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Finding Center in Life’s Turbulence
In my recent travel adventures, I noticed the flight crew now refers to “turbulence” as “rough air.” I’m not sure why. “Rough air” sounds no less pleasant. Regardless of how we spin it, turbulence remains a reality for air travel and, honestly, for life in general. Sometimes, we don’t even have to be in the air to experience it. My…
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3 Habits of Satisfied People
More than likely, our lives have or will turn out differently than we plan. Even so, we can know the satisfaction of a life well-lived. The deciding factors have less to do with mountain-top moments and more with our everyday habits. Last month, I had the opportunity to share with Alpha Omega Academy’s graduating class some habits that will help…
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The Revolutionary – A Book Review — Betty Thomason Owens
The Revolutionary Liberate The Captives Rogues, Book II, by Kristen Hogrefe After being sentenced to a labor camp in Rogues Book I, The Revisionary, Portia Abernathy’s story continues three months later, in a coal mine. [You can read my review of The Revisionary here] The Revolutionary—I was hooked by the opening paragraph. The rest of […] via The Revolutionary – A…
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God doesn’t give you more than you can handle…or does He?
“God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.” I’ve heard this saying all my life, always from well-meaning Christians. But there have been plenty of times when I just couldn’t “handle.” After my grandmother passed away, I couldn’t handle the grief, and depression set in for two years. Later on, my body couldn’t handle what I was eating and…
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Summer Book Challenge
Like most children, I looked forward to summer as a girl. One of the many reasons why was that I could choose any book at the library to read, earn points toward the Book-It program, and get free pizza. Free pizza for reading books? Yes, please! Today, I still adore pizza and books. Though I can’t afford to feed your…
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The Revisionary Receives Grace Award
This month, The Revisionary received the 2017 Grace Award for Speculative Fiction in faith-based fiction. The reader-driven Grace Awards first let readers select the finalists in each category before a panel of judges reviewed them to choose the winners. Here’s what the judges had to say: THE REVISIONARY by Kristen Hogrefe (Write Integrity Press) ~ This dystopian novel was engaging and well-paced,…
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How to Beat Burn-Out this Summer
Have you ever wished that summer break were mandatory for everyone? I certainly have, but wishful thinking gets us nowhere. However, those of us who work year round can still find ways to beat burn-out. Clear the calendar This item is the hardest for me. No matter how much I try, my weekly calendar (not counting work obligations) looks like…
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The Revisionary Wins Selah Award
My heart nearly beat out of my chest as Eva Marie Everson, the Blue Ridge Conference Awards Director, called my name. Not just for finaling in two awards (an honor in itself) but for winning them both. Last week, The Revisionary won one of Christian Fiction’s most notable awards, the Selah, in its category of Speculative Fiction. It also received…
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Live Rare in a Medium-Well World
This coming Friday, I’m honored to give the virtual commencement address for my school, Alpha Omega Academy. The best part? Since it’s virtual, you can attend! Many of you know I enjoy a good pun, but the title I chose for my address has a serious point. How can we live meaningfully when the world wants us to settle for…
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Graduates, what would you teach us?
Graduates are on fire for life and its seemingly endless possibilities, but those of us on the other side know Forrest Gump was right when he said life can be like a box of chocolates—and not always in a good way. As a result, we adults have both wisdom and experience to offer. However, let’s take a moment to switch…
