by Maddie

Yes, this is the weirdest blog title ever. It foreshadows the end of this Bible story, which centers around a sun. And this sun is special because it shines much longer than it should. For a full day, in fact, until the Israelites’ latest battle is won ( Josh 10:13 ). Ultimately, God’s the one responsible for this high-in-the-night-sky sun, since He’s answering the prayer of Joshua, His once-again-faith-filled servant. You see, the Jews have a plethora of enemies, and once t

Do you ever get nervous when God starts answering prayers? It seems counterintuitive, I know, but after an eventful few weeks and studying what happens after   Jericho falls , I’m thinking that angst is a pretty common response to the Lord’s work. Can you relate to that? Any times where God’s done something monumental … and you’re left panicking? Not gonna lie, I feel that way right now. But as our studies are about to show us, this panic is brought about because our eyes str

I'm gonna be honest with you guys - I don't know when or why I wrote this mini's quote. All I know is that it proves true for what I'm going through right now. What do you do when you don't know where God's leading you? For me, that's a question pertaining to my books... specifically, how to publish them. For the last two years, I've relied upon self-publishing to share my works; however, I can count on one hand the number of copies I've sold. A couple weeks ago, I was able t

A couple months ago, my pastor gave a fascinating sermon about a common phenomenon found in Christian's lives. He called it Jesus plus . To sum it up, he was saying how we have a tendency to not be content with Christ alone, but to take up idols to serve in addition  to Him. For the Israelites in the Old Testament, they often sacrificed on altars for both God and gods, of the literal, statue variety. However, Jesus’ teachings in the New Testament reveal that idols don’t have

I just spent three hours sorting through five year's worth of old blog posts. Ranging from 2020 to now, I went into all 195 documents and categorized them - for your reading pleasure - into five, easily-to-navigate groups: Artwork, Writing Excerpts, Mental Health, Faith, and Bible Studies (you're welcome). My brain's kinda fried, so we're not going to have a new post this week. However, with New Year's approaching, it seems like the perfect time to take a trip down Handiworks

You’d think a post right before Christmas would be full of well wishes and holiday cheer, right?   Wrong.   Considering that 89% of Americans find this time of year to be overwhelmingly stressful —with 41% naming it t he most stressful time of the year —I think there’s something more important to talk about.   One of the main reasons why most of us have a hard time around Christmas—and I’ll be honest, I’m definitely in that 41% group who dreads holidays—is that we think about

Today's topic is about sheep ... partially because I discovered this picture from my Ireland excursion and couldn't resist sharing such cute little lambs ... and partially because I've been studying Psalm 23. It goes like this: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.   He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside … still waters.   He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness [for] His name’s sake.   Yea, though I walk through the valley

I'm not gonna lie, Christmas is not my favorite season. And it's not because of the barren winter weather, or the lack of sunlight, or even the gingerbread houses and trees and traditions. Simply put, I just don't like the rush - the hustle and bustle from one party to the next, feeling exhausted by December 9th because Christmas prep starts as soon as Halloween ends. This year I've had the odd experience of being in the 'business owner' world, so for me, I was designing Chr

In light of Thanksgiving tomorrow, this blog is going to focus on gratitude. Kind of. Although certainly not at first. A couple weeks ago, I was partaking in my nightly routine of doodling (great way to reflect and refocus on the Lord, by the way), and depending on my mood, my sketchbook may be filled with cartoons, prayers, random scribblings, or legit art pieces. In this case, my prayer took on the form of a poem... A rather mournful one, might I add. You see, I'm a very vi

A few weeks ago, I got to walk along the Oregon coast as the sun was setting, and let me tell you, it was beautiful . The most inspiring part wasn’t the clouds, though. Or the colors or seagulls or anything like that, actually. No. It was the sand. The boring, dusty ground … You see, this sand was so saturated  with seawater that it mirrored the sky above it. The brilliance of the heavens was reflected on the earth—multiplying its majesty and illuminating the ever-growing dar

When was the last time you read a book? For me, it was last night; I tend to read every evening, for a few minutes at least. But I'm probably biased. I mean, I am a writer, after all. Studies show that 48% of Americans haven't read a book in the last twelve months. Guys, that's almost half of us! Now, this isn't a guilt trip if this blog is the only reading material you peruse (thanks, by the way). Rather, I'm bring this up because of the wonder found in completing a good bo

God can be pretty funny. You know how I know this? Because I design my products weeks, if not months, in advance of posting them. And I post them randomly, no pattern of print, sticker, cards, sticker, or something like that. Plus, the day I write about them (which is here, in this blog, btw), is usually a week after I post them on my website. And yet, all of this to be said, the design I created months ago, posted weeks, and am writing about today… Is comprised of a holy mes

This one is close to my heart. And maybe a bit harder to explain, compared to some of my other works . Basically, this is supposed to be Jesus - complete with His crown of thorns and bloodied face - in the midst of a fierce storm. He is calm, though, in spite of the chaos around Him, and in a season of immense upheaval, His soothing Presence can make all the difference. At the end of Mark 4 , we read about Jesus doing exactly this - soothing stormy seas - but sometimes, there

How does a bee pollinate a flower if said flower is closed tight? It can’t. So why do we expect God to work miracles in our lives … without opening ourselves up to Him? This blog is short and (maybe not so) sweet: don’t view God as some distanced, far-off, holier-than-thou figure, when Jesus is proof that He’d rather descend into the dirtiest stable, sink to a humiliating death, and dive into the pits of Hell … Than be separated from you. He longs to have an intimate, genuine

Readers, guess what... I'm officially writing my LAST book for my fantasy series! I wrote the first two pages a couple days ago (not only three hundred thirtyish to go) and this milestone has got me feeling nostalgic. Soooooo, we're going to be looking at some of the super-secret notes I've written while drafting this series... 11/7/21: Marigold May Summerville would not be your first choice for a hero. She was timid and mild and often falls under the shadow of her older sist

It's been two weeks since I got home from my road trip and I can honestly say that I've needed a staycation after my vacation. Prolonged stress can often lead me into a depressive funk, and with the past month of traveling being uber-stressful, I've been struggling recently. When presented with the task of creating a card for some family/friends, I'll admit, I just picked this simple willow scene because it looked nice. But now that I'm writing about it, the Lord's used thi

What’s the thing you really want… but are yet to have?   And I’m not talking about really wanting a certain item from the store, or craving your favorite meal, or your dream vacation. I’m talking about a big thing; a desire that aches within you. The thing you’ve prayed about a thousand times… only to still be lacking an affirmative answer.   What’s  that  thing?   For me, it’s progress. To move forward with my life—meet a guy, get married, have kids—instead of going through

Since I just got back from vacation, I'm not ready to write. Just sleep. Thus, it seems fitting to repost an excerpt from my last big traveling adventure... I’ve never been able to write outside before. Or should I say, type outside. It’s always too bright, with the sun casting glares on my screen. However, I am conquering this today. Right now, in fact. Thanks to a new computer and an Ireland-inspired resolve.  In retrospect, I can’t really call my time in Ireland a vacation

Hi, I'm on vacation. But don't fret, I'm not gonna leave you hanging. In fact, this post is less of a post and more of a journal entry. You see, I've recently learned that journaling is helpful for me. It gets all one-thousand-and-one thoughts out of my head. Thus, I'm going to do something weird - I'm going to let you read some of my entries. (I have a point to this, trust me...) Lord, help me. I am tired and want food and feel bad. Poor [lady who passed away]. Help us. Gui

This afternoon, I was sitting outside and pondering God’s lovely summer creations (my fancy way of saying  Maddie was taking a break from writing to eat a snack and get some sun ) when a tiny, spirited bird soared across my yard.   Now, I wouldn’t be able to tell you what kind of songbird it was, nor even the colors—it was that fast—but I do know that it was making a ruckus while hopping around in our bushes.   And it got me thinking: although I couldn’t see it, I knew it wa