Background
While attending a four room school on the Canadian prairie, I much preferred grammar class to creative writing, so it came as something of a surprise when soon after I was married I submitted a story to a local paper and they published it. Then one of my inspirational poems was read on the air, and the speaker wrote an encouraging letter saying he felt I had a gift for writing and that I should seriously consider developing my talent.
By this time I was already married and the mother of two toddlers, so I enrolled in a journalism correspondence course. The last lesson involved writing four sample columns to be submitted to a local newspaper. The editor phoned to say he wanted me to continue writing a weekly column, which I did for the next 23 years. Those columns were to become the basis for many of my books. In terms of writing strengths, I like to take a seemingly insignificant incident, approach it with gentle humor from a faith perspective and give the reader some spiritual takeaway value.
Matters of Faith
Even as a child I leaned toward God, and treasured the intermittent connections my family had with a local church. As a teenager I made a serious commitment to follow Jesus Christ and was baptized upon confession of faith. Since that time I have been a practicing Christian, personally seeking to live my life according to biblical principles. I attained an Adult Bible Study Certificate from Moody Bible Institute during the 1990’s. My husband and I have attended small evangelical churches wherever we have lived. Over the years I have led neighborhood Bible studies, directed not so neighborly kids in a weekly club, donned a clown suit as the VBS mascot “Rosco,” warbled alto from the choir loft, decoded the preacher’s hieroglyphics as church secretary and scrubbed toilets when the caretaker failed to show. I have also taught an adult Sunday School class and served in one capacity or another on the executive committee of the Manitoba Christian Writers Association for thirty years. Now that our four children are grown, my husband, Leo, and I are actively involved in our church seniors’ group.
Hobbies and Interests: I am a very practical person who enjoys quilting, baking, canning and helping friend hubby with gardening. You can see some of the “fruits of our labors” by clicking on the accompanying slide shows.
Background