She remembers buying an old Billy Graham discipleship book at a thrift store. Every morning during breakfast she'd read a short section, look up a few Bible verses, and write her answers in the blanks. She's sure she got many answers wrong, but her fledgling attempt helped her learn about God. More than thirty years later, she still reads her Bible every morning.
The five-minute devotions in her latest book, Hungry for God ... Starving for Time, are the results of asking God questions and searching for answers as she reads his Word.
What was the hardest thing about writing Hungry for God?
“Being transparent,” Lori says. “I was tempted to write as though I had all the answers. Instead, I chose to tell on myself and share my struggles, doubts, and fears.” She also shares the truths from Scripture God revealed to her.
“As a teenager, I loved to sit on the rocky shores of Narragansett Bay composing long, melancholy poems,” Lori says. She fancied herself a poet.
The Blizzard of ’78 prompted the migration of ’79, and Lori’s family made another attempt at life in the South. They settled in West Columbia, and she completed her high school education there. She wrote for and later served as Editor in Chief of her high school newspaper and interned with a local paper.
It was there she fell in love with journalism and considered pursuing it as a career until a friend told her how hard it was to make a living as a writer. Lori saw the truth in that advice, and when she received a full tuition scholarship, she chose to major in dental hygiene. Six months after graduation, she married her husband, David. They had two daughters, now married. Recent years has blessed them with 4 grandchildren who live delightfully close.
When the demands of work, home, marriage and parenting left little time for quiet introspection, Lori assumed her writing days were over. Homeschooling her children, however, resurrected her desire to write. She’d assign a writing prompt to one of her daughters and do the assignment with them, just for fun. As her daughters entered high school, the writing assignments became more complex. “I was being reeducated,” Lori says with a grin. “I finally understood why sentence structure and noun/verb agreement mattered.”
She began writing articles of encouragement for her homeschool support group newsletter. Reach Out, Columbia, the regional Christian magazine she now edits, also began to print her submissions. Before long its editor began assigning stories and profile pieces. In 2011, when the editor stepped down to pursue novel writing, she recommended that Lori serve as her replacement.
“It’s been a joy to work with ROC,” Lori says. “I love sharing stories of how God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.”
In her years as editor, she’s interviewed local South Carolinians as well as nationally known Christian authors, speakers, and leaders such as Anne Graham Lotz, family psychologist Dr. Gary Chapman, and singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman.
“Dr. Chapman was one of my favorites,” she confesses. “I brought homemade oatmeal cookies to the interview. His administrative assistant asked me for the recipe later, so I guess he liked them.”
She came home from a second writer’s conference and announced to her family, “I need a blog!” With a few clicks of the mouse, her college-aged daughter did a web search, plugged in some basic information, and her blog, Hungry for God . . . Starving for Time, was created. Today, Lori continues to post twice-weekly devotions to thousands of subscribers. Positive feedback and comments from her readers prompted her to write her latest book, Hungry for God ... Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women.
Her agent helped her brainstorm the Facetime concept. “What if I could look God in the eye and ask him questions,” Lori pondered, “and what if he answered me through his Word?” This line of thinking became the genesis for the question and answer format of the devotional. 
She remains passionate about helping busy women like herself connect with God in the craziness of everyday life.
For an interview or to invite Lori to speak at your next women's ministry event, click HERE to visit her Speaking Ministry tab.
Lori's devotional for homeschooling moms, Joy in the Journey, Encouragement for Homeschooling Moms is available at Lulu and Amazon.
Lori is a popular teacher and women's ministry speaker. Encouraging and equipping, she challenges women to follow hard after God. With transparency and humor, Lori enjoys speaking at Ladies' Events and Women's Retreats. Lori relates well to women in all walks of life from her perspective as a devotional writer, healthcare professional, veteran homeschooling mother, and youth pastor's wife. You can reach her at loriahatcher (at) gmail.com.
Listen to Lori's testimony:
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