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Fighting Fear through Fantasy
At the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, I met author Emily Golus, whose young adult fantasy, Escape to Vindor, won the Selah Award for its category. I was instantly drawn to her sincere, winsome personality and looked forward to reading her novel. Last week, I read it. Yes, the story is incredible, but beyond that, I was moved by how much it personally challenged me. Summary Megan Bradshaw can defeat a sphynx when she’s imagining her alter-ego Selena in the fantasy world of Vindor, but in real life, she bombs oral speeches and dreads the idea of moving to a new school. If only she could be Selena all…
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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 last travel experience involved being grounded in a plane for two hours before the airline allowed us to disembark (due to weather). As I waited in the crowded plane, just ready to be home, I felt a rising frustration at my helplessness. I closed my eyes and tried to pray,…
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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 them live meaningfully, and I don’t think these practices are just for teens. They’re ones I have to work on intentionally every day. Maybe they’ll help you, too. Habit #1: Guard Your Priorities. We might be able to multi-task, but we can’t do everything. Or, if we try, we’ll do less…
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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 the stress I was under, and I suffered with physical pain for several years. During those periods, hearing that God hadn’t actually given me more than I could handle felt disingenuous. What’s more, it added to my frustration and self-condemnation. So let me give it to you straight: yes, God…
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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, reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984, with a more modern vibe similar to The Hunger Games. The author uses deep point of view in a first person present style, in keeping with current tastes in fiction. The story never stagnates but keeps moving and surprising all the way through. The plot follows young…
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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 ink exploded all over it. The only tip that seems to work is scheduling mandatory “do-not-disturb” time. If someone asks for that time, we can respond, “Sorry, but my calendar is booked.” It’s not a lie. We’ve set aside intentional time for ourselves (and our families), and honestly, that’s a…
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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 status quo? To join the live stream, click here and find the specific event for the graduation. The event starts at two o’clock Central time (or three o’clock for all my East Coast friends). Plus, join me on Twitter during my address to answer a lighthearted (but related) poll. To…
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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 places and ask ourselves what we can learn from this year’s graduating class. Celebrate your success, and don’t dwell on defeat. Sometimes, life and its school of hard knocks jade us. We see the rejection letters, the closed doors, and the failed hopes. When we do, we often lose sight…
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The Grass is Greener Where You Water It
Springtime in Florida means greenery is in full bloom everywhere except my front yard. My poor yard. I’ve never had a green thumb, and when I bought my home, the previous owner clearly hadn’t possessed one either. But I do water. Or God does. But I suppose that to have green grass, one should have something other than weeds in the first place. I digress. This post isn’t about my lost-cause lawn. It’s actually about relationships and commitments in general-and sticking with them. What are you watering? I heard a pastor use this phrase when giving a talk on marriage. He said that there are three phases to marriage: 1)…
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The Command to Rest
If there’s one adjective we all use to describe our lives, it’s probably busy. Some days, I look at my list and wonder: How did all that get there? One item you won’t see on the to-do list is this: Rest. But I think we would all do well to add it. I’m not talking about lazy, couch-potato rest, although if we burn out our bodies to the point of illness, that sometimes becomes necessary. Instead, I’m talking about a quiet rest, a renewing rest, a distraction-free rest. What that looks like differs for each one of us, but here are some suggestions: Spending a quiet weekend morning with our…
