There’s no shortage of amazing people in this world. Look past the salacious headlines and popular rabble and you’ll find artists, musicians, actors, writers and so many more who dedicate their lives to others. And then they surprise in yet another way. Last night, I attended the Amy Grant and Michael W Smith Two Friends Tour at Rolling Hills Community Church. They were fantastic. Both artists are involved with charities such as Compassion International and the world is all the better because of them. And then Amy Grant shares a little story. She and a few of her band members decided to explore Portland by bicycle (since their tour...
Check out my guest post about my “Keeper”
Admit it, we all have em. Those stories about a “keeper” or a “creeper.” Hopefully, you one day find that “keeper” or have already met and married the “keeper.” The beautiful and talented Caitlin Muir has started a blog series that posts each Friday. Inspired by certain mishaps that only Caitlin attracts, this series shares different blogger’s stories and offers a little advice, a little hope and (as with anything from Caitlin) a lot of laughs. Today, I shared my story. How a wannabe Washington rodeo queen met a good ol’ boy from Oregon on the day of her first pageant. Would he turn out to be a keeper or...
The beauty and beast within competitiveness
The other day, a strange thing happened. During my commute home (on my bicycle) I got stuck behind an older gentleman who, while maintaining a respectable speed, was traveling a little too slow for my tastes. To make it worse, he’d speed up right as I went to pass him and then slow down on hills or when there was another person in the opposing lane. (Sound like a familiar tale?) Finally, we reached a wide-open area and I started to pass him. But this was the one dreaded hill of my commute – a long, steady incline that leaves me wobbly and near-blackout stage by the time I hit...
New look, new focus
I’m a chronic “messer-wither” (in my husband’s eloquent wording.) Yes, I mess with things beyond all reason. However, I’ll argue that I had very valid reasons to spruce up my website. First – It needed a better overall theme with more options and more emphasis on content. Ta-da. Enter Elegant Theme’s Chameleon WordPress theme. I wanted a way to make my blog more readable, and also highlight my photography, horses and history research (thus a re-vamped menu up top). (As a person who will freely admit my need for words of affirmation and constructive criticism:) What do you think!?
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The secret to success at a writer’s conference
There are hundreds of writer’s blogs. Within each of those blogs, there are a handful of posts that give advice for writers attending a writer’s conference. Honestly, I’ve probably read them all, and if you’re a pre-published author and taking this gig seriously, you probably have too. So I won’t rehash what other bloggers have said (perhaps far more elegantly than I ever could.) At the past Oregon Christian Writer’s Summer Conference, I’d say I had a successful week. There are a thousand ways to measure success, but I am happy that I made connections and friendships that I believe will continue on for some time. I received interest and...