Some Frequently Asked Questions from Readers

How did you get started writing?

I have always loved to read, and words have always fascinated me. English was my favorite subject. My eighth grade English teacher challenged us to write poems for entry in the High School Anthology of Poetry. I did, and my first poem was chosen and published at age 13. I knew I loved poetry and could rhyme easily, but I did nothing more about writing until later. At college I chose to major in Larry (my current husband). It wasn’t until after our first baby was born a few years later that I decided to try writing again. My first attempts at writing were greeting cards. I sent out scores of rhyming greeting card verses and sold some. I was hooked. I took a writer’s correspondence course which opened up all kinds of possibilities: magazine articles; devotionals, newspaper columns. I found I could write and sell these pieces and thoroughly enjoyed them.

 TOP

You were a newspaper columnist for ten years. What kind of column did you write?

I wrote a devotional column called “The Quiet Place,” using home, family, events, and things around me to weave a weekly homespun column for my readers.

 TOP

When did you start writing books?

I think I’ve always been writing a book—in my heart and in my head. But God had some work to do in my life before He allowed me to write my first book—a marriage book I co-authored with my husband. God developed a passion in our hearts for encouraging couples in marriage, so we received marriage enrichment leadership training. We wanted something to leave in the hands of the couples who attended our retreats—something they could take home and work through and enjoy together, so in 1995 we wrote Marriage Toners, Weekly Exercises to Strengthen Your Relationship. In it we encourage couples to work together in fun, communication exercises that will build intimacy in their marriage.

 TOP

You co-authored two best-selling books with four other women. How did that come about?

I lived in the Dallas metroplex and taught a writer’s conference where one of the four ladies attended as a conferee. I had just found out my husband had accepted a church position in East Texas where this writer lived. She invited me to attend their writer’s group when I moved and got settled. I joined a group of three, and soon, another writer formed the five-member writer’s group. We spent time together each month reporting, critiquing, and encouraging each other with stories from our own lives and families. One day we came up with the idea of writing a book to encourage other women. We ended up using a play on words and wrote Courage for the Chicken Hearted, Humorous and Inspiring Stories for Confident Living and Eggstra Courage for the Chicken Hearted, More Humorous and Inspiring Stories for Confident Living. Those books have sold over 150,000 copies, have been published in a hard book collector’s edition by Guideposts, and have been translated in Korean. In those books we shared humorous and poignant stories from our lives as moms, wives, writers, and women who found wings to fly confidently in fearful situations familiar to every woman.

You’ve written several solo books. What did you want to communicate in At Home in My Heart, Preparing a Place for His Presence?

I call this book my “heart” book—the book I always wanted to write. It started out as a book on simplicity, then kept changing several times. When I moved into my home in East Texas and was settling down to redecorate my home, I knew how God wanted me to package the material I had been wanting to write. In this book I wanted to encourage women to make a place of warmth and intimacy in their hearts and homes for Christ—to know Him better, and to let their lives be a reflection of the beauty of Christ. When Jesus went back to heaven, He promised to “prepare us a place in Heaven.” In this book I wanted to share with women how they, too, could prepare a place for Christ in their hearts and in their homes—a place where His love could be felt and seen, not just by family members, but by everyone they meet. To do so requires a complete redecoration of heart and home. It’s written for women, from a woman’s perspective—with plenty of practical decorating tips on how to make visual reminders in their home as well—touch points where they can meet God at every turn. I used stories from my life and wove an imaginary conversation throughout with Jesus, the Master Designer, as He walked through reminding me of His faithfulness in the past—and encouraging me to remember His lessons for the future.

 TOP

Where did you get the idea for your best-selling devotional Daily in Your Presence, Intimate Conversations with a Loving Father?

I have always loved God’s Word, and I have been fascinated with the names and attributes of God and the Trinity.  I actually wrote a small portion of that book as a calendar years ago. But the calendar was never published. My purpose then was to express prayers of gratitude to a faithful God for all He is and all He does. But years later, I decided to expand the book, this time making it center around two-way conversations with a loving and intimate God. It seemed like a natural follow-up to my first book on intimacy with God. Somehow I wanted to communicate God’s unconditional love and faithfulness—and all that His names and attributes can mean to us personally. I prayed long and hard, researching carefully His Word so that everything that came “From the Father’s Heart,” was true to Scripture. The 365 Simple Truths I wrote in this book are also all original. Many came from my greeting card and poster files—things I had written years before, some sold, some not. Others were new—and a challenge to write. I am a firm believer that nothing is ever wasted. God prepares us sometimes years before He actually uses us in a particular way. As I wrote this book, I listened to praise CD’s repeatedly in the background—worship songs about the character of Christ, and the Heavenly Father.

The whole book is like a private worship experience between one person and God, and was born out of a heart of gratitude to my Heavenly Father for all He has done for me. I probably have had more cards and letters from people who have read this book and how it has encouraged them than any other book I’ve written. I’ve never forgotten Sherwood Wirt’s words, “Write about Him!” I know the success of this book is because it is all about Him!

I was delighted when Barbour released a beautiful gift journal edition of Daily in Your Presence. Many have written to tell me they are keeping a legacy of their thoughts for their children or grandchildren in this book. Others say they have journaled in it through times of difficulty and have drawn closer to God through these intimate times of focusing on His names and attributes.

 TOP

What about your book Daily in Your Image, Reflecting the Character of Christ?

This devotional book, published by Barbour in 2004 is a follow-up to Daily in Your Presence. It has a similar format with 365 devotionals that focus on character attributes we want to mirror in our own lives. The entire devotion is based on choosing, with God’s help, character qualities that say to others: this one belongs to Christ. The two devotional books go together and make great, affordable gifts for any occasion.

TOP

What other things have you written through the years?

You can read my Bio to see the various kinds of things I’ve written. I’ve sold scores of greeting cards, meditations, posters, magazine articles, gift products, calendars, even sayings for mugs, magnets and bookmarks. Usually I sell the verse, and the publisher decides where it wants to use it. I have even written Bible Study curriculum, promotional letters, copy ads—whatever an editor would pay me for. I’ve contributed to several book compilations and have written much of the material in several well-known devotional books like In the Garden with God and Christmas with God. Warner Press asked me to write two children‘s devotional series. I still write greeting card verse and various other things, but my primary concentration now is authoring books and speaking/teaching.

 TOP

Tell us about the new devotional series 40 Days in God’s Presence: a Devotional Encounter.

I am very excited about this new 40-Day series. Many don’t really understand what it means to enjoy God or to live in communion with Him—to truly experience His love. Some people wonder if we’re even supposed to enjoy God! But in this new book, releasing in January, 2006, you can walk through the pages of Scripture and into the hearts of other believers who actually encountered God. As you explore the lives of these very real people, like them I hope you will come face-to-face with the God who loves you more than you can imagine. The new devotional series is published by Warner Faith, a division of Time/Warner, and second book in that same series will follow in July, 2006: 40 Days in God’s Blessing. I loved writing these books. It’s my prayer that they will take you on an adventure—a journey you will want to repeat—one that will surprise you, and one that will help you enjoy and draw even closer to our awesome God.

TOP