Honestly? What I’m into most these days is soldiering my way through this tail end of winter. It’s been a tough couple of months, due in part to several long stretches of particularly dreary weather coupled with a few unrelenting stresses. Some days feel like a slog. However. There’ve also been no shortage of lighter moments and delightful activities — points of beauty amidst the brokenness. For these gifts of God’s faithfulness and provision, I’m so grateful. I am reminded of this lovely passage in the Psalms:

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you… As they pass through the Valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs… They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.” ~ Psalm 84:5-7

Amen. (And actually, in my finer moments, I’m grateful for the slog too. It’s refining in ways nothing else could be.)

What I’m reading (not for the blog):

The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon. Just for fun, I went back and reread this She Reads pick from 2014 (by one of its co-founders). Had my socks knocked off again by the author’s flair for dialogue and knack for spinning a good yarn.

Little Broken Things by Nicole Baart. One of my perennial favorite authors. Her exquisite prose takes my breath away while her finely tuned plotting keeps me turning the pages. This one is quite possibly her best novel yet.

What I’m listening to: Podcasts! Including these recent faves:

The Open Door Sisterhood: The Healthy Way ~ Goal Setting & Fitness with Tammy Strait. A conversation between sisters about setting healthy goals for the new year — or anytime. Savvy and spirit-anchoring.

The Journey Women: On Unmet Expectations with Maggie Combs. I gained so much godly perspective from these young women’s conversation — wise beyond their years — about the hurts and disappointments of real life. Also this one on Intimacy with God with Kim Vollendorf. Remembering the ABCs of God. So good.

Dear Daughters: On Discovering Vocation with Will Davis, Jr. I enjoyed the banter between Susie Davis and her husband just as much as I enjoyed the excellent content of this episode.

What I’m working on:

Last edits for Shadow Sister+ cover design (woohoo!). Release date (August 2018) coming faster than I can believe, but meanwhile I looking forward to sharing with you the first sneak peek at the cover — coming soon! Thanks to the incredible talents of my designer, it’s breathtaking and I can’t wait to share it with you.

What keeps me busy when I’m not writing:

Attending book club meetings to talk about my book, Her Memory of Music. Y’all. So fun. And kind of surreal to hear readers relating to these characters and reflecting on their story in a way that used to take place only inside my head. And when they tell me, sometimes a bit tearily, what Ally’s story (or Darcie’s or Rees’s) meant to them . . . priceless.

Which reminds me: I’ve now got a new page just for Book Clubs. You can find it here.

What’s entertaining:

• Toby Mac Hits Deep tour with Finding Favor, Mandisa, Danny Gokey, Ryan Stevenson. An unexpected treat that came our way when friends landed a suite at the arena and invited us to join them. Great show, even better for our souls.
• The Greatest Showman. Took the fam for a fun night out. Liked the story, loved the music. Got the soundtrack.
• Doctor Blake Mysteries. Ever since Downton Abbey wrapped, my husband has been diligent about finding me new BBC dramas to watch. This mystery series, set in 1950s Australia, has become a family fave.

What else? Planning our next family vacay. This summer we won’t be venturing quite so far from home. Keeping it domestic, anyway, as it’s high time we introduced our thoroughly West Coast kids to the East Coast. Which also happens to include some of my high school stomping grounds (in the D.C. area). Covering territory both familiar and not, from Williamsburg to NYC.

Also: Running. I’ve always considered myself a fair-weather runner. Warm and sunny? I’m in. Cold and gray? Not so much. But joining Team World Vision has changed all that. Now I’m running to help bring clean water to kids in Congo. Clean water to transform lives by enabling good health, education, safety. Plus, I’m running toward a personal goal, a long-held dream of completing a half-marathon. Now I’ll do that in celebration of — well, let’s just say a significant birthday. 🙂 I’ve set a fairly ambitious goal of raising enough funds to bring clean water to 50 people. If you’d like to help me reach that goal, click here to make a tax-deductible donation. (Thank you!)

And finally — why yes, I’m also very into this new look for my website. I was greatly helped along the way by attending a free webinar on how to “De-Clutter Your Website Home Page” by Blogging Bistro, my #1 go-to resource for all my social media needs. You can read a little more about that experience in this blog post by Blogging Bistro’s Laura Christianson — appropriately titled, “It’s All About Overcoming.” If you’re a blogger considering changes to your website, I’d highly recommend you sign up for one of Laura’s future sessions. In any case, I hope you love my new look as much as I do.

So, that’s it for me. What are you into these days?