The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson is a game changer for me on the way I approach prayer. While prayer is a practice Christians are urged to do as soon as they make a profession of faith, Batterson brings a new approach with the concept of circling our dreams with expectation. And the challenge that if our dreams are small …
Devotional for Boys
Triple Dog Dare is designed to fill a year with devotions for boys. Written by Jeremy V. Jones, it is similar to Truth & Dare, only clearly targeted at the slingshot toting sex. The layout is one verse a day, followed by a summary truth, a short devotional, and a triple dare to apply the truth. Then there’s a chance to …
Great Devotional for Tween Girls
It’s been awhile since I’ve talked about books. So with the arrival of the new year (Happy 2012), I thought I’d tell you about a couple devotionals my older kids are working through this year. Both are designed for kids in the 9 to 12 year old range. You can take a peek at both of these devotionals here. The first is …
Handling Disappointment…
It’s been an interesting few days at the Putman household. First, I had disappointing news, then my eldest had a disappointing gymnastics meet. Disappointment is terrible. Especially when you’ve worked as hard as you know how to work and hear that your efforts aren’t quite there. They don’t reach the level needed. Yet there’s no clear direction on how to …
Incorporating Your Loves into Your Books
One of the things I love about writing is the ability to incorporate the things I love into my writing. As a gal right out of college I headed to Washington, D.C., to launch my career in public policy. You see, there weren’t a lot of jobs in Nebraska for a girl with a degree in political science. That was …
Cherry Blossom Capers is Here!
My latest book has released! Cherry Blossom Capers is a novella collection set in Washington, D.C. That means four of us each wrote a novella — a story in 20,000 words. The stories are connected because the heroines live in the same neighborhood, the fictional Cherry Blossom Estates. While it may be fictional, it’s based on the real Fairlington Village …
How would my parenting change?
On Friday I wrote about how I wondered about my legacy after the death of a young man from our church. The other direction my thoughts spiraled was to his parents. There was no warning that Saturday would be his last. No chance to say good-bye. My heart broke for them — not for the young man. And I began …
What’s my legacy? What’s yours?
The weekend before Christmas our church lost a young man in a car accident. His death sent my thoughts in a couple different directions. The one that captured me first came as I considered his legacy. This young man was on fire for God. And he had a servant’s heart. When we were working on the Joplin project in May, …
A Birthday Party for Two
Me, my sister Janna, and Joanna For Christmas I went home to Nebraska. My family spent a week with my parents, siblings, spouses, nieces and nephews. When you put us all together there are 26 soon to be 27. It makes for a chaotic, but fun time as the adults play games and chat while the kids run around and …
Thank you, Jesus
Thank you, Jesus, for looking across space and time and seeing me. Thank you for agreeing to come and die. Thank you for trusting your Father’s heart so that you could be the plan. Thank you for always standing there waiting for us to turn back to you. Thank you for always encouraging us to change but for loving us …