I have built a new website and am trying to consolidate my online presence! By doing so, I will be moving my blog! Please join me at the "new" Harris Happenings blog.
This site will officially be closed at the end of January, 2012.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Face the Unknown in Freefall
I have yet to read anything by Kristin Heitzmann that didn't fill me with wonder. She makes me want to crawl into a cozy place and not come out until the story is over. Then I spend the next few days reliving the tale in my mind.
She is the kind of author I long to be.
I recently read Freefall. This novel is set in Hawaii, and if you've never been there, you will most definitely want to after reading her breathtaking descriptions. It centers around a young lady who emerges from an accident with amnesia. Although these types of stories are not rare, I never felt as if I was reading "just another thriller." There is intrigue, danger, and...as I have found true in every novel by Heitzmann, endearing characters who by their very struggles and brokenness make you want to cheer them on.
While she wraps her stories in Christ, her characters are real in their questions, their fears, and their hopes. What I mean is that even as a Christian, I still struggle with life here. My thoughts are not always pure, my reactions to situations not always holy, and my need to control often squeezes Christ out of the picture. Heitzmann gives us characters like this. We can believe them in the midst of the unlikely and fictional situations they find themselves in. And we come away with hope that should such circumstances befall us, we might in the end, still turn to the one true source of strength and peace.
I highly recommend Kristin Heitzmann's works, Freefall in particular today.
She is the kind of author I long to be.
I recently read Freefall. This novel is set in Hawaii, and if you've never been there, you will most definitely want to after reading her breathtaking descriptions. It centers around a young lady who emerges from an accident with amnesia. Although these types of stories are not rare, I never felt as if I was reading "just another thriller." There is intrigue, danger, and...as I have found true in every novel by Heitzmann, endearing characters who by their very struggles and brokenness make you want to cheer them on.
While she wraps her stories in Christ, her characters are real in their questions, their fears, and their hopes. What I mean is that even as a Christian, I still struggle with life here. My thoughts are not always pure, my reactions to situations not always holy, and my need to control often squeezes Christ out of the picture. Heitzmann gives us characters like this. We can believe them in the midst of the unlikely and fictional situations they find themselves in. And we come away with hope that should such circumstances befall us, we might in the end, still turn to the one true source of strength and peace.
I highly recommend Kristin Heitzmann's works, Freefall in particular today.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Roller coaster
The past month has been as bi-polar as possible.
Thanksgiving marked the arrival of prerelease copies of my second novel, Third Time Around. I was so excited to finally have this one ready for others to read! I went to work, setting up book signings and delivering copies to all who preordered. I had the privilege of sharing the publishing process and the end result with my students, my young authors, and even students in another school.
In the midst of this excitement, however, my father-in-law, who has been battling lung cancer for two years, took a turn for the worse. He passed away on Friday. Four days before he passed he told my husband he believed he had made things right with the Lord. We hold tight to that hope.
Because I am a writer, and I process my feelings with words, I sat down yesterday and wrote a poem. This has not been an easy road for our family, and as with many others, dealing with death shows itself in many different ways. My prayer is that regardless of the circumstances, we will turn to the one true source of comfort and allow him to give us peace.
Dealing with Death
For some it is steeped with guilt
For words left unsaid
Deeds left undone
The best intentions laying in a pile of ash at their feet.
Others wail in anger and despair
At the world
At the wasting disease or cruel accident
At God for not staying his hand.
Death can reunite embittered relatives
Or rip apart the closest friends.
It is the bringer of grief
Mourning
Loss.
But sometimes death delivers
Peace
In knowing the loved one no longer suffers.
Hope
For an eternity spent in paradise.
Joy
At the promise of a sweet reunion one day.
Thanksgiving marked the arrival of prerelease copies of my second novel, Third Time Around. I was so excited to finally have this one ready for others to read! I went to work, setting up book signings and delivering copies to all who preordered. I had the privilege of sharing the publishing process and the end result with my students, my young authors, and even students in another school.
In the midst of this excitement, however, my father-in-law, who has been battling lung cancer for two years, took a turn for the worse. He passed away on Friday. Four days before he passed he told my husband he believed he had made things right with the Lord. We hold tight to that hope.
Because I am a writer, and I process my feelings with words, I sat down yesterday and wrote a poem. This has not been an easy road for our family, and as with many others, dealing with death shows itself in many different ways. My prayer is that regardless of the circumstances, we will turn to the one true source of comfort and allow him to give us peace.
Dealing with Death
For some it is steeped with guilt
For words left unsaid
Deeds left undone
The best intentions laying in a pile of ash at their feet.
Others wail in anger and despair
At the world
At the wasting disease or cruel accident
At God for not staying his hand.
Death can reunite embittered relatives
Or rip apart the closest friends.
It is the bringer of grief
Mourning
Loss.
But sometimes death delivers
Peace
In knowing the loved one no longer suffers.
Hope
For an eternity spent in paradise.
Joy
At the promise of a sweet reunion one day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)