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 ...
Summer Traditions
We have a summer tradition in our family that dates back to 1980. Yep, it’s hard to believe that it was nearly 40 years ago, right about the time that Spouse and I got married, that my parents bought a timeshare at a tiny family-friendly, older model motel-conversion tucked neatly between modern high-rise condos lining ...
Freedom Behind Bars
I received a letter from an inmate this week. It totally touched my heart. Actually, the publisher of my Too Blessed to be Stressed books received the letter then forwarded it to me. The female, 40-something inmate, whom I’ll call Shelly for privacy purposes, had a spiritual heart transplant nine months ago while in jail on drug ...
Sweater Love
There they were, sitting right in front of me. And I simply couldn’t tear my eyes away from them. A handsome couple, somewhere in their 70s, his arm protectively circling her petite shoulders as they shared intimate looks and warm smiles while waiting for the service to begin in the church I was visiting that ...
Singing to Sarah
Last Sunday I attended a reunion of sorts at the small church in which Spouse and I raised our kids. It felt like a passage back into time. Very little had changed in the 25 years we’d been away – same warm blue walls, identical sweet spirit of the welcoming people who currently worship there, ...
Superman in the Ladies Room
The other day, I treated my grandkids to a Chuckie Cheese-type game venue called the Fun Factory. Little did any of us know Superman would show up. And he would be me. Fun was had, tokens were spent, electronic dinosaurs were chased, and all was well until almost-four-year-old Bree had to go to the bathroom. ...
Staying Under the Umbrella
I’ve been enjoying a lovely summer visit to the Smoky Mountains this week. A lovely wet visit. It rained nonstop for five days. Can you say mountain mud? My shoes are caked in it. But rain or shine, the dog must go out. And since this is the inaugural and introductory trip to our special mountain ...
The Cave
I don’t like this cave I’m in. Not one bit. It’s dark. It’s uncomfortably damp. And it smells like rancid mushrooms. I feel terribly alone one minute and the next, I’m not sure I’m alone in here at all. I think I can hear someone – or something – breathing. If I strain hard enough ...