Many of you know that my husband has been off on a medical leave for quite some time. We’ve known that outside of a miracle, (which we never discount the possibility of occurring), he was unlikely to return to the privilege of opening up the Word of God weekly and preaching the Good News to God’s people.
I’m so thankful that the ministry of the gospel has continued to move forward in his absence. I am so thankful that the church we love is going hard after Jesus. But the day the church we helped plant commissioned a new pastor was still a hard day. There was a finality to it that made me weep. I guess, deep down, there was a small part of me that thought maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to return to the pulpit.
I’ve mentioned more than once how my time studying the book of James to write Undeniable Faith has kept me rooted throughout this journey. And as I’m typing this, I’m marvelling at how a release date set months and months and months ago has fallen during one of the hardest ministry seasons we’ve ever faced. I thank the Lord for such gracious timing.
Releasing a prayer book and being present for all the things a book release requires has helped me abide in Jesus during a stretch where I might have been tempted to withdraw. And I was reminded on Sunday that we abide in Jesus, and we are not to attach ourselves to lesser things. If I attach myself to titles like pastor’s wife, or writer, or my job with a local charity, change is shattering.
But when attached to the vine, this branch is a fruit-producing daughter of God, and that never changes.
“Blessed is the [woman] who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. [She] is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for [her] leaves remain green, and [she] is not anxious in the year of drought, for [she] does not cease to bear fruit.”
I’ve had a lot of fun launching my newest prayer book, but behind all of that, I’ve still been writing my stories. Did you know that I started writing over twenty years ago? I still remember the five goals I set in my very first fiction-writing class.
Get published in the local paper.
Get published in a devotional.
Get published in a magazine.
Release a book with a traditional publisher.
Release a title with Love Inspired.
At the time, those felt like far off dreams—and pretty lofty ones at that! There have been a lot of words written since then. Some of them were good. Some of them were not so good. There has been a lot of learning and a lot of rejection, and no one is more amazed than I am that, along the way, I reached some of those goals.
Get published in the local paper. May 2006
Get published in a devotional. Fall 2006
Get published in a magazine. Winter 2005
Release a book with a traditional publisher. 2016
Release a title with Love Inspired. COMING MAY 2027!!!
Yes, my first Love Inspired Suspense novel releases in May 2027, and I still can’t believe it. I can’t believe that I get to do what I do. I write romance.
I love a good love story, be it contemporary romance or romantic suspense. I love watching two people slowly learn to trust each other. I love sacrifice and tenderness, and the moment when someone realizes what’s best for someone else matters more than getting their way. And I really love how Christian romance, when told well, can be a shadow of a much greater love story.
God loves us. He pursues us and doesn’t give up on us. He doesn’t walk away when we are hard to love. He doesn’t give up on the wanderer. And tucked inside my stories of human love is that greater love story.
I especially want to write that kind of story in a world where we see more examples of broken love than healthy love. I want to show what it looks like when someone stays and when someone sacrifices. I want to show someone protecting rather than taking. I want my characters’ love for the Lord to change the way they love the people around them.
I want to set the bar high because real love isn’t only a recitation of 1 Corinthians 13 on a wedding day. Real love receives the correction of 1 Corinthians 13. Paul was correcting a church that wasn’t loving well. He explained that love is patient and kind. It does not envy or boast. It is not proud or rude. It is not self-seeking and keeps no record of wrong. Love doesn’t delight in evil; it rejoices with the truth. That kind of love is beautiful. And it’s incredibly hard.
Nearly twenty years ago, I dreamed about seeing my name on a Love Inspired Suspense novel. In May, Lord willing, I’ll get to hold that novel in my hands. And you’ll get to read about a love that wasn’t easy but was worth fighting for.
James writes about hard things. He writes about trials, sin, anger, hypocrisy, favoritism, jealousy, quarrels, boasting, suffering, and money. He writes about the damage our words can do. He writes about wisdom and patience, faith and good works, true religion and the fleeting nature of life. He warns the rich, he confronts our grumbling, he challenges our good intentions, and just when we think we’ve survived, he circles back and talks about our speech again. James doesn’t give us much room to hide, and it can make his letter uncomfortable.
It’s much easier to talk about faith in broad terms. We believe God is good. We believe His Word is true. We believe we should love our neighbors, care for people in need, control our words, seek wisdom, and trust God through hardship. But James keeps moving those abstract truths into real life. He repeatedly turns my attention to examining the faith I am living.
What happens when the trial doesn’t end?
What comes out of my mouth when I am angry?
How do I treat the person who can do nothing for me?
What happens when someone else receives something I wanted?
What am I doing with my money?
How do I respond when my plans fall apart?
What do I do when I know the right thing to do and just don’t want to do it?
What are my words producing?
Where am I showing favoritism?
What desires create conflict in me?
We live in a world that encourages us to look inward, but James turns our eyes outward to see the orphan, see the widow, see the person in need, watch how my words affect someone else, make peace instead of feeding a quarrel. James wants us to pray for one another and help the person who has wandered from the faith. It’s the uncomfortable gift of James. Look inward to examine your faith. Look outward and apply it.
Where is the gap between what you believe and how you live? That’s a question worth exploring with God for 31 days.
Undeniable Faith is available for eBook pre-order now. The print edition releases September 15th.
Why a devotional on James? It’s a fair question. There are countless books that encourage us, inspire us, and remind us of God’s promises. I’ve read many of them, and they’ve served me well. So why write another one, and why James?
Because I think you might be a little like me. We’ve memorized verses. We’ve highlighted passages. We’ve listened to sermons and participated in Bible studies. We believe in God, and yet there are seasons when the gap between what we believe and how we live widens. We haven’t stopped loving God; life just grew heavy. Responsibilities pile up and without intending to, we begin protecting our comfort more than pursuing obedience.
That was the season I found myself in.
How do you trust God when the answers don’t come? How do you find joy without pretending everything is okay? How do you keep serving others when your own heart feels tired? Those questions led me to the book of James, and I discovered that James moves us beyond what we say we believe and he asks whether our belief is alive. Is our faith changing the way we speak? The way we spend? The way we respond to people who have needs? The way we persevere through hardship? The way we trust God when life doesn’t make sense? Again and again, the Spirit invited me one step closer to Christ.
Eventually, I realized I wasn’t writing only for myself. I was writing for every believer who has ever wondered whether genuine faith can remain steady when life isn’t. If you’ve ever found yourself tired, if you’ve wondered whether joy in suffering is actually possible, if you’ve struggled to know what faith looks like on an ordinary day in an ordinary life, if you’ve sensed God inviting you into deeper trust, this book is for you.
God is forming your faith through your current circumstances and you might not even realize it. That’s why I’ve loved my time in James and I can’t wait to share it with you.
If you’d like to follow along, I’ll be sharing more of the stories, Scriptures, and lessons that shaped Undeniable Faith over the coming months. I hope you’ll join me.
There are few moments in the writing journey as exciting as holding a finished book in your hands. For months this project has lived on my computer, in stacks of handwritten notes, and in countless early mornings spent studying Scripture.
As many of you know, a season of uncertainty entered our family’s life unexpectedly. Plans changed, questions multiplied, and the future became difficult to see. Life didn’t pause while we waited for answers. Responsibilities remained. Ministry continued. Bills still needed to be paid. Laundry still needed to be folded. Yet beneath it all I struggled with a persistent question: How do I faithfully follow God when EVERYTHING feels so unsteady?
I needed more than encouragement. I needed to know what genuine faith looked like when circumstances refused to cooperate. Was joy in hardship actually possible? Would God really give wisdom when I didn’t know what to do next? Could I trust Him even when I couldn’t understand what He was doing? Those questions led me to the book of James.
I expected James to teach me about perseverance. Instead, the Holy Spirit began exposing my heart. I was challenged in ways I hadn’t anticipated. James wasn’t content to leave my faith in the realm of ideas. He invited me to examine my fears, my words, my priorities, my generosity, my patience, and the ways anxiety was threatening to shape my decisions. Again and again, I experienced the conviction of the Holy Spirit—not condemnation, but a loving invitation to surrender another corner of my heart to Christ.
That became the heartbeat of this book.
Undeniable Faith isn’t about pretending life is easy. It’s about discovering that faith can remain steady when life is not. If you’ve ever wondered how to pray when the future feels uncertain, if you’ve wrestled with perseverance, if you’ve longed for a faith that’s lived out, not just believed, Undeniable Faith is for you. (Details on the release date and preorders are coming soon!)
Thank you for walking this journey with me. Your encouragement, prayers, and conversations over the past year have meant more than you know.
And now, here’s the cover (in case you missed it on the homepage)
Undeniable Faith Strengthen Your Faith in 31 Days
Undeniable Faith invites you on a thirty-one day prayer journey through the book of James that will help you develop a faith that endures, works, and cannot be denied.
Through Scripture-centered reflections, guided prayer, and practical encouragement, you will learn how to trust God in trials, seek His wisdom, guard your words, resist worldly distractions, and live with wholehearted devotion. You’ll embrace faith as a way of life.
Whether you are facing challenges, longing for spiritual growth, or simply desiring a closer relationship with God, these daily readings will help you cultivate a faith that remains firm when tested and bears fruit in every season.
Let your faith be more than words. Let it be seen. Let it be lived. Let it become undeniable.
This is only the beginning of the story. Over the next few months I’ll be sharing the stories behind the pages of Undeniable Faith, the lessons God taught me through James, study notes, prayers, and plenty of behind-the-scenes moments from the writing journey.
If you’d like to come along for the journey, I’d love for you to subscribe to my newsletter. My subscribers are always the first to hear book news, receive exclusive content, and get a few surprises along the way. (Subscribing will unlock a free book download and the items on the Free Shorts page.)
As this book moves closer to publication, I’d be grateful for your prayers. Please pray God would place it in the hands of readers who need the encouragement and challenge found in the book of James.
There are seasons when my prayers become repetitive because life keeps exposing the same need. Lately, I’ve been circling the topic of faithfulness. I want to be faithful. I want to remain faithful even when life experiences are hard.
For the past year and a half, I’ve wanted answers, explanations, timelines, stability, and clarity about what comes next. Instead, we’ve received more questions, no explanations, no timeline, instability, and an uncertain future. But I don’t need to see everything ahead to be faithful. I just need to take the next step. And then the one after that. And the one after that.
I’m returning to this prayer again and again:
Lord, I don’t need You to explain everything. I just need enough grace for today. Help me trust You with the things I cannot fix, control, or understand. Give me wisdom for the next step and peace in the waiting. Lord, I want to remain faithful. Please help me remain faithful.
I suspect that’s one reason I’ve spent so much time in the book of James. James doesn’t tell us why trials come or how long they’ll last. Instead, he calls us to perseverance, wisdom, steadfastness, and to a faith that keeps moving forward even when the path ahead is unclear.
All I really need is enough grace for today and the faith to trust God with tomorrow. The future may still be uncertain, but God’s character is not. And when tomorrow arrives, I’ll ask for grace again.
