U is for Ubiquitarianism

Hello, my name is Karla Akins and I am a proponent of Ubiquitarianism. No, I didn’t just sneeze. But thanks for the “bless you.” Generally, those who are Ubiquitarianists (or Ubiquitists) believe that Christ is present everywhere. But throughout history there are some pretty confusing doctrinal off-shoots dealing with whether or not He is with us everywhere in human flesh …

T is for Truce in the Trenches

Imagine being in a war zone trench, just feet away from the enemy’s on Christmas Eve. Such a thing occurred on December 24, 1914 when carols were sung between the British and German soldiers. Perhaps it sounded something like this: O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Wie treu[N 1] sind deine Blätter! Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit, Nein, auch im Winter, …

Christmas widgets!

I love widgets. Yes, I know, they are kind of tacky sometimes. But isn’t it fun to be a little tacky and little lampoon-Christmas-lights-crazy at this time of year? Here are some fun Christmas goodies for your online celebrations. The hard part is picking only one! Enjoy! Christmas countdown widget (if someone knows how to help me make this smaller, …

A Christmas Giving Giveaway as I Introduce author Candice Sue Patterson

In a way, I feel like I lived this story. I’d written the first few chapters when our family was hit with something extremely difficult. I had to remind myself of the very things I was teaching my characters. Then during first edits with my publisher, my dad had a severe stroke at the age of fifty-five, just like Dean’s dad. Again, I had to remind myself that God’s plan is a perfect plan whether I understand it or not.

S is for Steamboats

In the 1800s only the high-paying customers got a nice room on the upper decks of the steamboat on major United States rivers. Regular folks had to board with the animals and cargo. And from the diaries and letters I’ve read from the era, the aromas that emanated from these quarters made for a miserable trip.