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.
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.
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