by Maddie

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

You wouldn't know it, but I'm writing this from abroad. Not in my office like normal, but at my gym. Bright and early. As I await my turn on a machine. Which is perfect because I wanted to talk about straying from the routine, from the norm. You see, God's been doing some cool stuff in the past 14 hours (yes, I’m being that exact). Yesterday, while I was rereading my latest Fear Fighting chapter, I realized that I needed to cite my sources. So, I went back to my commentar

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who wanted to write stories about mermaids and princesses. And of course, since no one else could get the details just right , she had to draw them too. Thus began her writing career. It was slow, at first, just little manuscripts crafted with marker and crayon. But gradually, her ideas shifted—magical tree houses and friends’ adventures and puppies galore—and then shifted again—essays and analytics and studying, studying, studying—a

If you've been here a while, then you'll know that I really like studying God's Word. So, today we're gonna talk about Sarah, the wife of Abraham. Oh, and did you know that she was previously called Sarai, but God renamed her Sarah , or Princess . So we have Abraham, the father of many nations , which might as well make him a king, and Sarah the princess. Look how God renames as He redeems! Nevertheless, although Abraham and Sarah are well aware of the Lord’s promise of desce

Did you know I write both fiction and nonfiction? While a lot of this blog is spent studying the Word, my fictional pieces also have Christ embedded in them. Take this excerpt, for example... Before all the negative thoughts swirling around her head could take over, movement from a radiant rainbow of light caught her attention. It took her eyes a second to adjust, but once they did, Mari stared: it was the prince. He was the light. And she knew it because all the glowing gl

This week I wanna talk about interruptions. Surprises. Shockers. Stressors. None of which I am very fond of (and I don't think I'm alone in this). But thanks to a handy dandy devotional by Max Lucado, the Lord has shown me another perspective on interruptions. He writes… “We seldom, if ever, allow the Holy Spirit to interrupt our plans and lead us to worship so that we might see Jesus.” Friends, I don’t know about you, but I want to be interrupted by Jesus. When my plans

What do you know about Sodom and Gomorrah, aka the salty cities of the Bible? Abraham's nephew Lot (who is the focal point of this blog) lived there, and well, let's just say that these two cities were extremely messed up. Wickedness prevailed in every way imaginable, so much so, that not even ten people in the cities were considered righteous ( Gen 18:22-33 ). As such, God decided to rain down destruction… on everyone except Lot. This man was deemed righteous (because he be

Pretty little blue bird In a little branch, Has life got you down? Pretty little blue bird, Don’t fret or flare, God will keep you Safe and sound. I wrote this poem on the back of this painting, and truly, I don’t remember why I did. What issue I was fretting over or what stressor I was enduring. Isn’t it odd how the circumstances that inspired this piece are forgotten to me? Isn’t it odd how we fret and flare and fear… when in all likelihood, the source of our terror