New Team Members!

When you’re in a time crunch—a perpetual one, in my case!—the only way to get something done is to just do it! So I’m finally going to introduce our newest authors, and I apologize for taking so long about it. Michelle and Julie have only been with us since December, and it’s about time! Now without further ado . . .

Julie Saffrin holds a bachelor’s degree in print journalism and English from the University of St. Thomas. She writes both fiction and non-fiction. Her novel That Summer Place won second place in the women’s fiction category of the 2006 American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Contest. She has been published in Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman’s Soul, God Allows U-Turns, A Woman’s Journey, and other publications and has published more than 100 articles, essays, and profiles.

Julie is a member of CLASServices, American Christian Fiction Writers, the Society of Professional Journalists, Minnesota Magazine and Publications Association, and the Loft Literary Center. She is a past vice president of the Minnesota Christian Writers Guild and is active in the Christian community Unidos en Cristo. She lives in Minnesota with her husband Rick, three sons Sam, Joe, and Jake, and a golden retriever named Mick. She’s promised us a picture soon, and we’ll share that on the Web site.

Julie’s project, BlessBack, releases from Journey Press in 2011. Practicing gratitude creates a positive cycle that perpetuates happiness, and BlessBack encourages readers to bless their life’s influencers in a meaningful way, offering quick, creative, and fun ideas for blessing them back.

Michelle Lesley holds a B.A. in psychology and did her master’s work in both education and marriage and family counseling. She taught school for several years and worked as a university advisor. She has taught countless Bible studies since she was a teenager, and she has been committed to daily personal Bible study for nearly twenty years. While serving as a women’s ministry leader, she especially enjoyed teaching women’s Bible studies. As the associational prayer coordinator for the Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge, she assists in and oversees the prayer ministries of over 100 churches in her area and leads Bible studies and workshops.

Michelle’s Bible study, Jacob: Journaling the Journey grew out of her devotional journal. Jacob follows the story of the patriarch as he grows from an impetuous mama’s boy into one of the founding fathers of the faith. Equally important to Jacob’s story are the family members—such as “Manipu-Mom” Rebecca, “Wild Thing” Esau, and Rachel, “Queen of High Maintenance”—who played such vital roles in his life. With its emphasis on stream of consciousness journaling, this Bible study uses the story of Jacob to draw out the story of readers’ own journey toward godliness through a fulfilling, dynamic alternative to traditional workbook Bible studies. Jacob releases in the spring of 2012 from Journey Press.

Please welcome Julie Saffrin and Michelle Lesley to the Sheaf House team! Welcome aboard, ladies. We’re so glad to have you with us!