Each day, each week, each month, each year, roll by faster and faster. I’m reminded of David’s words in Psalm 144:4 Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow.

Sunflowers usually appear in August. And depending on the frost, a few hardy smiley faces can hang around into October. They are a happy, lighthearted flower that lift me up.

What about the dark days? We all have them. They don’t necessarily come on days when the sky is gray. We can have a gray heart with dismal thoughts that drag us down. I’ve been known to wallow, when it seemed like too much effort to seek joy. That’s silly, but hey, I’m human.

Yet, I know it takes far more effort to frown than to smile. I don’t stay down long. I’m just not made that way.

I can’t help but think it goes back to my girlhood when I grabbed onto Pollyanna’s glad game and the way she always looked for something to be joyful, thankful, for. If you’ve never read Pollyanna or seen the old movie, I suggest you do a search.
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What do you do on down days?

I’m a reader. My first go-to is the Bible. Can I person stay down while reading God’s Word? Especially for me, the Psalms pull me right out of hanging down in the dumps. I can’t wait to meet David in heaven.

My second is an old hymnal. I love music. And I’m having a grand time writing about the Soul Singers ensemble in my current series. My third story is “Sing a Song of Thanks.” A person sure can’t be gloomy if he or she is truly thankful.

Another eye-opening exercise is to list all the things you have to be thankful for. It didn’t take me long to come up with a hundred the first time I tried it. God’s blessings should never be taken for granted. And when we have a visual, written account, how can we not be lighthearted?

I have kept journals for many years and have tried an individual gratitude volume. I found it didn’t work for me because I write those thankful thoughts in my daily journal.

So how about it? Can you easily grasp the happy face of a sunflower for your attitude? There’s a lot to be said for owning an attitude of gratitude.
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I wish you blessings as we say goodbye to sunny flowers and go into another autumn season, my favorite. And if you do try to list your thankfulness, please let me know how it turns out.

As has been the case for several years, Wild Deadwood Reads in the Black Hills of South Dakota was a summer highlight. I look forward to hugs from fellow authors as well as seeing dear friends who have become dedicated readers. WDR will celebrate its 10th year in 2027, though 2020 was canceled.

Following WDR, we again traveled to our daughter’s home. She lives just south of the Montana border in Wyoming. This year we did a bit of exploring into the Bighorn Mountains. That part of the country brought to life the stories of two of my favorite western authors, Craig Johnson and C.J. Box. I eat up dangerous adventures that involve wide open spaces.

Cheyenne County in Nebraska’s panhandle is vast. On our return, we spent the night in Sidney, Nebraska. We explored the historical town, though I regret I didn’t walk quite far enough to venture up to Boot Hill. I thank Zachary Lane of Lincoln for waking up my curiosity about that western wild town through his stories, which made the area come to life for me.

The museum, housed in the only remaining structure of Fort Sidney, is in the original Post Commander’s home. My husband said more than once that we could have spent the whole day soaking in what’s stored there, thanks to generous donations from those in the county.

I drove over 1800 miles and thanked my God often for the beauty of His creation. I have reflected on Psalm 91:11, For He will give His angels orders concerning you, To protect you in all your ways. I’m convinced several angels went along the drive with us, especially as I faced construction. One LED construction warning sign read, “Head to head traffic ahead.” For some reason I found that humorous.
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Back to Sidney…driving through town, I turned the corner to get a side view of the Cabella mansion. At the end of a dead end was what looked like an old house. Until I got close enough to see what was on the porch. And immediately wondered about the story involved for a car to fly over steps and stop through the front door. I researched and found the answer. If you’re curious, I discovered it on Facebook.

As for man, his days are like grass; Like a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place no longer knows about it. ~ Psalm 103:15-16 (NASB)

For some reason, the number of my last birthday bothered me. I have determined to be lighthearted this year rather than let things get me down. Realistically, though, I may be blessed to have ten more years. Most of my relatives who lived long, made it into their late eighties.

I admit that I’ve wondered if all aging men and women contemplate their last years as I have been doing this year.

According to Moses in Psalm 90:10, Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away (NIV).

We fly away, life withers like grass, life fades life flowers. So when we consider longevity according to God’s eternal plan, we are but a breath, a vapor, a whisper.

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away (LSB).

In other words, in the grand scheme of life, we are as temporary as a peony bloom as soon as wind or rain buffets the flowers.

So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.  ~ Ecclesiastes 8:15

Life is a Breath

God granted Solomon wisdom
Solomon realized transitory life

We are here for a breath
Like a vapor, we’re gone

God gives good gifts
Be happy whatever I do

We must enjoy our time
Even work should be a joy

God sets His plans, controls time
Enjoy my short span here

Life is fleeting
Each breath is a gift

God planned my time of birth
He set in motion my death

God gives satisfaction as I work
I will not strive after the wind.

Prayer:
Lord, I pray that you forever give me the reminder to praise You. As long as I have breath, here on earth and throughout eternity, I long to praise You. Amen.

I thank the Lord for giving me a love for the written word. Over the years He has put before me many writings of dedicated men and women. He has brought into my life numerous other writers to uplift me when my heart grows weary.

Writing is hard. Some days close to impossible. I am a feeble tool in the hands of a mighty Master, for Whom I don’t want to disappoint.

Sometimes I’ve had my characters say, “Help me, Jesus.” And that is my plea as an aging writer who still invests in imagination.

Writers uplift writers thus the old iron sharpens iron adage. I have borrowed words from others to place myself in the Master’s hands through prayer before my fingers hit the keyboard.

Thank you all.

I praise You for being the Father of all creation. Thank You for me. Only in You, Lord, can I do the writing You have called me to do. Thank you for blessing me. I pray that You guide me now as I work on my WIP. Thank You for the call to write and lead me so I don’t embarrass You.

God, You made me a storyteller. When I write, fill me with Your words. In turn, I want to feel Your pleasure. Lord, open my spiritual eyes to the opportunities You will give me to represent You, an unusual sensitivity to present You to my readers. Grant me an overflow of words to shine Your glorious light.                

Please grace my words for Your glory.

     And remind me daily:
               My calling as a writer is just as legitimate if I never make a dime.
                      This call to write is a sacred invitation.
                                A soul is a good return for my writing investment.

Oh, Lord, I long to abide in You. I pray You bind Satan and his angels to the throne so I am free to rest in You. I pray Your words abide in me. In the meantime, please continue to build character and perseverance within me.

Thank You for having higher knowledge, for seeing the full picture.

Thank You for my original hunger to write. Renew that hunger within me.

Thank you for having a plan for me.

Please forgive me for anything I need to bring before you and help me~~I cannot do this without You. YOU are my co-Author. I am Your conduit as You fill my mind and fingers with words.

You never provide a wrong answer…let Your season come over my soul. I long for my soul to sing again as I work. May You provide in me a garden of JOY for You.

I thank You, Lord Jesus, for dying for my sins. I give You my writing, as You show me the way. I offer myself as a vessel, cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit to do the work You have called me to do. In Your
Holy Name, amen.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. (Proverbs 16:3)

April 2026
Months roll along as fast as days any more. I’ve been writing these blogs for almost ten years. Along the way I’ve reminded readers that April is a month I love, not only for spring but for my birthday as well as my spiritual (50 years since I was born again on the 20th!).
I thought it’d be fun to see what I’ve already said. I went back for a look and now share the first paragraphs. My blogs began with slices of farm life and remind me that I have yet to put these memories all together for my family.

April 2017 “Cows – My Favorite”
Caring for animals, and the land, meant no time for selfishness, laziness, disobedience, or complaint while growing up on the farm. I loved to holler, “Come Boss!” to the milk cows in the pastures. I’d elongated Boss and listened to my voice echo across the hills. I was able to call milk cows and pigs, but other animal sounds and impressions proved beyond my ability.

April 2018 “Tree Tales”
Battle-scarred. Broken-off. Hollowed-out. Root-exposed. Dead.
A ragged tree trunk of seventeen feet once stood in the northeast corner of the ash grove where my siblings and I camped. There on our family farm where we grew up in Antelope County, that tree could have told some tales.

April 2019 “Tweenager”
I was a happy child with a natural Pollyanna outlook on life, trusting those around me and always looking for good. Mom often said I laughed like a hyena. At ages eleven-twelve, my body galloped ahead of my mind. In other words, I matured early. My childhood faded into my past … Mom expressed concern for my posture and sought to prevent slouching. So she helped me balance books on my head and I practiced walking without them slipping off. She also said, “Ladies walk a slimmer, more graceful profile if they step one foot directly in front of the other.” Mom demonstrated and I rehearsed that walk on the seams of the spotted beige linoleum floor tiles.

April 2020 “Teen Highlights, the best in 1965”
In the 1950s and ‘60s, entertainment at home came with the advent of television, which brought the world into the nation’s living rooms. I watched American Bandstand on Saturdays and twisted around the room while cleaning house. We watched presidential addresses from Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. Unrest in the South regarding segregation seemed a world away, but I was captivated when I watched Martin Luther King as he stood in front of the Washington Memorial in Washington, D.C. I believed that I could achieve anything in life as I listened to his “I Have a Dream” speech. By that time in high school, I was too busy with activities to watch much TV besides the news, but that speech had an impact on my young heart. I also remember Clint Eastwood as a dreamy cowboy named Rowdy on “Rawhide.” That contrast between Martin Luther King and Clint exemplified how I searched deep within for what I stood for and a world I romanticized.

April 2021 “The Rooms of Our Lives” 
Each of has a different picture in mind when we process certain words. I’d never considered juxtaposing the chambers of my heart with the rooms in my home, but away I went for a guest blog that first appeared ten years ago [February 2011]. Chambers are defined as private, even secret. We’ve heard of a judge’s chambers where undisclosed conversations take place. I would imagine every human heart has a hidden place within. Humans may not see that corner, but according to I Samuel 16:7, God looks at the heart.

April 2022 “Why I Write”
Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid: for the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. ~~ Isaiah 12:2
I once balked at the idea of blogging. And it took a while before I gave in and committed to once a month on my website. Maybe the core reason was the belief that a personal blog puts focus on the blogger rather than the books written. Then again, as a reader, I enjoy learning about an author’s personal life.

April 2023 “Dancing with God”
Happy Spring to you all! I’m sure I’ve shared that I love the month of April. My birthday falls on Easter this year, and on the 20th I celebrate my spiritual birthday of forty-seven years.
Since I am buried in, and purging, the accumulated STUFF of fifty years, my writing is on hold. That said, I wish you joy in the new birth surrounding us. I pray that you take time to spend life in the moment, simply breathing and praising God for the life He has graciously given. [I shared a poem with the above title.]

April 2024 God’s Timing
For several years, I’ve planned to write a Christmas novella during the month of February. I was ahead of the game in 2023, but that was also a year of a six-room remodel. Since it’s a sequel, actually the third in a series, I began the current story in 2023. But God’s timing didn’t bring that to completion until this past March, two weeks later than my personal deadline for a first version. I have yet to submit Christmas Fulfilled to my editor and publisher. Ah, God’s timing.

April 2025 April Showers – I wish!
We are in a drought. Only with sporadic rain or a little snow melt in March have we seen water in our spring-fed creek for going on three years.
I’ve often written of how the month of April has showered blessings upon me and made life memorable. I’m adding another reason. The following notes are from my 2010 writing journal:

4/6 – White Rose sent me a pre-contract for MOSELLE’S INSURANCE. I’m walking on air.

4/8 – I did some Internet research. Lots of e-mail with questions to published authors. Made a file of congrats on Moselle.

4/9 – HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. I received the contract and promo paperwork.

​I apologize for the length of this post, but the last one made me smile the whole time I read it. Happy spring to you all.

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all who call upon You (Psalm 86:5, NASB).

The NIV reads: You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.

Have you ever stopped doing and allowed yourself to rest in the arms of your loving Lord?

The first couple weeks of February, when I tried to set down and write 1000K words a day for my new Christmas story, it went well. But I didn’t finish the month able to write much.

I was struck with what I thought was a doozy of a sinus infection. Nope. Covid again.

Moan and groan. NO WAY.

The Lord is good and I’ve spent a lot of time with Him. Have you ever read Experiencing God? It’s wonderful for reintroducing our First Love and I again realized how privileged I am to be called His daughter. To think God created me for a relationship that brings glory to Him, blows me away. It’s too deep to fathom. He created you for the same.

Have you ever considered that illness or recovery are allowed in our lives for the purpose of growing closer to him? Those times when we’re forced to slow down and let our God hold us up.

That’s what the coronavirus did for me in February. I had a mild case the first time, Easter Sunday, also my birthday, in 2023. I only dealt with brain fog and fatigue.

This time? I was blindsided and pretty much out of it for two weeks.

What did I do during that time except rest? I experienced God’s one and only lovingkindness.

I’ve heard some people say they get more out of the New Testament than from reading Psalms. I love the Psalms. Those song and poetry writers spoke from the heart. They often began lamenting but ending praising the Lord with all of their souls.

The Psalms speak to me. After all, reading them sparked me to fill four journals with devotional poetry that I don’t know if I could write today. Word search puzzles helped me pass the time in February. I just “happened” to have one based on the Psalms close to my chair. Oh, how my God blesses me with the lovingkindness of His steadfast love.

He opens my eyes to see Him at work in hearts near and dear to me. I want all whom I love to open their hearts and realize what our Lord reveals of himself at the times we are open to receiving His love, and in turn, serve Him in love.
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After all, He first loved us. In turn, we are to bring glory to Him through continual, daily worship that deepens our relationship with him. The more we know Him, the closer we are to spending eternity with Him.

Beloved, let’s love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. (1 John 4:7)

We recently had a sermon based on Jesus’ words recorded in Luke, chapter six, where he spoke to a crown of listeners. Verses twenty-seven and thirty-five jumped out at me:

“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you.”

And

“But love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people.”

“Love your enemies.” Really? What popped into my mind was how I had to forgive my father’s killer, but love him?

For readers who don’t know, my dad was murdered fifty years ago and the case remains unsolved.

When I stated above that I had to forgive, it was for my own mental health and the state of my heart.

These words in Luke reminded me to take Jesus and His words seriously. Following a parable at that time, my Lord asked His listeners in verse 46, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

One New Testament verse says that believers are known for loving one another. Love is mentioned throughout the Bible. And one thing I know is that human love cannot be compared to the love our Father has for us. I plan to spend the rest of my life reading about God’s love. I doubt I will ever grasp the depth.

James 2:8 quotes the familiar Old Testament (Leviticus 19:18) verse that instructs us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

“…fervently love one another from the heart” is written in 1 Peter 1:22. Ouch. That includes my enemies. That includes the person who took Merlin Mosel from his family.

One thing I trust about the Bible is that Scripture backs Scripture. The Bible, often referred to as God’s love letter to His children, tells us to pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).

As an author of Christian romance, I always try to include in my stories the unbelievable, the unimaginable love Jesus has for us. He died for the world. He lay down His life for His unlovable enemies.

Love an enemy? Love a killer? Ouch again. And again.

Love is a verb. A verb equals action. God is a God of action. He gives us many chances to do good. That doing good includes choosing to love my enemies. Yes, that kind of love goes way beyond a cute or sunny valentine.

Prayer: My dear Lord Jesus, I am a weak sinner. I drift from the seriousness of Your Word. Forgive me for overlooking Your words, and not taking required action. I pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

In mid-December a phrase from my car radio caught my attention:

“Holiday Hangover of Hopelessness.”

Now isn’t that uplifting for the Christmas season?

I wouldn’t claim such a feeling for myself, but I have experienced the emotion of being downhearted following Christmas. It’s so easy to picture the whole family filling my kitchen. However, it seems there is always someone missing. Life isn’t a fictional setting most of the time. Someone is often ill, another is being selfish and chooses to be alone, claiming joy has been sucked away due to a life situation, and even one who has to work.

When a family member hurts, it rubs off on me. My heart’s desire is for everyone I love to know the joy of the Lord. That means I need to lift up that individual in prayer, leave him or her in God’s hands, and focus my thoughts, even acknowledged disappointments, on my Lord and Savior.

I’ve shared with you before that for several years now, I’ve chosen a word for the new year. (Happy New Year to you all!) Those words have included: Rest, Sing, Thankful, Trust, Victorious, Rejoice, Joy, Thrive, Lovingkindness, and Renew.

My chosen word for 2026 is Lighthearted.

For some reason, I’ve sobered over the years. I used to smile all the time. Recently, my aged countenance looks more like a grimace in pictures. Unfortunately, my visage on camera when singing in choir often makes me look like a sourpuss. Why?

I feel lighthearted within. How can my face not show the joy in my heart? I have a hope that surpasses understanding. I know where I’m going to spend eternity once this earth life is done.

Where was that December blog claim that the joy of the Lord is my strength?

Oh, my dear Lord and Mighty God, forgive my negligence and my short memory. I have within me the power of the God of the Old Testament, YAHWEH. I have the promise Jesus left, the gift of the Holy Spirit, in my soul. Please, restore to me the joy of my salvation. Lift any heaviness that weighs down my heart. Grant me an ever-present song that places focus on You. I even ask for that innocent, childlike faith that erases the hopelessness and helplessness of this heavy life. in Your glorious name, amen.

He reminded me I find that joy through song. Duh. I know that music lifts up my heart!
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I plan to sing these two hymns until I have them memorized:

​He Keeps Me Singing by Luther B. Bridgers, 1910 (public domain)

There’s within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
“Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still,”
In all of life’s ebb and flow.
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Refrain:
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Sweetest Name I know,
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go. (there are four more verses)
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Have you ever considered those words? The lyrics can’t help but uplift a heart.

How do you define joy? Joy is much more than happiness. It’s a state of being. Happiness usually depends on a person’s circumstances, a momentary thing.
When life runs smoothly and no one near and dear is ill, life is good. When you feel assurance in a good job and surrounded by a loving family, life is rosy. When you have a sense of financial security life can be lived in a bubble of safety.

A person can be considered a Grinch or a Scrooge if he or she isn’t happy during the holidays. But even for one who is full of smiles and feels good, life status can change in the blink of an eye.

Joy, on the other hand, is a deep-seated assurance that the Lord has my life in His hand. Despite what comes my way, God’s got it. And my hope is joy because I know what comes once life on earth is over.

I’ll use a few life chapters of my own as illustrations that what we face is temporary. There wasn’t a lot of money when I grew up. But at age thirteen, I baby-sat and then cleaned the neighbors’ home, thus earning my own money for clothes and makeup.

After high school, I worked and saved for a year. Then I worked the year I attended what was then known as junior college.

I call the years of my young adult life as BC days, meaning before Christ. They included a teen pregnancy, a resulting marriage that only lasted two years, and early in my second marriage, the murder of my father.

A year later, the Lord opened my heart and I chose to give Him my life.
Since that spring of 1976, there have been up and down events in my life, but I haven’t faced them on my own strength. The resulting joy is a deep-down life of hope, hard to explain to anyone who doesn’t have faith in the Baby born in Bethlehem.

“For God so loved the world that Hew gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

God gives a life of joy. He infuses strength to face anything life presents. That joy and resulting strength is my wish for you this December and into the coming year.

​May the joy of the Lord be your strength.