Hello, dear one. I've been thinking about closed doors, lately. Not the kind we choose to close ourselves. The ones we were quite certain were supposed to stay open, but then there they are… closed. Maybe a plan we thought would work out, a relationship we thought would look different, a or maybe a season we weren't ready to leave. I've had a few of those in my life, and if I'm being truthful, I haven't always handled them particularly well. 💁♀️ I've stood in front of a closed door asking God...
6 days ago • 1 min read
Hey there, Reader, So, what do you do while your spouse is trying to process a secret that was kept for 15 years? You go shopping for yarn and then maybe, begrudgingly, grab coffee with someone who might be a friend... if you were the friendly type. 😅 And if you're going to get coffee and stay a minute, you might as well grab a slice of Lisa's pumpkin bread to share. :) If you're reading book 7, When the Fences Come Down, you'll know that things between Jo and Donald have gotten a little...
13 days ago • 1 min read
Hey there, Reader, What would you do if you'd kept a secret from everyone you loved for nearly fifteen years? And then one morning… Ethel Sue figured it out. 😅 Last week, we left her sitting at the dining room table with her purple folder, two bowls of peach cobbler, and the person she believed was behind the Whispering Fence. And Ethel Sue had questions. Naturally, she'd made a list, two in fact, but in the end she was winging it mostly. 😂 Here's a little peek at some of what she wanted to...
20 days ago • 1 min read
Hey there, Reader After an entire season of mysteries, Ethel Sue may have finally solved the one that's been bothering her the longest. Who is behind the Whispering Fence? 👀 When Ethel Sue found her latest clue, she went straight for the purple folder in the hallway. 🧡The pumpkin seeds. 🤠The boot heel. 🧶News only shared at Knitting Nook and with the Garden Club... All those little moments she'd been collecting for months suddenly started lining up. And in twenty-three minutes, the person...
27 days ago • 1 min read
📰 The Willow Creek Gazette Published every fifth Sunday. Willow Creek Is Coming to Alabama! This may be our favorite bit of news yet. A women’s homeless shelter in Alabama is building a library after the manager read the Willow Creek series and was inspired to start one. So we thought… Why not help fill the shelves? We’re gathering the Christian fiction, devotionals and nonfiction books we’ve enjoyed, finished, and are ready to pass along to help grow their new library. Want to join us? 📚...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hey there, Reader, I hope this note finds you well today. I was sitting on the front porch the other evening with a glass of sweet tea, watching the sunset. The sky had turned that beautiful mix of gold and pink that makes you want to sit still for just a little longer. So I did. Then a cool breeze drifted across the porch. Fall is coming. I smiled at the thought. Cooler mornings. Changing leaves. New Bible study starting. Sweater weather. 🍂 But as I sat there watching the last bit of...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hey there, Reader Last Sunday, you met a few of Ethel Sue's new neighbors. They are a hoot, aren't they?! 😁 But I also left you in Meadow Ridge with three missing decorations. By 8:30am that morning nearly half the neighborhood had joined the search. Naturally, everyone had a theory. You see, just yesterday Reg had been caught “inspecting” one of Helen’s other wreaths. Fred owned a truck and knew how to restore old wood. And Dot, well she has the means to move things... she has a golf cart...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey Friends! For five mysteries now, Ethel Sue has taken us all over Willow Creek — down to Corpus Christi and even over to Magnolia Bend for Lora's cookie contest. But this time? The mystery comes right to her own front porch. Welcome to Meadow Ridge. It's the new 55+ community (some of y'all would call it a subdivision) tucked inside Willow Creek, next to The Grove and the new golf course. Close enough to Main Street that you can still run in for coffee and be home before it cools. Before...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Hey there, Reader, We made it home from Arkansas this week, and my heart is full. This Thanksgiving, we - Edmund, Sammy and Jake - made the trip to visit my son, Jeff, and his family. (Sammy is his oldest.) This year, Edmund, Sammy and Jake came along too. Jake offered to drive, and Edmund happily settled into the front seat to "help navigate." That left Sammy and me in the backseat and we started catching up before we even left town. What project Sammy is excited about. What God has been...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey sweet friend, Around Willow Creek, most mysteries start small. A note slips from a book. A misplaced lanyard. A lost horse. Somebody's dog deciding the neighbor's flower bed looks more interesting than home. 😁 This time? Farmer Frank is missing three Thanksgiving turkeys. Now, that's a problem all by itself. But here's the bigger problem... These are the three turkeys designated for the Senior Center's annual Thanksgiving feast! So naturally, after water aerobics, Ethel Sue and Lora head...
3 months ago • 1 min read