Hopefully you’re tuning in to this Kentucky Derby Debbie post because you read part 1 yesterday (if not, scroll back to find it before you keep reading.) The three parts are all really one continuous awesome story. So on the second day of the women’s conference, I was scheduled to speak in the morning for ...
Kentucky Debbie, Part 1
Never having been to Kentucky before, I sorta expected to see gorgeous horses, horses, and more horses running everywhere and grass the color of Smurfs. Maybe even a few gaudy hats. I guess that’s about as silly as snow birds who expect to see alligators swarming all over Florida, even marching down the middle aisle ...
Getting An Early Start On Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is coming early this year at my house! You know, I think when you’re having a period of deep loss, you find you can only endure by counting your blessings. And Papa God was kind enough to send a doozy my way this week. I could not have been more surprised nor heart-pounding grateful ...
Butterfly Kisses from Papa God
Before I tell you about a cool little God-smack moment I had this week, I’d like to remind you to stay tuned to the end, where you’ll find the announcement of the Catch a Fall Blessing Giveaway winner (hey, you already skipped ahead, didn’t you???). Okay, so if you’ve been following my blog (and I ...
Above and Beyond
Today I’ll be driving 4 hours to a Celebration of Life. It’s in honor of a wonderful woman I had the privilege to grow up next to as a neighbor in a tight little north Florida subdivision called Green Acres. It was the kind of place where the kids rode bikes and played marbles on ...
The God Who Heals
Gonna do something a little different for this week’s post. I received this heart-hugging letter the morning after I shared my Too Blessed to be Stressed message of hope and healing with an awesome group of over 100 BFFs (Blessed Friends Forever) at the historic Franklin (NC) First United Methodist Church a few weeks ago. ...
Fall Ahead
September in central Florida isn’t exactly iconic fall like many parts of our country. No rustic smell of wood-burning fires wafting on a stiff breeze. Not one piping hot mug of hot apple cider in sight. Our sweaters and socks are still in mothballs. The only leaves exiting trees are blown off by hurricanes. Nope, ...
Mama Love
Yep! That’s my little mama, all 100 pounds and 90 years of her, up there a week ago on that stage grinning as the mayor officially proclaims it “Adele Mitchell Day” in the city of Starke, FL. I’m proud enough to bust my buttons as she is honored with a beautiful “Legacy” award by the ...
Luther’s Legacy
I often get asked, “What’s the strangest thing that’s happened to you on your writing/speaking journey? My answer is always the same. And it has to do with Martin Luther. Well, sort of. It was right after the release of my brand new book, Too Blessed to be Stressed in 2011 (which incidentally has gone on to ...
Show, Don’t Tell
In Writer World, one of the basic guiding principles is, “show, don’t tell.” The point is to not simply tell your reader that this scene takes place on a beach, but to enable her to feel the ocean breeze tickling her forehead, to smell the brine, to see the mighty crash of the waves on the shore, to hear the ...