The People-Pleasing Trap

The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe (Proverbs 29:25).

Most of us are people pleasers to some degree. It often stems from wanting others to think highly of us, to be accepted, or to avoid conflict. But Scripture warns that living for the approval of people becomes a trap. When our decisions hinge on how others might react, we lose the freedom that comes from trusting God alone. His approval is steady, unchanging, and rooted in love, not in shifting human opinions.

For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10).

The Bible makes it clear that pleasing people and serving Christ often pull in opposite directions. When we chase human praise, we compromise our convictions, soften truth, or exhaust ourselves trying to meet expectations God never placed on us. But when our hearts are anchored in pleasing the Lord, our choices become simpler. His voice becomes the one we follow, and His approval becomes enough.

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass (Psalm 37:5).

True peace comes when we release the pressure of trying to keep everyone happy and instead commit our ways to God. He guides, strengthens, and blesses the path that is surrendered to Him. When our focus shifts from pleasing man to pleasing God, we walk with confidence, clarity, and rest. The opinions of others may rise and fall, but God’s faithfulness remains constant, and that is where our hearts find freedom. We are to focus on pleasing God, not man.

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Characters and Corners

Meet the people behind the mystery and learn how the setting shapes every choice in Veiled Intentions, where small-town life magnifies secrets and loyalties.

Veiled Intentions is a character-driven story, and at its center are figures who complicate the easy labels of hero or villain. Jenna Osborne is stubborn, observant, and quietly brave; she enters the investigation with the professionalism of someone who intends to keep her heart safely out of it. Brad Foster, the man under suspicion, is the opposite of the stereotype. Where the rumors painted him as rough and underhanded, Brad’s steadiness and unexpected warmth unsettle the expected and invite empathy. Jenna’s twin brother, Hollis, is a catalyst. Twins in fiction often function as mirrors or foils, and here he nudges Jenna into a role she never imagined. His assurance that he’ll be by her side softens Jenna’s resistance, but it also forces her to make unusual choices. The dynamic between them raises the question: how much of who we become is a response to those who believe in us? The pastor is a pivotal secondary character whose belief in Brad introduces moral complexity. In a story built on testimony and evidence, his trust is a counterbalance to the visual claims of bystanders. He reminds readers that character assessment often relies on long-term perceptions rather than a single snapshot of an event. His presence also deepens the community feeling of the setting—a town where relationships matter, and reputations can be defended or destroyed by neighbors.

Veiled Intentions relies on place to amplify the stakes. The region affected by the robberies is small enough that everyone knows someone connected to the case, and rumors travel quickly. That intimacy raises tension: a wrongful accusation has immediate consequences beyond legal penalties. Settings like this act as characters themselves, pressuring inhabitants into decisions they might avoid in anonymity.

• Jenna’s investigative instincts clash with personal attachments.

• Brad’s quiet dignity complicates public assumptions.

• The town’s tightly woven social fabric makes every choice visible.

Together, these elements create a cast and a backdrop that make the central mystery more than a puzzle to solve. They’re what make Veiled Intentions feel lived-in and true: relationships that force moral reckoning, a place that magnifies every whisper, and characters who surprise themselves by changing. In the end, the story becomes not just about uncovering what happened, but about understanding the people shaped by this town and the choices they make under pressure. Readers who enjoy complex heroes, nuanced romances, and settings that matter will find plenty to savor here.

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Christ-Like Fruit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance… (Galatians 5:22–23).

When Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit, he isn’t simply giving Christians a checklist of virtues to strive for. He is describing the very character of Christ—His nature, His personality, His way of being in the world. These qualities are not abstract ideals; they are the lived-out expression of Jesus Himself. When the Spirit produces these fruits in us, He is shaping us into Christ’s likeness so that the world can see Jesus through us.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls (Matthew 11:29).

Jesus invites us to learn of Him, and Paul’s list shows us exactly what that looks like. Christ’s love reached lepers, tax collectors, and sinners. Joy for Him wasn’t dependent on circumstances but flowed from His relationship with the Father. His presence calmed storms, both literal and human. He showed longsuffering with disciples who misunderstood Him. His gentleness welcomed children. Goodness flowed as He healed the broken. Faith carried Him to the cross. In meekness, He chose servanthood over status. With perfect temperance, He resisted every temptation. When we see the fruit of the Spirit, we are seeing the heart of Christ revealed.

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

The fruit of the Spirit is not produced by human effort but by Christ living in us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. When we are born again, the Spirit takes up residence in our hearts, and He begins the lifelong work of shaping us into the image of Christ. He cultivates what we cannot manufacture, Christ’s love in place of irritation, His peace instead of anxiety, His gentleness where harshness once lived. The more we yield to His presence, the more Christ’s own character becomes visible in our daily lives. And that is the hope of glory: not that we become better versions of ourselves, but that the Spirit forms Christ within us so the world can see Him through us.

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Vision of My Heart 

Thank you, Janice, for the opportunity to share about my passion for sharing Jesus through fiction.

I didn't set out to be a novelist. I spent years running an ESL program in my town, and when it closed, I needed a new way to keep doing what I'd always done, pointing people toward Jesus. Turns out fiction works just as well as a classroom. I'm also legally blind, which explains a lot if you've ever watched me navigate a crowded room or a rearranged grocery store. None of that matters much once you open one of my books though, because what you'll find inside is Missouri dust, stubborn horses, faith that gets tested, and love stories that take their sweet time getting where they're going. If you like your Westerns with grit and grace in equal measure, you're in the right place.

Vision of My Heart is the seventh and final book in my Discerning God's Best series, and it belongs to Serafina Shankel, a young woman who loses her sight to smallpox along with the confidence she used to wear so easily. She meets that altered world with quiet dignity instead of complaint. Then a Missouri storm strands her far from home, and a horseman named Connor Finnegan finds her. He's steady, a little dry in his humor, and carrying enough loss of his own to recognize hers. What grows between them has nothing to do with sight and everything to do with the kind of seeing that matters more. [Link to book here.] 
This book stands on its own, but it's also the last stop on a seven-book journey through Shumard Oak Bend, and I'd love for you to read the whole series in order first. Sera and Connor's story lands so much deeper once you've walked the road with everyone who came before them.

This whole series exists because a door closed. When my ESL program shut down, I needed a new platform to keep sharing Christ, and writing became that platform. Seven books later, here we are. But this particular book asked something different of me than the others did. I didn't research Sera's blindness in a book, I researched it in my own life. I still have some vision left, enough to be dangerous, but I know where this road can lead, and I wanted to face that possibility on the page with the same grace I gave Sera. Writing her didn't just tell her story. It helped me practice trusting God with mine.

https://youtu.be/U8Q0u5H0wGU?si=xI5WvnnxBB_BOSd3via @YouTube

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The Heart's Design

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).

When Scripture speaks of the heart, it is describing the deep center of our inner life — the place where our desires, convictions, and affections are shaped. Modern science, interestingly, has begun to uncover a physical dimension that echoes this biblical truth. Neurocardiology has shown that the heart contains its own network of about 40,000 neurons, capable of sensing, responding, and even forming a kind of “memory.” While this doesn’t make the heart a literal third brain, it does remind us that God designed us with an intricate connection between our spiritual life and our physical being. The heart is not just a pump; it participates in the rhythms of our emotional and spiritual life.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).

Science shows that about 80% of vagus‑nerve signals travel upward toward the brain. Those signals come from several organs, including the heart, and help shape our emotional and physiological responses, influencing areas responsible for emotion, attention, and decision-making. In other words, the heart speaks, and the brain listens. How fitting that Scripture calls us to trust God with all our heart. When the heart is aligned with Him, the signals that rise within us — our emotions, our discernment, our inner peace — become ordered and steady. Heart rhythm studies show that positive emotional states create more coherent patterns, which in turn support clearer thinking. It is a beautiful picture of how spiritual trust can shape emotional stability.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10).

If the heart influences how we feel and think, then the condition of our heart matters deeply. Science can describe the pathways, but only God can transform the source. David understood that the heart is the wellspring of our moral and spiritual life. When we invite the Lord to cleanse and renew our hearts, we are asking Him to reshape the very signals that guide our thoughts, choices, and responses. A heart surrendered to God produces a mind more attuned to His truth.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts (Colossians 3:15).

Heart-rhythm research shows that peace is not just a feeling; it is a measurable state that brings order to both heart and brain. Scripture tells us that God’s peace should rule in our hearts, acting like an internal governor over our emotional life. When His peace reigns, the heart sends signals of calm, steadiness, and clarity upward to the mind. Science can observe the effects, but only Christ can supply the source. The more we allow His peace to settle into our hearts, the more our whole inner life — emotional, mental, and spiritual — comes into harmony with Him.

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The Line Between Seeing and Believing

One of the driving tensions in Veiled Intentions is the struggle between hard evidence and human trust. Jenna Osborne enters her assignment trained to observe, to gather facts, and to keep her emotions firmly in check. Yet the more time she spends with Brad Foster, the more she realizes that facts alone don’t always tell the whole story. His steady kindness and quiet sincerity challenge the narrative she was sent to confirm, raising the uncomfortable question: what do we do when the heart challenges what others claim is true?

This conflict unfolds against a backdrop of robberies and confident eyewitness accounts. But eyewitnesses can be mistaken, and fear can push a community to choose a villain before the truth is clear. The novel invites readers to consider how easily assumptions take root and how difficult it can be to untangle perception from reality. “She came for a criminal. She stayed for a man worth fighting for.” That sentiment captures Jenna’s journey as her sense of duty collides with the unexpected decency she discovers in Brad.

Another thread woven through the story is the power of collective belief. Once a town decides who is guilty, that judgment can ripple outward, shaping reputations and influencing justice. The pastor’s unwavering faith in Brad offers a counterbalance—trust grounded not in forensic proof but in long knowledge of character. His stance doesn’t dismiss the need for evidence; instead, it complicates the picture, reminding readers that character testimony has long played a role in how communities discern truth.

Veiled Intentions doesn’t offer easy answers. Instead, it presents a layered portrait of decision‑making under uncertainty, where loyalty, duty, and affection rarely align neatly. For anyone who has ever wondered whether love clouds judgment or reveals it, Jenna’s struggle will resonate. Ultimately, the story explores what it means to seek justice in an imperfect world—one where intentions can be veiled, and sometimes the clearest witness is the heart itself.

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Adam's Fall, Jesus' Triumph

Read Matthew 4:1-11 and Genesis 3:1-7.

The temptation of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 and the temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4 reveal a striking truth: Satan’s strategies haven’t changed. In Eden, the serpent approached Adam and Eve in a garden overflowing with beauty, provision, and fellowship with God. In the wilderness, he approached Jesus in a place of hunger, loneliness, and physical weakness. The contrast is sharp—abundance versus deprivation—yet the core issue is the same. The first Adam fell in perfect conditions, while Jesus, the last Adam, stood firm in the harshest conditions. The setting only highlights the deeper reality: temptation tests trust, not circumstances.

In both accounts, Satan twists truth. With Eve, he begins by questioning God’s word. “Did God really say…?” He mixed a grain of truth with lies and hid the deadly consequences. With Jesus, he quotes Scripture accurately but applies it wrongly, urging reckless actions under the guise of faith. Jesus responds by untwisting the distortion, wielding Scripture with right understanding, and with obedience. The temptations themselves line up: food, identity, and authority. Adam and Eve indulge, grasp for godlikeness, and choose independence. Jesus refuses to misuse His power, refuses to prove His identity on Satan’s terms, and refuses the shortcut to glory. Where Adam and Eve reach for autonomy, Jesus chooses obedience.

At the heart of both stories lies trust. Satan convinces Eve that God is withholding good, that He cannot be fully trusted, and that she should take matters into her own hands. He tries the same tactic with Jesus—prove God’s protection, seize the kingdoms without the cross, use power for self. But Jesus refuses every invitation to distrust the Father. The outcomes could not be more different. Adam and Eve’s fall brings sin, death, and exile; Jesus’ victory brings righteousness, redemption, and restoration. Their stories remind us that temptation is ultimately a question of trust—whether we will believe God’s goodness or grasp for life on our own terms. Jesus shows us the way to triumph.

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