Luana Ehrlich's Blog, page 2

Need Comfort?

Body language experts are on the news a lot these days. Because it’s an election season, they’re asked to interpret the subtle, nonverbal cues that give insight into a political candidate’s feelings.

One particular observation got my attention recently, because I had never heard anyone put a name to certain gestures a speaker makes, like clutching hands together, putting hands to the face, or massaging an arm. Body language experts call these “comfort gestures.”

Such actions serve to soot...

The Certainty of Doubt

“I think I figured out who the doubters are.” That’s what a reader emailed me after I released my newest book, Four Doubt.

She followed up that sentence by saying, “But I found more than four doubters in this book. If I counted correctly, there were at least eight. It was like everyone had doubts. Did you realize that?”

I write series, so as a way of making it easy for my readers to know which book to read next, and also as a way of having an author “brand,” I include the number of the bo...

What Can I Give You?

If I asked you, “What can I give you?” you might not be as excited about the prospect of getting something from me as you would be if God Himself were to ask you that question.

After all, this is the God who made heaven and earth, who created man from a handful of dirt, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, who speaks with the voice of thunder, who is sovereign over all His creation.

While it may sound like I’m engaging in a spiritual fantasy, this actually happened when David’s son, ...

Words Don’t Really Matter

Do words really matter? We tell our children they do. We defend our use of words. We remind ourselves to choose our words carefully.

However, at the end of our life, whether we die of old age, disease, violence, or an accident, our words don’t really matter. There’s only one word that matters—His Word—the Word of God.

It was His Word that brought our world into existence, His Word that brought comfort to sinful Man in the Garden, His Word that promised a coming redemption.

It was the W...

Do you really want to believe?

Why do you believe in God?

I’ve seldom had to answer that question. In fact, when I heard it the other day, it surprised me. That’s like asking me why I breathe or why I love my grandkids. The answer seems obvious.

Then again, maybe it isn’t.

Why do I believe in God?

It’s certainly not because I’ve had some tangible experience. I’ve never seen God or had an angelic visitation, nor have I received some special sign—a cross in the sky or writing on the wall—to prove He’s real.

The ...

From Sin to Forgiveness

In my three Christian fiction series—Titus Ray Thrillers, Mylas Grey Mysteries, and Silas McKay Suspense—each of my protagonists is at a different place in his spiritual journey.

However, of the three, Titus Ray, a covert operative, has the most difficulty forgiving others for past mistakes.

Titus was brought to faith in Christ through the influence of an Iranian Christian couple in Tehran who hid him in their home for three months while he was on the run from the secret police.

Even t...

Let’s Talk Happiness

It’s been a cold, rainy week in Oklahoma. Not much sunshine. I’m not a person who gets depressed, and I really like some rainy days every now and then, but I’ve been longing for sunshine for two days now. People seem to be happier when the sun is shining.

As I thought about what makes people happy, I came across a devotional that references mankind’s universal search for happiness.

In the article, a book by C. S. Lewis called Mere Christianity is referenced. Here are two quotes from it that I...

Fifteen Minutes Earlier

Whenever I come to the last day of a year, I always remember something that happened to me almost fifty years ago. That memory is triggered because at the end of every year, I finish reading all 66 books of the Bible.

Once I finish, I always record it in the front of the Bible I’ve been using for that year. Not surprisingly, I’ve gone through several Bibles in those fifty years.

Even though I write down each time I’ve read it through, I don’t do so to show I’ve met some goal. I do it to r...

He Came! Yes, He Did!!

A hush
A rustling
A stirring

A head
A push
A cry

A miracle
A birth
A life

A love
A light
A death

A time
A choice
A future

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

Looking For Something?

As the Christmas holidays get near, I often go to a store “looking for something” to give as a present, without really having something specific in mind. I just know I’ll recognize it as something the person might like or need.

When I was reading through the gospel of John recently, I noticed that God is also “looking.” John 4:23 says, “But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will wor...