This essay began as a note to my newsletter subscribers and ballooned into this. Over at Dappled Things:

Andrea (not her real name) is my new, doctor-prescribed psychotherapist. Because I have bipolar disorder and ADHD, I have the pleasure of visiting medical offices with the words “behavioral health” blazoned upon the signage. I had skipped out on psychotherapy for months after my previous therapist left the practice, but when the erratic mood swings, paranoia, and suicidal ideations started happening, my psychiatrist insisted I get back down to business.

Read the rest here.

The Denial of St. Peter, Caravaggio

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”

Matthew 18:21-22 (RSVCE)

And what if the person who needs forgiveness is yourself?

I’m doing it again: thinking and acting out of anxiety, with all its annoying, tear-inducing subsequent behaviors. The context does not matter. What does is that, for a few days, I lost track of my Advent resolution to follow my own advice and widen my scope:

Push back. Open your eyes. Reach out. Look to God. Look to your neighbor. Ground yourself in natural and supernatural reality. See those fearsome phantoms in your head for what they are: mere shadows.

For my Scripture for the Scrupulous subscribers: does it help to know that the struggle is ongoing? That we can make progress, but perfection belongs to the Lord? God has His ways of keeping me humble, and this is one.

Repent. Turn to God. Recall His love.

Examine my conscience. Ask forgiveness. Make amends.

Focus on my family and my work.

Seventy times seven.

“Lord, who will save me from this body of death?”

Jesus, I trust in Thee.

Mary, Lady, Queen, and Mother, I trust in your prayers and the prayers of all the saints.

Guardian Angel, fight for me.

It’s Facebook official: My award-winning debut novel has found a publishing home! The Life We Greet (working title), my three-part historical continuity series, will be published with Chrism Press this coming year.

The funniest part of this (for me, at least) is that the acquisition process began with WhiteFire Publishing months before they founded Chrism Press or asked me to be one of its founding editors. I certainly wasn’t expecting any of this back in January, when I submitted my manuscript. 2020 has been a wild ride.

A detail from a contemporary painting of Joan of Arc. My main character looks something like this, but with less pouty lips. Apologies for the lack of attribution: I have no idea who painted this or where it is located.

I’m excited to work with the rest of the Chrism Press and WhiteFire Publishing team to make this a great book and great series.

…and I’m one of them!

What is the Genesis Contest? From the American Christian Fiction Writers’ website:

The Genesis Contest is the ACFW contest for unpublished Christian fiction writers. Genesis has a number of categories/genres to enter, the opportunity for unbiased feedback on writers' work by published authors and experienced judges, and the chance for the category finalists to have their work read by Christian publishing house editors and literary agents. ACFW has been pleased to see many previous category winners and finalists move further in their writing careers to become published authors.

The Genesis Contest is competitive and making it to the finalist round is a huge honor. Deo gratias.