Redbuds

The redbud tree is native to the United States, especially to the eastern half. It's sometimes called the Judas tree because of the legend that Judas Iscariot hanged himself on one of the European varieties. The tree is noted for its eye-catching spring blossoms. It's the state tree of Oklahoma.

My new book, Mistaken Bride, is set in the fictitious town of Redbud, Arizona. The town got its name from a large redbud tree the founder planted to celebrate the town's fifth anniversary. Here is an excerpt that tells about it:

They walked by the green area the town used for special events. “Have you seen the redbud tree? It’s what the town was named for.”

Danielle took in a breath of air before she answered, or had she been discretely sniffling? “No, I haven’t.”

“Come, it’s not far.” Cullen led her down the trail cut by so many people using the same path.

He didn’t want to take her back to the hotel to sit alone in her misery. Perhaps this would cheer her and make her afternoon more pleasant.

“What do you think?” Cullen asked.

“It’s quite the spectacle with its rosy exhibition.”

“Come, let’s sit on this bench, and I’ll tell you how Redbud got its name.”

“An Irishman with a head of red hair founded this town,” he began his story. “In fact, most people called him ‘Red,’ although his real name was Fion Walsh. In honor of the town’s fifth anniversary, he had a tree-planting ceremony and planted this redbud. The town has pampered it ever since.”

Mistaken Bride publishes this Friday for Kindle, but it's already available in print and should be on Audible soon. I hope the novel does well, and the fans I've gained by publishing in multiple-author projects over the last few years will want to read this one, too, even though it's one of my standalone Westerns and not part of a MAP. I promise it's just as good as any I've published before.

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Internalize God's Word

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18).

How many Christians sit in church pews on Sunday morning, agree with everything the pastor says, but make no changes in their life as they exit the doors? They don't internalize God's message to the point that it makes a difference in how they live their lives or how they interact with others. Knowing isn't enough. We've got to put that knowledge into practice. We need to let God's Word change us.

As a former teacher, I was taught Bloom's Taxonomy for higher thinking/learning skills. Knowledge is the first level, comprehension second, and application next. We wanted our students to get to at least the application level. They would soon forget what they'd learned if they didn't go beyond knowledge, and it would do them no good if they didn't understand it. They needed to put it into action in some way. As Thomas Watson wrote in his book, The Art of Divine Contentment, "You may have heard a thousand sermons but not learned one."

James tells us in 1:22 that we are to be doers of the word and not hearers only. We won't grow in the faith unless we study, learn, and apply. There is nothing as important as your spiritual life, and you need to set a good example for your children, the rest of your family and friends, and all those you come into contact with. Our lives should be living testimonies, witnessing to others.

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 A Redemption Story

When I accepted the offer to write my first book in a multiple-author project in 2021, I had two rough drafts completed. Remarkably, one already fit the MAP's category I was writing for. All I had to do was change the heroine's name and entitle it Walnut Cake for Wylene. I haven't been able to use the other one in a MAP, but it is a wonderful standalone Western story set in Redbud, Arizona in 1895 and has the themes of not judging others, redemption, and the power of faith.

Danielle Gregory grew up in the saloons, where her mother worked, and she has never been able to escape that lifestyle. However, she’s promised herself never to work upstairs the way her mother did. When she goes to Redbud, Arizona, to work in a saloon that doesn’t have soiled doves, the sheriff mistakes her for his mail-order bride. She would have liked to marry him and have a normal life, but she’s too honest to deceive him for long. As she expected, he has problems with her past. But when a godly pastor and his wife accept her, she has hope for the first time. Now that she's become a new child of God, what will her future hold?

Mistaken Bride publishes on April 4 and is on preorder now. The print edition is already out, and it will also be on KU and Audible. I love stories of how God works in lives to bring about healing. Remembering the woman at the well, the adulteress caught in the act, and the harlot who washed Jesus' feet, we should treat others the way Christ indicated, with love. I hope you enjoy Mistaken Bride as much as I did writing it.

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Following God's Truth

James Hudson Taylor was born to James and Amelia Hudson in England on May 21, 1832. To avoid confusion, the younger James went by the name Hudson. He grew up in a devoutly Christian home, but in his mid-teens, he had a period of drifting away from the faith. Then one day when he was 17, he discovered a Christian tract while alone in his father's study. He read it and decided he needed to rededicate himself and get serious about serving Jesus. As a young child, he'd dreamed of becoming a missionary in China, and he picked up that dream again. He worked hard to prepare himself, and was finally asked to go there by the Chinese Evangelization Society.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world (1 John 4:1)

However, when Hudson arrived in China, he found the country in a civil war. Hong Xiuquan had received a religious tract from an earlier missionary, had a vision, and decided he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ. He recruited followers, organized a militia, and opposed criminals in the area vigilante style. Eventually, his violent, strong-armed tactics clashed with the government of the Qing dynasty, and a civil war resulted.

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them (Ephesians 5:11).

Some have surmised that, while the Holy Spirit called Hudson back to Jesus with a tract, the devil called Hong to misrepresent the gospel message with one. This is one case where a little knowledge really was dangerous. Hudson had the biblical background to understand God's will, but Hong did not. 

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

We all need to be careful to stay grounded in the faith, using the Bible as our manual and studying it daily. Establishing a strong prayer life will also help. Independent thinking can lead us astray and can give Satan a foothold. Our faith needs to be based on what God thinks, not what we think. His truth is what's important.

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Breaking the String of MAPs

In September of 2022, I published the MAP (multiple-author project), which would begin in a long line of them. Since Sauerkraut Cake by Sophie in the Old-Timey Kitchen series, I have published 34 MAPs in a row, but The Miner, which just released last week, will be the last novel in that statistic. I'll be publishing more MAPs, but my next book will be one of my own standalone. In fact, I had also published one other MAP novel before this continuous string.

Mistaken Bride is set in Arizona in 1895. Danielle Gregory grew up in saloons, where her mother worked, and she's never been able to escape that lifestyle. However, she promised herself never to work upstairs the way her mother did. When she goes to Redbud, Arizona, to work in a saloon that doesn't have soiled doves, the sheriff mistakes her for his mail-order bride. She would like to marry him and have a normal life, but she's too honest to deceive him for long. As she feared, he has problems with her past, but when a godly pastor and his wife accept her, she has hope for the first time. Now that she's become a new child of God, what will her future hold?  

Mistaken Bride is set to release on April 4. It's written, edited, uploaded, and on preorder now. My dual narrators, Douglas Birk and Jennifer Groberg have completed the Audible version, and we're waiting for ACX to approve it. Don't miss getting your copy in Kindle, KU, print, or Audible, whichever you prefer.

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Early Persecution Spreads

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:10).

After Christ's resurrection, the Jewish leadership came down hard on this new group of believers with stronger persecution. The stoning of Stephen is an example. As a result, many Christ-followers left Jerusalem and fled to places with more tolerance. The new faith spread more rapidly into other areas than it would have otherwise because of this.

Philip is a good example of what happened. He left Jerusalem after Stephen's stoning and went to Samaria. There he continued to preach the gospel message. He was one of seven deacons chosen to serve in the Samarian body of believers, where he did miracles and led many to recognize God's truths. Among these was the Ethiopian eunuch, who went back to Africa, taking the Good News of Christ with him.

Early believers fleeing persecution also started the church in Antioch, which is in present-day Turkey. They were first given the name Christians there. After the persecutor Saul was converted on the Road to Damascus, he helped strengthen this fledgling church and started many others. As Joseph said, what they meant for evil, God used for good. He still does so today when his believers trust in Him and follow in obedience.

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 The Firehouse in 1880 Town

Early buildings in the West were often constructed of wood and susceptible to fires. Men first fought them with bucket brigades, but the method proved to be slow and often ineffective. As soon as possible, fire departments were formed with hand-pulled carts or horse-drawn water wagons. 

1880 Town in Midland, South Dakota, has an impressive firehouse, complete with an alarm bell. Firemen were volunteers. Inside, visitors find displays of basic, rudimentary fire implements and equipment from the 1800s. Some firehouses also served as community meeting places, and this one certainly could have.

In my soon-to-be-released book set in Deadwood, SD, a fire has burned Lorne Merritt's mining supply shop, and he's gone back to mining until he can earn enough money to rebuild. The Miner is a romantic adventure and mystery that releases tomorrow, March 11. It's on preorder now.

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 In God We Trust

Did you know that "In God We Trust" was first put on a U. S. coin in 1864, during the Civil War? It was a two-cent piece. Over the years, it gradually appeared on more coins. In 1956, it was declared the official national motto, and in 1957, the phrase was added to paper money, beginning with the one-dollar silver certificate. Since then, it has appeared on all U.S. money, as mandated by a law signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

Trusting in God is important. Faith and trust go hand in hand. One can't have faith in someone they don't trust. The Bible tells us "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

Knowing who God is builds our trust and grows our faith. We get to know Him through studying our Bibles and praying, and the Holy Spirit will guide us. Once we see how perfect, righteous, holy, and mighty God is, it is easy to trust him and follow Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is (Jeremiah 17:7-8).

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The Railroad in 1880 Town

Around the time I wrote and published Beckett's Brides, a Western novel set in Deadwood, South Dakota, I wrote a series of blogs on 1880 Town in Midland, South Dakota, about 150 miles away. The replica town gives one a good idea of what a typical Western town might have been like. Since my next novel, The Miner, is also set in Deadwood, I decided to continue that series. I've already written articles on saloons, gold mines, churches, hotels, the blacksmith, barbershop, school, doctor, jail, and general store.

Another important part of many towns in the late 1800s was the depot and railroad. Between 1880 and 1890, 70,400 new miles of tracks were laid, bringing the total to 163,600 miles. There was a 129% increase in railroad mileage in the West. Trains were not only important for faster, more convenient passenger travel, but also for the shipment of freight. Needed goods came into Western towns, and cattle, farm and ranch products, and sometimes horses went out. The expansion of the railroad into more towns played a crucial role in the development of the West.

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