Five Loaves, Two Fish, One Boy

Wanna know what one of my all-time favorite stories from the Bible is?

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand.

I've read this story a gazillion times. As a child, I colored pictures of loaves & fish in Sunday school. As an adult, I've written and taught about it. I've heard dozens of sermons preached on it. Yet, despite its sweet familiarity, there is mystery about this amazing event. In fact, I think the older I get, the more mystery there is. When you really study the scriptures and try to imagine the reality of the events of that day, it's kinda hard to wrap your mind around the details.

The story of Jesus feeding the five thousand is found in all four gospels (Matthew 14, Mark 6 and Luke 9), but for this post I'm going to use the one from John 6:1-15. Why? Because this is the only book that tells us where the fish and loaves came from.

"...Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee and a great crowd of people followed him..." v. 1-2

That crowd wasn't just a couple hundred people. It is estimated there were 5,000 men, plus women and children, bringing the total to between 10,000 - 20,000 people. They'd all heard about Jesus and were following him. Some believed he was the Messiah. Others were simply curious, while still others were out-and-out doubters. But there they all were, way out in the country, because of Jesus.

In the crowd that day was a boy (v.9). I'm going to imagine he was 9 or 10 years old. I remember my own boys at that age. Rambunctious. Happy. Adventurous. I think the boy in our story was having a blast running around with his friends that day. His parents were probably in the crowd of onlookers, but he was too busy to really pay attention to what this guy Jesus was saying. In fact, he was so busy having a good time he forgot to eat the lunch his mom packed for him.

By afternoon, our boy starts to get curious about Jesus. He's heard his parents talk about the miracles Jesus did, and he'd like to see one. He inches closer to where Jesus is sitting with his disciples and overhears this conversation:

"Send the crowd away so they can go find food and lodging," the disciples said to Jesus. 

"Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" Jesus asked Phillip. He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

"Eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" Phillip replied. 

"You give them something to eat," Jesus tells the disciples.

I image the disciples turned to one another with "What in the world are we gonna do now!?" looks on their faces. They probably had a couple bucks between them. How could they possibly buy enough food to feed everyone?

This is when the boy might have tugged on Andrew's cloak, sneaking a peak at Jesus. "I have some fish and bread you can have."

I can almost imagine Jesus winking at the boy and the boy grinning broadly.

"Have the people sit down," Jesus said.

Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 

Amazing!

Five-thousand-plus people ate their fill, with 12 baskets of leftovers! Don't you know that boy's life changed that day! He had a front-row seat to one of the most awesome, miraculous events to ever take place. Out of a crowd of 20,000 people, God saw that kid, whose name we will never know, and said, "I'm going to use him for My glory, for My purpose."

There are so many lessons in this story. Here are some I've been pondering lately:

• When God created those 2 small fish, he knew he would feed a multitude with them. 
• When the boy's mother baked the 5 loaves, she had no idea God would use them in a miracle. 
• The boy chose to give his lunch to Jesus. 
• Other people in the crowd most likely had food, but they chose not to give it to Jesus. 
• There were people in the crowd who had done terrible things, yet Jesus fed them. 
• I can't feed the 5,000 on my own. I just have to bring my loaves and fish to Jesus and let him do the rest. 
• God sees you. He already knows. He already has a plan to use you for His glory. Trust him.

Blessings,

~Michelle

Why Forgiveness is Important, Even in Fiction

 

Forgiveness is a major theme in my novel, Under the Tulip Tree. I appreciate the way Publishers Weekly put it in their review of the book: the grace of forgiveness. 

Forgiveness isn't an easy subject to write about, mainly because the act of forgiving isn't always easy. It's especially hard when the person who needs forgiveness extended to them has done the unspeakable to you or to someone you love. 

Such is the case with the character of Frankie in Under the Tulip Tree. In the book, she is a 101-year old woman who was a slave before the Civil War. It's now 1936 and she's been asked to tell her story to a young white woman who works for the Federal Writers' Project, a real government program that sent out-of-work writers across 17 states to collect first-hand stories from former slaves. Those stories--more than 2,300 of them plus over 500 photographs--are now archived in the Library of Congress in Washington DC. 

In my research for the book, I read well over one hundred narratives (and listened to a handful of unforgettable recordings), captured by the raw honesty of the stories these former slaves told. It was that kind of honesty I hoped to portray through the character of Frankie. One of the things that struck me as I read through the first-hand accounts of life in bondage was the lack of wallowing in the pain. They simply told their life's story, with poignant details that left me brokenhearted. 

So, as I set out to write the book, one question demanded an answer.

Was it possible for a former slave to truly forgive the people who'd abused them?

I point you to Frederick Douglass, a former slave who escaped slavery and became one of the most famous authors and voices in the anti-slavery movement. His writings are fascinating and eye-opening, and they make me wish I could have heard him give one of his many passion-filled speeches. 

Yet despite Frederick Douglass' vehement words against slavery, he did an astonishing thing.

He forgave. 

"How can I claim to love Jesus Christ and still reserve for myself the right to continue to hate?" he told a crowd at the Metropolitan AME Zion Church in Washington DC. At the time, he was speaking of his hatred for Thomas Jefferson, whose words about freedom in the Declaration of Independence rang false to him. But his forgiveness didn't end with Jefferson. In his later years, Douglass sought out Thomas Auld, his former owner, and forgave him for the mistreatment he'd endured during his time of bondage. "I entertain no malice toward you personally,” Douglass wrote in a letter to Auld some years before their meeting. “There is no roof under which you would be more safe than mine, and there is nothing in my house which you might need for your comfort, which I would not readily grant…I am your fellow-man, but not your slave.” History.com has a good write-up about their meeting if you'd like to read more. 

As I studied Douglass' life and words, I wondered how many of the millions of slaves came to the same place of forgiveness as he did. The person who'd endured slavery until the very moment it was abolished. Who'd had unspeakable things done to them by another human being, simply because their skin color was different. Were they ever able to forgive their former masters and those who'd abused them?

There is no possible way for me to fully appreciate or understand what it meant to live in bondage. To grasp how utterly helpless enslaved people were against the legal ownership of a human being. To watch their children and loved ones brutally abused, sold away, and used in the most heinous ways. In writing Frankie's story, I in no way cast any judgment on an individual who might have taken their hatred to the grave with them. The truth is, I wouldn't blame them one bit.

Yet forgiveness must play a role in the story, because forgiveness is part of the human story. The story between God and man. Forgiveness isn't something any of us deserve, yet it was granted to us freely when Jesus went to the cross, carrying every sin known to man. All my sins were forgiven before I was ever born. Yours too. Forgiveness isn't something we can ever earn. It has to be freely given by the one who's been wronged, no matter if the person who wronged you ever admits it or seeks forgiveness.

Frankie's journey to forgiveness is inspired by Frederick Douglass and others who chose not to let hatred consume them, despite being completely justified in that hatred. Her journey isn't an easy one. It's filled with pain, anger, resentment, and struggle against what we know God is asking us to do. But it's a journey that must be taken by each and every one of us at some point in our lives. The circumstances that lead us on this journey will be different from one person to the next, but the peace and freedom our souls long for won't come until we set our minds on forgiveness.

If you'd like to read Frankie's story in Under the Tulip Tree, visit my website for purchase options or click the book's cover on the right of this page.

For further reading about people who forgave, visit:

• Forgiveness Forty-Eight Years After John Lewis Was Attacked (article)

• Cousins: Connected through slavery, a Black woman and a White woman discover their past—and each other (book)

• A father forgives his son's murderer (article)

Every blessing,

~Michelle

Happy 2025!

 

Happy New Year, Everyone!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who is shocked that we're already on the 5th day of a new year! Where did 2024 go? 

Our family experienced much excitement in 2024, which I'll share in a minute. I also had a new book release, and I signed a contract with Tyndale House Publishers for more books in the future. Truly, God's blessings were abundant, and we look forward to what He has for us in 2025!

As one year comes to a close and a new one begins, I like to chose a word I hope to mediate on in the coming months. The Hebrew word for meditate is "hagah." It means to moan, growl, or mutter as you "chew" on whatever it is you're meditating on. The imagery that comes with hagah is that of a lion enjoying a fresh kill. The beast will "hagah" over the meat, gnawing, purring and moaning, with eyes half-closed in pure enjoyment. 

On December 31, I decided my word for the new year would be CONQUER. I've been reading in the Book of Revelation the past few weeks, and the English Standard Version Bible uses the word "conquer" in place of overcome or victorious used in other versions. In the seven letters to the churches, Jesus says 'to him who conquers,' he will give various wonderful blessings (Rev. 2-3). One definition of conquer is: overcome and take control of (a place or people) by use of military force. I absolutely love that, because we have an enemy in this world who is seeking to destroy us. To destroy our families. The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:10-18 we need to put on our "armour" every single day in order to take a stand against the enemy's schemes. I am determined to wear my armour every day and be one of those who conquer and defeat the enemy with the help of the Lord.

But on January 2, the very familiar word PRAYER captured my attention in a new way. Our church begins each year with a period of prayer and fasting, and I like to read Isaiah 58 whenever I fast. I began doing this back in 2015, and although I don't fast as regularly as I should -- in Matthew 6:16, Jesus says "when you fast," not IF you fast -- I learn something new nearly every time I read this Old Testament passage titled "True Fasting." This week, however, what I learned wasn't about fasting. It was about prayer. 

Perhaps it's because I've been in the Book of Revelation lately, but on the morning of Jan. 2, I suddenly thought about the golden bowls in heaven mentioned in Revelation 5:8. There, the 24 elders and the 4 living creatures are holding harps and "bowls full of incense, that are the prayers of God's people." That means that when our prayers, spoken with humility and in true surrender to God, leave our mouths or thoughts, they wing their way to heaven where they are collected in golden bowls. They become eternal. 

WOW!!! 

Because of this "wow," I now have a brand new appreciation and reverence for what prayer should be. Like most people, I have times when my prayers are deep and worshipful, while other times it's a few words spoken in haste as I rush through my day. But when we recognize that our prayers are being collected in heavenly bowls and are like incense--a pleasing aroma--to God the Father, that should make us stop and consider the importance and true honor it is to speak directly to the One who sits on His throne in heaven. Our words don't need to be eloquent or memorized, but simply words spoken to our Father from our hearts.

My prayer bowl full of Words from past years.

So, I have two words to mediate on in 2025: Conquer and Prayer. 

Do you choose a word for the new year? 

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And they lived happily ever after...

Our family celebrated two weddings in 2024! Both of our sons were blessed to marry the girl of their dreams. Hubby and I couldn't be happier.

 

Congratulations to Taylor and Erica!

Congratulations to Austin and Kaley!

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BOOK NEWS! 

My latest novel, All We Thought We Knew, released in October 2024 and is available online or in bookstores. Set on a Tennessee horse farm during World War II and the Vietnam War, the story is centered on the Taylor family and everything they face during each war. Visit my website for purchase options.  

She was so sure she knew her family’s story . . . Now she wonders if she was wrong about all of it.

1969. When Mattie Taylor’s twin brother was killed in Vietnam, she lost her best friend and the only person who really understood her. Now, news that her mother is dying sends Mattie back home, despite blaming her father for Mark’s death. Mama’s last wish is that Mattie would read some old letters stored in a trunk, from people Mattie doesn’t even know. Mama insists they hold the answers Mattie is looking for.

1942. Ava Delaney is picking up the pieces of her life following her husband’s death at Pearl Harbor. Living with her mother-in-law on a secluded farm in Tennessee is far different than the life Ava imagined when she married only a few short months ago. Desperate to get out of the house, Ava seeks work at a nearby military base, where she soon discovers the American government is housing Germans who they have classified as enemy aliens. As Ava works to process legal documents for the military, she crosses paths with Gunther Schneider, a German who is helping care for wounded soldiers. Ava questions why a man as gentle and kind as Gunther should be forced to live in the internment camp, and as they become friends, her sense of the injustice grows . . . as do her feelings for him. Faced with the possibility of losing Gunther, Ava must choose whether loving someone deemed the enemy is a risk worth taking, even if it means being ostracized by all those around her.

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My next novel will release 

in September 2025!

I hope to have a Cover & Title Reveal soon! Stay tuned to this blog and to my social media pages!

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1/12/2025 UPDATE: 

The winner of my giveaway is Giveueverything. I sent you an email! 

THANK YOU to everyone who left a comment! 2025 looks like it's going to be a great year!

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IT'S A GIVEAWAY!!

To celebrate a new year, I'm giving away a signed copy of ONE of my four books shown at the top of this Blog! 

To enter, you need to do TWO things: 

1. Leave a comment on this Blog page and tell me what you're most looking forward to in the new year. Be sure to include a way for me to contact you (via social media or email). 

2. Follow me on Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/michelleshocklee/ 

OR if you don't have an Instagram account,

Follow me on my Author Facebook page (which is different from my personal Facebook page):

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMichelleShocklee1

Prize winner will be announced January 12, 2025.

USA only, please. 

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May you and yours have a very Happy 2025!

Blessings,

Michelle

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO ALL WE THOUGHT WE KNEW!

It's Release Day for

ALL WE THOUGHT WE KNEW!

I'm very excited to share this historical split-time novel set on a horse farm in Tullahoma, Tennessee with readers! There is a LOT of cool history throughout the pages of the book, along with family issues, a wounded warrior, and even a bit of mystery.

Here's the back-of-the-book blurb:

She was so sure she knew her family’s story . . . 

Now she wonders if she was wrong about all of it.

1969. When Mattie Taylor’s twin brother was killed in Vietnam, she lost her best friend and the only person who really understood her. Now, news that her mother is dying sends Mattie back home, despite blaming her father for Mark’s death. Mama’s last wish is that Mattie would read some old letters stored in a trunk, from people Mattie doesn’t even know. Mama insists they hold the answers Mattie is looking for.

1942. Ava Delaney is picking up the pieces of her life following her husband’s death at Pearl Harbor. Living with her mother-in-law on a secluded farm in Tennessee is far different than the life Ava imagined when she married only a few short months ago. Desperate to get out of the house, Ava seeks work at a nearby military base, where she soon discovers the American government is housing Germans who they have classified as enemy aliens. As Ava works to process legal documents for the military, she crosses paths with Gunther Schneider, a German who is helping care for wounded soldiers. Ava questions why a man as gentle and kind as Gunther should be forced to live in the internment camp, and as they become friends, her sense of the injustice grows . . . as do her feelings for him. Faced with the possibility of losing Gunther, Ava must choose whether loving someone deemed the enemy is a risk worth taking, even if it means being ostracized by all those around her.

In the midst of pain and loss two women must come face-to-face with their own assumptions about what they thought they knew about themselves and others. What they discover will lead to a far greater appreciation of their own legacies and the love of those dearest to them.

ALL WE THOUGHT WE KNEW is available in Paperback, Hardcover, eBook, and Audiobook. 

Go HERE for purchase information!

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To get the celebration started, I'm giving away my last Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of the book! All you have to do is leave a bookish comment on this Blog Page. I'll announce the winner on Saturday, October 12, the same day as my Facebook Launch Party! Stay tuned to my socials for more information! 

(I was originally going to give folks an extra entry for signing up for my newsletter, but alas, the service that handles my signup is not functioning properly. Sorry!)

THANK YOU for helping me celebrate the release of 

ALL WE THOUGHT WE KNEW!

Blessings,

~Michelle

Appalachian Song is a Christy Award Finalist!

I'm thrilled to share that my novel Appalachian Song is Christy Award Finalist! The awards gala will be held in Chicago on November 14.

Appalachian Song is an historical split-time novel set in the Great Smoky Mountains in the 1940s and 1970s. The theme throughout the book is "I choose you" with adoption at its heart. Here's the back of the book blurb:

Bertie Jenkins has spent forty years serving as a midwife for her community in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Out of all the mothers she’s tended, none affects her more than the young teenager who shows up on her doorstep, injured, afraid, and expecting, one warm June day in 1943. As Bertie and her four sisters tenderly nurture Songbird back to health, the bond between the childless midwife and the motherless teen grows strong. But soon Songbird is forced to make a heartbreaking decision that will tear this little family apart.

Thirty years later, the day after his father’s funeral, Walker Wylie is stunned to learn he was adopted as an infant. The famous country singer enlists the help of adoption advocate Reese Chandler in the hopes of learning why he was abandoned by his birth parents. With the only clue he has in hand, Walker and Reese head deep into the Appalachian Mountains to track down Bertie Jenkins, the midwife who holds the secrets to Walker’s past.

For more information on Appalachian Song, go here. 

For more information on the Christy Award, go here.

I hope you'll join me in cheering for Bertie and Songbird!

Blessings,

Michelle

COVER AND TITLE REVEAL!

Drumroll, please!

I'm thrilled to reveal the COVER and TITLE of my next historical split-time novel!

Isn't she gorgeous?!

Much thanks to the fabulous design team at Tyndale House Publishers for this absolutely stunning cover! I can't wait to share this book with readers later this year, but for now, here's a little sneak peek at the storyline.

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TULLAHOMA, TENNESSEE

1942
Ava must put her life back together after her husband is killed at Pearl Harbor. A job at Camp Forrest provides income, but it also puts her in contact with Enemy Aliens interned on the military installation. Can she trust the German medical student whose friendship means more to her than it should?

1969
Mattie ran away from the pain when her brother was killed in Vietnam. Now she’s back in Tullahoma facing another devastating loss. Yet it is the bundle of WWII letters Mama insists she reads that makes her question everything she thought she knew about herself.

PREORDER COMING SOON! 

STAY TUNED!!

RELEASES OCTOBER 1, 2024

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YOUR TURN: What is your favorite thing about the cover of ALL WE THOUGHT WE KNEW? Leave a comment on this blog post and I'll put your name in a drawing for a $10 Amazon gift card. Drawing closes March 2. US residents only, please.

3/2/24 UPDATE: Chelsie is the winner! I've notified her via email. THANK YOU, everyone, for your wonderfully encouraging comments about the cover, the title, and the story! I hope you enjoy Ava and Mattie's story when it releases October 1!

Be sure to check out my other titles! You can find them on the sidebar of this page, on my website, or at your favorite online bookseller!

Blessings,

Michelle

Appalachian Song Releases TODAY!

 

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO 

Appalachian Song!!

Readers,

I am thrilled to finally get to share this story with you! The characters, setting, and history have quickly become some of my favorites, and I hope they'll become yours too.

The Walker Sisters
Photo taken by Jim Shelton in 1909.

The first time I visited the Walker Sisters cabin, deep in the Great Smoky Mountains near Gatlinburg, Tennessee, I knew I would write a book about them someday. I'm excited to tell you Appalachian Song is that book! While it is inspired by the real Walker Sisters' fascinating lives in the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee, the story follows the fictional Jenkins Sisters and the young girl who captures their hearts. 

Here's the back-of-the-book blurb:

Bertie Jenkins has spent forty years serving as a midwife for her community in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Out of all the mothers she’s tended, none affects her more than the young teenager who shows up on her doorstep, injured, afraid, and expecting, one warm June day in 1943. As Bertie and her four sisters tenderly nurture Songbird back to health, the bond between the childless midwife and the motherless teen grows strong. But soon Songbird is forced to make a heartbreaking decision that will tear this little family apart.

Thirty years later, the day after his father’s funeral, Walker Wylie is stunned to learn he was adopted as an infant. The famous country singer enlists the help of adoption advocate Reese Chandler in the hopes of learning why he was abandoned by his birth parents. With the only clue he has in hand, Walker and Reese head deep into the Appalachian Mountains to track down Bertie Jenkins, the midwife who holds the secrets to Walker’s past.

Appalachian Song is available in hard cover, soft cover, eBook, 

and Audiobook. To snag your copy, go HERE!

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              ENTER MY GIVEAWAY!

My little red VW Bug
on the Walker Sisters' cabin
porch. One of the characters 
in Appalachian Song drives
a car just like this!

I'm giving away a FREE signed copy of Appalachian Song (or choice of one of my other books) to subscribers of my newsletter. I'd love to include your name in the drawing! If you aren't already a subscriber, just go to the top right corner of this page and fill in your email address and WA-LA! You're entered in the contest. I'll draw a winner on October 31. 

PS. If you aren't sure if you're a subscriber or not, check your email inbox. I sent out a newsletter today! 

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JOIN ME ON FACEBOOK 

FOR THE LAUNCH PARTY! 

I will celebrate the release of Appalachian Song with a Facebook Launch Party on Saturday, October 14, 2023 from 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CST! Lots of fun and prizes, including books, Amazon gift cards, and 

bookish goodies. 

Just go to my Facebook Author Michelle Shocklee page and click the "Like" button so you'll be sure to get my updates in your Facebook feed. I will post reminders, but mark your calendars! You don't want to miss the party!

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Me at the Walker Sisters cabin site.
This is the springhouse John Walker built
in the 1870s. Bertie and her sisters
have one just like it that their 
Papa built!

THANK YOU, everyone, for celebrating with me! If you enjoy reading Appalachian Song, I would love it if you'd leave a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Bookbub, or on social media.

Book club folks, I would love to join you via Zoom or in person if you're local! Shoot me an email for details. 

Many blessings to you all,

~Michelle

Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #29

UPDATE: The winners of my drawing have been notified via email. THANK YOU to everyone who joined the hunt, subscribed to my newsletter, and left a comment! Y'all are the BEST!!!

Many blessings, 

~Michelle

Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all the stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 5 grand prizes!

• The hunt BEGINS on 6/15 at noon MST with Stop #1: Lisa Tawn Bergren's website. 
• Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer).
• There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt—you have all weekend (until Sunday, 6/18 at midnight MST)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books and learn new things about them.
• Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the CLUE on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at the final stop, back on Lisa’s site. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!

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Hi everyone! 

Welcome! I hope you're having FUN on the hunt!

I'm Michelle Shocklee. I'm a bit of a history nerd, which comes in handy since I write historical fiction.  One of my favorite things about writing fiction set many years ago is the excuse to read research books on all kinds of topics, like World War II and the Vietnam war (for the book I'm currently working on). My last three novels are historical split-time stories, so that means I got to research TWO different time periods for each novel! You can learn more about me and my books on my website, on my Facebook page, my Instagram page, and my Pinterest page for folks who enjoy looking through the pictures I use for inspiration as I write my books. 

Speaking of books, I'm quite anxious to share my latest, Appalachian Song, with all of you! It releases October 3, 2023, just in time for fall colors, bonfires, and hot cocoa. One of my favorite places on earth is the Great Smoky Mountains, so when I started thinking about a setting I would enjoy reading about, the mountains began'a callin'! Here's a little blurb about the book:

Bertie Jenkins has spent forty years serving as a midwife for her community in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Out of all the mothers she’s tended, none affects her more than the young teenager who shows up on her doorstep, injured, afraid, and expecting, one warm June day in 1943. As Bertie and her four sisters tenderly nurture Songbird back to health, the bond between the childless midwife and the motherless teen grows strong. But soon Songbird is forced to make a heartbreaking decision that will tear this little family apart.

Thirty years later, the day after his father’s funeral, Walker Wylie is stunned to learn he was adopted as an infant. The famous country singer enlists the help of adoption advocate Reese Chandler in the hopes of learning why he was abandoned by his birth parents. With the only clue he has in hand, Walker and Reese head deep into the Appalachian Mountains to track down Bertie Jenkins, the midwife 

who holds the secrets to Walker’s past.

For fans of historical and Southern fiction comes a poignant story of love and sacrifice 

set in the heart of Appalachia.

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COME WITH ME TO THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS....

Great Smoky Mountains; nps.gov

The Great Smoky Mountains have been home to Native American tribes as well as white European settlers for hundreds of years. In the 1800s, logging became a large industry in the area, but by the early 20th century, people began to realize that clearcutting--the logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down--was destroying the forest's natural beauty. 

A woman by the name of Ann Davis is credited for suggesting a National Park in the Smokies. She and her husband Willis returned from a trip visiting several Western national parks in 1923 and determined they needed a national park closer to home. This started discussion of the idea with leaders in the area, especially around Knoxville. Sounds like an idea everyone would love, right?

Wrong.

Gregg-Cable house in Cades Cove; nps.gov

There was a lot of opposition to overcome. There was also the issue of money. (Isn't that always the case?) However, the idea soon took root and was championed by prominent people in Tennessee and North Carolina. The group began raising private funds to help the cash-strapped National Park Service acquire land. John D. Rockefeller even contributed $5 million, with the US government adding $2 million. Congress finally authorized the project in 1926. 

I snapped this pic of my little red VW Bug at 
the Walker Sisters cabin! A red VW Bug is 
what my heroine drives when she visits a 
cabin very much like this one!

Purchasing the land, however, proved difficult, even with the money in hand. Some 6,000 small farms, large tracts, and other miscellaneous parcels had to be surveyed, appraised, dickered over and sometimes condemned in court. The timber and paper companies had valuable equipment and standing inventory, which required compensation. Some mountain homesteaders, like the Walker Sisters who inspired the characters of Bertie and her sisters in my book, were given lifetime leases to remain on their property, although they couldn't hunt, log, or farm on it. Everyone else was evicted. 

Today, the park occupies 522,419 acres of gorgeous, well-preserved land in two states--Tennessee and North Carolina. It boasts two visitors' centers, miles and miles of hiking trails, historical buildings, waterfalls, lakes, and recreation areas. The well-maintained roads take you through some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen, especially during the fall. 

Great Smoky Mountains; nps.gov

If you've never been to the Great Smoky Mountains, I encourage you to plan a trip soon. In the meantime, you can preorder a copy of Appalachian Song and travel there vicariously with some of my favorite characters as soon as the book releases October 3, 2023! 

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Here’s Your Critical Stop #29 Info:

If you’re interested, you can preorder Appalachian Song on Amazon,

Barnes & Noble, Tyndale or at your local bookstore! 

Clue to Write Down: Let's READ! 

Link to Stop #30, the LAST Stop on the Loop: GRAND PRIZE ENTRY!

BUT...before you go, I'm giving away THREE paperback copies of Appalachian Song 

as soon as it is available. To be included in the giveaway, all you have to do is sign up for my 

e-NEWSLETTER at the TOP RIGHT corner of this page! 

If you're already a subscriber, you're already entered!

For an EXTRA entry, after you sign up for the newsletter, leave me a comment 

and tell me if your favorite vacation is:

A. Going to the mountains!

B. Going to the beach.

C. Neither. I'd rather go to  ____________. 

I'll draw the winners on June 20, 2023. (US only, please.)

COVER REVEAL!

     COVER REVEAL!!

Hi everyone!

I'm thrilled to share the cover of my next book with you!! 

Isn't it absolutely gorgeous?! The design team members at Tyndale House Publishers are SO talented. Much thought goes into each cover they create. This split-time story takes place deep in the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee, and the cover truly captures their beauty. This photo looks just like what I've seen every time I've visited the Great Smoky Mountains. I can almost smell the wonderful earthy scent that fills the air as you walk through the woods. I'll share more about the young woman featured on the cover and give some hints about the journey she goes on in the coming weeks and months as we all patiently wait for the book's birthday!

Appalachian Song will release in FALL 2023!! 

Preorder is available at:

Tyndale House 

Baker Book House

Barnes & Noble

Amazon 

Blessings,

~Michelle

Looking Forward to 2023....Looking Back at 2022

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

I wonder how many of you are waking up today, asking the same question I am:

WHERE DID 2022 GO???

As I look back and reflect on everything that happened in those 365 days, I see God's hand in it all. He is a loving, faithful Father, no matter what challenges, changes, losses, and victories we experience in life. Thankfully that is still true, even with the flip of a calendar page and the ushering in of a new year. 

I've chosen the word Shalom as my word for 2023. Last year I chose the word Peace, and although shalom is the Hebrew word for peace, I've recently learned that shalom has a deeper meaning than what we might define as peace. 

In his book The Wonder of Advent Devotional, author Chris Tiegreen writes that shalom is "the Hebrew word we often translate as peace, and it does mean that. But it's so much more. It's a state of spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being that resembles the abundant life Jesus promised." 

Shalom is what we all crave deep inside. It can't be found in a job, a relationship, or a bank account. It isn't even that warm, cozy feeling we have when everything is right in our world for a day or two. All those things provide temporary peace, but it can't be sustained. Something is bound to happen that will steal that sense of peace away from us. I've had that happen over and over in this life, and I'm sure you have too.

Isaiah 9:6 declares that a child is born to us, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Shalom. This year I'm going in search of the deeper meaning of Shalom. I'll be journaling the things I learn about shalom through scripture and other readings as well as getting honest about the things I don't understand about it. If you're interested in going deeper with me, shoot me an email to receive my brief monthly update on how my journey is going. I'd love to hear your thoughts on shalom, too.

                 2022 WAS A REALLY GREAT YEAR...in spite of!

We have much to be thankful for as we look back on 2022! 

Even though our sweet boss passed away on December 26, 2021, we didn't lose our jobs. Her son and daughter-in-law, whom we love as much as we loved Miss L, have taken over the farm. In January we moved back into the house where we first lived when we came to Tennessee in 2017 and resumed our responsibilities here on the farm. 

I also learned that my older brother passed away--the first of my siblings to die. Death is so final, yet the hope of eternity with God is what keeps us going in times like this. My husband and I traveled to New Mexico over the Christmas break to attend a memorial for Mark. While it was a sad occasion, it was good to be with my family. 

The Lord continues to bless my writing endeavors, for which I'm very grateful. My novel COUNT THE NIGHTS BY STARS released in March, and just last month it won the 2023 Christianity Today Book Award for Fiction! I'm excited that I'll have new books release in 2023, 2024, and 2025 with Tyndale House Publishers, and I'll have a short story included in a compilation book published by Guideposts, publication date TBA.

 

One of the most exciting things that happened in 2022 was our oldest son proposed to his beautiful girlfriend, and she said YES!! We are over-the-moon happy for them and look forward to all that God has planned for these two! 

All in all, I feel incredibly blessed and hopeful as I head into a new year. Only God knows what awaits in those far-off tomorrows, but just knowing He is already there brings the peace, the shalom, that my soul longs for.

Blessings to you and yours,

~Michelle