After more than twenty-three years addicted to methamphetamine and other drugs, David Parnell put an SKS assault rifle under his chin and pulled the trigger. The blast took off half his face, yet somehow he survived. Following an afterlife experience where he briefly experienced both hell and heaven, David woke up in the hospital. He was changed forever, both physically and emotionally. In 2010, David Parnell and I wrote his memoir, FACING THE DRAGON: How a Desperate Act Pulled One Addict Out of Methamphetamine Hell, about his horrific drug addiction and dual suicide attempts. In Facing the Dragon, you will witness the slow, agonizing metamorphosis of a good-looking high-school athlete into […]
Read more...WACKY WORD OF THE DAY JANUARY CONTEST WINNERS!
Hey all you Wacky Word lovers! I have just conducted the official WACKY WORD OF THE DAY random drawing for the month of January. If you’ll recall, anyone who used the daily word in a sentence and posted it on one of my social media sites (Facebook, Linkedin, Google+, or Twitter, or here in my blog, is entered in the drawing. The more times you enter, the better your chances! The winner can choose any one of my books, for FREE! Thank you all so much for participating… we had an amazing 54 entries, even though the contest didn’t start until the middle of the month! So, instead of giving […]
Read more...SILENCE IS GOLDEN
For an overachieving, working mother with a “Type A” personality and a tendency toward anxiety, the concept of being still is rather foreign … and a little frightening. Like so many Christians, I can be silent and listen to God for oh, about 15 seconds, before the noise of my over-stimulated mind breaks in. So imagine putting me in a place for 36 hours where true silence and isolation are observed? Then consider that this bona fide city girl would have no electricity or indoor plumbing and you’ll get an idea of how daunting the whole concept was for me. But that’s exactly where God led me. Finding myself at […]
Read more...WACKY WORD OF THE DAY RECAP – Week of January 20
Here’s a recap of the crazy words included in this week’s WACKY WORD of the Day. Don’t forget the contest: use any of these words in a sentence and you will be automatically entered in this month’s drawing to win one of my books. We’ll begin a new monthly contest in February. There is still time to add your sentences as comments to this blog posting or on my other social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin). MONDAY — MINIM (adjective) = a musical half note or something very small or insignificant TUESDAY — FLANEUR (noun) = an aimless idler or loafer. THURSDAY — HAIMISH (adjective) = homey, cozy FRIDAY — […]
Read more...ARE YOU SUFFERING FROM MARITAL DISCONNECT?
My husband and I have been together for thirty years (wait… what in the world?) and during that time we have experienced many valleys and mountain tops in our relationship. We struggled the most when we didn’t spend time together. Many couples feel like two ships passing in the night… radar might indicate there’s another vessel out there, but they can’t see or hear one another. In fact, they may be on a collision course without even knowing it. The pace of our lives has become frantic—climbing the corporate ladder, raising overscheduled kids, trying to be the volunteer of the year—it’s no wonder we have precious little time for our spouse. Good […]
Read more...A WHOLE New Ball Game
Aren’t you getting tired of everybody telling you to eat whole grains? I know it sounds like a broken record, but as a newbie on the road to wellness, I’m going to do it again. Sorry. If you’ll recall from last week’s first WELLNESS WEDNESDAY, I am trying to incorporate small changes in my life to make me healthier, happier, and more energized. So far we’ve talked about the importance of drinking a ridiculous amount of water every day. Doing so has health benefits from your brain all the way to the vascular system in your tippy toes, and it is a small thing to do to keep the specialists away. Today we […]
Read more...A CAREER IS LAUNCHED!
Back in 2005, my daughter invited her friend, Justin, to join her at youth group. Surprisingly, he looked her square in the face and said, “How do you even know He’s real?” She had no idea how to respond to that question, and to be honest, neither did I. It haunted me. That is the universal question isn’t it? How do we know Christ is real? To many people, Jesus is just a legend, a wise and kind man, a prophet. I wondered, what would convince people like Justin that following Jesus is worth a try? I embarked on a journey to prove that Christ is real. In a moment […]
Read more...WACKY WORDS OF THE DAY RECAP – Week of January 13
It is week 2 of my WACKY WORD OF THE DAY blogs. Remember, use the word in a sentence and post it here, on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, and I’ll add your name to the monthly drawing to win one of my books! Enter as many times as you want. Without further ado, here are last week’s words: January 14 ORTHOGONAL (adjective) = at right angles January 15 CRESTOMATHY – (noun) – a volume of selected passages or stories of an author, anthology January 16 FLAGITIOUS (adjective) = extremely wicked or criminal, or guilty of scandalous vices January 17 THEWLESS (adjective) = cowardly, timid, or lacking energy In love and […]
Read more...A Big Piece of Humble Pie
If an author’s publisher has a little marketing budget (rare these days) he or she may get booked on some TV and radio broadcasts to gain publicity and move some books. The publicist (Nashville Publicity) for my first two books did a phenomenal job and I was on all kinds of fun shows. Several years ago I made a quick trip to Indiana for an appearance on the Harvest Show. These little jaunts can be grueling. You spend days preparing and traveling for an interview that only lasts about 10 minutes, but it’s all part of the game. Hopefully the time spent away from family and work pays off in […]
Read more...THE WONDERS OF WATER
I sold yellow pages advertising for twelve years, eleven of those years as an outside sales consultant dealing with major accounts. While it was a great way to make a living, it was definitely NOT glamorous. Most of my clients weren’t in luxurious offices with mahogany furniture; they were plumbers, remodelers, and roofers working out of a van. As long as I live, I’ll never forget meeting with a mechanic at his auto repair shop in a suburb of St. Paul. I pulled up to the dilapidated shop in my yuppie sedan and clicked up to the front door wearing three-inch heals and a designer suit. I swallowed hard when I […]
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