could use both ears.  Proverbs 4:23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. Cynthia L Simmons and her husband have five grown…

Read More

God’s Humor Is Pretty Fascinating

, by

I’m always fascinated when I read the Bible and identify God’s humor. That’s what happened when I was writing God’s Intriguing Questions: 40 Old Testament Devotions Revealing God’s Nature (co-written with my husband, Larry). Our book examines the questions God asks in the Bible. His questions are fascinating because He asks as if He doesn’t know the answers. But of course, He does and that’s what makes it humorous. He knows everything and asks questions to make people think and examine their motives and comprehension. The book of Job is filled with God asking questions. They are fascinating because many of them…

Read More

Excellence in Marketing Awards Open Aug. 1st!

, by

The Christian Authors Network announces the Excellence in Marketing Awards opens Aug. 1, 2021! Updated name enhances the purpose of the Excellence in Marketing Awards: To recognize, educate, and encourage excellence in marketing and promotion skills of all Christian authors. Enter Aug. 1-31, 2021 — 2 categories: fiction and nonfiction. Open to traditional and indie. Need not be a member of CAN. To read the rules and prepare your entries: https://christianauthorsnetwork.com/excellence-awards/ We look forward to your entries! Awards Gala in November 2021, more details to come.

Read More