The Deep End of Social Media

The Deep End of Social Media

Blogging is new to me. Facebook is new to me, too, although I’ve had a Facebook account in the past. What was nothing but a huge, closed network when I left it in 2009 has since become an international phenomenon.  My mother is on Facebook. My husband is on Facebook. Before she died, my grandmother was on Facebook. Technically she’s still on Facebook because no one in the family can figure out how to close her page. I regularly get a “friend suggestion” from her. That’s just creepy.

But I couldn’t stay in the dark forever. I’m an author, and when you write books in the 21st century, social media is an indispensable connection to your readers. So here I am: blogging and Facebooking. I even have a Fan Page (whatever that is)!

Thomas Nelson Publishers will be publishing my first book in 2014. More details will come about that once I’m allowed to tell you! For now, know that I am committed to living a “whole life.” I love God, I love my family, I love my community, and I love being healthy. Join me as I learn more about all four!

Stones Still Speak

When we first encounter the Bible, we are taught its stories—Adam and Eve, Moses and the Red Sea, David and Goliath, Jonah and the whale, and more. When a story lacks the details we crave, we fill in the blanks–with what we’ve seen in movies, read in books, and been told by our Sunday school teachers. But there’s a better way to encounter the whole story of Scripture: uncovering and understanding the ancient world and the people who experienced biblical events.

In Stones Still Speak, Harvard-trained archaeologist and theologian Amanda Hope Haley scrapes back 2,000 years of misguided cultural interpretations to reveal God’s Word in its historical, archaeological, and literary contexts. Far from a dry academic exercise, this process explains how our misunderstandings developed and revitalizes the Scripture you thought you knew, with the greater purpose of encouraging a more intentional, rigorous study of the Bible in your daily life.

Available for pre-order now. Books will ship from your favorite retailer by September 23, 2025.

Copper Finds a Manger

Copper the basset hound travels the world with his friend, Amanda, while she digs on archaeological sites. On this trip to Bethlehem, the ancient city where Jesus was born, this adventurous dog follows his nose to an ancient stone manger. There he meets a new friend who tells him all about life in first-century Judaea and the night a special baby was born in the house Amanda’s excavating.

This book features

  • a Page for Parents that explains the historical facts behind the story,
  • grades 1-3 reading level,
  • 34 pages of edge-to-edge full-color illustrations, and
  • durable heavyweight pages with a glued binding (no staples!).


Join Copper as he learns the history of the first Christmas!