Real Life is Better Than Fiction

Today's Christmas excerpt is from Christmas At Martha's House Christmas at Martha's House   click on the above link to go directly to Amazon Call me Martha. Better yet, don't call me at all until at least the middle of January. I just can't handle another thing right now. I thought I had the preparations for Christmas under control until the meeting that Sunday after church. 5 Sundays before Christmas: Claire, the Sunday school secretary, says we're doing a play this year and apologizes for not getting together before now. It seems the Superintendent put her in charge and gave her a copy of the play he had chosen. It took her three weeks to convince him that it just wasn't right for us, and to come up with another script. I'm surprised she convinced him at all. But now we'll have to work extra hard to get it ready, if we think we can, if we aren't too wrapped up in our own little interests, if we really have enough faith that...

Today's Christmas excerpt is from Victory Song Click on the cover to go  directly to Amazon A sound behind him made Andy turn abruptly to see that at least one other member of his regiment was seeking out a place of retreat from camp life. “I came up here to get away from the Christmas music,” Isaac’s familiar voice greeted him. “What’s your excuse?” “Didn’t know I needed one,” Andy replied with a smile. Isaac let the conversation lapse, stepped up next to Andy and peered over the logs toward the glowing horizon. After a moment he said, “We have a holiday, too. It begins tonight. It’s a festival of light. A celebration of God’s goodness and providence. Some holiday, huh?” Andy was cautious as he ventured, “Isaac, what’s wrong?” Those dark eyes snapped at him. “It’s me. I’m wrong. What I’m doing is wrong.” “How’s that? You’re just following orders, like the rest of us.” “But I’m not like the rest of you!” Isaac emphasized. “You haven’t heard the stories.”...

Today's Christmas excerpt is from: Belonging Click on the cover to go directly to Amazon Thanksgiving came and went without a thought to Shelly. Since she and her father were the only family the other had there were no huge dinners. The day after Thanksgiving was when they began celebrating. They never went out in the crowds for Black Friday shopping. They always went to the woods for Christmas tree hunting.       Should she continue the tradition?       Since Christmas was so near, the house was all fresh and clean with new paint, and Shelly needed a distraction, she decided to get out all the decorations and put up the tree. She had debated whether or not to decorate. It seemed like a lot of work for one person. It also didn’t exactly seem like an appropriate time to be celebrating. There would be no gifts to buy and no gifts to be placed under the tree. However, Shelly needed something constructive to do.  ...

This Christmas season I am going to be sharing Christmas excerpts from my books. I hope you enjoy them! Come Eat at My Table Click on the cover to go directly to Amazon. “Only two more days till Christmas!” Hope danced around the kitchen chanting while getting underfoot. She was good at getting underfoot, but she was not always a whole lot of help. “Yes, we know!” Hope’s twin sister Faith said, while frosting some of the cookies she had baked earlier in the day with their mom. Hope picked up the cookie as soon as Faith put it aside to let the frosting set. “You didn’t burn these did you?” “I haven’t burned anything in a long time!” Faith said. “Yeah, it’s been at least a week!” Hope said sarcastically, taking a bite out of the cookie. “We’d get more done if you helped a little more besides eating everything,” the girls’ mom, Karin, said to Hope without looking up from what she was doing. “I’m taste-testing,” Hope said with her mouth full. “And taking pictures.” ...