Rosanne’s daily posts throughout her first year of widowhood attracted hundreds to follow along on her journey. Her words inspired those who were not only grieving in some way, but those who wanted to build stronger relationships or live life with more intention and gratitude. It was messy. It was raw. And it was healing.
About The Collision of Grief and Gratitude: A Pursuit of Sacred Light
Day 209
“And so each day goes; the grief and the gratitude fighting for the bigger spot in my heart. The tug of war between these emotions exhausts me most days. If you see me in the grief mode, you’ll think I’m a wreck. But if you see me in gratitude mode, you’ll think I m doing well. Neither is 100 percent true. I am what I am most days, leaning toward finding more gratitude than grief as the days turn into weeks and the weeks into months.”
After the unexpected death of her husband, Rosanne Liesveld felt a desperate need to communicate gratitude to those who helped her through the shock that death left in its wake. The day of Curt’s funeral, Rosanne wrote a Facebook post expressing how, in the midst of profound grief, she found a space in her heart for gratitude. The next day, she wrote another post; then another.
Rosanne’s daily posts throughout her first year of widowhood attracted hundreds to follow along on her journey. Her words inspired those who were not only grieving in some way, but those who wanted to build stronger relationships or live life with more intention and gratitude. It was messy. It was raw. And it was healing.
Rosanne’s posts have been compiled into this 366-day journey and are accompanied by beautiful photos taken by Curt.
After the unexpected death of her husband, Curt, Rosanne Liesveld went on a year-long quest to find a glimmer of gratitude each day. She posted her daily journey on Facebook. Those posts become her book, The Collision of Grief and Gratitude: A Pursuit of Sacred Light.
As a coach and teacher for more than thirty years with the Gallup Organization, Rosanne has helped people discover and lean into their strengths. She now speaks to groups about how to build stronger relationships, and live life with more intention and gratitude.
In a Boy on the Beach, a strange twist of events threatens to destroy Andrew’s dreams, but as he searches for answers, a sudden revelation offers hope of a future he never imagined.
About Boy on the Beach
Andrew Foster, a real estate developer in San Diego, is a man suddenly haunted by his past. Memories, like specters from his former life of sex, drugs and rock and roll have come crashing into his current world of business in this sunny coastal city. The ominous, repeated appearance of a black SUV at the beach where he meets his sister each week, has triggered fears that it’s payback time for a bad choice he made years ago.
To add to his frustrations, his hopes of a big breakthrough in the San Diego real estate market haven’t come to pass. He’s starting to wonder if his visions of success will ever come true when an investor offers to finance his dream project. Soon things start to fall into place for Andrew in business, life, and even love. He starts dating the beautiful and business-savvy Nicole but even with her at his side he can’t seem to shake the ghosts of his past. As the relationship with Nicole deepens, Andrew opens up to her about the many loves and adventures that have taken him from the crazy days of living in Big Sur and Joshua Tree to business success in San Diego. Her wise insights help him face the character flaws that have caused him to fail in his past relationships.
Rounding out his social life is his once-a-week task of assisting his sister with her nanny job watching a young boy named Chandler. They build sand castles on the beach and enjoy the beauty of nature together. But the now ominous weekly appearance of a strange car at the beach has awakened Andrew’s fears. Is the boy in danger? Or worse, has an enemy from Andrew’s past come seeking revenge and now Chandler’s caught in the middle?
A strange twist of events threatens to destroy Andrew’s dreams, but as he searches for answers, a sudden revelation offers hope of a future he never imagined.
My Thoughts
Boy on the Beach takes an interesting angle of both past and present and how our past actions can sometimes come back to haunt us.
Andrew had a very interesting and unique past, with the carefree lifestyle of casual sex and drugs. At that point in his life he was selfish and at times uncaring. His actions were done in the moment with little thought to the future and to others. While at times, this served him well he did make a few enemies this way. One in the form of the woman he had thought he was going to marry at one point and the other in the form of a man who claimed he had spiritual powers and could lay curses on others.
In our present view of Andrew, we see a man who has struggled with his personal business and the demons that haunt him from his past. He has made a few business deals but not enough in the building industry to make a name for himself. When the dream job lands at his feet, he is cautious at first but throws that all to the wind for the chance to complete his dream job. What he didn’t know were the lies, betrayal and revenge that were hidden behind this dream job that left me as the reader reeling.
This was an intense story of betrayal and revenge. As we flip from his past to his present, we are presented with a complete story of how Andrew made it to where he was and we find out more about why someone would want to hurt him with his business. When we find out the connections between our characters, my mind was blown – I never saw it coming! While it was a shock, the ending left me with a sense of hope and maybe some peace for Andrew. That he could finally forgive his own actions and move forward, making better choices for his future and those who he loves.
R.D. Maddux has story telling in his blood. Since he was young he’s always loved a good tale. He’s been writing seriously since he was in high school and college. His novels range from Mystery and Intrigue to Sci-fi/fantasy. With Boy On The Beach he’s set the story in modern America, to be exact, on the West Coast of California. He’s a native of the golden state and has been a resident of San Diego since 1987. Before that he grew up in northern California and lived in the Sacramento Valley and Bay Area with sojourns in some of the beautiful parts of our state.
Living in California for over 60 years he couldn’t help but watch the way things have changed in our culture and the impact this coast makes on the rest of America and the world. So even though Boy On The Beach is fiction, like most serious novels, it is not without a context and comment on issues we all face in our changing world. It takes place in real locations that are very familiar to him and its characters, which are fictional, no doubt have their counterparts in the real world. Boy On The Beach is a story of intrigue, suspense, revenge, love and redemption with flashbacks to the era when sex, drugs and rock and roll set our culture on it’s inevitable journey to our present day. This idea has been rattling around in his heart and mind for a decade and it’s finally coming to the page.
Turn the pages of Love Beneath the Mighty Dome and discover what happens to those confronted by just this dilemma, how it affects their lives, their ability to function, their ability to love.
About Love Beneath the Mighty Dome
What if you felt that Almighty God had called you personally to devote your life exclusively to His service only to discover that those in charge of your training were people not worthy of your respect? Would you stubbornly stick to your path? Would you rebel and try to change the institution from within? Would you begin to doubt yourself and your own integrity? Or would you question whether the institution itself was actually what its founder, Jesus of Nazareth, had intended so many hundreds of generations before you?
Turn the pages of Love Beneath the Mighty Dome and discover what happens to those confronted by just this dilemma, how it affects their lives, their ability to function, their ability to love.
Ronald J. Wichers was born in Lake Ronkonkoma New York in 1947. He attended Catholic School until 1965, studied History and literature at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas until being drafted into the United States Army in 1970. He was assigned to a rifle company in the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam and, after sustaining severe wounds in a gun battle, including the loss of his left am, was awarded the Purple Heart Medal, the Army Commendation Medal for Heroism and the Bronze Star Medal.
He later studied theology full time at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley California. He has published several short stories about the Vietnam war. The Fear of Being Eaten/A Biography of the Heart is his fifth novel.
In The Pumpkin Patch, how can one small-minded, angry person destroy the lives of so many people in her path, connecting them all together in a game of destruction and heartbreak?
About The Pumpkin Patch
How can one small-minded, angry person destroy the lives of so many people in her path, connecting them all together in a game of destruction and heartbreak? It is possible, but what pushes a person to enjoy inflicting pain to such an extent, leaving a trail of hate, anger, and defeat behind her, which only seems to make her stronger and more satisfied. Ms. Terri Plotski, owner of the Authors’ Book Agency, is that person, who, unknowingly, with a single thread of hate, has connected the lives of a small group of people, bringing them together with one single common denominator. Anger. The anger from this small group of people is building, but it has nowhere to go, or does it? Ms. Terri Plotski, owner of Authors’ Book Agency, has gone missing.
Sandi Smith spent her time as a young girl combing the shelves of the public library. She has always enjoyed the magic that books have to offer and was inspired by her high school English teacher, Mr. Coolidge to embrace the arts. The author found her calling as a writer early one morning as her first story came to her in the form of a poem. Since then she has written more than 15 children’s books, with her most popular series about the adventures of an adorable spider in the A.R. Achnid series.
Sandi is happily married to her inspiration and husband of 40 years, John. She continues to write for her two precious grandchildren. When she’s not penning a new story, Sandi and John like to camp, kayak and to enjoy the simple life in their home in Pembroke, NH.
The journey right now is dark and painful, but if you will travel with me using God’s word as our guide, it will eventually lead to a place of hope and restoration. Learn more in Through a Broken Heart: Finding Hope and Healing After a Break Up.
About Through A Broken Heart: Finding Hope and Healing After A Break Up
Dear Broken Heart:
You must be hurting deeply. Perhaps you’re also feeling overwhelmed and completely alone in this place of emptiness and grief. I’ve been where you are and my heart aches with yours. I want you to know there is someone who sees and someone who cares. His name is Jesus. The journey right now is dark and painful, but if you will travel with me using God’s word as our guide, it will eventually lead to a place of hope and restoration. A destination where God’s love ushers you into wholeness. Where His healing hand won’t just repair your shattered soul, but will establish you in the truth that you are deeply loved and understood. In contrast to your current sorrow, this may seem too good to be true. I get that, I’ve been there. At this point, I’m only asking you to trust that He is able. I invite you to spend these next six weeks at the feet of Jesus and allow Him to enter into your wounded heart through this very place of brokenness. Will you give Him permission to transform you in a way that far exceeds your own expectations?
~ Colleen Meissner Married for the first time at 42. Colleen knows firsthand the pain of heartbreak, being single longer than expected, and the battle against fear and insecurity. She holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology and has spent over 10 years sharing her own experience and knowledge as a coach and mentor. She now has a vision to share the wisdom she’s been given with you.
You can purchase a copy of Through a Broken Heart on Amazon.
About the Author
I earned a Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Azusa Pacific University in 2010 and have been mentoring women for over a decade. The most common area of counsel I provide is to single women not ashamed to admit they want to be married and have someone to share their life with. These women often without realizing it, are battling soul wounds (emotional and heart wounds) from their past that are preventing them from fulfilling this deeply held desire of marriage and family.
I consider there to be no greater privilege than to have women trust me with their deepest struggles and fears and to travel along side of them on their journey from a place of being held in bondage by lies (“I am fat, ugly, a loser, unlovable…”) to a place of freedom and victory. I know this journey well, I have traveled it; it is hard and it is long, and you cannot do it alone. There are seemingly impossible hills to climb, valleys to crawl out of and side-roads leading to nowhere. Perhaps more than a mentor, I am a tour-guide, leading you as you navigate your way to healing and overcoming those things that have kept you from embracing the fullness of life that the Lord came to give you (John 10:10).
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