Book News

This has been a remarkable month for me, writing-wise. I have some great announcements! 

First, let me start by announcing a new book release! My novella, Puzzle me This, (part of the Missing Pieces Collection from Barbour Publishing) is about to release! The whole collection is jigsaw puzzle-themed. I absolutely love my quirky story. It was so much fun to write in first-person again! (This is how my Bella novels were written, and I love that style!) 

Second announcement: If you’re interested in dog-themed books you’ll definitely want to check out the first book in the Gone to the Dogs series from Barbour Publishing. It’s about to release and I couldn’t be more excited! You can pre-order your copy of Off the Chain and receive it as soon as it releases in a few weeks. Here’s the blurb: Marigold Evans’ first attempt at rescuing an abandoned pooch lands her in a drainage pipe in Brenham Texas. . .and almost in jail, until Parker Jenson comes to her rescue. Then a bad day only gets worse as the Lone Star Vet Clinic, where they both work, is vandalized and the list of suspects starts to climb. With the help of her fellow employees, Marigold sets out to simultaneously solve the crime, rehab the rescued dog, and help more dogs in crisis. But why would anyone continue to work against all their good efforts? 

Announcement #3: I’ve been hard at work on my next book in the dog series. It’s titled Barking up the Wrong Tree and involves a MIA agility course winner named Remington. Stay tuned for more on that story. (Kathleen Y’Barbo wrote the second book in the series titled Dog Days of Summer. . .and it’s amazing! More on that later!) 

Final book-related announcement: Remember that Cut and Shoot novella I mentioned last month? I just completed edits on that book, O Little Town of Cut and Shoot, which will release in a few months from Guideposts. It’s part of a two-book collection titled Love’s a Mystery in Cut and Shoot. The other author in the collection is my good friend Ruth Logan Herne. I’ll be sharing more about that collection as the release date draws near.

In the meantime, thanks for always lifting me up in prayer as I write the books that God places on my heart! I did a count of my books today (which you will find listed on my “All Published Works” page) and I’m currently working on books #157 and 158 simultaneously. Whew!

Baking News

To say this has been a crazy month would be putting it mildly! I’ve baked more new sweet treats than ever, and all in an effort to get my Out of the Box Baking blog up and running. The goal? To draw enough traffic to the blog to eventually get it monetized. That’s more than a pipe dream, friends! I’m on the track to see this happen by fall, and you can help! Please sign up to receive the RSS feed. When you do that, you’ll see the recipes as they post. (You won’t have to go looking for them…you’ll be notified automatically.) This will be of benefit to you, sweet bakers, and to me! It really helps me out because the more time you spend perusing my posts, the quicker I build my views, which is critical at this stage of the game! So, what are you waiting for? Sign up for my RSS feed today. 

Here are some of my latest recipes that I’m particularly proud of: 

Chocolate Mayonnaise cake: I’ve been on a roll, making things with mayonnaise. Yes, you read that right! Mayo adds depth of flavor and it really, really works in this rich chocolate cake! You can learn more about baking with mayo in this comprehensive post titled How to Bake with Mayonnaise: 7 Terrific Recipes. 

Old Fashioned Pound Cake with Whipping Cream: If you’re looking for a classic pound cake to serve at your next get-together, you can stop looking! I’ve got a luscious butter pound cake recipe for you that’s going to thrill and delight your guests and make you proud to serve it!

20 Amazing Recipes that Start with a White Cake Mix: Don’t have the mix you need? Don’t worry! You can make 20 different cakes using a simple white cake mix! 

Easy Bananas Foster Cinnamon Rolls (made with crescent rolls): This luscious, gooey cinnamon roll has a warm, nutty bananas foster taste and feel. And best of all. . .it’s made with crescent rolls! It comes together so quickly and easily!

Common Baking Substitutions: Out of the ingredient you need? No worries! This comprehensive list of baking substitutions will be a huge help! 

I’ve added some new categories to my blog: 
Recipes Grandma Made
Baking as a Business

I truly hope to grow this blog into a thing of beauty that bakers across the globe can enjoy! (Speaking of which, it’s kind of fun to track the stats on this blog! I can see people from countries all over the world viewing my posts!) 

Mischief Making!

Before Easter, I purchased some melting chocolate and molds to make chocolate covered Oreos with the grandkids. There was no time, sadly, but we made up for it a couple of weeks back.  I met with a couple of my local granddaughters and we pretty much covered everything we could find in chocolate, including their mother’s beautiful wooden table. Oops. it was a great afternoon and we had a lot of fun. They learned some new skills and I learned that not all chocolates are created equal. I also learned that the kids are pretty good at learning by example and have some serious potential as decorators! We had a blast. (Sorry about your table, Megan!)

I feel like God spoke something specific to my heart this morning while in church. Maybe it’s for you, too:

The Lord wants us to shake off self-pity. Yes, we’ve been through a lot. Yes, much of it was unfair..wholly unfair, in fact. But self-pity gets us nowhere. It causes us to cry out, “I’m so weak because of what has happened to me!” instead of acknowledging that (in Him) we are actually much STRONGER and more capable because of what has happened to us. It also hyper-extends our focus on ourselves instead of on God, which is never a good thing. When we’re navel-gazing we can’t see the work that He has accomplished. But when we shift our gaze to Him, everything comes into perspective and we are reminded that He is building us into mighty oaks.

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In many ways, we are like the 911 cross planted in the ground at the base of the twin towers. In spite of all it went through, (and BECAUSE of all it went through), that cross ended up deeply rooted, rock solid, immovable.

The same is true with us. He’s building us into people of strength, refined in the fires of suffering, that we might come out on the other side immovable and deeply rooted in Him.

“So I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].”

2 Corinthians 12:10 Amplified

Deep calls to deep. That’s what the Bible says. Until recently I didn’t fully comprehend those mysterious words. The deep, hidden places inside of me—easily covered by bright smiles and cheerful hellos—longed for something deeper in Him, an encounter that would impact me in every hidden corridor of my life, one that would nudge all things into crisp, clean alignment.

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And so, in the quiet aloneness of a pandemic, I stretched my arms to the sky and asked for more—more of Him, more of me, more of us. I asked with the anticipation that all could be mended, that all could be changed, that hope could be restored. He extended His hand and asked me to dance. I accepted, feeling a bit like a schoolgirl with a crush. 

At His leading, I tip-toed out into the waters, pressing my toes against the gravelly bottom of an unfamiliar pool. First, knee deep—laying down old habits, picking up new ones. Then, hip-deep—pressing into the harder places, soul bared, hands lifted. Then waist-deep—beginning to feel the joy of new beginnings as the water met me in new and fresh ways. Then shoulder-deep, fully giving myself over to intimate times with Him—in worship, in prayer, in praise. . .so much praise. And then, in those glorious moments, pressing my face into the water and soaking in His presence, a secondary baptism, of sorts, but without the usual witnesses. 

The fresh wind of the Spirit began to blow, and my spirit felt like dancing. Truth be told, I did dance—in my living room, up and down the streets as I walked the dogs, along the edge of the lake, where the water rippled under the mid-afternoon sun. And somehow, as my feet took to flight, new ideas began to flow, like water tumbling over the falls. Heavenly downloads began: Thoughts. Dreams. Visions. Plans. Stories. Messages. Prayers. More ideas. Scriptures came alive. Songs became transformative. Relationships became spiritual bonds. Circumstances became stepping stones. 

My precious time with Jesus altered my thinking and gave me new hope, new excitement, new energy, new possibilities. Deep called to deep, and continues to beckon still, though the chaos swirling around me threatens to interfere. I want to stay in the pool, to drown out the noise of the world. But the water-dance begins to shift. He leads me in new steps. The deep inside of me now longs to reach the deep inside of others. Those who are ready. Those who feel called. Those with seeds of faith. Those unafraid to try. Those with arms to link. Those with eyes to see. Those with ears to hear. Those with the tingling of hope. Those excited about tomorrow. Those who would woo the lost and broken into the water, so that they too can experience His depths. Those willing to be the light in the darkness, the city on a hill. 

In short, those who aren’t afraid to dance. 

Deep calls to deep
    in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
    have swept over me.

By day the Lord directs his love,
    at night his song is with me—
    a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 42:7-8 NIV

Lately, the Lord keeps reminding me of the Old Testament kings. They faced a LOT of battles. The Israelites had countless enemies, after all, and someone was always on the attack against God’s people. (Some things never change.) But those Old Testament kings followed a pattern that seems consistent and holds some keys for us today.

This was their battle plan:

When the going gets tough, call in the prophets. Let’s face it, many of these kings weren’t godly men. But when catastrophe would strike, they knew where real answers were found. They wanted to talk to someone who had been talking to God, (and listening for His instruction). Over and over you’ll see the kings calling for a prophetic voice to a). reassure them they had a chance or b). offer a battle plan. Sometimes the prophets would come in with a word the king didn’t like. But sometimes, as in the case of a king named Jehoshaphat, the prophetic word ended up being sage advice useable thousands of years later.

Here’s the backstory to Jehoshaphat’s story:

Many nations had banded together against God’s people and their king (Jehoshaphat) wasn’t having it. He didn’t believe any enemies could stand against God’s people. In 2 Chronicles 20 we read that he called his people to fast and pray. That’s the best jumping off point.

He made a public proclamation:

“Lord, God of our ancestors, you are the God in heaven. You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. You have power and strength, so no one can stand against you. Our God, you forced out the people who lived in this land as your people Israel moved in. And you gave this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham. They lived in this land and built a Temple for you. They said, ‘If trouble comes upon us, or war, punishment, sickness, or hunger, we will stand before you and before this Temple where you have chosen to be worshiped. We will cry out to you when we are in trouble. Then you will hear and save us.’ (v. 6-9)

Right there, in this middle of this huge prayer rally, something remarkable happened. We read it in vs. 14-15 (paraphrased):

Then the Spirit of the Lord entered Jahaziel. Jahaziel, a Levite and a descendant of Asaph, stood up in the meeting. He said, “Listen to me, King Jehoshaphat and all you people living in Judah and Jerusalem. The Lord says this to you: ‘Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of this large army. The battle is not your battle, it is God’s.

Okay, then. In the middle of the prayer and fasting, while giving public praise to God….God moved. His Spirit filled one of the men in the room and He (God almighty) spoke through him, saying, “Don’t worry. I’ll do the fighting.”

(Can I just pause here to say how much better things go when we take our hands off and give them to God?)

It’s the next part of the story that wows me. Jahaziel says: “You won’t need to fight in this battle. Just stand strong in your places, and you will see the Lord save you. Judah and Jerusalem, don’t be afraid or discouraged, because the Lord is with you. So go out against those people tomorrow.’”

They headed off to battle, filled with energy and joy. As they drew near the enemy, we find the another key strategy, (and this is my favorite part of the story):

Jehoshaphat listened to the people’s advice. Then he chose men to be singers to the Lord, to praise him because he is holy and wonderful. As they marched in front of the army, they said,“Thank the Lord, because his love continues forever.”

He sent the worshippers to the front lines. Why? Because God’s people always go into the battle with a song of praise on their lips. When we proclaim that the battle is won BEFORE it’s won, we’re honoring God and expressing our faith. It worked for Jehoshaphat. According to vs. 22-23, the Lord set ambushes for the enemy. Three groups fell and the rest turned on each other, not the Israelites.

Wow!

Look, I don’t know what you’re up against today. I don’t know if you’re feeling up to the battle or more inclined to climb back in bed and pull the covers over your head. But I do know one thing: God wants to fight this battle for you. But there are plans you need to put into play, a strategy, if you will:

• Pray.
• Fast.
• Seek God.
• Gather godly people around you and ask them to pray with you.
• Open yourself up to the Spirit of God. He wants to speak.
• Listen when He speaks.
• Do what He says.
• Begin to worship and praise AHEAD OF the victory.
• Watch in awe and wonder as He fights on your behalf. Praise Him all over again.
• Allow your faith to grow so that NEXT TIME you anticipate good things, not bad.

That’s it. That’s God’s battle plan…for anything you (or our country) might be facing. The battle belongs to the Lord, my friends. He wants to show up and show off.

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Last night, one of my daughters (who shall remain nameless) was bemoaning the fact that, in spite of her kindness toward someone, that someone responded to her in a curt, short fashion. I encouraged her to just blow it off. Then, this morning, the very same thing happened to me and I found it difficult to blow off.

Have you ever done that. . .approached someone with such kindness and compassion in your tone, and their response was anything but? It’s hard, isn’t it? If you’re a softie like me, you replay the conversation in your mind, over and over, wondering what you could’ve said or done differently. You agonize over the misunderstanding.

I’m in the middle of a Bible study on Nehemiah, (written by my good friend, Donna Snow). Today’s lesson was all about unity, (about how we’re all gifted differently, but operate under the same Spirit). That’s hard to remember sometimes because people are just so different. Some are hands, some are feet, some are mouths (yeah, that’s me), some are eyes, some are ears, etc. We all have different giftings and callings, but we’re all supposed to live unified.

After I finished my study this morning (as I pondered that gal who doesn’t seem to “get” me) I poured out my heart to God. “WHY doesn’t she get me? What am I doing wrong? Will every conversation with her be like this? I’m trying so hard to say things the right way, but she’s just not responding as I’d hoped.”

I stopped moaning and started praying, and God led me to this familiar verse: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18 (NIV)

Several things jumped out at me as I read the verse: “IF it is possible.” That means there may be times when it’s simply not. There will be people we simply never get along with or agree with or share life with. And, as much as we wish it could be, it might not. There are toxic friendships, manipulative marriages, evil ties that need to be broken. (God would never ask us to align ourselves with evil, IMHO.)

Next, “As far as it depends on you” jumped out at me. I’m only responsible for me. But God really wants me to keep trying. If I know the one I’m at odds with has a vulnerable spot, I can’t keep hitting them there. I can’t send political posts meant to sway them. I can’t beat them over the head with Bible verses. I can’t push or cajole. “As far as it depends on me” I have to do my part to keep the unity between us. And that’s not always easy. I like to get my point across. I like to keep pushing until I get my way.

Finally, “live at peace with everyone.” This is a tough one. It’s hard enough to live at peace with the people in my tight circle. (We’re all so different!) But…everyone? Really? God wants me to do my best to live at peace with everyone? Ugh. That means I have to shift my entire focus and push love to the forefront, even when the responses aren’t what I’d hoped. And I have to see mankind–lost or saved–through the eyes of Christ. (Again, I’m not saying you have to stay in a toxic relationship or align yourself with someone intent on bringing harm.)

I don’t know who you’re struggling with today. I don’t know if you’re in the “It’s just not possible stage, needing to step away. Or in you’re in the the “as much as it depends on me” stage. But God wants you to live at peace. And let’s be real: Peace begins inside of you. Most of all, He wants you to come to peace inside of yourself (something that can only happen if you give your heart to Him). Doing so makes getting along with others easier. Not EASY….but EASIER.