"I Will Lift Up My Eyes . . ."

Last week, I spent five days in the mountains of North Carolina at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers conference. Started by Yvonne Lehman, it’s grown steadily every year, and this year more than 350 people attended.

Many I had seen before; some were old friends. It’s a glorious time of worship and spiritual growth as well as intense sessions to help new and experienced writers grow in their craft.

Unlike most conferences I attend, each day of BRMCWC starts and ends with worship. The music, led by Lynn Deshazo, helped remind us that we’re more than writers. We’re missionaries who use our gift from God to reach out to the body of Christ . . . and beyond. Our words tell wonderful and entertaining stories, but they also reflect who we are as Christians.

Yes, I have a new book out, and I promoted it there. But I teach at BRMCWC even when I don’t have a new book because of the energy, faith, and encouragement I leave the conference with. It’s a time of renewal that always leaves me eager to start the next book.

And it doesn’t hurt that my friend, Eva Marie Everson, and I even got to go to the mountaintop, to pray, breathe deep, and look out over God’s creations, great and small.





I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
(Psalm 121:1-2, NKJV)