New Book Review!

Jessica Hastings, the feature writer of romance fiction at Suite101 posted a new review of one of my books. Check it out: Special Mission.

Please Don’t Feed the Alligators!

Most days I go for a 2-mile walk that takes me between a couple of lakes, around a very nice apartment complex, and then back to my neighborhood. Since this is Florida, we have all kinds of cool critters in the lake, including dorky looking Florida birds, turtles, fish, and alligators.

There’s a sign by each lake saying “Do not feed the alligators,” and it’s there for a reason. Alligators can’t be tamed, and when people feed them, they associate people with food, which makes them more dangerous.

Most days, I may see dozens of birds, a turtle or two, and an alligator’s snout as it floats in the lake. Today I was blessed with a sighting of an alligator taking a break on the bank. Fortunately, I’ve been bringing my camera, just in case I saw one, so I snapped a quick picture before he slithered back into the water. I’m not afraid of alligators as long as they are at least 20 feet away.

Ultimate Healing Through Christ!

I’ve experienced quite a bit of physical pain since my auto crash back in 1981. I was driving to work at the St. Petersburg Times, when an oncoming car crossed the median and plowed into me head-on. I vaguely remember the 60 mile-per-hour impact, but I'll never forget the mangled mess of my car. I’m fortunate to be alive, but I live with chronic pain.

Over the past 29 years, I’ve gone to chiropractors but got very little relief. My massage therapist, Jennifer Wakeman, owner of the Health and Healing Touch center, has helped me quite a bit. There were days when I walked into her center with pain radiating from my shoulders to my fingertips, and I left feeling wonderful.

Then a new pain started in the middle of my back a few months ago, and massage only helped a little. I later found out I had pneumonia, so I thought that might be the problem, but after the pneumonia cleared up, the pain was still there. So I decided to try acupuncture. I asked several people for referrals, and I kept hearing the name Ariane Jackson who owns Palm Harbor Oriental Medicine with her husband Alex. So I went there twice, and now I’m feeling much better.

As I think about my desire to heal naturally, without surgery or pain medication, I can’t help but consider how Jesus healed much more than our bodies. He came into this world and suffered way more than any of us ever will, and then He died on the cross to wash away our sins, so we could be with Him for eternity. Now that’s what I call the ultimate healing!

Celebrate this Easter season knowing you’re right with the Lord. Love Him and be thankful He cared enough to give up His life for you!