E.G. Bella's Blog, page 16

God of the Little Things

Sometimes it’s easy to forget the little things.

Everywhere we look, focus tends to rest on the big things in life. To use examples of big, good things, we notice the million-dollar donations. The lives that were saved during a natural disaster. The miracles.

And rightly so – these things deserve to be noticed and celebrated. Our God is one of unfathomable power and majesty, and He works in incredible, huge ways every day.

But He’s also in control of the little things too.

The rain on a dry day. The encouraging note you lost and then found again just when you needed it. The smile from a stranger when you were nervous and feeling out of place.

If I had to sum up what I’ve learned most about God in my life so far, it’s that He’s not just a God of the big things – but of the little things too. He’s in control of every detail of our lives. Even when we don’t feel Him working, He is, and sooner or later, we’ll see those effects. We’ll feel His peace and experience His blessings.

We may not recognize those things as being from Him at first, but they are. Every good thing is from Him. And every bad thing can be redeemed by Him for good purposes.

My testimony is not a dramatic one. I grew up in a close, loving, and Christian family that started teaching me about Jesus and what it means to follow Him before I can remember. When I was four years old, I accepted Jesus as my Savior, on the same day that my older brother accepted Him. And that was that.

No dark background. No crumbling of walls and beliefs and opposition. No life falling apart until I finally realized that God was the only one I needed.

Just the facts – that Jesus, the Son of God, loved me enough to die for me, therefore cleansing me of my sins and allowing me to spend eternity with Him if I accepted His gift of salvation – and the earnestness of a child that wanted so badly to be with Him forever.

Simple, painless, and joyful.

I’m not proud of this, but for a while growing up, I was tempted to think the fact that I came to Christ so young was “cool” (as if one’s age affects anything about the salvation process). But as I aged, insecurities and doubts started to creep in. Not about God, but about my ‘testimony’, and the age I was saved at.

What if I wasn’t sincere? Though I remember the time and place, I don’t remember how I felt in that moment. What if I was just caught up in the emotion of my brother accepting Christ? Was I truly honest when I gave my life to Him? What if I wasn’t genuine?

And if I was genuine, how was my testimony supposed to help anyone? As I’ve gotten older and turned my attentions more toward leading others to Christ, I’ve heard countless stories of dramatic and life-changing moments when a now-Christian turned from their life of sin and gave everything to Him. Testimonies that showed that no one is too far gone, that God never stops reaching out, and that He still works miracles in everyday life.

And then there’s me – and many other people with similar ‘small’ stories.

For a long time, I’ve wondered how God could possibly use my story to help others come to Him. If they’re old enough to be listening to me tell my story of accepting Christ, they’ll probably be too old to relate to my situation. And what if hearing that I embraced the truth so early makes them feel guilty or ashamed or actually pushes them farther from God?

I was almost embarrassed to answer when people asked about it – and I hated that.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve learned a lot. What I’ve experienced, what I’ve been taught, and what I’ve seen God do in my life has impacted me in many ways. While 2020 and 2021 were far from easy, they catapulted me into confronting some of my biggest challenges – and I had no choice but to rely entirely on God to get me through them.

And looking back, I’ve realized something I should have realized a long time ago.

Our testimonies are not only our ‘conversion experiences’. Our potential to reach others is not only comprised of the big, dramatic moments of our lives. God doesn’t only work through us using miracles and mind-blowing events.

He works through everything. Every tiny detail. Every word spoken, every minute spent, and every smile shared. And often, those little things are what mean the most.

I remember hearing an analogy once about God’s work in our lives resembling embroidery. If you’ve ever watched someone embroider (thanks, Mom!), you know that while the carefully-placed stitches form a design on the top of the item, the underside of it is anything but clear.

In fact, it looks pretty awful. A mess of strings and knots and colors – and no obvious design. I’ve heard our lives compared to that underside of the embroidery. Things may seem to be an out of control mess, and the seemingly-random scattering of events, people, and lessons may lead us to feel like nothing we’re going through is worth it.

But some day, when we get to Heaven, I imagine our Heavenly Father will find great joy in showing us the top side of His embroidery. The true design He’s always masterfully working on – not just through our lives, but through the lives of everyone who ever has and ever will live. That’s when we’ll get to see how some of those ‘random’ things fit into the beautiful final picture.

And until then, I believe God allows us to see glimpses of that design sometimes. A sneak peek of sorts. A preview that doesn’t reveal everything, but shows enough to encourage and inspire us to keep running the race with all our strength.

And most of the glimpses that I’ve been blessed with have been through little things.

In the hard times, it’s been the comforting words, hugs, and help from loved ones. Something as easy as a smile, a “how are you really doing?”, or a squeeze on the shoulder may seem small, but sometimes those are the best things. When our hearts are so full of big hurts, often we need those little reminders that someone cares to slip in the cracks.

In the times when I’m struggling to make tricky decisions, it’s the little signs and reminders that make all the difference. Someone telling me a random story about their day, a song on the radio, change in price, an hour of unexpected change in the weather, even hurting myself while doing something…I believe God uses it all to speak to us. The problem is that we don’t naturally listen closely enough to recognize the ‘small’ communication.

And when I’m having a good day, it’s usually because of the small things too. Music, a phone call, GIF text battle, or afternoon spent with loved ones, a sweet comment on a story of mine, sunshine, snuggles with a puppy, a smile from a stranger, a cozy blanket, refreshing water after a hot day gardening, a random compliment, a cheesy joke, a good book…the blessings in our lives are endless. And we may consider them to be small, but they’re so important.

And I think they’re often overlooked. I’m grateful that my family has always prioritized finding joy in the everyday. Finding and counting the blessings that we’re missing, even though they’re in plain sight. It’s a lesson I need to relearn often, but I’m so glad it’s one I’ve been taught repeatedly.

We don’t need extravagant vacations, gifts, or shows of affection. In fact, I think many of us would be a lot better off if everyone focused a bit more on the small things. The hour of quality time at the end of our day, the fistful of dandelions, and the hug after we’re apart from someone we love. There’s nothing wrong with big things, but they aren’t the only things that matter.

And in my spiritual life, I see this as well. I’m forever awed and thankful for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. If ever something huge was done out of love for you and me, that’s it. Nothing can beat that. But that’s far from the only thing He’s done. Instead, He’s with us in the little things too.

The whispered prayers in the stressful moments, the silent pleas through the tears, and the stunned thank-you’s in moments of joy. Each and every moment of our day, whether we’re doing something we consider important or not. It’s all important to Him.

So as I look back over my life so far, then look forward to all the many things the future could hold, I’m becoming more and more thankful for the little things. They’ve made all the difference. And finding them in my days makes life even more meaningful, and reminds me to stay intentional, grateful, and awake to everything God is doing.

There are little blessings all around us.

We just need to remember to look for them.

Not to us, Lord, not to us
but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.
(Psalm 115:1 NIV)

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God of the Little Things5 Tips for Finding Motivation to Write10 Quotes About Purity

5 Tips for Finding Motivation to Write

Hello and happy Wednesday!

The more I write, the more I realize something very important about writing.

Writing is hard.

We may love writing very much, but at some point or another, even our most beloved projects are probably going to feel like a struggle to work on. Our characters won’t cooperate, our theme feels flat, our plot lacks excitement…we may wonder why we ever thought the story idea was worth pursuing.

And it can be the same with non-fiction writing too, like articles, essays, or personal stories. Why are we even writing? Maybe we’ve lost inspiration, maybe we’re exhausted, maybe we just can’t seem to find that motivation that we had at the beginning of the project.

It’s a frustrating thing. On one hand, we know we love writing and that we loved the project at one point. But now, we feel so exhausted and discouraged that it looks tempting just to throw in the towel and find something else to do. This is where those ‘shiny’ story ideas end up causing trouble. Surely a brand new idea will stay exciting and wonderful, right?

Instead, many of us end up trapped in a cycle of pursuing a project only as long as we feel motivated and inspired by it. Once the happy feelings and excitement is gone, it becomes next to impossible to keep working.

And if we’re physically burnt-out, it only gets harder. Maybe we’ve been working too hard at our stories for a while, or maybe the rest of our lives are just extra exhausting and stressful right now. Either way, if we don’t feel good physically, it gets very hard to be creative or find inspiration for anything.

I’ve dealt with this often – and I suspect every other writer has at one point or another. Probably a lot. The struggle is real, but many of us end up beating ourselves up about it. Real writers don’t have this problem, we think. If we were good at writing, or if our story ideas were actually worth telling, we’d feel inspired all the time. Or we’d be able to push through the pain to do it anyway.

What starts as a simple loss of motivation – usually due to factors outside our control – ends up causing us to doubt ourselves, hate our novels, and feel like giving up on something that we truly do enjoy very much.

I think what most of us need to realize is that this happens. To everyone. It’s not a sign of whether or not we’re good at writing, or whether we should be working on our projects. It just means that we’re tired, and human, and fluctuations in our motivation and energy happen. Often.

What matters is figuring out how to work through those valleys. Over the past few years, I’ve dipped down into many valleys like this, where I’m searching for motivation but have been lost in how to find it. But as I’ve discovered, even though it can be extremely difficult sometimes, it is possible to get motivated to write again.

So today, I thought I’d share my best tips for regaining our motivation to write. As always, I’m no expert, but as I’ve dealt with my share of burn out and dissatisfaction with my stories, I’ve have discovered a few things that help me. I hope these tips are helpful to you as well – and hopefully inspire you to get writing again!

Read Writing Advice

This is a piece of advice that has to be taken with a grain of salt. And the reason is because it’s all about balance. Reading through books, articles, and posts full of writing advice and inspiration can either be the perfect way to be motivated to write again – or it can lead to procrastination and writing even less. So we should be intentional about the time we spend researching the writing craft, but also not be afraid to soak up more knowledge!

So assuming we’re not just procrastinating, writing advice can be an extremely helpful way to get motivated again. For myself, if I don’t feel like writing, reading writing advice and tips almost always gets me going again. Maybe it’s seeing that someone else has pushed through their discouragement and reached their goal, or maybe it’s just a good way of getting into the right headspace for writing, but it usually works for me.

This is especially beneficial if you tailor it to your stage in the writing process, rather than just browsing through random writing articles (though that can also work sometimes). Are you struggling with outlining? Finding ideas for the middle of your novel? Editing? What about writing your synopsis or brainstorming characters? There’s good advice out there for every situation, and it may be just what you need to find your motivation again! If you’re looking for good places to find helpful advice, I’ve listed some of my favorites here.

Remember Why

Why did you start writing this material in the first place? What was it that piqued your interest and sparked your passion? Who did you want your writing to impact – even if that person was just yourself? There was a reason you started writing this story or article or poem. If you can remember that, you have the beginnings of some very good motivation. Your why is the reason why you and only you can write this project, so remember it!

Think back to what first made you passionate about this piece. Is it because of a genre or time period that you love? Is it full of your favorite story tropes, or do you think someone you know will be excited about it? Is the theme one you’ve learned through hardships and now feel called to share with others? Maybe you’re writing an article or something sharing your personal experience and lessons – do you feel you can make others’ lives better?

I’ve heard the saying that no ‘why’ is too shallow, or silly, or insignificant. Whatever your reason, your passion, your motivation…it just is. And that’s going to be what carries you through to the end of your project. If it’s a project that you’ve never felt strongly about, or if you lose sight of the initial reason why you started writing it, you’re either not going to be able to finish, or the process of finishing is going to be miserable. And people that read your work can tell if it’s something you truly found joy in doing – or if you hated it.

Talk About It

I’m a verbal processor. But I also don’t like to talk about something unless my thoughts are in order and I’m sure I’ll make sense. It can lead to some interesting conundrums when I feel stuck and need to process something with my writing, but also don’t want to sound like a fool while doing it. I’ve experimented with many different ways of breaking past this – whether by talking to myself (so much for not sounding like a fool, right?) or others.

Assuming I’m talking to someone else about my story or other writing project, I’ve realized that I often don’t even need to talk about the part I’m stuck on. If there’s someone willing to listen, I can just start telling them about my story in general, and there’s been many times where something will just click, and I’ll figure out that plot hole while not even trying to. Or, if you don’t mind working through the problem with them, you can do that too.

But if you’re not stuck, and just lack motivation, it’s crazy how well talking to someone can work. We tend to get very critical about our own projects, and the more we feed ourselves thoughts about all the work it needs, the more we lose sight of the beauty and excitement our project actually has. So talk to a supportive friend about your characters, your world, your plot, your topic…whatever used to interest you. Describe your project as if you were recommending someone else’s work, and let yourself get excited about it again.

Use Breaks Wisely

Breaks are a very necessary thing when writing. If you never stop to let your mind and body rest, you’re going to end up very burnt-out and your motivation to return to your project again is going to disappear. No one feels like writing when our heads hurt, we’re out of ideas, and we’re so tired that we just end up falling asleep at our desks anyway. We need to stop and rest, and allow our imaginations to refill with creativity and purpose.

And on the other hand, we also want to make sure our breaks aren’t just procrastination with an acceptable name. Scheduled breaks to refuel and rest are a very good thing, and you should definitely make sure you take plenty. But just make sure that you do come back to your project afterward. When I’m stuck in my story, or having doubts about why I’m writing, my mind searches for any excuse to just stop.

If it’s time to be done for the day, or the session, then I just make sure I schedule the next time I’m going to write and stick to it. The more times I brush off a writing appointment, the more likely I am to continue doing it. And if I’m just taking a short break in between writing sprints, I like to spend my break doing something that still helps motivate me, like listen to music or watch a video about something pertaining to my story, read a chapter of a similar book, or…talk to someone about my project, haha.

Write Anyway

This probably sounds like a horrible tip at first glance. And it is simple. But just like I mentioned above, one of the best ways to get motivated to write, is to write anyway. I definitely struggle with this. When I don’t want to work on my story, or I’m stuck on something, I just don’t want to. I’ll usually find anything and everything else I can do to avoid it. My brain is lazy apparently, and when the work is hard, it takes off.

But a funny thing happens when we buckle down and work on our projects anyway, even if we don’t really feel inspired. As we immerse ourselves into our stories or articles, the inspiration comes. Maybe not in the glorious, emotional way we’d like it to, but it does come in some form. We slowly get more ideas, we slowly get more immersed in the world of our writing again, and we may even end up not wanting to stop when we do need to.

If I’m not feeling motivated, it takes a lot of discipline to make myself write anyway. But I’ve never regretted it. Even if it’s hard the entire time, being able to look back and see even a small amount of progress makes the struggle feel worth it. And if you really don’t want to work on your main project, try starting with something small that relates to it. If it’s a novel, write a drabble or a scene from somewhere else in the story. If it’s an article, try writing just one paragraph, one bullet point, or one description. Many times, that motivation will follow.

Well, those are five of my best tips for finding motivation and passion for your story again! Everyone deals with burn out and growing tired or critical of their stories at some point, but there’s a reason you started writing your story. I pray that if you’re struggling, you’re able to find that reason again, and let it fuel you to continue telling your heart’s story!

Did any of these tips stick out to you? Are you using any of them in your own writing journey? What are YOUR favorite tips for staying motivated to write? I’d love the chance to learn from you – so let me know your thoughts in the comments!

1.You can find more writing-focused tips here.

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5 Tips for Finding Motivation to Write10 Quotes About Purity2022 January Wrap-Up

10 Quotes About Purity

What is purity?

Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines purity as this: ‘to be free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind; free from extraneous matter.’

The topic of purity can be a sensitive one. From what I’ve seen in today’s world, it often seems to be handled in extremes and is then usually misunderstood.

Some people take their pursuit of purity so seriously that they risk alienating themselves from everyone else. They might try so hard to keep themselves separate from every little thing they deem unclean, or wrong, that there’s very little left that they can do, say, or be.

Others aren’t concerned one bit with purity, at the risk of seriously harming themselves and others in the long run. Nothing is off-limits; they feel justified in whatever behaviors they feel like pursuing, no matter what anyone else thinks of it.

Just like everything else in life, I personally feel it comes down to balance. Everyone holds different opinions on what purity entails of. If being pure means staying away from things that ‘contaminate’ you, then how do you determine what contaminates you? How do you know what to stay away from, and how extreme you should be to do it?

For Christians, the topic of purity may not be more straightforward in application, but we do recognize that what defiles us is sin. The Bible details many sins that we encounter in our lives, and warns us to stay away from them.

Some things are obvious for most people, no matter our beliefs. I don’t think there’s anyone who believes things like murder, theft, abuse, and infidelity can ever be considered pure.

But the line goes get fuzzy sometimes. What about how we’re supposed to dress? The media or food we’re meant to take in? Our vocabularies?

Everyone draws that line where they personally feel it should be. Very few people, if any, are going to agree on every exact boundary. We each have to study, pray, and examine ourselves, then decide based off what we’ve learned, and follow those convictions.

Of course, what the Bible explicitly deems as impure, wrong, or sin, should be followed. But if there’s not clear reference to a situation in the Bible, we have to make our decision based off principles and similar issues that it does talk about.

I’m not here to argue over specific situations and issues, but to share the main thing that I believe purity boils down to. And that’s our thoughts.

What we dwell on in our hearts and minds affects everything else. If we’re continually choosing to think about things that make us angry, fearful, insecure, or depressed, our actions and words are going to match that. Our moods will suffer and we’re going to hurt not only ourselves, but the people around us too. Even if we don’t mean to.

If we continuously put ourselves down, hold grudges, dwell on revenge or past hurts, obsess over what the world thinks of us, or keep our minds filled with impure things, we’re going to remain contaminated.

We can’t properly love, trust, have faith, comfort, encourage, inspire, show patience or grace, or bless others if our hearts and minds are full of rotten things. There’s no room left for good things. And what we contain inside is what we show on the outside. Sooner or later, those impure thoughts are going to reveal themselves through our actions.

But keeping our motives pure is obviously very difficult. I wish it were easy, but we still live in a broken world. One that was never meant to contain the filth and impurity that it does. But until Heaven, it’s how it will remain. We can’t make the world pure, but we can strive to keep ourselves free of contamination.

Philippians 4:8 is my favorite verse discussing this: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Whenever I’m struggling with my thoughts, or not sure if I should be dwelling on something so much, I often find it helpful to come to this verse. I can check whatever I’m thinking of against the list, and if it doesn’t match one of those qualities, I know I need to pray and work hard to focus on something that’s good.

That, to me, is where purity starts. When we keep ourselves focused on the right things inside, it’ll be far easier to act with purity – in ways that will help and bless those around us. That’s how we can be a testimony of Christ’s character and what He can do in our lives. He’ll help us.

There are many double standards in this world when it comes to purity. The world values and praises clear and uncontaminated things. Clear skin, crystal waters, undefiled natural parks and beautiful landscapes…blemishes, flaws, and filth are detested. And yet, the most widely-celebrated lifestyles in our cultures are often far from clean and clear.

Ultimately, it all comes down to what we choose to dwell on, and how diligent we are to seek God’s help in our lives. I pray we’d all be able to keep our hearts, minds, and consequently, our actions, as pure as we can on this earth. So today, here are some of my favorite quotes about purity, with the hopes that they inspire you as much as they inspire me.

1. “Purity is the power to contemplate defilement.”
(Simone Weil)

2. “I would sooner be holy than happy if the two things could be divorced. Were it possible for a man always to sorrow and yet to be pure, I would choose the sorrow if I might win the purity, for to be free from the power of sin, to be made to love holiness, is true happiness. “
(Charles Spurgeon)

3. “The way to preserve the peace of the church is to preserve its purity.”
(Matthew Henry)

4. “To be pure, to remain pure, can only come at a price, the price of knowing God and loving Him enough to do His will. He will always give us the strength we need to keep purity as something as beautiful for Him.”
(Mother Teresa)

5. “God bestows more consideration on the purity of the intention with which our actions are performed than on the actions themselves. “
(Saint Augustine)

6. “A pure soul is like a fine pearl. As long as it is hidden in the shell, at the bottom of the sea, no one thinks of admiring it. But if you bring it into the sunshine, this pearl will shine and attract all eyes. Thus the pure soul, which is hidden from the eyes of the world, will one day shine before the angels in the sunshine of eternity.”
(John Vianney)

7. “God would not rub so hard if it were not to fetch out the dirt that is ingrained in our natures. God loves purity so well He had rather see a hole than a spot in His child’s garments.”
(William Gurnall)

8. “The proof of spiritual maturity is not how pure you are but awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to grace.”

(Phillips Brooks)

9. “When a man’s heart is right with God the mysterious utterances of the Bible are spirit and life to him. Spiritual truth is discernible only to a pure heart, not to a keen intellect. It is not a question of profundity of intellect, but of purity of heart.”
(Oswald Chambers)

10. “Our world does not need to hear more people talk about God or even about Jesus if those people do not have a lifestyle that reinforces every word they utter. The interesting thing is that the closer we walk in intimacy with God, the less we have to say. Our very lives become a bold and beautiful testimony to the purity, the freedom, and the beauty of the Lord Jesus.”
(Dennis F. Kinlaw)

Purity in such a dirty and damaged culture is difficult – there’s no doubt about that. But it’s worth it. When we pursue cleanliness of heart, it shows. Our actions, words, and motivations can all serve to bless others, and reveal more of God’s nature to the world around us. So my prayer for all of us is that we’d strive to keep our thoughts and deeds pure, and therefore, precious.

Did any of these quotes speak to you today? Go ahead and let me know your favorites in the comments, as well as if there is a certain topic you’d like to see more quotes about. While you’re there, I’d love to hear something YOU’RE learning about staying pure!

“Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.”
(Matthew 5:8 NIV)

1. I shared more of my quote collection in many previous posts, which you can find here.

2. To receive your own printable pages of the above quotes (and the ones used in my other ‘Quotes’ posts), sign up for my email list! Simply fill in the form here, and I’ll send you PDF copies of the quote collections – as well as an inspirational short story. I look forward to hearing from you!

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10 Quotes About Purity2022 January Wrap-UpMy Favorite Hobbies

2022 January Wrap-Up

Hello and happy Wednesday!

Today’s post brings another summary of the past month of my life – with writing progress reports, reading accomplishments, and general updates!

So without further ado . . .

General Update

Well, we’ve made it through the first month of 2022. And I can hardly believe January is over already! I don’t know where the days have gone, but they seem to have flown. On the bright side, we’re that much closer to warm weather (at least where I live). Hopefully only another month or so of chilly temperatures and feeling like I’m allergic to winter, haha.

For me, January always feels like a welcome chance to reset and prep for the year ahead. Technically, we can set goals and change things at any point in the year – and I do – but there’s something about seeing the whole calendar laid out in front of me that helps me figure out what my priorities will be for the next twelve months. I’m happy to say I think I’ve done a much better job with my goals this year – ambitious but not unrealistic, and with plenty of room to move things around when unplanned life inevitably happens.

Things I’ve been thankful for in the past month include: New Year celebrations, the longer days and more sunlight, strength workouts, more time than usual to read, supportive loved ones and extra time with them, a chance to work ahead in some projects, Bible study (at home and with a group), that the class I’m teaching is going well (my students have started writing their own novels!), and essential oils for when the cold leaves me feeling awful.

Fiction Writing

I wrote a whopping 88 fiction words last month! Don’t ask me what they were for though, because I honestly don’t remember, haha. Maybe a drabble-type scene for Cabin Girl? I decided not to focus on fiction last month, but to have that be my main goal this month (Fiction February, I’ll call it). Because I want to make so much progress on Cabin Girl in the next two months, I spent January mostly writing and scheduling blog posts so I don’t have to have my focus split between numerous things.

Hopefully I’ll have a much better fiction wordcount to report at the end of February, although it is mostly editing at this point. So even though it’s a fiction project, I probably won’t have too many more words to add. In fact, I’m sure I’ll be cutting quite a few. At least it’s progress!

On the Blog

As I mentioned, my main writing goal for January was to focus on blogging. So I wrote and published 13 posts last month! In addition, I’ve also planned and prepared all my posts for February (unless something like a blog tag comes up, which I’ll then just do quickly this month). I’m most productive when I can batch content and work ahead, so it feels good to be on track with blogging right now.

Here are the posts for January (just click on the titles to read them):

~ 10 Quotes About Giving
~ 2021 December Wrap-Up
~ Fellow Author Cover Reveal: Sorceress of the Dryads
~ What I’m Learning About Courage
~ My 2022 Reading List
~ The Blogoversary Tag
~ My 2022 Growth Word
~ What I Wrote in 2021
~ The Single Line Story Challenge (Take 2)
~ Don’t Take Them For Granted
~ My 2022 Writing Goals
~ The Liebster Award
~ My Favorite Hobbies

Reading List

As I shared in this post, I’ve officially set my reading challenge goal for this year at 55 books. I’m off to a good start this month, with five fiction (an entire series) and one non-fiction:

~ The Kill Order (Maze Runner series) by James Dashner
(Action-packed and interesting, but shallow and not as good as I remembered it. I can’t fully recommend it, mostly due to the level of violence and disturbing descriptions. In my opinion, it’s a decent read, but nothing super special.)

~ The Fever Code (Maze Runner series) by James Dashner
(I liked this one a lot more. It’s the next book chronologically, and another prequel to the main three books. There was still some violent content, but less than expected, and I really enjoyed all the backstory and tie-ins to later books. Also, the character development.)

~ The Maze Runner (Maze Runner series) by James Dashner
(This was also pretty decent, although I didn’t appreciate the ‘pretend swears’ and some crude content. The action and suspense kept me very engaged, and the world-building is very neat. I also enjoyed the diverse cast of side characters, and how they worked together.)

~ The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner series) by James Dashner
(I liked this continuation of the series. Once again, the action and intrigue kept me interested the whole time, and I enjoyed getting more clues into what’s really going on in the background. I disliked several of the characters, but liked the good ones even more.)

~ The Death Cure (Maze Runner series) by James Dashner
(Like The Scorch Trials, this one had a lot of tension and action. And even though the plot twists didn’t have the same effect on a reread, the first time I read it led to a lot of surprise and even heartbreak at the information revealed. Overall, I felt it was a good end to the series that circled back to the beginning and -surprisingly – held a tiny smidgen of hope.)

~ Just Enough Light for the Step I’m On by Stormie Omartian
(Encouraging, inspiring, and full of great reminders that God is always present – no matter what hardships we’re walking through. I’ve always appreciated Stormie Omartian’s books. I will definitely be coming back to this one in the future.)

Looking Forward

I have big hopes for February and right now I feel pretty good about where I’m at with them. Only God knows what will actually happen of course, and I look forward to seeing what He orchestrates. But if he allows, I have a long list of goals and projects that I’d like to finish before March. We’ll see what happens!

Non-writing things I’m looking forward to this month include: teaching three more classes and watching my students work their way through the first quarter of their novels, a family member’s birthday, worship, youth group, and an event with my church, more work at both jobs, figuring out whether I’m able to attend a writing conference in June, hopefully reading some more books, and continuing to work at getting stronger physically.

My writing focus this month, like I said above, is fiction. Specifically, finishing the last edits and rewrites for Cabin Girl (Street team-ers, be on the lookout for some updates this month!). I do have a publication date in mind now, with very high hopes that I can make it, but I’m going to wait until probably the end of February to announce it. Suspense, haha. And that’s pretty much my only writing goal. I’m going to be deep in the world of pirates for a while. Let’s hope I return in March with all my limbs, eyes, and sanity!

What was YOUR January like? What kinds of things did you get to do? If you have a progress report on something, or books you read and would like to share, go ahead and let me know in the comments! And while you’re at it, feel free to include what you’re looking forward to and/or hoping to accomplish in February! As always, I’m excited to hear from you!

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My Favorite Hobbies

Happy National Hobby Month!

As if often the case with these kinds of months, I didn’t even realize there was such a thing until recently, haha. But in honor of the occasion, I thought it’d be fun to do a lighter than usual Sunday post and share some of my own favorite hobbies!

Now, obviously I enjoy writing. Fiction, blogging, journaling, poetry…you name it, I enjoy writing it (with the exception of dry articles that require a lot of research). And as is the case with so many writers, I also enjoy reading. Good stories – in basically any genre- have a special place in my heart.

But because I spend so much time talking about those things elsewhere on this blog, I’m going to devote this post solely to my other hobbies. And I would love to find out what you enjoy doing in your spare time!

I enjoy . . .

Theatre/Acting

This one tends to surprise people, because I’m usually quieter and shy. Getting up under spotlights and acting doesn’t seem like it’d be my cup of tea. But I can’t even explain why, I just love it. I remember watching local plays when I was as young as six, and telling my parents afterward that I was going to do that just as soon as I was old enough. (My dream role? Playing Ariel from The Little Mermaid. And yes, I’d still love that, haha.)

Since 7th grade, I’ve been involved with nine shows; two plays, and seven musicals. Most of my roles have been in the background and chorus, with just a handful of larger parts – and I enjoyed each and every one. Being in theatre has taught me a lot of valuable lessons, about music and acting of course, and also about hard work, courage, working with others, flexibility, and trusting God. And though I’m not comfortable with just anything, getting to become a character and tell a story to a live audience is really meaningful to me.

I think I’m done being in shows now, with everything adult life has to offer, but I’m thankful for my years of theatre, and I still enjoy acting out my own scenes while I write. As weird as it sounds, it really does help make them more believable, haha! I also still like to voice act for the fun of it, and hold an irrational dream of someday voicing a character in an actual animated film. We’re supposed to dream, right?

Singing

This goes along with musical theatre, but I’ve also always enjoyed singing. However, I’m even more shy about my singing than I am with my acting. Perfectionism strikes again. My voice is nothing particularly unique or very strong, but I can carry a tune, and I enjoy trying out new songs and techniques. One of the best programs I’ve ever worked through was Singing Success by Brett Manning. It improved my range and control so much!

I’ve found that I can do far better in songs that allow me to use more emotion, so my favorite songs to sing are usually musical theatre (perhaps you’re sensing a theme, haha) or songs from movies, as opposed to more mainstream music, such as pop. And try as I might, I can only sound ridiculous singing country. Not many contemporary Christian songs are written in my comfortable range (I’m a mezzo soprano), but of course I always enjoy those.

Even though I’m reluctant to sing in front of others, I know I won’t ever stop singing at least to myself. If I’m having a hard day, or feeling stressed, singing always helps. Especially if I stick to more comfortable, emotional songs. I suppose it allows me to work out emotions in a healthy way, while also distracting me with something I enjoy. I’m slowly working to be more at ease singing on the worship team for my church’s youth group too. Worship is worship. God doesn’t care if my voice breaks, or doesn’t sound as good as I want.

Piano

If you couldn’t tell already, I just enjoy music in general. As I type this, I’m listening to a five-hour playlist of instrumental worship songs, mostly using piano (which is my go-to productivity playlist, since songs with lyrics distract me while I’m writing). I think in nearly all of my hobbies, it comes back to my love for stories. While writing obviously tells stories, so does acting, songs, and instrumental music. They can all be very powerful.

I took piano lessons for several years, and have recently been learning to accompany using chords on our worship team. Again, I could be a lot better at playing the piano, but I do enjoy it very much. It’s yet another thing I turn to when I’m needing to destress and just tune out (pun intended) for a while. Once again, my favorite songs to play tend to be slower and more emotional – although I’ll play some silly, fun ones if I’m in a chipper mood.

My go-to songs include a lot of movie soundtracks, such as from Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Also Disney and Broadway songs, contemporary Christian music and hymns, and plenty of classical pieces. (Spring, Canon in D, and Moonlight Sonata are some of my favorites). In general, I can’t resist anything beautiful and flowy.

Hiking/Walking

Speaking of beautiful, I absolutely adore forests. Ask anyone who knows me well – one of the best ways I can think to spend a sunny afternoon is to explore any and all forests nearby. They’re one of the places I feel closest to God, and I just love how unique they are. Every day something can change. Plus, in a lush forest, away from all other signs of civilization, some part of me feels like I’m in a fantasy world, and of course that’s cool.

So when the weather’s nice, I’m always up for a good hike in the woods. I also just enjoy walking in general. Depending on my mood and if forests are hard to come by, I will gladly spend hours just walking around town or on back roads. If I’m with someone (which I usually am), it’s a great chance to talk while still being active, and if I’m alone, then it’s an excellent time to talk to God and collect my thoughts.

Whether in the woods, in town, or anywhere else, I think walking is a very underrated – but wonderful – activity. My shins don’t allow me to run much, but walking is perfect. Still active, but also relaxing and great for holding a conversation with a friend. I like to sightsee and people-watch (in a good way), so I always stay plenty entertained. And if nothing else, I can become quite lost in my thoughts, so, I’m honestly never bored at all. It’s definitely one of my favorite things to do with spare time in warmer months.

Games

This is such a broad term, but I’ve grown up in a game-loving family, and I enjoy them. Board games, card games, Wii games, computer games…even some outside games, although when it comes to sports, my coordination and I don’t usually agree. It can be very stress-relieving for me to sit down and play a fun game with loved ones, and I love when there’s laughter during it.

It depends on my mood, but I tend to most enjoy ‘lighter’ card and board games; ones that don’t hurt my brain too much or take six hours. I’m not especially logical, so I can sometimes end up frustrated at games that require a lot of planning and skill. And yet, I also don’t care for really embarrassing party-type games, haha (looking at you, Watch Your Mouth). A good mix of laughter and strategy are perfect for me.

The same thing usually applies to computer and Wii games too. When I’m playing a game, it’s typically to destress and get my mind off of other things, so anything that can both occupy my thoughts and also make me laugh is my preference. Faster-paced games (like Mariokart) are good for this, but I do have to be in just the right mood for super logical or intense games. Sometimes they’re fun, sometimes they just add to my stress. In general though, any game can be fun for a while when it’s done with loved ones!

And those are some of my favorite hobbies – besides reading and writing! I may not get to spend as much time on them as I’d like, but I always enjoy them when I can. We all need some ways to relax and have fun in the midst of life’s craziness. So thanks for joining me as I rambled about some of my favorite ways to do that!

What are your favorite hobbies? How do you pass the time when you have any extra? I’d love to hear about what you like to do, so let me know in the comments below!

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The Liebster Award

Happy Friday!

Even though I wasn’t specifically nominated for this tag, Stephanie A. Daniels did this a while ago and left the nominations open-ended (you can find her post right here). Her questions were so fantastic that I couldn’t help but join in. So thank you, Stephanie!

(If you’re a long-time reader of my blog and this sounds familiar, I did this tag with different questions in February of 2021. You can find that post here. I was actually nominated for that one though, haha.)

Now first, the rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog. (See above!)Answer the 11 questions given to youNominate 11 other bloggersAsk your nominees 11 questionsNotify your nominees once you have uploaded your post

So now onto the questions . . .

1. Do you make New Year’s goals?

I do! Sitting down near the beginning of the year and figuring out what I’d like to accomplish in the next twelve months is fun for me. However, I try to stay away from making a huge fuss over New Year’s resolutions, as I ultimately can’t control what happens. So setting goals I’d like to see happen works better than making resolutions I feel like I have to make happen.

My favorite thing to do is actually to pick a growth word for each year (for example, I’ve done love, trust, and courage so far, and am working on balance for this year1). Praying about it and then choosing something I know I need to work on has really helped me stay focused on God and how He wants me to grow over the next year. It also doesn’t matter what ends up happening then. I can always work on growing to be a better person.

2. What’s your favorite genre to read?

Hmm, that’s a really tough question. I’ll read just about anything, and what matters most to me is the story itself, not the genre. I tend to go on different kicks too – where I’ll read one particular genre for a long time, then switch to another one for a while, and so on, haha. It just depends on my mood. Overall, I think I read the most books in the historical fiction, adventure, fantasy, and dystopian genres. And also plenty of nonfiction!

3. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Wow, five years feels like a long time, but I suspect it will go by quickly. Let’s see…I’ll be about halfway through my twenties by then. I have no idea what God will bring about, but I could see myself married and with a child by then (that’s a scary thought, haha). I’d like to be a lot better health-wise, and I’ll probably still be involved with the youth group/worship team at my church. And as far as writing goes, I would love to have at least five books published by that point, and be a lot more established as an author.

Now that I’ve said them, I’ll probably be nowhere near those in five years, haha. There are so many things that could happen if things continue the way they are now, but I really have no idea. I’m very expectant to see everything God has planned. As always, He knows best!

4. Who is your favorite Biblical character?

The obvious answer here is Jesus. But to find another one too, I’ll say John (Jesus’ disciple, and writer of the book of John). He’s always inspired me. He was the only disciple to be at Jesus’ crucifixion, and the first apostle at Jesus’ empty tomb after He rose. He suffered so much for Christ, and spent the entire rest of his life (he was the only disciple of the twelve to die of natural causes) serving and seeking God. His close friendship with Jesus has always touched me as well, as I want that close a relationship with my Savior too.

Of course, there are many other people from the Bible that inspire me – too many to list!

5. Which do you prefer? Summer or winter? And no, spring or fall are not choices for this answer.

Well, my favorite season is fall. But between summer or winter, I definitely prefer summer. I like certain aspects of winter, such as how pretty the snow looks, the holiday season, getting to bundle up in cozy clothes and blankets, and the fact that I’m usually more productive in the winter months. But the added germs, crazy cold temperatures (which my body reacts badly too), having to drive in the snow and ice, and not being able to be outside as much or as easily all make me wish for a shorter winter season.

Summers are busy, but I enjoy being able to be outside much more, and getting to see friends and family that have breaks from school. And not be freezing all the time, haha.

6. Who is your favorite main character from a book?

For a character-driven author and reader, I really don’t think I can answer this properly. Honestly, my favorite main character would probably be one of my own, haha. But from other books…I have so many that I like for various reasons. I guess the first one that stands out in my mind would be Wolfgang Dankworth from Blank Mastermind – a book I highly recommend! His narrative voice, humor, and character growth are amazing.

7. What’s one thing you wish people knew about you?

I’m going to go deep here. I wish people knew that just because I don’t say much doesn’t mean that I don’t have thoughts on a situation. I may not have a strong enough opinion to speak up about it, but I still appreciate being asked what I think and getting a chance to voice those thoughts when I know others truly care. It means the world when someone’s patient with me about it too, because it often takes me a little while to word everything the right way. There’s just so much going on in my mind that I’m slow about expressing it.

(Which is one reason writing works so well for me. I can take as much time as I need, and actually end up with something comprehensible at the end of it. Most of the time anyway.)

8. Besides reading or writing, what are your hobbies?

I’m actually releasing a post about my favorite hobbies on Sunday, so I guess this is a fun ‘sneak peek’! Besides reading and writing, I enjoy playing the piano, singing (to myself mostly), acting (I did theatre in high school, but now just act out scenes from my stories while I’m writing, haha), hiking in forests (I love forests) or just walking around town, playing card/board/computer/Wii games, and doing really anything with loved ones.

I also crochet sometimes, but I’m such a perfectionist that I have to be in just the right mood to actually enjoy this. Most the time it just makes me want to pull my hair out. Tangled yarn is essentially a torture device.

9. What is your greatest fear?

Hmm, to go deep again,my greatest fear is failure. Failure to measure up to what’s expected of me, failure to help people, failure to be liked or loved by others, and especially failure to do my part to lead loved ones to Christ. No, it’s not always an entirely rational fear, but it’s still there. God’s helping me develop a healthier mindset little by little. Although of course I’m going to continue being a witness for Christ however I can.

More superficial fears include spiders, the dark, the deep ocean, and space. I’m not a fan of surroundings where I can’t see, feel, or know what’s around me. And spiders just have far too many eyes and legs to not be creepy to me, haha. Bravery is not one of my strong suits.

10. What do you feel has been your greatest success so far in life?

I’ve honestly never liked using the word success in this kind of context, because to me it feels like I’m attributing the good things in my life to me rather than to God. Maybe I’m overthinking it, but I prefer to think about the ways God has blessed me. And that’s of course a lot of ways. So I guess I’m not really sure how I’d answer this question, but I’m especially grateful for the loved ones God’s put into my life and how we can continue to grow closer.

11. What are your go-to pizza toppings?

Since discovering some food sensitivities, I can sadly no longer have normal pizza, but my go-to toppings were typically black olives and sausage, or ham and pineapple (yes, I’m one of those people). I’m not picky though. The only things I ever didn’t like on my pizza were artichokes *shudder*.

Actually, the toppings are really the only part of pizza I can still have. I just always need to share pizza with someone who only likes the crust and cheese, haha!

Well, those are my answers! Thanks for sticking around and joining me in this fun activity!

I’ll tag the following people to join in, if they’d like:

1. Kristina Hall
2. Vanessa Hall
3. Jordyn Hadden
4. Maribeth Barber
5. Grace A. Johnson
6. Kate Willis
7. Kristianne Hassman
8. Joy C. Woodbury
9. Miles Lawson
10. R. M. Archer
11. Lauryn Trimmer

And YOU, if you’d like to join in!

Even though I tagged a few people I thought might enjoy it, I’d love for anyone to hop in if they’re interested! I just can’t tag everybody, haha.

And here are my questions:

1. Do you prefer books or movies?
2. Which fictional character would you choose to spend a day with? What would you do?
3. What’s something on your bucket list?
4. If you had to describe yourself with one sound, what would it be?
5. Would you say you’re more a leader or a follower?
6. If you could choose to have something definitely happen in the future, what would it be?
7. Do you have a favorite smell? What is it?
8. As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
9. What’s your favorite movie or book right now?
10. When you’re having a bad day, what makes you feel better?
11. What’s the funniest joke you’ve heard recently?

Once again, thank you again for joining me today! I really enjoyed answering these questions, and I hope you enjoyed reading through them as well.

I’d love to find out how YOU would answer these questions! Let me know on your own blog, or in the comments below. I look forward to hearing from you!

1.I talked about my growth word for 2022, here.

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My 2022 Writing Goals

Hello and happy Wednesday!

Last week I shared the writing projects I worked on in 2021 (you can find that post, here). While I didn’t reach all the goals I’d set for myself, it was a year of huge learning and growth, and I’m still trying to figure out how much writing I can realistically fit into a year. I’m hopeful that 2022 will be another year of growth, and that I can set some more achievable goals, haha.

So, with that, here are my writing goals for 2022! I have a lot of projects I’m hoping to outline, write, edit, and even publish this year, and I’m excited to give you a first glimpse at them. I’d also like to hear about your goals – writing or otherwise – for this year, so stick around and let me know what you’d like to accomplish!

Publish Cabin Girl

If you’ve been around much of my site at all, you’ve probably seen me mention (and go on and on about…) my pirate novel, Cabin Girl. Publishing it was also first on my list of writing goals for 2021, but obviously, that didn’t happen. In fact, we’re about a year after when I’d originally hoped to publish. And while I do wish I’d gotten more time to work on it in 2021, I’m honestly thankful for the delay.

2020 was a huge writing year for me (due partially to so many cancellations in my schedule), and after finishing so many projects and making so much progress on my goals, I went a bit overboard with my expectations for last year. But 2021 didn’t go as planned. My schedule exploded with two jobs, teaching a class, working with my church, volunteering, and numerous other things I hadn’t expected. And they were all very good, but served as a pretty clear wake-up call that I couldn’t get to everything.

So Cabin Girl was moved to this year, to give me more time to prepare. And I’m glad to say I feel much more prepared for it now! I’ve learned so much, about writing, formatting, and publishing, and am far better equipped to publish than if I’d gone through with it last year. It’s at the top of my writing priorities this year. There’s not much more left to do! And to all the wonderful people who’ve reached out with their support, thank you for your patience and understanding!

Finish Gills

I’ve yet to make a huge formal announcement for this novel, but Cabin Girl also has a prequel: Gills. I wrote it in the fall of 2020 for NaNoWriMo, and had a blast doing it. My absolute favorite character from Cabin Girl was the pirate captain, and after hearing the same thing from many people who’d read it, I couldn’t resist giving him an ‘origin story’. His is the most fun I’ve ever had with narrative voice, and I’m looking forward to sharing it!

That said, it’s still hardly more than a first draft. It finished at about 70,000 words, and so far, I’ve only put it through one round of plot troubleshooting and realized that there are some pretty big inconsistencies I need to work out. So this year, I want to get through one full rewrite, and at least two rounds of solid editing, with the goal of having it at least almost finished by the end of 2022.

Write Cabin Girl sequel

Okay, I’m not going to give many any details for this yet, but after a lot of reader feedback (from people who’ve read both Cabin Girl and Gills), and a lot of thought and plotting, my plan is for there to be three books in the Cabin Girl series. And I think I’m still justified in calling it a trilogy, even though one is a prequel. Maybe not, but that’s what I’m calling it right now, haha.

When I first finished Cabin Girl, I was adamant that it would be a standalone. I really didn’t want to risk ruining the story by adding in more books, and felt that finding a brilliant idea for a continuation that would enhance the story and not cheapen it was impossible. Even writing the prequel was something I debated about for months before actually writing it. But now, several years later, I believe I finally have a plot that’s at least worth a shot at writing. Maybe it won’t work, but my goal is to finish that first draft this year and just see.

Finish & publish To Buy a Bike

One of my largest writing accomplishments last year was publishing my short story, The Toymaker’s Doll! Though it was a last-minute decision, everything fell into place really well, and I’ve greatly enjoyed the experience. It’s been nice to have it more easily available for others to read. This year, I’d like to do the same thing again with another ‘short story’ (actually slightly over 10,000 words).

While The Toymaker’s Doll is an allegory, To Buy a Bike is set around the Great Depression era, and centers on a young boy saving up to buy the bike of his dreams. In the process, his life is impacted by a struggling girl from school, and he learns some valuable lessons about friendship, humility, and generosity. I wrote it during a write-a-thon fundraiser in 2020, as a gift for donors, and it just needs some final edits. It was a fun challenge (especially writing from the perspective of an eight-year-old boy), and I enjoyed it. I’d love to share it soon!

Finish one other first draft

I’m trying to be more realistic with my goals this year, but I also do have high hopes and some new productivity strategies that I think will work a lot better for me. So, in addition to the projects above, I’m also aiming to finish one other first draft of a novel. I have four that I’ve started, and even more that I’ve already heavily outlined, so I’m not sure which one I’ll choose, but I’d like to get to one of them!

2020 was a year full of writing new things, leaving 2021 packed to the brim with rewrites and edits. But I’ve learned that I don’t do very well when I can’t use my imagination for new things sometimes, so I want 2022 to be a bit more even between new drafts and editing. Just another attempt of mine to regain some balance in my writing life. We’ll see how it goes!

Blog 1-3 times weekly

These have all been fiction goals so far, seeing as I want to get to a lot of fiction in 2022. But I do also want to keep up with this blog too! Fiction and nonfiction have both been huge blessings to me, so I want to find better balance here too. 2020 was pretty bad in terms of my consistency, and 2021’s rigorous posting schedule led to me burning out, so this year, I’m going to look for a good in-between.

What I’m imagining this will look like is more frequent posting in the colder months, and slowing down (intentionally) once summer approaches. My summer schedule is often a bit more sporadic, and I’d like to allow myself to be flexible as much as possible, without also guilt-tripping myself if I don’t post as much. In general, you can expect 1-3 blog posts a week.

Well, those are my biggest writing goals for 2022! Did any of them interest you? If there are specific topics you’d like to see on the blog, please let me know! I’m always looking for good ideas.

What are YOUR goals for 2022? Do you have writing aspirations, or is there something else you hope to accomplish this year? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to chat with me in the comments below!

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Don’t Take Them For Granted

It’s so easy to take people for granted.

Life is short and unpredictable, but it’s easy to forget that. And we often do.

Speaking from experience, we often assume we will have another day, another week, another year. And we assume our loved ones have the same. We can grow comfortable, complacent, and lazy about appreciating those special people in our lives.

But the truth is, we don’t know how long any of us have left on this earth.

My brother passed away almost eight years ago. Today would be his 22nd birthday.

This is always a very difficult day. On one hand, I have many good memories from the fourteen birthdays we had here with him. But there’s also a bittersweet shade to them, as every good memory is a reminder of all the things I can no longer do with him right now.

The hugs. The conversations. The goofiness.

The cherry cheesecake he always wanted, and the games he liked to play. The movies we rewound too many times to count because of all the spots that made him laugh.

I miss his laugh. When I was younger, I often had to be reminded not to hurt myself while making him laugh. He found physical comedy funny, and if it brought him joy, I didn’t really think anything hurt much anyway. I used to do just about anything to make him laugh. I’d do just about anything to make him laugh again now.

As a believer, and knowing my brother was also a Christian, I have the blessed assurance that I will see him again some day. Eventually, I will get to hear him laugh again – and so much more too. And so while missing him still hurts too much to express, I’m also very thankful for the promise that we’ll be reunited.

As the Bible puts it, ‘…weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.’1

It feels like a very long night right now, but I know that in the scheme of eternity, it’s hardly more than a heartbeat. It’s difficult today, as I’m sure it will stay for the rest of my life. But in the end, I can have faith that it’ll all be okay. In the meantime, I have to continue to trust God, and do my best to remember the lessons He’s taught me through my brother.

One of those lessons has been not to take anyone for granted.

I didn’t fully recognize it at the time, but my brother was wonderful at appreciating each and every person he came across. It didn’t matter who you were, or whether you even knew my brother, you could count on the fact that he’d smile at you. And my brother’s smiles were hardly ever just polite. No, they were full grins – the kind that were impossible not to smile back at.

He was also a great listener. Severe Cerebral Palsy meant that he couldn’t communicate verbally very easily, and while that would frustrate me if I were in his place, he seemed to take it as an opportunity to be one of the best listeners I’ve ever known. And he was.

I remember rambling to him one night about one of my story ideas, and suddenly realizing that, if it were me listening, I would have been extremely bored. But he was listening. Not just putting up with me or tuning me out. But making eye contact, responding with smiles and excited murmurs at all the right places, and seeming like there was no where else he’d rather be. Even though I know for a fact there were many things he would have preferred.

It’s those kind of moments that I look back on now and wish I would have appreciated more. I wish I would have thanked him every time he did that for me. I wish I would have taken after his example and treated others the same way while he was still with us, not just feeling convicted to after he’s no longer here.

I’ve been told that it’s better late than never, and that’s true. But in the moment is even better than late.

You and I have many people in our lives that we’re taking for granted in some way. We’re human, and it’s almost impossible not to fall into that habit. But if we’re intentional, it’s also something we can change.

Of course, no one’s perfect. But everyone is special, a child of God, and a blessing. There are hard times and rocky parts in every relationship. But why is it that you both keep going?

Think of the people in your life. Your family, your friends, your significant others, your coworkers, your teachers…anyone that God has placed on your path, to walk it with you. When was the last time you thanked them? For anything?

Maybe, like my brother, you can always count on them to listen when you need it. Maybe they never fail to cheer you up when you’re having a rough day. Maybe you’ve never met anyone so kind, patient, thoughtful, courageous, intelligent, or witty – or maybe they have many of those qualities. Maybe you can’t even pinpoint exactly why they mean so much to you, but you know your life would be a whole lot harder without them in it.

Recognize that. Remember it. And appreciate that person for as long as you can.

Don’t forget to tell them you love them, or that you’re glad to know them. Don’t forget to thank them for the way they influence you. Don’t take for granted all the ways that they’re extending God’s love and blessings to you.

No one is a significant part of your life unless God’s allowed them to be there – to teach us, comfort us, encourage us, and to allow us to do the same for them. We never know how long they will stay, but I’ve found that the time doesn’t matter so much as what we do during it. You could have minutes with them, or you could have years.

Don’t waste any of them.

This is a lesson I’ve had to relearn too many times to count, and I suspect I’ll continue being reminded of it my entire life. And though it’s always painful, it’s so important.

The people in your life are there for a reason. And no matter who they are, I can guarantee you can find at least one reason to be thankful for them. So my request is for you to look for it. And after you’ve realized why they’re a blessing, appreciate it. Remember it. Make sure they know you’re thankful, and don’t forget to thank God for putting them in your life.

I’ve found that the moment someone is no longer in our life, we have no trouble realizing how they’ve changed us. But we don’t have to wait until then, and in fact, we shouldn’t.

It’s easy to take people for granted. But it’s so much better to love and appreciate them.

I’m far from perfect at it, but that’s what I’m trying to do. And I pray you’d join me.

I promise you won’t regret it.

Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
(Psalm 90:12 NIV)

1. Psalm 30:5 NIV

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Don’t Take Them For GrantedThe Single Line Story Challenge (Take 2!)What I Wrote in 2021

The Single Line Story Challenge (Take 2!)

Happy Friday!

You may remember this fun challenge from when I did it back on Thanksgiving (you can find that post, here). Well, I was recently tagged again by Joy C. Woodbury over at Discipleship with Joy. You can find her post, with her excellently-written stories, here.

There are so many genres to choose from, and as I only got through five of them last time, I’m excited for the chance to try out five more! Jumping from genre to genre in such a short amount of words is difficult, but I enjoy the challenge. And it’s a chance to write fiction, haha!

First of all, here are the rules:

Thank the person who nominated you. (Thank you, Joy!). Write 5 single line stories that fall under any of these genres (you can pick which ones you do!):
(I’ve crossed out the ones I did last time, and bolded the ones I’m doing now). fantasy romancethrillermysterywesterncontemporaryhistoricaldramadystopianadventuresci-fiparanormalyoung adultYou can choose 5 genres that’re easiest for you, or you can challenge yourself to try something new!Nominate 5 blogger/writers who you’d love to see participate and leave an open nomination for all writers!You can do this challenge more than once. (Which is why I’m here again, haha)

Mystery

(I’ve always enjoyed a well-crafted mystery, but I’ve never been able to write one myself. How hard can one sentence be? *suspects I’ll soon regret saying this*)

And then it clicked, memories like fragments of glass rushing back together – until they formed a face Sarah should never have forgotten.

Western

(I’ve also never written a western before, but it’s another genre I’d love to try some time. Would I want to use a bunch of cheesy clichés? Most likely, yes, as you’ll see below.)

“See, that’s the funny thing about y’all,” the man said, tugging the brim of his hat so it shaded his eyes. “Ya never recognize danger, even when it’s standin’ right in front of them eyes of yours.”

Historical

(Aside from all the research it needs, I enjoy writing historical fiction, and have written the most novels of this genre before. There are so many options for settings! The line below is actually one from a Civil War-era novel I started last year. )

Susannah curtsies, her stained apron curling around her skirts. “Breakfast is ready in the dining room, miss. Your siblings are there already.”

Dystopian

(Now, maybe it has something to do with living in a world that feels awfully dystopian now, but I’ve really been getting into this genre lately. I’m currently about halfway through writing one of my own, which is where the below excerpt comes from…)

“What if the Harvesters came right now? What would you do?” Dylan motions at me, glancing up and down my hunched frame. “You know perfectly well you couldn’t run like this, much less help Chloe escape. And I can’t carry you both.”

Sci-fi

(As much as I would love to write a sci-fi some day, worldbuilding has never been my strong suit, and I’m not sure I could handle all the futuristic brainstorming I’d need to do. I enjoy reading other people’s science fiction stories though!)

Xeg gripped the window frame of the shuttle and narrowed his eyes at the watery planet below, the icy glint in his gaze sending chills down my spine.

Well, thank you for joining me again on this neat challenge! These tiny stories are surprisingly fun to come up with, and I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I liked writing them.

I’d like to tag:
1. Raina Nightingale
2. Maribeth Barber
3. Kate Willis
4. JadeSky
5. Miles Lawson

And YOU, if you’d like to join! I’d love to read the stories you can come up with, so feel free to share them on your own blog or in the comments below!

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The Single Line Story Challenge (Take 2!)What I Wrote in 2021My 2022 Growth Word

What I Wrote in 2021

Hello and happy Wednesday!

At the end of 2020, when I revealed what I’d written that year (in this post, and this one), I talked about how crazy the year had been, and how surprised I was at my wordcount of roughly 275,00 fiction words. It was a crazy year, but as is often the case in reflection, I’m not so surprised by the wordcount now, haha. I still had far more time in 2020 than I did last year. And it shows in my fiction wordcount for 2021: 68,308 words.

In comparing the two years, I think another aspect that contributed to the difference in wordcounts was that 2020 was full of new projects and first drafts – which naturally lead to a lot more words written. 2021, however, was more focused on edits and blogging (I wrote 137,108 words of nonfiction, much influenced by my wordier style of blogging. Not sure if it’s a good or bad thing…).

Even the fiction words I wrote in 2021 were scattered among a handful of novels – none of which are finished yet. I discovered something about myself last year: in order for me to stay motivated in my writing journey, I have to allow myself to use my imagination and write some new projects from time to time. My attention span is unfortunately short, and after approximately 3,700 times scouring a project for typos, I lose all motivation.

When this happened as I was working on editing several projects last year, I grew desperate to just write again. And what usually resulted was me writing one or two chapters in a shiny, new novel, before feeling guilty that I was no longer working hard at editing my old one. It became a frustrating cycle – one that I’m aiming to break in 2022.

Ideally, this year I’ll manage to balance all the different types of my writing journey, and find a good way to stay motivated – in first drafts, rewrites, editing, blogging, and anything in between. It’s a lot to ask, but I’ll see how it goes!

So today, I thought I’d share some of what I wrote last year and the lessons I learned from them. And if you’re a writer, I’d also love to hear about your writing adventures from 2021!

Blood Money

This dystopian novel (about a contagious disease that impacted the entire world – ironically completely brainstormed before 2020) was my largest fiction accomplishment for 2021. Somehow I managed to write at least 1,000 words every day in January, and into the first week of February as well. Then life happened right as I ran into some plot issues. The rough draft has sat around 30,000 words ever since.

Blood Money was one of my only novels to be ‘pantsed’, which has been an adventure. And while I’ve realized that much of my plot needs a bit of reworking, I loved the sense of freedom. I was also working out-of-order, keeping an index of scenes and chapters, and just writing whatever I felt inspired to. I believe that played a huge part in me being able to write every day – despite some really challenging obstacles. Is it my best method of writing? I don’t think so, but I’m genuinely excited about this story, and am super happy with the feedback I’ve gotten this far. I’d like to be able to work on it some more this year.

Unchosen

This was my second biggest fiction project, at about 7,000 words so far. And horror of all horrors (not really, haha), it’s technically a romance. A medieval adventure romance however. I’m not usually drawn to romance stories, and certainly not writing them. But when the plot came to me back in 2020 – about a clueless prince, a hotheaded princess, and a conniving second-in-command – I couldn’t resist fleshing it out a bit.

I haven’t gone very far in this story yet, as I’ve felt I lack the life experience necessary to do it justice, but the theme (‘love is not just a feeling, but a choice’) is one I look forward to exploring in story-form some day. Hopefully soon, but I’m going to take this one as it comes. The characters are very fun, so that alone will bring me back to it at some point.

Sparks of Silence

I think everyone has a genre that they love reading, but just can’t seem to ever write the way they’d like to. For me, that’s epic fantasy. The kind with spanning and immersive worlds, unique types of characters and creatures, new languages, and plots with a seemingly never-ending amount of story threads. I love reading well-written epic fantasies, but every time I try to plot one, my brain screams for mercy before I’ve finished worldbuilding. It’s just never been my strength, as much as I’d like it to be.

I gave it another shot in 2021, writing the first chapter of a novel I’m genuinely excited about. It revolves around one of my favorite story tropes (a calloused but truly soft-hearted mentor, and a timid, trusting youngster), and some themes that I think have a lot of potential. But I quickly realized that I didn’t have the time to devote to proper worldbuilding and plotting so I set it aside for now. I’ll probably chip away at it in the months to come.

Before the Mirror Broke

For once, a project I finished last year! This one (at about 2,000 words) is on my website: here. I wrote it last spring for a short story contest, and to my surprise, it actually managed winning entry. Writing a short story based off of a couple of pictures was a new experience, and one I enjoyed more than I thought I would. The genre I settled on – contemporary fantasy – was a new one for me, and a good learning experience.

I’d also like to look into developing the story idea into a longer work one day. In it, a girl with healing powers is trapped inside a mirror, and manages to befriend a child suffering from a serious illness (I think of it as cancer). Though I hardly scratched the surface of the main character’s background, it intrigues me…maybe I’ll come back to it again some time.

Not the Wind

I also wrote this short story last year, which can now be found on my site: here. It’s only slightly under 1,800 words, and based on the song Must Have Been the Wind by Alec Benjamin. This was written for another short story contest, and as I’ve never written a story based off a song before, I decided to give it a shot. I’d also never heard the song before, but all the artist’s songs tell such vivid stories that inspiration came very quickly.

After months of not writing any fiction at all, allowing myself to take a day and crank out this story was extremely refreshing. It’s not impressive, and it’s not even entirely original (since it came from a song), but getting to watch the characters and setting come to life was a great feeling. I’ve used this strategy several times since, when I just need to reset and let the words flow.

Letters

I’m not even sure what to call this project of mine. It’s still unfinished, sitting at about 4,500 words currently, and I’m pretty sure it’d be considered a short story of sorts. But it’s written entirely as a series of letters – first from a mother giving her daughter up for adoption, and the rest from her daughter years later as she searches for the truth and longs to know her birth mother too. I still plan to finish it at some point.

I’ve found that short stories are a very good way to test out different genres, writing styles, and tenses. In as little as a day, I can try out something that intrigues me, and not have lost much time if I don’t enjoy it. And if it does turn out well, accomplishing something small often motivates me to work on my larger projects. So especially when I don’t have much time for writing fiction, short stories have been very helpful to me!

Editing – Cabin Girl, Gills, and The Toymaker’s Doll

In addition to the writing I listed above, most of my 2021 was spent working on editing and even publishing.

Cabin Girl – my pirate novel – has gone through some substantial narrative voice changes, proofreading, formatting, cover design, and now needs some final tune-ups before hopefully publishing later this year. Though the process has taken longer than I originally thought, I’m grateful for the delay, as it’s given me much more experience and put me at a far better place to publish well. I’m excited to share the story with you!

This Cabin Girl prequel, Gills, which centers on the pirate captain of the first story, didn’t get as much rewriting as I’d planned, but I did re-plot most of the tricky parts I’d messed up in my frantic 2020 NaNoWriMo writing. Knowing where I’ll go and how I’ll fix the many plot holes when I do get to rewrite it this year is very encouraging. I’ve always loved Gills’ character, so I’m also looking forward to working on this story again soon.

And The Toymaker’s Doll became my very first published work – now able to be found as an ebook on Amazon (just click the story title). I was sure Cabin Girl would be my first published story, but after many elements just fell into place and a lot of prayer, I went ahead and pursued this allegory. And I’m so glad I did! The experience has been wonderful, and I’ve been very blessed to hear from people who’ve been impacted by it. I’ve also learned a lot of practical tips about publishing with Amazon that will come in handy.

Well, those conclude my writing projects for 2021! I hope you’ve found what I learned from them interesting and/or helpful. I’ll be back next week with some of my writing goals for 2022!

In the meantime, I’d love to hear about YOUR writing! What have you been working on, and have you learned anything new in the process? Please let me know in the comments below!

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What I Wrote in 2021My 2022 Growth WordThe Blogoversary Tag