by Maddie

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

Since many of us struggle with anxiety, I felt like I had to put a fear-fighting scene in my fantasy series . While I can't share all of it (spoilers abound!), here's a snapshot of the dark ickiness that weighs so many of us down... She was pretty sure she’d lost her mind. That was the only reason Mari could fathom  why her half-tripping sprint away from her shelter—past the prince and his battle and into the one her friends were losing… and they were losing horribly —was oc

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

This week, Mari—the protagonist of my fantasy nove l —is going to a ball. I hope you enjoy this silly sneak-peak!   She looked good. Or goooodddddd , as Cresida had put it. Either way, that was not a sentiment that Mari often had. But even she couldn’t deny it. The dress looked like it was made for her, tailored to fit her perfectly. For all she knew, that was some magical property it had. Because, really, it was perfect. Complete with the little white blossoms and shells t

Gardeners cut and prune their plants… so they can grow more.   Construction workers have to break down the old… before they can build the new.   Blacksmiths have to hammer and mar… shaping the metal to fit the mold.   Potters have to cut and smash and use brute force… for the clay to yield to their hands.   Christ had to be crucified and killed… in order for us to live with Him again.   There’s an interesting pain/growth symbiosis found in life, isn’t there? The end results c

Welcome to part two of How Mari Gets Transported to the Mystical Realm of Ahsah ! This excerpt is rather long, so we're wasting no time in getting started... The end of the week came all too slowly, but finally, her chance to return to the tree had arrived. Lili crashed early after their buffet of Mr. Lance’s famous Korean spaghetti and meatballs. Mari knew she would—she was a sucker for those rice noodles. She waited until it was dark and Miss Lili’s snoring was as loud as a

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...

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Maddie. Now, this Maddie girl was seven months into a bizarre "break" with a guy, and well, she...

This design was birthed in my journal, bright and early on a random Bible-studying morning. I start each day that way, in fact—open my...

When tasked with the responsibility of writing about this painting , my mind came up empty. In truth, this piece was a commission for my...

In honor of Independence Day, we’re going to be reading a freedom-focused excerpt from Mari’s story :   Mari knew they wanted her to be like that swallow, the bird that wasn’t chained to fear but free to live boldly and confidently and believe that she was loved and lovable. Even her bright and bold flower-of-a-name pointed her to that conclusion. And the mantra Cresida taught her was helping… unchain… her, as it was teaching her how to look at things less fearfully and mor

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

This week, Mari—the protagonist of my fantasy nove l —is going to a ball. I hope you enjoy this silly sneak-peak!   She looked good. Or goooodddddd, as Cresida had put it. Either way, that was not a sentiment that Mari often had. But even she couldn’t deny it. The dress looked like it was made for her, tailored to fit her perfectly. For all she knew, that was some magical property it had. Because, really, it was perfect. Complete with the little white blossoms and shells t

When I think of summer, I don’t think of Easter. Maybe that’s just me, but, ya know, Easter’s for springtime and bunnies and lambs and chicks, right?   Well, come to find out…   Easter season actually lasts for over a month (forty to fifty days, according to my online sleuthing). You see, there’s this handy dandy thing called a church calendar because, as it so happens, we celebrate a lot more than Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection. In fact, there are specific times ass

We're going to do something a little different today. What is it, you may ask? I've come to the mind-altering conclusion that not everyone is going to read my books. And I get it; fantasy isn't everyone's cup of tea, and I'm sure that a devotional on anxiety won't be either. However, there are pieces of Christ embedded in all of my creative endeavors; thus, I want to start sharing exerts from my written works... not just my visual ones. And so, I give you a piece from my unpu

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

In honor of the beginning of summer, I want to talk about flowers. Or, more specifically the limited lifespan of a single bloom.   Some flowers —like crocuses and snow bells—only last a few days. Maybe three or four before their delicate petals wither away. Others—sunflowers and zinnias—seem to flourish for weeks, enduring the late-summer heat without problem.   But most of them, I’d say, bloom for no more than a week…   Tulips can’t hold themselves tall. Peonies bloom around

In full disclosure, I’ve been in a funk for the past few weeks. Thinking about all the things God  hasn’t  done—like give me a husband, book sales, or a steady stream of income—I’ve lost sight of all that He  has .   But then, as I was hunting through my files to find a picture of today’s print , I found a little document called  high school testimonials  (fun fact: I actually painted that building for one of my teachers). Inside, I discovered various affirmations from teac

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

I wrote the words for this Motivational Mini a while ago, and honestly, this encouragement has been a poignant reminder for me today. You see, the past few weeks have been wrought with horrible anxiety attacks, brought on for a variety of reasons.  Most days start out fine, but as the hours and tasks drag on, I get overwhelmed. Stressed. Anxious. Somehow, I don’t think I’m alone in this. Somehow, I think many of us can relate to feeling okay one moment… then broken and breaki