Passing the Baton – My last post about adoption

November 1, 2020 | Danielle | Adoption | 0

Here’s why this will be my final post for National Adoption Month unless my daughter chooses otherwise.  Ten years ago in November 2010, I excitedly opened my laptop and began pecking away on a post that would announce big news: We were adopting! In a world that was saturated with creative pregnancy announcements and surprise […]

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Big Earrings – A Devotional on Influence

October 23, 2020 | Danielle | Devotionals | 0

When I was six years old, I got my ears pierced for the first time. I remember the moment well—while sitting in the tall chair, feet dangling below, I felt both excitement as I picked out new studs and anxiety because of the ear gun. My momentary fear was worth it because after a painless […]

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Book Launch Party Ideas – What We Did

October 22, 2020 | Danielle | Writing | 0

How pivoting book launch plans for my memoir, Blush, in 2020 and turning the celebration into a virtual book launch party turned out to be even better than I’d hoped. Here’s what we did, why we still hosted a party, and lots of pictures showing how it turned out. Fellow writers launching a book during […]

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Let Others In – A Devotional about Community

October 9, 2020 | Danielle | Devotionals | 0

Almost two years ago, Mike and I made a commitment we didn’t think we’d ever make again. In our early 20s, we helped start a church. As the church grew, it was incredible, yet the highs and lows of ministry also wore us down. We were young and ambitious, and truth be told, we lacked […]

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Writing My First Memoir – FINAL POST!

October 7, 2020 | Danielle | Writing | 0

After two years of blogging my way through memoir writing, here’s a final recap of how the months leading up to launch day went, how the book is doing so far, and the answer to “What’s next?” Read all posts for Writing my First Memoir and check out Blush: How I Barely Survived 17. For […]

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Mae’s New Puppy – A Devotional on Prayer

October 2, 2020 | Danielle | Devotionals, Parenting | 0

About six weeks ago, our daughter Mae heard the words she never expected to hear. “We’re getting a puppy!” I know this because after the shock and excitement wore off she said, “I didn’t think this would ever happen.” She was quite surprised. You see, she’d lived with a dog her whole life—Joey (a dog […]

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My Favorite Biscuit Recipe by Minimalist Baker

September 28, 2020 | Danielle | B's Kitchen | 0

I LOVE these biscuits, and this is by far my FAVORITE biscuit recipe. They use almond milk and butter, and you can use all-white flour or a mix of white and whole wheat flours. I’ve blogged about these biscuits. I mention them in my book Blush. I make these biscuits almost every week in between […]

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Where I was on September 11

September 11, 2020 | Danielle | Cancer Survivorship | 0

Where I was on September 11 – a high school locker room. Here are my reflections on experiencing 9/11 as a high school senior in 2001 and how it helped me find the words to what I had just experienced after surviving colon cancer at age 17. Did you guys hear what happened this morning […]

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Writing a book is like having a baby

August 23, 2020 | Danielle | Writing | 0

Reflections over how I’m handling the fact my memoir, Blush, is about to be released and the reality that Amazon is fulfilling pre-orders a couple of weeks early. I’ve heard it said at writer’s conferences and through conversations with authors: Writing a book is like having a baby. I’ve not had the opportunity to experience […]

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What Is Ministry? — A Devotional

August 2, 2020 | Danielle | Devotionals | 0

I’ve felt destined for ministry for most of my life, but in my early years, I struggled to define exactly what that means. When I was younger, being “called to ministry” meant becoming a pastor. As a female growing up in very conservative churches that didn’t recognize or utilize female’s pastoral gifts, I assumed this […]

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