About Sharon
My name is Sharon, but most people call me Shari. My Grandfather misunderstood “Sharon” and thought my name was “Shari Ann”. The “Ann” eventually got dropped and I became “Shari” to many people.
I was born in the Midwest and grew up on a farm as part of a family of 11. Having only one bathroom with multiple teenagers in the home, did present its challenges, but there was no shortage of someone with which to play. (There also was no shortage of laundry or dishes!)
My husband, Nick, and I have been married for over 40 years. I believe God sent him to me so that I would see His unconditional love demonstrated first hand. Nick was born in Canada and, of course, he’s still an avid hockey fan – “Go, Leafs, Go!” (Wait! Shouldn’t that be “Go, Leaves, Go”? And doesn’t that sound more like something to yell at your yard in the fall?) – But his love for the game of hockey is about all the Canadian that’s left in him. Even his accent is gone at this point. We have three children. Two are grown and on their own while our youngest is still a fledgling in the nest.
Nick and I are currently retired down South. Retirement gives us plenty of time to serve in our church, which we love to do! We attend a Word of Faith church where Nick enjoys driving the church shuttle bus on Sunday mornings and I currently volunteer in various help ministry areas. Prior to that, we’ve served in children’s ministry, prayer groups, Bible study groups and teaching Sunday School.
Things I enjoy besides writing, are baking, house plants and vegetable gardening. The aspect I like the most about vegetable gardens is that fact that they produce food. That means an abundance that I can ‘put up’ as my grandmother always called it. There’s just something about shelves in the food cellar filled to overflowing with the products of harvest.
I also like feeding large groups of people. Sometimes I’ll just make up a reason to host a celebration and we’ll have 30 or more people over for dinner. God has been able to use this gift in ministry as well. I’ve had the opportunity to cook for our Outreach Leadership and Disaster Relief Teams along with the Young Adult ministry.
When someone asks who is my favorite author, my first answer is always Grace Livingston Hill. I’m amazed at how much of her writing is applicable to today’s issues. We might be wearing different clothes or driving a car instead of a buggy, but sin remains the same no matter what time period we’re in and causes the same problems. Like Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” And God’s abiding love along with His Word will forever be the answer.
Although you might find all these personal facts interesting, (or maybe not, but you’ve gotten this far, right?) the thing that I want you to know most about me is that I am a Christian and love the Lord. I didn’t always know Him or love Him even though I grew up going to church every Sunday from the time I was little. I even went to Saturday School for three years to learn the doctrines of the church. I grew up believing that I was going to go to heaven because my parents made that choice for me.
When I was in high school, I attended a church camp for a couple of weeks. I came back with questions about baptism. I wasn’t allowed to go back. My parents had me baptized when I was an infant, therefore I was going to Heaven when I died. They didn’t want me to be confused.
The subject was dropped.
It wasn’t until several years later that I found out that I had a choice to make that was even more important than whether or not I should be baptized again. I met some people that told me about Jesus and having a relationship with Him. I liked these people and I knew they had something I was missing. Besides, they put up with me! (I was one of those people who inspired others to pray whether they were religious or not. – Usually something like “Oh God, please don’t let her sit with me!” “Dear God, please make her go away!” or “Oh Lord, please not her again!”) Anyway, they showed me that the way to Heaven was through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Going to church didn’t do it anymore than sitting in a garage made me a car. And I could be baptized every day, and all I would be was a wet sinner on my way to hell. My parents choosing for me didn’t do it. I needed to make a choice for myself. I needed to make Him my Lord, and the way to do that was to believe in my heart and confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus. (“…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Roman’s 10:9, 10 NKJV)
I thank God that He sent someone to witness to me. As unlikable as I was, they saw my soul as important to the Savior. They were obedient to do the Father’s will and told me the good news. Not just once, but they stuck with it until the message got through.
I’ve heard that it takes several times for someone to hear the salvation message before they accept Jesus. (I don’t know this as a fact, but I know in my life it was true.) Sometimes we plant the seeds, sometimes we reap the harvest. Sometimes we get to do both. We don’t always get to be the one to pray the prayer of salvation with the person to whom we have been witnessing. Planting and reaping: both are important. One is not better than the other, for if there are no seeds planted, there would be nothing to harvest.
People are the only thing we can take to Heaven with us. And we are the voices that God wants to use to help people He loves to make a choice for His Son. Jesus died a terrible, gruesome death to pay for the price of our sins. Surely, surely, we can tell others of His wonderful love for us so they can make the right choice, too.
And this is why I write, whether it be children’s books or adult fiction: To let people know the good news that God loves us so very much. I want to give them an opportunity to make the choice for Jesus. I want to help others see the opportunities to share this Great News and be bold enough to take those opportunities.