This is the version of our 2023 Christmas letter that we’re not sending. It was turning into a novel. Our friends and family got the condensed version! You’re welcome to read it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you… Looking over the 2023 calendar, it actually wears me out! What a year we had! […]
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The End of an Era
When my mom had emergency surgery in 2017 to repair a ruptured colon, I was hopeful that she’d recover easily enough, move back into her two-story house, and get on with her active retirement life. That wasn’t meant to be. The long surgery brought about post-operative delirium and the end of her days of […]
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Welcome To This World
To say the last month or so has been busy would be an understatement. Five weeks ago, I had to relocate my mom to a new assisted living facility. Three days after she was settled in I flew to Columbus, Ohio, to help our daughter Samantha out by watching our 2-year-old granddaughter and working on […]
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Don’t Ever Bet Against Me
My 86-year-old mom has been in assisted living facilities since she underwent emergency surgery in 2017 for a ruptured colon that caused her to have short-term memory loss. After she was released from the hospital, she stayed at the closest nursing facility to our house, just .5 miles away, so that I could visit her […]
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Biking Reinvented
I can still remember the first time my husband brought up the topic of investing in an e-bike for me. He claimed that it would help me keep up with him on our longer bike rides. Being the competitive person that I am, I was actually offended that he was implying that I was struggling […]
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Our Walk to Remember…
I’ve been a goal setter as long as I can remember, and I truly believe in the power of written goals. Many times through the years I’d written down goals, and, without even consciously working on them, in time they were reached. Recently, I dug out a goal list from 2010. Out of […]
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Anatomy of a Novel
When my first book, A World Such as Heaven Intended, came out in October of 2014, I thought it was “one and done.” God had other plans. Here I am, nine years later, and yesterday I sent my 10th book off to the publisher. One of the most asked questions I get is, “How […]
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No man is a failure who has friends
So, this thing happened a couple of weeks ago. I celebrated my birthday. Which, coincidentally, happens to fall one day after my husband John’s birthday. We’re a day and a year apart. Part of the fun of celebrating birthdays for me is all the birthday wishes I get every year. The vast majority come […]
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The Habsburg Way
So, I have this friend who had a new book published this spring, and he sent me a note several months ago asking if I’d like an advanced hardcover copy mailed to me that I could review. Just going to say, when an archduke asks me a favor, I seldom say no. Besides that, I […]
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Review of The Miracle Club
The first week in July I received this message from a professional in the film PR industry: Hi Amanda. I’ve been meaning to reach out to you for some time b/c I really enjoy your entertainment coverage and commitment to faith. My name is Corby Pons and I work on the pr side for films. […]
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