Did that title grab you? Well, what if I told you a man slaughtered so many animals that the number was too great to count?? Unbelievable? Read on… This morning, in reading from the Bible, and something hit me. It says in I Kings 8: v.5 – and King Solomon and the entrie assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted. I thought, wow, thousands? Well, I’d have to guess no, since at the dedication of the temple, scripture later says: 62then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord. 63Solomon offered to the Lord: twenty-two thousand sheep …

GOAL!!!!! YES! I did it. The hardest manuscript I’ve ever written–and last night I wrote the last chapter and epilogue. Midnight Zone was the most technical story I’ve ever written. It’s hanging in the balance with an editor right now…actually, I looked at my submission track last night and remembered it’s at TWO. Maybe one of them will give this story a shot. it’s really amazing (well, at least to me *wink*). I have to say, this story gave me a run for my money–and energy. Of course, now that I’m done, I realize it needs some restructuring and layering in (I realized in the last 1/4 I slipped back into my knack of leaving out the setting–UGH!). But for …

Reader Beware: this is a recurring theme. 😀 The more I pray and seek God’s will, the more I pray that I can learn to be flexible (a dangerous prayer in its own right), the more I see the hand of God moving. And it blesses me to realize how very active our God truly is. You hear often that we need to stop and smell the roses…what about concentrating on the ever-present activity of the Lord? See, I’ve known that God is working in my life, but I always had a detached sense about it. Now, I wonder if I ever truly believed it. Kinda like one of those things where you say, “sure, sure.” so everyone will leave …

Well, I’ve delved into the Deep…got into the zone…THE MIDNIGHT ZONE this weekend. for those who don’t know, that’s the title of my latest WIP. The seedgerm of this idea hit me last year while I was preparing for the 2005 ACFW conference. But I never really got terribly serious about it–until this last month. It’s a rockin’ story, set in the Deep Ocean–a layer called the Bathypelagic or Midnight Zone. I didn’t get any writing done at all on Saturday, but on Sunday, I burrowed in and wrote from about 3pm until just before midnight (no pun intended)–and got a LOT done. I wrote over 12,000 words, bringing my word count to just below 75k, which was my goal …

Who besides me cringes when they hear, “It’s all in God’s timing.” Well, I used to cringe BIG time–cuz God’s timing felt light years away. And don’ t get me wrong–I still flinch when I hear that sometimes, but now…now…WOW! I am so excited to see what is going to come of all the little nuggets God has been planting in my life. He’s stripped me bare of superficial and external affirmations, both things I had made the mistake of allowing to carry me through, from one to the next. God has made it plain that ONLY HIM is where I need to get what I need for each day. And you know, I can honestly say I’ve grown LEAPS …

Promise of a Lifetime, by Kutless I have fallen to my knees As I sing a lullaby of pain I’m feeling broken in my melody As I sing to help the tears go away Then I remember the pledge you made to me I know You’re always there To hear my every prayer inside I’m clinging to the Promise of a lifetime I hear the words you say to never walk away from me and leave behind the promise of a lifetime Will you help me fall apart Pick me up, take me in your arms Find my way back from the storm and you show me how to grow Through the change I still remember the pledge you made …

I’ve just had the blessing of a lifetime. My first interview!! Gina Conroy interviewed me for her blog, http://portraitofawriter.blogspot.com Zip on over there and take a gander at what I rambled about. LOL Thank you, Gina, for honoring me on your blog. YOU are an incredible woman of God. I am so glad to have met you!

Okay, remember the *old* version of Willie Wonka? Where they’re in that gondola-looking boat run by the Oompa-Loompas?? All the psychedelic pinwheels and radical colors bursting in chaos? And there’s Willie singing that psycho song with his eyes bulging…well, that’s about how my life has felt lately. Then, I came here to check my blog (I got lost, it’d been so long since I’d visited! LOL). EEK! It’d been nearly three weeks. BAD RONIE! BAD RONIE! Okay, enough of that. I’m trying to be encouraging here. Bitterness. A simple word with two syllables and a whole lotta bad stuff wadded up inside. Things haven’t exactly been peachy for me lately, and I was getting a bit too real about it. …

I’m elated to announce my kewl friend (aka: LOUD ASIAN CHICK with a kick of Wasabi) got a three-book contract with Zondervan for her Asian Chick-lit. And I have to tell you — those stories are kick-butt hilarious!! Camy has a strong voice. Y’all are going to totally love this series. And since Camy is now rich and living high off the hog with her advance, I’m just letting y’all know you have to hit her up now for help on getting to the conference…oh, she has to buy her hubby his two-thousand dollar espresso machine first (oh–um, we hope to test that out this summer, BTW, Camy). After he has his new toy, I’m sure with her ultra-generous heart, …

CHRISTINA ANNE KEANE GRAYJuly 1, 1944 – March 12, 1996 It’s been ten years since I got the fateful call from my brother informing me that our mother, who was lying in a hospital in Dublin, Ireland, had passed on. She’d returned to ireland to spend the holidays with her family, but the day after Christmas was admitted to the terminal ward of St. Vincent’s Hospital. I spent three weeks with her when she first fell ill from non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The staff *promised* to call if she got worse. They never called. I wasn’t there when my mom took her last breath. Part of me is glad, because my mother died what I considera violent death–vomitting blood since the cancer …