Meet Laura

Laura Bennet blogs and writes books about hope, healing, and redemption. Her first book, The Miracle of Us: Confessions of an Online Dater, shares the story of how she and her Aussie husband met online through a Christian dating site back before it was popular. Laura enjoyed over forty years as an educator in various settings and in addition to writing novels, she also publishes curriculum she developed as a result. She has owned a pizza restaurant, coached gymnastics and hockey, written reports for a private investigator, sold tuxedos, and home schooled six of her seven children. A highlight of her career was having the honor of being one of four guest speakers at a woman’s conference in Athens, Greece. Though she has lived most of her life in California, she currently makes her home in balmy, Southwest Florida with her husband. When she’s not walking on the beach, photographing nature, or sipping her weekly peppermint mocha, she loves to connect with her readers. Look for her on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Thanks for stopping by to get to know the real me a little better.

Books grabbed my attention as a toddler. I loved reading in my bed then, and I still do. My shelves were organized alphabetically, library style. I started writing silly poems and stories as a kid, won a writing contest as a fifth grader, and longed to teach school and write books when I grew up. High school writing turned to creative writing classes in college, and I earned my BA in English literature with a secondary teaching option. My first published work was an article on semi-colons for the Long Beach City College Resource Center where I worked.


Instead of teaching college, as was my initial plan, I unexpectedly ended up home schooling my four oldest children. That was infinitely more rewarding. However, the desire to write always tugged at my heart. I published a poem, took classes, and started many projects, but never found the time to pursue the dream beyond collecting a dozen rejection letters. I began taking writing seriously in 2011 when I decided to learn all I could about the craft and call myself a writer.

I have seven wonderful offspring – four of my own and three I inherited when I married the love of my life, Brendan. You can read our remarkable story in The Miracle of Us: Confessions of an Online Dater. Our children range in age from forty-two to twenty-one. Through the oldest four, we also enjoy eleven grandchildren, the oldest of which is older than our youngest son. We are that family. I miss California – the coast, family and friends, but I’m glad to be in Southwest Florida where the weather is warm year-round, and the sunsets make me think of heaven.

I love music, photographing my surroundings, reading books, walking on the beach and playing  watching football & ice hockey. Having fun and being a little silly are imperative to daily life. Thank goodness my husband shares in that silliness, with word play and games. (Is this where I can mention bad dad jokes?)

People sometimes ask me if I’m religious, and I tell them “No, but I love Jesus with all my heart.” Jesus wasn’t about “religion”; he came to show the Father’s love for all the people he created. Jesus’s death on the cross so we could be forgiven for our sin amazes and humbles me every single day. I hope I portray that love for people more than any judgment of their lives. We’ve all made terrible choices throughout our lives. I do believe in everything the Bible says because it is God’s love letter to us. Within the pages, we come to know the truth of who God is and that Jesus gives us freedom from everything that plagues us. God offers us an amazingly great life, and through Jesus, we’re made righteous no matter what we’ve done. I’m so grateful that I don’t have to be holy on my own. Following Jesus is an unending adventure of growth and change, with each day moving forward into new life. As a result of agreeing to go his way, life gets better and better even in the midst of challenging circumstances.

My prayer is that you are encouraged by what you find here. I pray you encounter Jesus and his tremendous love for you through everything I write. His peace I leave with you.

Laura

I love to interact with my followers and hear from my readers. Should you desire to reach me you can email laura@laurabennet.com

21 thoughts on “Meet Laura”

  1. Hi Laura – I have been trying to email Brendan for sometime but unfortunately it does not seem to work – I received your letter and have tried to telephone Brendan on the numbers I had previously but they do not work either – could you get Brendan to email me whenever you get the chance it was lovely to hear from you all and to see that the children are doing so well – Brodie was always going to be the outstanding young man that he seems to have come and Bella – she is just so sweet and I cannot believe that Blair is 9 – I have not spoken to Brendan since he has left Australia and would love to get in contact with him personally – thanks from Pat.
    thanks love roxane

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  4. Laura, thanks for your comment on our blog. My friend and I haven’t met our SOs yet, but we will:) If you have any other friends that might be interested in what we’re doing, please pass along the site link.

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  5. Hi Laura, I am so glad I found your blog, I like very much your writting style, I used to write poems in the past but after getting married it has been difficult to find time to write until now, i am new in the blog world, still learning and I love it.

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    1. Thank you! I’m glad you found me and enjoy reading. My husband and I used to write poems for each other before we were married, but now they don’t come to us often. Finding time to write is always a challenge! I began a blog to help grow a following of readers for the books I’m writing, but I’ve found it a delightful time of communicating with other writers as well. Glad you are loving it too 🙂

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  6. So good to come across your blog. So thankful that God is blessing you, family and Brendan. You did a great job of raising your kids despite some real challenges. Reeni is still trying to get me to make that perfect fried egg you did for her when you visited us in Edmonds..

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    1. How nice to hear from you here! How funny about the egg…I completely forgot. But Brendan benefits now 🙂

      Thank you for your lovely encouragement. I think of you both often. How about that daughter and son-in-law of yours traipsing about France? What a wonderful dream come true for them.

      Love and hugs to you and Reeni!

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  7. When you stopped by my blog, I did not realize you had homeschooled (are homeschooling?)! My oldest two are attending a Christian private school this year (in 8th and 10th grades), and I still homeschool the youngest. This is the first year I have not homeschooled all 3, and I will say the transition to private school has been much harder on me than on them.

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    1. Yes! I homeschooled 6 of my 7 kids for at least some part of school. We’ve done it all – public, private and home. Currently my 2 youngest are in an outstanding private Christian school where I also sub on occasion. This is their second year there after 3 years at home for my daughter and 1 year for my son. It’s a long story! They are in 9th and 11th (14 and 16, boy & girl) – so close to your older two! I so understand! I love having them home and while school has its benefits, (like I get to write full time) I’m always happy when they are on vacation. Call me crazy! I’ve never been one of those moms dying for kids to be out of the house.

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      1. I’ve not ever been in a hurry to get them out of the house, either. I guess one benefit to having only one at home this year is that I have a little bit more time while she is working to network on the blog, and I’ve almost finished revising my first novel. So funny that your youngest are so close to my oldest! Next year, there is a possibility that they will all go to the school (although we definitely are not rushing the youngest). If they do, I will need to work at least part-time, so I’m pretty much leaving it up to God whether or not He wants writing to be a part of that! It’s all in His hands — though all this waiting and unknown future is definitely stretching me in the patience/trust department. 😉

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        1. God has led us each year to do whatever works for that season. I’m sure you’ve found the same! Every time, it’s ended up being a great situation even when I was unsure or tired or…you name it! But I can attest to the fact that God has made ways we never dreamed of. Even private school we never considered an option – we don’t have the money, I was ill and only my husband was working which barely made ends meet. But we felt God said to fill out paperwork and so far, even when we’ve thought we’d have to pull them out because we couldn’t pay tuition, he has come through with scholarships or gifts or something. We go one month at a time trusting him. It’s a wild ride for sure! 🙂

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        2. So awesome! It’s the same here, really. I’ve always prayed and trusted that if God wanted them in private school, He would provide for it… and He did! I haven’t really worked outside the home since my oldest was about 18 months old (just odd jobs that never amounted to solid income), so we were pretty much in that same boat. Only God knows what next school year holds!

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    1. Oh my gosh! I just read some of the preview of one of your books… I am currently 47 and recently found my long-distant soul mate over the Internet, very directly sent from God! Wow! Way cool! 🙂 (Purchasing now, though I have quite the collection on my nightstand already!) ❤

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