International Christian Retail Show

I'm headed to the St. Louis airport this morning to catch my flight back to Nashville. I've had a marvelous last few days at a writers retreat and then at the International Christian Retail Show, but I'm ready to be home. Since I'm out the door and a little rushed, I'm simply going to share some glimpses of the past few days...

I was thrilled when Dave Long (editor with Bethany House) introduced me to Jenni Burke, the model who posed for the cover of Remembered. (Click the title to see the "historical" Jenni)

Bethany House prepared ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) of Within My Heart, and I signed those at the Baker Booth yesterday.

Me with Julie Klassen (author of The Silent Governess and the winner of the 2010 Christy for Historical Romance, so proud for her), and Sunni Jeffers (author for Guideposts and my sweet roomie who saved my life this weekend with her traveling pharmacy. My allergies really acted up...)

The lovely Nancy Moser who signed ARCs of her newest novel, Masquerade (which I'm going to start reading on my way home today!). Love you, Nancy, and really enjoyed getting to know you better.

The oh-so-sweet and talented Lynn Austin (who won the 2010 Christy for Historical Fiction, her sixth Christy, I think?) and her hysterical husband, Ken. We shared dinner together (with Bethany House folks) before the Christys on Saturday night.

Clowning around with Nancy Moser, Lynn Austin, and Julie Klassen.

Me with Julie Klassen and Dee Gist following the Christys on Saturday night. If you haven't read The Silent Governess yet, treat yourself and do! It's marvelous! So is Dee's A Bride in the Bargain. I'm honored to be among such talented authors.

Sunni Jeffers and I are lovin' up on good friend and author Tricia Goyer and her new daughter, Alyssa. So precious (both of them)!

We had a scavenger hunt during the writers retreat, and one of the "to dos" was to have one member of your group do a cartwheel. Well...this is Lynn Austin attempting a cartwheel with the help of Neta Jackson and Julie Klassen. Teamwork almost made it happen! :)

Another feat of the scavenger hunt was to take a picture of your entire team SEATED in a bathtub. (L to R: Ken Blackstock (Terri's husband), Gayle Martin, me on Neta Jackson's lap and Lynn Austin)

The lovely Colleen Coble and Terri Blackstock

And lastly, a shot of the arch at dusk.

What a fun time we've had! And now, off to grab some breakfast with my roomie, Sunni Jeffers, and then catch our planes. 

Continued blessings, friends...

Writers Retreat and ICRS

I'm here in St. Louis over the next few days, for a writers retreat and for ICRS (International Christian Retailing Show) and thought I'd share some pics. I'll be posting on occasion, sharing some pics of the retreat and the conference. We always have such a fun time together. A foretaste of Heaven...

Sunni Jeffers and Karen Ball

Karen, Sunni and me out for lunch

Nancy Moser showing off her yummy fish dinner

Tracy Higley reading us all a "bedtime story" last night. :)

Now, off to start the first session. We've invited Donald Maass to be with us today and he's going to share with us how to put the fire into fiction!

God's Waiting Room

This was our patriotic Father's Day dessert. And it was delicious!

Have you ever been in God's waiting room, and didn't particularly like being there? If, like me, your answer is yes, then you'll identify with this past Sunday's message at our church. We've been studying The Flood (from the book of Genesis), and I was given "fresh perspective" this week of what it's like to be in God's waiting room.

To view the message, click here, then click on "watch" for The Flood Pt 2, then "scan ahead" to the 31:00 minute mark, and get ready. You might also want to take a quick peek at Genesis 7:10...

I was reminded that waiting seems to be as normal to Biblical faith as "doing"...yet waiting is often the most difficult "faith task." As we see in the account of The Flood, for seven days and nights, after God closed the door of the ark, mind you...Noah, his wife, their sons and their wives waited for the rains. Do you think it was easier for Noah to build the ark? or to wait for the rain once they were closed up inside the ark?

If I'd been on the ark during those seven days, I'm ashamed to admit it but I probably would have started to question whether Noah had heard God right. Maybe he'd misunderstood. Just a little. Because nothing was happening. No rain. Not. A. Single. Drop.

Do you think Abraham ever questioned God when God promised him a son...and yet didn't deliver on that promise for 25 years? What about when God promised David that David would be king, yet didn't tell him that it would be 20 years before he would take the throne? And what about Jesus promising Paul that Paul would take the message of the gospel to the Gentiles...after another 12 or 14 years.

Are you in God's waiting room in a certain area(s) of your life right now? Do you feel as though you're hanging in the balance, waiting for God to either fulfill a promise or reveal his will? If yes, you're not alone. You're in good company. And I'm right there alongside you. And, more importantly, so is God, who said, "Don't be afraid, for I am with you, Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."

Continued blessings, friends.

Galleys, Holidays, and Lloyd, the Largemouth Bass

June is here! Hard to believe! Galleys for Within My Heart arrived Friday and I don't think I've ever been so grateful to be at this stage of a book! Given the fresh perspective of time's passing, I'm really enjoying the chance to read back through Rand and Rachel's entire journey. I think it's a fitting ending for this series, and I hope you enjoy it.

I snapped a quick picture of what the galleys look like, for those who might not know. Galleys are printed on standard 8 1/2 x 11 paper and are basically a "snapshot" of each page of (what will be) the printed book. It's the last time an author sees the book before it goes to press. It's also the last time for an author (and proofreaders) to catch any misspelled words or to tweak final sentences, make corrections, etc... I appreciate everyone who works with me to get my books ready for the store shelves, and for your hands. It's truly a team effort.

My family and I had a quiet but very nice Memorial Day holiday. We cooked out babyback ribs (yum), enjoyed some baked sweet potatoes, and of course ate watermelon. Then we finished with a buttermilk pie and banana pudding (a more diabetic version, for my dad). The leftover buttermilk pie went home with my son for his cohorts at work, and the banana pudding is traveling with me and Dad today as we travel to Fayetteville to visit his sisters.

Here are some quick family pics from yesterday...

We planted a Japanese Maple in the backyard, plus the planters you see on the deck. We're slowly fixing things up and "making the house our own."

After an early dinner, we all went for a warm but lovely walk. Here are Jack and Kelsey as we started down the driveway...

And here's Jack not 30 minutes later...

He was huffin' and puffin', wanting to cozy down in the cool grass, so he promptly got carried part of the way. Looks like he's in pain, doesn't he? Oh brother...

Next, we went fishing. We love our new neighborhood and are enjoying the quaint little fishing lakes that dot the area. So, poles in hand, off we went. And guess who caught the first fish on her third cast...

Kelsey (and her Pa and I) loved it, but her father and brother were not quite so amused. Kelsey named her fish "Lloyd." The lakes are "catch-and-release" so the friendship between Kelsey and Lloyd was brief (and rather one-sided), however Lloyd lives on, hopefully a little wiser and none the worse for wear.

We took turns and everyone fished (that's my Dad fishing and Joe supervising). No one else caught anything, but it was so pretty outside, we didn't care. Jack zonked out on a nearby bench with our kids, and as the day faded, I snapped a picture of the sunset. I hope it shows up well enough to capture the sun's final rays...

I sat on the bench, enjoying the moment and counting my blessings, and I couldn't help but wonder... If this side of heaven, sinful as this fallen earth is, is this beautiful...how beautiful must the other side be? The Holy Spirit brought a verse to mind, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." (I Corinthians 2:9) I know this verse isn't specifically talking about the "beauty" of Heaven, but I still think the truth it teaches applies. Just think of what awaits us there... As if the magnificence of His presence and living with Him for an eternity isn't enough. It's beyond my imagination...

But I can still dream!