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It is the unsought job of the writer to burst through the gates of leper colonies . . . to run to those who are bandaged and losing limbs . . . to embrace those who smell like rotting flesh . . . and to caress touch-starved hearts until they stop trembling and maybe, just maybe, believe in life again. (~me)

Welcome to my website. I’m so glad you dropped by today.

I can’t wait for you to browse my blog, read a few of my weekly columns, or learn a little more about my writing journey. You can check out synopses of my manuscripts, too.

In the meantime, here’s a little more about me.

I’m a mama & wife trying–moment-by-moment–to follow hard after Jesus’ scent. I live with my husband, three boys and three golden retrievers in central Indiana. Our little piece of dirt is close enough to the corn fields to hear tractors humming at the turn of the seasons, and close enough to town to ride my bike to the farmer’s market and come home with my front basket full of fresh veggies for the week.  

I know the truth of Joel 2:25, that God does repay and bring mercy to the years the locusts have eaten, and of Isaiah 61, that He indeed heals the brokenhearted. I’ve seen that in my life, and I’m privileged to be on the Board of World Next Door, where these truths are manifested in amazing ways around the world.

I write about broken places, mostly, and the good that can come out of them.

We all have broken places. Like Hemingway wrote: “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”

Regardless of how we’re broken, I believe sharing our broken places enables us–and others–to find hope: hope for the journey of life; hope as we search hinterlands for a glimpse of God; hope as we wait for Him in choking fogs; hope as we celebrate when He shows up; and hope as we sift through every moment in between.

I like cracklin’ fires and red wine in the winter, and praying mantis’ on my front porch in the fall. I can’t wait to see peonies poking their heads up in the spring, and count my lucky stars if I get the chance to feel sand between my toes in the summer. I love stumbling upon kick-a** words in the thesaurus, and capturing life through the lens of my Nikon.

Folks say you can learn a lot about a person by what’s on their bookshelves. So, if you really want to know about me, here’s a few of the books you’d find on mine:

• My 20 year old NIV Bible
• To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
• Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers
• The Last Sin Eater, by Francine Rivers
• Because of Winn Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo
• Watching the Tree Limbs, by Mary DeMuth
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith
• Traveling Mercies, by Anne Lamott
• The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
• The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
• The Hole in the Gospel, by Richard Stearns
• Irresistable Revolution, by Shane Claiborne
• God in the Alley, by Greg Paul
• Abba’s Child, by Brennan Manning
• Ruthless Trust, by Brennan Manning
• Return of the Prodigal Son, by Henri Nouwen
• The Way of the Heart, by Henri Nouwen
• Night, by Elie Wiesel
• The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
• The Wounded Heart, by Dan Allendar
• Bold Love, by Dan Allendar
• Gap Creek, by Robert Morgan
• On Writing, by Stephen King
• Bird by Bird, by Anne LaMott
• On Writing Well, by William Zinsser
• The Art of War for Writers, by James Scott Bell
• The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgsen Burnett
• Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand
• The Violets of March, by Sarah Jio

More and more I realize the situations which scream, “I can’t” are the ones God steps into and whispers, “I can.”

~Amy K. Sorrells