Into the Fire

     When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done, Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town call Bethesda, but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

     Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here."

     He replied, "You give them something to eat."

     They answered, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish – unless we go and buy food for all this crowd." (About five thousand men were there.)

     But he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Luke 9:10-17 (NIV)

No words can express my gratitude for all the things I've been given in life. No adjectives are grand enough. Nothing in this wonderful language of ours comes close to telling the Lord how grateful I am for all that He's done. He is Love. And I will always be desperate for Him because there is always more than can be imagined.

May your Thanksgiving bring you joy and reflection. May the sorrows seem dimmer, the frustrations less agitating, the disturbances less dramatic. May you know the One who is the Giver of all things good and perfect and receive from His abundance today and everyday. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

                         Happy Thanksgiving!

So what is it you like in a leading lady? Beauty? Brawn? Maturity? Innocence? Street-smartness? Sensitivity? Independence? Spirituality?

I like a variety of characters, but I've grown weary of female protagonists who are emotionally demanding and who fail to communicate what they really want. So I tend to write characters with a little sass and boldness. The exception to that is my heroine in Breath of Life (Shaylen Price aka Cabin LuCaine). She's fragile but independent, tender but with an innocent boldness. I like my leading ladies to be spiritually aware – even if they're in hard places or don't yet have faith. Two dimensional characters aren't enough and become predictable. Stereotypical behavior is borne from predictability and there is much of it in the romance genre.

How about you? What do you want from your fictional heroines?

Father, thank you for every breath of inspiration, touch of reality, compelling character. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Remember this song? Remember the old film where it was used? Guess.

Father, thank you for this amazing beauty in sound, the talents you give. My prayer is that those who use your gifts will know the Author of them. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

One of the best heroines in modern literature is Sibella Giorello's Raleigh Harmon. Why do I think so? Raleigh Harmon exhibits excruciating emotional strength while being on the edge of completely breaking down. She's attractive, tough, smart, vulnerable, and soft-hearted while exercising cynicism. She's kept her faith amidst severely debilitating personal pain and with each new endeavor she realizes important things about her character, personality, desires, and fortitude, again while re-establishing her breaking point. She's charismatic without intending to be. She has to put the breaks on herself or she will make going off half-cocked a daily ritual with her all-systems-go approach. I love her. She's a perfect endearing heroine because I understand her snark when it happens and she brings me to tears when she's on the verge of them. A real female heroine who's written exactly right.

Who is one of your favorite female heroines?

Father, thank you for Sibella's incredible writing, her unique imagination, and her commitment to you. Please continue to bless her with more stories of Raleigh Harmon. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.  

     Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. But Herod said, "I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?" And he tried to see him.

Luke 9:7-9 (NIV)

Tattoos: 0
Piercings: 0
Marriages: Two
Divorces: One
Children: Two
Surgeries: Yes (One finger, One heart) 
Shot a gun: Yes
Quit a job: Yes
Flown on a plane: Yes
100+miles in a car: Yes
100+motorcycle: No
Hit a deer: No
Gone zip lining: No
Cried over someone: Yes
Fell in love: Yes
Skipped school: Yes (with permission: once)
Watched someone give birth: No
Watched someone die: No
Been to Canada: Yes
Ridden in an ambulance: Yes
Been to Hawaii?: Yes    Been to Europe: Yes
Been to Washington DC: No   Visited Florida: No
Visited Mexico: No   Visited Las Vegas: No
Sang karaoke: No
Had a pet(s): Yes
Been sledding on big hill: Yes
Been downhill skiing: No
Rode on a motorcycle: Yes
Rode a horse: Yes
Stayed in a hospital: Yes
Donated blood: Yes
Driven a stick shift: Yes
Rode in the back of a police car: Yes

It's Friday after all.

Father, thank you for all the experiences you've given me. Thanks for saving my life. Thanks for your Love. Thank you is never enough. Please stay with me, Lord. I'm desperate for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

The first piece of the puzzle or the last? Choosing titles is as important as selecting cover designs. Some writers fuss inconsolably over titles of their manuscripts. Others say the titles just come to them. Some change them multiple times. Others are forced to endure the choices of editors.

What are some of your favorite titles and did they come to you easily? Readers, what are some of your favorite titles?

Lord, thank you for every title you've given me. You are the inspiration for all I do. Please keep helping me continue with these writing ventures. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Shadows of the Past by Patricia Bradley is Book 1 in the Logan Point Series.

Taylor Martin is an extraordinary profiler, but when it comes to her personal stalker and the developing relationship to the search for her long-missing father, she's fresh out of correct evaluations. Since her prime suspect for the stalker happens to be mystery writer, and widower of two years, Nick Sinclair's younger brother Scott, the attractive novelist is hot on her trail to prove his brother's innocence in the crimes associated with him. But Scott is a young messed up alcoholic who's not making it easy for Nick to totally believe some of what he claims.

When the stalking leads to attempted murder, Taylor's best friend and cop Livy gets involved and attempts to find the archived information about Taylor's dad. Nick is slowly edging his way into Taylor's life and heart, and both of them begin to wonder how they feel about each other.

As it turns out, Taylor's Uncle Jonathan wants to sell a large portion of their family property including her grandparents' broken down house, but Taylor, her brother, and her mom – although unsure what the right move should be – don't want to sell. Ironically, Taylor's mom is dating Scott Sinclair's attorney who also happens to be a close friend of Uncle Jonathan's.

The coincidences surrounding Taylor's investigation of her father's disappearance are more than enough to relate the recent stalking activities and murders to the cold case. Taylor's suddenly in danger, Scott's on the run, Nick's frantic, and the blanks aren't being filled in.

Shadows of the Past is an entertaining and well-written romantic suspense focusing on the search for answers to Taylor's dangerous dilemmas. Patricia Bradley keeps the momentum moving crisply forward and concludes the story with just the right element of intensity.

Father, please continue to bless Patricia, providing just what she needs to write the stories you have for her to tell. Keep her safe and inspired in all she does. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.  

There are many people in this world who can't understand the attachment some of us have to an animal we love. They fail to realize it's personal. Unique. Special. A relationship. I pity them. I do, because loving an animal gives you a sense of responsibility for another's well being, for giving to them what they might not be able to give themselves, to be able to understand so much about one of God's creatures reminds us of how it was in the beginning. In the Garden. Before sin.

It makes us realize the fatality sin produced. The horror. The ugliness. The excruciating pain of disobedience to the One who was so benevolent, full of perfection and beauty, who is Love. Who knew what it would do to us when we said yes to the devil and no to God. Shame on us all.

The loss we experience when we lose a loved one who is human is almost unendurable. It crushes us. We wonder if we can continue. If they believed in the One who saves our souls, we rest in the forever, knowing one day we will join them. It soothes but doesn't eliminate the physical and emotional loneliness left to us on earth.

When we lose our beloved animals, we flounder under the pain of having counted on them to occupy our time, to be able to feed and water them, to groom them if necessary, to nurse small wounds, to comfort fear, to spend idle hours in tandem with them. We find ourselves ready to do the rituals performed daily and realize there is no more of that. No talking. No laughing at their expressions. No smiles when they aren't there to holler for their meals if we're late. It hurts.

The emptiness is real. There resides the pall of death. We don't dwell on it, but it ambushes us, leaving us with tear-stained faces, quiet sobs, hollow hearts. It's real. Over and over again until the intensity rescinds. The normality of the missing asserts itself and takes us into each new day.

So. We go on. Not easily. Not even willingly. But we do it.

Father, you were miraculous in all of this. Thank you so much for your provision. Thank you that I feel deeply. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.