Have you ever wondered what Noah’s Ark really looked like? Well, travel to Kentucky (of all places), and you’ll get a pretty good idea. The Ark Encounter, a project of Answers in Genesis, is a life-sized ark based on the dimensions listed in the Bible.
Using the theory that that each pair of animals represented one “kind,” they filled the ark with models of these creatures based on prehistoric fossils. There are also several displays within the ark, including an exhibit provided by the Bible Museum and one that shares flood legends around the world.
It’s a little bit museum and a little bit theme park, which appealed to my five-year-old who loves science. Our visit to the Ark Encounter was an awesome experience for our whole family, from my parents (who brought us!) to my kids.
Judging by the major crowds at the Ark on the Saturday we visited, this is a popular destination. Perhaps this is, in part, because children’s tickets are free. The venue also hosts conferences and concerts–the day we visited, there was live music by a well-known Christian band included with the price of a ticket. We didn’t attend because there was so much to see!
Definitely a fun trip and one I’ll repeat when my kids get older and mature enough to appreciate new things about the experience.
Today, I’d like to introduce you to the 2022 winner of the romance category of the ACFW Genesis Contest–and her upcoming debut novel! Meet Lori Dejong, author of Love’s True Calling.
It’s so exciting to see Lori’s winning manuscript go from contest entry to published book! Love’s True Calling is being released June 27, but you can preorder now and see why this story captivated the judges of the contest.
1. What inspired you to write Love’s True Calling?
It was actually for a class I took from Laurie Schnebly about plotting a book based on character motivations. We had to come up with two brand new characters and determine what motivated them to achieve their goals, then plot out the book based on those motivations.
I at first thought of a woman going back to college in her late 20’s and finds her professor is the popular guy from high school who made her life miserable. But I couldn’t really get it to work. So I switched them around. She was still the woman coming back to college, but instead I made her the high school Miss Everything and her professor was the high school nerd who had a big crush on her.
It developed from there that they’d been childhood best friends who went separate ways as they entered their teens, and so on. It was really never intended to go anywhere past that class, but I fell in love with the characters and felt a strong pull to write their story. I put it into a couple of contests and won, and that led to my publishing contract with Scrivenings Press.
God always has bigger plans than ours!
2. in Love’s True Calling, your leading lady faces the tough decision between following Jesus’ calling on her life and following her heart. Can you share a time when you had to choose obedience to Jesus over something else that you wanted?
Oh goodness, well, I feel like this happens on a regular basis. In little ways and in big ways. I’ve been battling my weight for years, so I feel that every time I choose to eat when I know I shouldn’t, I’m choosing my will over His. And conversely, I know how good it feels when I have victory over that and choose His will over mine. It may sound frivolous, but on a daily basis, those can be tough decisions when you’re dealing with issues that go way beyond food.
My husband and I have had to make other life decisions where we chose God’s way over something we’d hoped for or planned on. We had really hoped to adopt when our daughter was about five or six, but we didn’t get the feeling that door was opening for us. So we left that dream of having a second child behind instead of pushing through just because it was something we wanted. When we later went through a long season of financial hardship due to job lay-off and the slow recovery afterward, we could see how having a second child through that time would have been very difficult.
3. What do you hope readers will gain, personally or spiritually, from reading your debut novel?
I hope they see the redemptive love of Christ. Harper, my leading lady, made some awful choices in her life, but once she gave her heart over to the Lord, He changed her simply by His grace and forgiveness.
Wyatt, my leading man, is a strong Christian man who has some tragedy in his past that led him to start a student ministry targeting teenagers who yearn to belong. But he comes to understand that even though he’s in ministry, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have issues of his own he needs to give over to God so that he can further his reach.
I hope readers see that obedience to God, no matter the sacrifice, is what brings true joy and peace.
4. You signed a multi-book deal. Can you give us a hint of what’s coming next?
Sure! Book Two, Love’s True Home, (June 2024) is Ally and Zane’s story. As a child to foreign missionaries who moved frequently from one country to another, Ally Kincaid yearns to plant roots in American soil. Zane Carpenter, raised in America’s heartland in the same house until he was eighteen, craves adventure, and if that involves a foreign mission assignment, all the better! But when they fall in love, will she find a home wherever her heart is, or will he find adventure in his own back yard?
Book Three, Love’s True Measure, (June 2025) tells the story of Hunter and Shannon. Raised in a wealthy family by a father who worked too much and a mother who put her value in their position, Shannon Trent only wants to serve God as an adolescent psychologist and student ministry volunteer. Attorney Hunter Cavanaugh, born to an unwed teenage mother who later married a man who couldn’t keep a job, believes his self-made wealth and status is the measure of who he is as a man. When he’s suddenly the guardian of his fourteen-year-old sister, his 80-hour work weeks become a thing of the past, as well as his dream of being made law partner by the age of thirty. But when Hunter’s tasked by his superiors to do something less than ethical, will he measure his worth by man’s standards or God’s? And will Shannon be able to leave the ghosts of her past behind to help a young girl seeking her own value in a new world?
Thanks so much, Lori! I can’t wait to read Love’s True Calling when it arrives on release day!
Have you ever wanted to pet a leopard? What about cuddle a chimp? Or feed a crocodile? Well, if you ever find yourself at Musee Vivant in Burundi, you can do all of those things.
While we were in Bujumbura, Burundi, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law took us and their kids to the local zoo, which features animals from East Africa.
Bujumbura’s zoo, Musee Vivant (“Living Museum”), doesn’t have the red tape or safety precautions of zoos in the States.
Part of that is really fun–nobody at a zoo in the U.S. would allow you to pet a big cat with gigantic fangs.
It also means that you do have to use your own common sense to decide what is or is not a good idea…like maybe if you’re wearing a ponytail, don’t snuggle the baby chimp. If it gets curious and yanks on your hair–well, there goes your scalp and your face.
Fortunately, my nephews don’t have ponytails.
As you can see, there’s a good reason why my sister-in-law calls this “The Petting Zoo of Things That Should Not be Petted.”
The Musee Vivant also offers a cultural element. Our tour guide took us through an exhibit showing recreating a traditional Burundian elder’s home.
There are several of these houses clustered together. One big house would be for the elder, and each of his wives would have a smaller version.
Our three-year-old wasn’t actually that impressed by the animals in the zoo–he’s not much of a predator person and I wasn’t too keen on letting him watch the crocodile hunt down a live guinea pig, anyway. He was more interested in finding sticks and drawing in the dirt with Auntie Joy.
But he did love walking through the houses and trying to climb this gigantic kapok tree with his cousins.
What about you? Which animals would you pet? And would you climb that tree? Let me know in the comments!
On a recent escape to Northern Arizona, I devoured Vivid by Ashley Bustamante, a YA fantasy book about dark secrets at a boarding school for teens with a talent for color magic. The school teaches red and blue magic, but yellow magic, which involves mind control, is banned.
But are the yellow magic people really all as evil as everyone thinks? When precocious Ava Locke runs into an escaped Yellow Magic user, she begins to question everything she’s ever known.
I was also lucky enough to get an advanced reader copy of Book 2, Radiant, which releases May 9! After enjoying these two books, I asked Ashley if she’d share a bit about the world of color magic and what comes next in the Color Theory series.
Your books feature magic that is divided in color categories. What gave you the idea for color magic?
It was actually something I used to daydream about as a kid! I’d see colorful objects and would imagine what it would be like if I could take all that color and turn it into magic.
If you could pick just one color, which type of magic would you like to have and why?
That’s such a tough choice! I think Blue magic would be so useful, so if I’m being practical I’d probably go with that.
Woven into your stories are themes of trust and acceptance. What do you hope readers will take away from your book?
I hope readers will feel inspired to become more unified and maybe seek to understand the who are different. I think so much of the contention among people that arises in today’s world is because of lack of understanding.
Can you share anything about your upcoming projects?
Right now I’m hard at work on book 3 of the Color Theory series, which is due in a few weeks! I’m really focused on that right now because I want to make sure this series finishes strong. It’s bittersweet.
A Christian fantasy series based on adventure board games? Yes, please! Today I had the priveledge of talking to James R. Hannibal, author of the Lightraiders Academytrilogy. The second book in the series, Bear Knight, released in February of 2023 from Enclave.
How has your background contributed to the action scenes in Bear Knight?
I’m always aware of the physics when writing action, whether hand to hand combat or aerial battle.
Having studied multiple martial arts and having trained US troops in hand to hand combat certainly helps with the fight scenes. Having flown fighter and bomber aircraft also helps with visualizing the aerial scenes. Of course, everything must be adjusted for the physics of the fantasy realm.
Bear Knight has some awesome maps! How do you come up with the landscapes you invent?
I had a great foundation to start with. The Lightraiders Realm was first created by Navigators author and Christian counselor Dick Wulf back in the 80s. When he handed the world to me, I had a fairly detailed world map to start with and a few towns or locations that were created for the original game. That became my palette from which to build out other locations and fill in the map.
From there, I develop a landscape or village in my head and then work with fantastic artists and cartographers like James R. Brown and Jog Brogzin to bring them into visual reality for a reference.
What books or series inspired your love of fantasy?
This entire series is based on the original DragonRaid game by Dick Wulf. Our team is grateful he had the opportunity to write the forward for Wolf Soldier, the first book in the series, before he went on to be with the Lord. Both Dick and I have been inspired by Tolkien and Lewis primarily.
What do you hope readers will come away with after reading Bear Knight?
The theme in Bear Knight is courage in the face of our fears. We’re talking about fear of physical danger as well as less tangible but just as frightening fears. The characters deal with fear of being left behind by peers, fear of failure, fear of becoming someone they don’t want to be, etc.
I hope that readers learn that no matter what fears they face, they can always find peace and hope in Christ and His promises, and thus the courage to face those fears head-on.
While in Burundi, East Africa visiting family last summer, my sister-in-law Joy taught me how to screen print!
I’m not sure if Burundi has screen printing shops (I imagine they exist, but probably not many), but this undertaking is an example of the ingenuity embodied by expats (and immigrants) around the world who want to recreate things from their home countries.
The table was built from scratch for the purpose of screen printing, and the other tools were ordered online and brought over by friends. We brought the shirts and the ink in our suitcases, and I’m glad the ink didn’t explode all over our clothes in the plane! At least it’s washable before it sets…
Joy’s vision was to create matching t-shirts for our huge Johnson family reunion, which would take place in Tanzania soon after. So she created a custom t-shirt design and, along with me, her three boys, and some of her employees, spent a couple of days printing about 35 shirts.
I need to stop taking on new hobbies, but this was really fun. I’m resisting the urge to get my own screen printing stuff.
We also ended up tie-dying the white shirts once everyone was together, but that is another fun and messy story for another day.
Please don’t ask me why we look like we’re waiting to be gathered up by a galactic starship in a sci fi B movie
Today I am watching for the mail truck, awaiting the delivery of an Irish romance book I’ve been eagerly anticipating: The Maid of Ballymacool by Jennifer Deibel.
Not only does the heroine share my name (although spelled Brianna… sigh), but the book comes out the day after birthday, February 21!
While waiting for my copy to come in the mail (and while you’re waiting for yours!), I had the chance to interview Jennifer about her upcoming release.
1. The Maid of Ballymacool is set in 1930s Ireland. What is your favorite aspect of this setting?
It might be easier for me to say what I don’t love!
Seriously, though, I love just about everything involving a historical Irish setting.
One thing I enjoy about the 1930’s is that it’s not a time many people write about when it comes to Ireland. We tend to focus on the Great Hunger and the Irish War of Independence—and rightly so.
However, exploring more unfamiliar time periods really gets my imagination going—especially because rural Ireland was so much slower to get the more modern conveniences, so 1930 in County Donegal was more like the 1910’s were everywhere else in the world.
The Maid of Ballymacool is the featured novel in my March 2023 book box!
2. As a romance writer, you are a queen of love stories! What’s your own love story in a nutshell?
Awww, thank you! My love story began my freshman year of college, when I met my now-husband.
Though, really, it started much earlier in our lives, as both our parents had prayed for each of our future spouses. In fact, when we got engaged, my husband’s grandmother gave me a garter to wear on our wedding day that she had bought right after Seth was born. And then she’d prayed over me—even though she had no idea who I would end up being—every day.
But, once we met, it would be two more years before our romance really began to bloom. If we were a romance trope, it would be friends to lovers.
3. Each of your books shares vocabulary from the Irish tongue–your second language! What’s one of your favorite Irish terms or phrases?
Oh, there are so many! And I’ve added almost all my favorites in my books already. But there’s one that always makes me smile. When we were in our langauge class, we were talking about a specific area of County Clare called The Burren, and we were describing it.
I asked our teacher how to say “It’s unique.” He thought for a moment, and then answered: Níl a mhac a samhail in aon ait. It means, “There’s not the likes of it to be found anywhere.”
4. What do you hope readers will come away with after reading The Maid of Ballymacool?
My prayer for this book is that anyone who feels—or has ever felt—unseen, overlooked, or stuck in a seemingly impossible circumstance, would realize just how seen and loved they really are. And that they would turn to God to find it. And for those who are secure in who they are and how much they’re loved to reach out to those around them who don’t know.
If you’re putting The Maid of Ballymacool on your To Be Read list, here’s a tip– preorder before February 21 from Baker Book House and you’ll get 40% off and free shipping.
That’s just an economic measure, of course. It’s not a measure of natural resources, happiness, overall wellbeing, social health, satisfaction with one’s life, etc. Money’s not everything. But it does impact access to healthcare as well as the ability of people to pursue higher education that would lead to more nationals becoming healthcare professionals.
The long drive across Burundi
With a lack of access to healthcare, particularly in rural regions, many people suffer devastation from easily-treated diseases like malaria.
We’ve seen this happen even to our own family members, who, as expats with cars and insurance for medical evacuation, have far more access to medical treatment.
If you’ve been following our story for a while, you may have read about Ben’s near-death experiences growing up in sub-Saharan Africa.
Part of the reason for our trip to Africa was to tour hospitals and visit with doctors–both expat and national– to ask questions and see where Ben might be able to fit in the future, when we’ve paid off the student loans and are in a position to do medical ministry overseas.
Playing on a African hospital’s compound. In the background, Ben meeting with doctors from this hospital.
Planning to move overseas is complicated.
Hoping to do medical work is even more so. There are a lot of questions to consider.
What hospital/clinic has needs we can fill?
What sending organization do we go with?
Where will our family fit in?
Do we work for an international NGO or a local-run institution?
How much change can we handle right off the bat?
Will our kids be OK here? (This is the one that really weighs on my mind)
Expat doctors live and work on this compound
We came away with a lot of great options. Still, we have a lot of unanswered questions. That’s OK, because we have a lot of unpaid debt, too, so we have some time to figure out the best fit for us when we’re able to go overseas.
We haven’t taken meaningful steps toward moving yet, and James 4:14-15 is always in the back of my head when I talk about our hopes for the future.
Still, we get asked all the time: Why? Why would you want to give up your life in America and move somewhere like Burundi?
The surface-level answer is that Ben is from there. It is home. It was the plan all along and the only reason that Ben had any interest in slogging through eleven years of medical training.
The deeper answer is that Jesus is worth it.
I’ve discovered that answer is a great testimony to our faith and God’s glory. People can argue with your apologetics. But not with your personal experience of Jesus’ worthiness and your willingness to press into that with your own life decisions.
Why struggle on with a difficult season in marriage? Jesus is worth it. Why become a foster parent? Jesus is worth it. Why forgive the family member who hurt you deeply? Jesus is worth it. Why choose a career walking alongside hurting people? Jesus is worth it.
Friends, I don’t know what choices you’re making or what seasons you’re walking through. But I pray that wherever you’re choosing obedience to Christ, you’ll have the chance to give his name glory by telling others that Jesus is worth it.
If you’re a historical fiction fan, then you’ll love the Timeless books by Gabrielle Meyer. These split-time Christian romance novels take place in TWO or THREE historic eras–not just one!
After devouring book one, When the Day Comes, I was lucky enough to get to interview Gabrielle Meyer about book two, In This Moment, which releases in May of 2023.
In both When the Day Comes and In This Moment, the main characters are time crossers–individuals who have lives in more than one time period at a time. If you were a time-crosser, what other era would you like to live in?
I’ve thought about this question, and because I love several historical eras, it’s always hard for me to choose.
I think the one that is most appealing is the Gilded Age, from about 1880-1910. I love the industrial boom, the rise in recreational activities, traveling, and entertainment, and I love the clothing from that era.
Gilded Age fashion as depicted by Mary Cassatt
All in all, it was a prosperous and happy time for many Americans. They were between wars and starting to enjoy some of the modern conveniences we use today, like telephones, automobiles, and electricity.
In In This Moment, Maggie lives in 1861, 1941, and 2001. If you could have dinner with anyone from any of these eras, who would you choose and why?
I would definitely say Abraham Lincoln, in 1861. He’s often touted as one of the greatest American presidents, but for good reason.
Everyone needs a photo with half their face and this book cover.
I loved researching this time period and learning more about him and Mary Todd Lincoln (most of it didn’t even appear in the book). I can’t imagine Lincoln’s job—he is truly a remarkable man that endured incredible hardship and heartbreak as an American president. I’d love to have dinner with him and Mary in the White House.
Perhaps that’s one of the reasons I write, because I feel like I did have dinner with them through my character, Maggie.
The first of your Timeless series, When the Day Comes, carries rich themes of surrendering self for others and surrendering to God’s plans. What spiritual message do you hope readers will take away from In This Moment?
I wanted the themes to be quite different between the two books, so in In This Moment, Maggie deals a lot with the idea that God hasn’t revealed His plan to her, so she’ll need to take several steps of faith.
Often, there are no clear cut right or wrong answers in life. This is true for Maggie. She loves each of her paths equally and doesn’t know which ones to give up. She does a lot of soul-searching, asks a lot of questions, but, in the end, she has to trust that she’s making the right choice.
I think this happens a lot in life—at least for me—and it was fun to explore this theme with Maggie.
Thanks for talking with me, Gabrielle! Can’t wait to read In This Moment.
If your interest is piqued, good news–preorders for In This Moment are currently 40% off, and you’ll get not only a bookplate signed by Gabrielle but also free shipping and a bookmark!
It’s that time of year! Yes, Christmas time–but also book giveaway time! You can enter the annual 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway here between today and December 12. And entries roll over, so the earlier you enter, the more days you’ll be entered to win!
Breana Johnson 