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Where are you going in 2018?

I entered 2018 trying to figure out where to go from here. In the Tahoe woods in November, with the leaves rustling under my boots, I walked. Prayed. And pondered not only the story I was working on, but the reason why I write stories. And if I should keep writing stories at all. Life is so busy. For all of us. We only have so much time here on earth. So much life energy. There are so many things we all could be doing. Are you using your life energy to do what God has called you to do? Where […]

By Paula January 6, 2018

What’s your word for 2018? I’m leaping into grace…

Each new year, I choose a word to help guide me in the coming months. I don’t just randomly grab a word out of the cold December air. I pray and ponder what God is whispering to my heart. Sometimes I know my word by Christmas. Other years, I’m well into the new year before my word solidifies. Usually, two or three words hover in my thoughts for a while. Last year my word was grow. That threw me. It took almost a full year before I understood what “grow” meant in my life. I knew I wanted to grow […]

By Paula December 29, 2017

All is calm, all is bright… when Christmas doesn’t look like you dreamed it would.

Each Christmas it happens. There’s the Christmas I dream about and the Christmas we have. You know the Christmas you dream in your mom dreams: sipping hot chocolate by the fire, reading T’was the Night Before Christmas to your bright-eyed, attentive children. Maybe you’ve already played Monopoly together. Or Yahtzee as a family. Everyone patient and polite, with some laughter thrown in. You add tinsel to your tree. The way Grandma taught you, one strand at a time, strategically placed for glow factor. But here’s the truth. I’ve never added tinsel to our tree. Not once. That sounds like a […]

By Paula December 23, 2017

Merry Christmas 2017 from our Family to Yours…

Merry Christmas from our family to yours… 2017 was a big year for the Bicknells. Four kids joined our family. The oldest came with a beard, another is a beauty with long black hair, and two are babies. We feel so blessed by our growing clan. Luke was at Army boot camp during Lacy’s wedding so he missed this family photo in our front yard. People always say to me, “I don’t know how you do it with all those kids.” The truth is I don’t do it very well. If you come to our house on a normal day–normal […]

By Paula December 9, 2017

When You’re Wounded… Ask for Faith

Last week our nine-year-old, G2, had surgery. He’s absolutely fine and healing well. But I’m not sure I’m fine. Monday morning I took him down to Sacramento for same day surgery. G2 is a sweet, sensitive child and was scared to death of being put to sleep. He thought he would die. A child development specialist visited every patient to see how they were doing. She quickly realized G2 needed help. He was calm and obedient, but the poor kid was terrified. She talked to him for quite awhile and then accompanied him into the operating room. G2 held it […]

By Paula December 4, 2017

A peek at my new book and some local history

A year and a half ago, my first California Rising novel, Until the Day Breaks, hit Amazon. I was surprised it did fine and we published my second novel, Far Side of the Sea, six months later. That novel got better reviews than my first novel, which made me happy since I wrote it fast. I’m sorry it’s taking so long to write the final story of my California Rising trilogy. But we now have a cover, I hope you like it, and here is a bit of the story… September 1850, in the throes of the Gold Rush, California becomes a state […]

By Paula November 25, 2017

When Thanksgiving Overwhelms You

For years, my husband has begged that we go away for the holidays. So this year we did. Now we’re back just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving at our house with thirty-five family members. I don’t think this is what Scott had in mind, but we compromised. And I really shouldn’t be blogging tonight. There’s still so much to do. But the pumpkin pies are done. I even cut special little dough leaves this year for decoration. The laundry is finished for at least the next five minutes, seven loads since last night, but it’s not put away, and I […]

By Paula November 22, 2017