Category Archives: Uncategorized

Tuesdays With The Angels- Angel Inspirations Children & Animals

Posted on by

In 1995, this very day, I lost my daughter, Kate. At nineteen she was beautiful, bright, in love with her boyfriend, and glowing going to college. She loved her family, her dogs and cat and her friends. Her promise of a bright future was there for the making but her future was to be with God.

I have learned so many things these years gone by. So many lessons learned that I can’t put them all down on paper.  I do know for sure that love is the answer to everything. My twins, Mike and Elizabeth, who are adults now, have shown me with grace and fortitude their ongoing love for life and others. As teens when Kate died, they had a wisdom way mature for their age. They are kind human beings, my daughter, an incredible  mother and my son a loving uncle.They help others in need and of course love animals as our whole family does.

Years ago my journey through grief was helped by my children’s love. My dear friend Nancy,  took me on a girl’s trip years ago to help my sorrow. There we met a man I’m sure was an angel.  One day he was  at a store in Houston politely talking to us and the next day there he was again in a town we had never been to an hour away in another store. His presence astounded us and he told us he would see us at the airport. Then we turned away for a moment and when we looked back he was gone from the store. We went outside but he was nowhere. I know he was an angel there to comfort, letting me know Kate was safe in God’s hands.

Because of him, and in memory of my Kate, I have written ten books. There is only love in the books I write, all with angel themes.  My novella’s, my memoir about teaching children with special needs, and my children’s book, all were inspired by the angel and my love for Kate, my family and my own gift of life. 

My angel inspirations today, this day of remembrance and love, is to keep on loving, forgiving, hoping, praying for all to find places in their hearts for others, to know their blessings,  to help those who need us the most, the children and animals, the innocent ones of our world. Is there another book about angels in my ever-growing imagination? Always. Here is my latest.

 

Tuesdays With The Angels- Life Lessons &Two Special Ladies

Posted on by

Recently, I lost two dear friends. One was my cousin, Marcy, and the other, Maggie, who was like a sister to me. Both were the same age and vivacious, kind women who were truly my confidents. Grief stricken, I wondered yet knew I would have to go on without talking to them and sharing our lives together.

I will forever miss them but learned so much from them in our years together. From Marcy, I learned how to laugh and live a positive life. Though she had lost a daughter, like I had, she went on living her best life, knowing the treasure life holds. I wrote a part of what I learned from her in my newest book, The Dog Who Came For Christmas, An Angel’s Tale. When someone would bully Marcy giving her an insult of some kind, she would say, “thank you” and then walk away smiling. What a great way of thwarting a bully.

And Maggie? Well, Maggie could see angels and the spirits of past loved ones and others since childhood. Her stories about her spiritual experiences with her dogs are written into my new novella too. She was a soft spoken person and kind to everyone. She too, had lost a young granddaughter, and yet she went on knowing loving the rest of her family was her primary goal in life. They needed her care . These two women were so close to me and though I will miss them all my life, I know their influence will keep me evolving spiritually and writing about the new lessons I’ve learned.

Once long ago, when I lost my own daughter, Kate, a woman I met briefly said to me, “Don’t worry, one day you will meet Kate in the center of a rose.” I’ve always loved that image. Roses mean love and having memories of loved ones that are forever with us are part of the gift of love from above. Someday, with hope in my heart, we will meet all our loved ones again  in the center of a rose.

Tuesdays With The Angels- Angel Inspirations-Animal Rescue

Posted on by

Bless The Beasts and the Children, one of my favorite songs from the seventies, has a wonderful lyric. “Keep them safe, keep them warm.” I’ve written many times about protecting our children from man’s inhumanity to man. As of  now bullying  is considered almost the norm in politics, dividing people. However,  I also feel strongly about the well being of  our animal friends. Protecting them from animal abuse has recently driven me to write it as a main theme in my new novel coming soon.

My husband and I  have rescued many animals and continue to advocate for them around the world, whether companions to people or in the wild. They are innocent and vulnerable and the poor way some individuals regard them shows all of us what these people are made of.  Animals can’t speak for themselves. Just like we all should share in protecting the children of the world, we are also the animals’ voices of hope. I believe in hope, love and helping those who need our strength and our kindness. 

Angels inspire me. Why? Because I surely met an angel in human form once when the loss of my daughter turned the light out in my being for a time. And all these years later as the light turned on knowing angels were really near,  I became a writer, writing about angels with novels storied with goodness, kindness and redemption.

Taking care of those who have no voice is my fervid hope. Children and the animals of the world need to thrive. Bless the Beasts and the Children. Everyday I  ask the angels for help with problems, as I navigate this precious life I’m given.  I am always sure they are telling me to follow my heart. I know for sure they are listening.

 

Tuesdays With The Angels- Knowing Children Are Our Treasures The Way to Peace

Posted on by

Our Children are our treasures. Love and kindness are primary for children to have  a wonderful life. In our world today why aren’t we all working together for peace? Do we all want peace for the children’s future? If so, then why isn’t it happening?  I shout with my words when I write and if anyone is reading them then that gives me hope. Hope is a prayer and dreaming for peace is a prayer too. I pray to God and the angels to help us find a pathway to end wars and strife for all our sakes.

There is a solution which begins at home by teaching children to accept others differences and viewpoints. War is destroying our world with brutality and yet it continues with it’s consequences of anxiety, fear and distrust . Putting peace in our own life helps protect our vulnerable treasures, the children. For they can’t speak for themselves now but someday they could change the world for the better with learning peaceful ways. Be their advocates. Be their hope.

 

Tuesdays With The Angels- Angels & Love In Our Hearts

Posted on by

As I write about angels, knowing it is my calling, I have a real angel to thank. Once, my friend and I met a man who I know was an angel. My dear friend, Nancy, encouraged me to go on a girls trip with her to Houston  after my daughter, Kate, died tragically. All hope was gone for a happy life without her, I feared. But we met an elderly gentleman who appeared human standing in the mens department of a Houston upscale store. We all said hello. We exchanged pleasantries and then went on our way.

The next day Nancy wanted to shop an hour away in a little town neither of us had ever been to.  We had just entered the store but suddenly the same man came up to us. We were surprised to see him. Was it a coincidence? We talked a moment and then he said, “See you at the airport.” We  turned away to look at gifts both thinking how odd it was to see him again. We turned back to say goodbye again to the man yet he was gone. It’s been over twenty five years since I’ve seen him, yet I can still see his kind face clearly in my mind. My fear of flying had escalated after my daughter passed away. We  went outside and looked up and down the street but  he was nowhere. We sat down at a little table outside. We both wondered if  he was an angel sent to comfort me.  It was then my fear started to leave and the beginnings of hope returned. 

I believe angels come when we need them the most. They come to us with a spoken word or a smile. Some angels appear human and some have actually appeared with wings to many of us. I know in my heart that the love light the angels bring us is real. It’s from a higher power, which is God to me.

In these times of trouble in the world, when hate and bullying try to dominate everyone’s thinking, I believe in my heart that thinking about angels and asking for their help truly can change a moment. I pray the angels will help all the children across the world. I pray for their  chance to be free, for their peace, for their laughter and song to lift up to heaven. I pray that if we all visualize the world at peace, it will help all of  our days and nights. I pray for a world where our grandchildren will be safe, where hate is replaced by love and  the bullies of the world will finally see the light of angels and learn what I know to be true. Love is all we ever need. I’m sure I met a real angel that day and  I’m also sure all angels whisper to us, “Love is the only way to find a place to call home.”

 

Tuesdays With The Angels-Bringing Peace To The Children of the World

Posted on by

Peace is possible if we think only of our children and grandchildren’s safety and happiness. The world is suffering and the most vulnerable, the children, are suffering the most aren’t they?

I believe in positive thinking and prayer as the late minister Norman Vincent Peale’s works influenced my life, helping me through the grief of losing my daughter years ago.  I believe in imagining a world where God’s grace shows us the way to peace. We must realize the precious short life we are given and how loving each other is the only way to live a peaceful life.

I met an angel long ago. He appeared human but the circumstances were extraordinary. When I lost my daughter and was in the saddest place I’d ever been, he  comforted me with his words and then he was gone in a flicker of a candle moment. Did God send him? I know He did.

As I pray for peace, I pray for all of us to see the light, the light of love. Change needs to come in our sensitivity to others pain. Human kindness is the way to the light that love shines.

Below is the cover of the first novel I wrote in the Mystic Bay Series. The book is dedicated to my dear daughter, Kate. Because I met an angel long ago, my life has been forever inspired. My life is full of prayer for my family, friends and also just as fervently for the world. 

“In the night of death, hope sees a star and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing.” Robert Green Ingersoll

Tuesdays With The Angels-Angels & Cardinals

Posted on by

There’s a saying that every time you see a Cardinal, an angel is near. In the hot summer sun of Arizona, a Cardinal and his mate have stayed since spring coming to my feeder everyday. I realize for all the decades I have lived in the Phoenix area, I only saw a Cardinal once before in my backyard.

So now they are ever present, their beauty reminding me of angels. I just won a national first place award from the NFPW, the distinguished organization, National Federation Of Press Women. The award was for my novella, 20 Moon Rd. An Angels Tale.

In all my books about Mystic Bay, I write about goodness, forgiveness and kindness. This book, dedicated to my father and my sister was a labor of love. I met a man once on a plane and I named my main character, Angel Ken, after him. Ken told me he was troubled about racial injustice in our society and I told him I would make him an angel in my books centered in Mystic Bay, the fictitious town I created.

But Ken never emailed me after I gave him my card.  Maybe he was an angel. I believe there are angels everywhere like I write in all my books.  Once upon a time as a child, I knew there were angels and it comforted me. I do know I met one once in human form at the saddest point of my life. The man I call Angel said comforting words to me. Now, the angels have sent cardinals for me to feed and gaze at in wonderment. I have an award to let me know, I’m doing what I was meant to do, write stories about angels. I’m trying to spread words of love. Because in my books as in real life, love always wins.

Tuesday With The Angels- The Bully Never Wins-Bullying Hurts

Posted on by

There’s beauty in being sensitive to the differences of others. As a child I remember a little girl who bullied some of us on the block and others made fun of kids at school. I remember how I wanted the little girl to be my friend and yet she would pick on us. I remember my friend, Nancy’s mother talking to us about it. Long ago her mother helped me realize it was wrong to make fun and be mean to others.

Bullying is still hurting our children. Many of us have been bullied at one time or another and we remember it. It hurts our development of self esteem. During those times I felt bullied as a child, my self esteem was low. I  never would have believed then I would write about bullying, or be a retired educator, or write books about angels. What kind of role models should we be? We should discuss bullying with our children often. It’s one path to end bullying.

Even before I met the man I know was an angel sent to comfort me when I lost my daughter, I knew God and angels existed. I ask the angels everyday to show me the way to love and kindness. Encouraging our children  to walk away and find other friends who are nice to them helps our children grow into confident adults. There’s beauty in being sensitive to the needs of others. Being kind is powerful. The bully never wins.

Tuesdays With The Angels- Angel Messages

Posted on by

A message from the angels ran through my thoughts the other day. I wasn’t thinking about angels at the time.

Love Is Tangible was the message. And as I thought about it during the day, it made such sense. Yes, you can see love in another’s eyes, in the devotion you feel for your loved ones on earth and loved ones gone on to heaven.  You can almost touch that love when you touch your heart.

My late daughter Kate, was afraid of bees when she was four. Years later after she passed away, I met a man who I am sure now was an angel. His presence and words comforted me. A few years later, I began writing novels about angels who come to earth in human form to help.

In ‘Town of Angels,’ the third novel in the Mystic Bay Series, Angel Ken sends butterflies to people in the town to calm their fears.  I was encouraged to  write a children’s book about the angel sending butterflies. Thankful for the wonderful illustrations by my friend, Susan Claire Anderson, I wrote ‘When The Angel Sent Butterflies’. In the story, Angel Ken sends butterflies to calm little Kate’s fear of bees. On the back cover I wrote, “Children need to know love from their parents and others surrounds them. Love conquers fear and beieving that angels are near can help sweep any childhood fear away.”   My love for my daughter, Kate, grows on as the years do now. Love never dies and as the angels’ message relayed to me, Love Is Tangible.

Tuesdays With The Angels-Are Angels Perfect?

Posted on by

People ask if angels are perfect. Yes, they are as perfect as God created them to help us.To me angels are God’s messengers, helping us through our days. Through joys and sorrows, angels are near. I know in my own life, I find this to be true.

I know friends and many others who come to my book signings  who have had experiences with angels. Some have seen them, seeing wings and beautiful glowing beings of all shapes, sizes, genders and ages. Some people say they have been saved from accidents, or have heard angel’s messages, finding objects, or seeing miracles happen in all kinds of scenarios.

 My own experiences with angels on earth include meeting an angel appearing as a human once years ago.  My encounter with the man I call, Angel, changed my life from sorrow to moving forward after the  loss of  my daughter.  I am writing a book about meeting him and those I’ve encountered who also may have been angels on earth. To me angels are as perfect as they can be. They are celestial beings, full of love, sent by God. I found great comfort knowing angels are near.