Sarah Holman's Blog, page 25

Birthday Month!

This month is my birthday month! I'm turning 30 on the 30th! To celebrate, I'm doing something every day this month!

Day 1 - Mom and Dad gave me this really pretty ring.

Day 2 - I met a friend for lunch and helped Rebekkah deliver a puppy to it's new home.
Day 3 - I got some cute nail stickers from Ebay.
Day 4 - I spent most of the day at the water park with my sisters and...
I got a much needed new pillow and matress cover.
Day 5 - After work, Mom bought me a large tea and fries from CFA. Yes, it was really good. I'll keep sharing what I do for each day of my birthday month. 

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I'll be honest, I've been in a reading slump the last couple of weeks. I've read bits and pieces of books, but haven't completed many. So today I thought I would share with you my summer reading list.
1. Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas2. The Princess Adelina by Julie Sutter3.  The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott4. Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Payson Prentiss5. Summer with the Moody's by Sarah Maxwell6. The Red Keep by Allen French7. Twice Freed by Patrica St. John8. The Mind of the Maker by Dorthy Sayers9. A Penny Parcel by Avery Hitch10. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes11. So Dear to My Heart by Sterling North12. Tested by Fire by Kathy Herman
Do you have a summer reading list?

A New Season of Classics With Kelsey and Sarah!

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I'm so excited we're back for another season of discussions about the classic's we've read. Starting with Hinds' Feet on High Places!

Would you like to read it for yourself? Buy it HERE.Learn more about Kelsey HERE.

Reading for Writers

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As writers, reading can become hard. Not just because we're busy but because we start to notice things we never did before and it bugs us. Here are some helpful hints for writers to help them enjoy reading.
Try not to read right after you've been editing. Take some time to do something else for a while, or even wait a day. You may or may not be able to shut off your inner editor. Taking some time to get out of editor mode helps.
Remember that some things are style preferences, not right and wrong. As a writer, we have our own styles and often have researched dos and don'ts. For instance, I'm writing a story and in the first chapter, I give some backstory so that you can understand the main character. One beta reader liked it, another didn't. Preferences and styles color how we read. Go in knowing that. 
Think about what you've been writing before you pick up a book. Here's a personal example: I had just finished A Different Kind of Courage, which is a book set during the American Revolution. I picked up a book set during the same time. I liked some aspects of it but there were several historical aspects of the book that really bothered me and kept me from enjoying it. 
Read what you are writing before or after, not during. Let me explain what I mean by that. One of the most common pieces of advice given to writers is to read books that are like theirs. This is good advice. However, when you are writing one genre/type of book, consider reading in another while you work on that story. This can help you enjoy the reading process more. 
Forgive yourself for reading slumps. It happens to the best of writers. Sometimes, the inner editor will not be shut off. It's okay to take a break from reading for a while or read only old favorites. This does not make you a bad reader or writer. 
Do you have any advice for reading as a writer?

The Grumble Free Year

Find it on: Goodreads| Kindle | Paperback | AudiobookAge Appropriate For:All AgesBest for Ages:All Ages
Description:  The Goyer home--with two parents, eight kids, and one eighty-eight-year-old grandmother with dementia--is never without noise, mess, activity, and, often, complaining. And it's not just the kids grumbling. After adding seven children in less than six years through adoption, the Goyer family decided to move out of survival-mode and into unity- and growth-mode. They decided to tackle the impossible: a grumble-free year.With grade-schoolers, teenagers, and a grandmother who believes children should be seen and not heard, plenty of room exists for flunking the challenge. Add to that seven children being homeschooled together in close quarters, and what could possibly go awry?In The Grumble-Free Year, the Goyers invite readers into their journey as they go complaint-free and discover what it looks like to develop hearts of gratitude. They share their plans, successes, failures, and all the lessons they learn along the way, offering real-life action steps based in scripture so that readers get not just a front-row seat to the action but also an opportunity to take the challenge themselves and uncover hearts that are truly thankful.
I started listening to this book on Scribd right before the world seemed to start coming apart due to Covid-19. God used the upheaval and this book to address the grumbling that had snuck into my life. This lesson proved even more valuable as I tore my calf muscle and couldn’t walk for a few weeks.
While I don’t have the privilege of being a mom or wife yet, I felt like I could relate to Tricia Goyer easily and quickly. I too like to plan and come up with creative ways to accomplish my goals. I felt like I understood how Goyer thought. There were so many moments that I laughed or cringed because I saw myself in what she was doing. Even some of the parenting blunders I could totally see myself doing someday.
Goyer’s honesty about the ups and downs, the victories and defeats made this book a joy to listen to. The narrator brought the story to life and I really felt that I was riding along with her family for the journey.
Aside from her honesty, I think the thing that helped me the most was the chapter on grumbling styles. While it wasn’t a completely new way for me to see it, it was a much-needed refresher course. It helped me to see some things that I really needed to work on.
This book is about one family’s journey to grumble less. It is also a wonderful book that will help spur on your way to rooting out of your own life. I know it helped me.
I highly recommend this for every Christian who wants to grumble less, enjoys non-fiction written in a personal style, and likes books that you can laugh over and be convicted by.

Slow Recovery

My leg is healing very slowly. It's in a lot less pain, but I still can't put weight on it. It's been discouraging at times, as I don't like sitting day after day. Also, crutches are a lot harder to walk on then they look. Just moving a handful of times a day is tiring. Yet, I have so many things I'm grateful for. Here are a few:
A family that doesn't get tired of bringing things to me. They are the best.The litter of puppies that I can watch and that makes me smile.Our porch swing and the lovely weather we are havingMy courage and hope bracelets that I'm wearing a lot to remind me to have the courage to do what is right that my hope is in God during this time.Updates from my brother who is boldly serving God and those with Covid-19 in New York.Iced tea.Pain mediations.Ice packs.A sister who is helping me at my jobPrayer coverage from so many.Yes, I have a lot to be grateful for

I have a confession. I had a large number of books started and I decided that this week, I was going to focus on finishing them. I'm happy that I succeeded in doing that.
I listened to this book on Scribed (you can get two months for free by clicking HERE). I knew nothing about this man going in. It is always powerful to here about people who sacrifice so much for our LORD. Goodreads | Amazon | Scribd
This was the classic my friend Kelsey and I read this month. It was amazing!Goodreads | Amazon | LibriVox
I've been working through this series and this is the best one so far. I love the narrator. Goodreads | Amazon  
Okay, this story is just what I needed when I couldn't sleep because my leg was hurting. It was a sweet romance with unique characters. I probably wouldn't love it as much on a normal day.Goodreads | Amazon
I've been slowly working my way through this. I started it after finishing Pride and Prejudice. This is a sweet look about what might have happened to Jane Austen's beloved characters after the close of her classic tale. I enjoyed it.Goodreads | Amazon
I was very excited about this non-fiction book. Rest is a concept that our culture misses, but it's so important. This book had a lot of good things to say but sometimes didn't feel well organized. Yet, I also appreciated how grounded it was in scripture. Goodreads | Amazon

Liberties, Rights, and Christianity during the Corona Virus

I want to start this whole thing by saying that the following opinions are unpopular and I am well aware of that. I will accept comments with honest questions or biblical concerns, but I will not publish or read comments shared out of anger or simply for the purpose of argument.


I've seen a lot of my dear Christian friends express concerns about how this unique time in history is causing the government to take away our liberties at a quick rate. They express concern and even outrage that their fellow Christians are not doing more, saying more, against what is going on around them.

Bothers and sisters in Christ, if we are worried about what the government is doing during this time, our focus is in the wrong place. Don't get me wrong. Please vote and do vote according to your conscious. Yet, during this crisis, if Christians are using their effort to fight the political evils, they are fighting the wrong battle.

Right now, we have an amazing opportunity to reach those in our community with the gospel, to be the hands and feet of Jesus. If we are spending more mental and physical energy on the liberties that the government is taking away, then we are reaching out to those around them and asking what God would have us do, that's a problem.

The bible does not call us to fight for political change, it does not call us to stand up for or rights as citizens of whatever nation that we happen to live in. It calls us to live holy and blameless lives. It called us to live radical lives for Christ and to share the hope within us to the doing world around us.

America will someday be dust. In the grand scream of entirety, what the government is doing is really not the concern of the church. When we get to heaven, our voting record, and political stands will not gain our reward. I doubt there will be one person in heaven because they were won over by our political opinions during the coronavirus. Yet, the church has an opportunity to share our hope with our neighbors like never before.

We can help feed those who are hungry, to get groceries for that mean old lady a few doors down and show her the love and compassion of Christ. I personally know Christians who are helping to fill the huge need for grocery delivery, when many volunteers are running home. I know Christian medical workers rushing toward the epicenters to help in the name of Jesus. We can share hope with those who are feeling hopeless. We can go to go to God for peace, in a culture that is thriving on fear and anger.


Brothers and sisters, let us live quiet lives that respect those in authority, as the Bible commands and use this time to spread the gospel of Jesus, not our political agenda.





A few years ago I wrote a four-part series about my biblical understanding of how we are supposed to treat those with authority over us. You can read about David and Saul, What Romans says, Peter's Stand Against Authority, and Our Response.

Five Mistakes Indie Author Should Avoid (that I made)

Hey friends! I recently have been talking with some new authors that are looking to publish their stories.  I decided to share with you five mistakes that I personally made that other authors should avoid. 
Mistake #1: I used friends instead of a professional editor. I had a lot of people help me read books that were good at English. That isn't enough. I'm slowly getting my older works updated, but every book and short story needs to go through an editor that has experience working with novels/books. It makes a huge difference. Kelsey Bryant is my editor and is stellar. 
Why didn't I do this to start with? 1. It's expensive. Even with discounts, it can easily cost $200. I also didn't understand why I needed someone who edited books vs. someone just good with English.
Mistake #2: I failed to make an investment right off with some covers. People will judge a book by its cover, even short stories. Now, let me say that I knew the importance early on, but I cut corners a couple of times to speed up the process. Big things to avoid: Covers you've drawn (unless you are an incredible artist). Poor quality photos. You need professional-grade photos and high resolution. If you want to learn to make your own covers, make sure you get a lot of input from others.
Mistake #3: I said my book defied classification. I get it, some books are heard. I have one friend who has written a super sweet, near-future book. It isn't science fiction, it isn't contemporary, and it would be a stretch to call it dystopian. It's a hard book to classify. However, get guidance from authors and stick to a classification. Sometimes this may even mean tweaking your book. I made this mistake with my Taelis of Taelis series, they straddled the kingdom fantasy (non-magical/real world like) and the historical fiction genre and it caused a lot of confusion and disappointed readers. I'm working on moving them into the fantasy world. 
Mistake #4: I confronted some reviewers. When I published my first book, The Destiny of One (one of those books that really needs professional editing), I got a couple off the wall reviews that made comments about my family. I commented back and defended my family. Also a couple of times, people would get facts wrong (someone said I had said Patrick's hair was blond so they were upset I had a dark head model on the front) and I commented with a correction. As hard as it is, I've learned that it is never okay to argue or contradict a reviewer. 
Mistake #5: I haven't always taken the time needed before a book release. It's easy to get so excited about a book and rush it through the publication process. One of the things that I've learned is sometimes it is better for a book to be published a lot later than I really wanted it to then to rush it through the process and things not be done well. Take the time to release a book well and it will easier in the long run.  

Bitter Winter

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*I wrote this review a little over a year ago and I'm just now sharing it here*Find it on: Goodreads | Kindle | Paperback Age Appropriate For: 15 and up for violence and romanceBest for Ages: 15 and up
It’s taken me a long time to write this review, not because I haven’t wanted to, but because life has been busy. This book was one of my favorite books this year.
So many books today campout on either a Hallmark version of the world (very nice and happy, but not realistic) or the dark, dirty side of life (which gets very depressing very fast).I think the reason that these books mean so much to me is they are so true to life while being a good escape. the joy and pain are all mixed up, sometimes God intervenes in incredible ways and sometimes tragedy happens.
This story builds on everything that has happened in the books that came before. The winter is horrible, everyone is struggling to find warmth and enough food. The resistance faces both some wonderful gains and tragedy.
The hard thing a series like this is that to really give a full-blown review, I’d have to give spoilers to someone who hasn’t read the previous books. So let me give you just the bullet points.~ The characters are growing and changing (those that aren’t dead)~ The romance in this book was sweet. A couple mentions of being excited about enjoying the privileges of marriage but it was done in a realistic, yet not dirty way. The fact is mentioned then life goes on.
~ Your heart will break when tragedy strikes. I nearly cried myself. ~ Your heart will soar as hope rises out of the ashes.~ While an allegory, it will put in mind so many things that the Bible talks about.~ This book does have a satisfying ending.I highly recommend this book to those who like this series, non-magical fantasy, and stories with a realistic mix of hardship and hope.

I received this book from (name here) for the purpose of writing a review. I was not required to write a positive review. All the thoughts expressed are my own.

Memes I'm Laughing over

Today, I just thought I would share some of the Memes that I'm laughing over these days.

It's Corona Season

This season has been so odd for all of us. For me, it has been an odd contradiction. After all, so many plans have been canceled. Yet, with me still working, and with most of my family home, I've had less time than usual to work on my stuff. Well, until now. 
On Monday, I got home from work and started putting up some things. As I was putting a box up on a shelf above my head, I felt like someone had hit the back of my leg with a heavy object. I dropped everything and hobbled to a nearby chair. It seems I've either strained or torn my calf muscle, It's pretty painful and getting to the doctor is a bit of a challenge so prayers for wisdom and healing would be appreciated. 
As for what has been going on in my life...One of the hardest things about this time is our slow internet. I know, many people have been experiencing slower speeds. We've never had internet fast enough we could stream movies or have video chats. This is making this time a little more challenging. We've been very blessed that we had just switched to a new cell service that gives us a little more high-speed data than our last service. We each switch off who uses their data to stream our church service. If you would like to join our church next week, you can HERE. The wildflowers have been amazing. It's a little hard to see. All that blue in the picture is bluebonnets!



On the writing front, it's been exciting! I finished my story for the A Very Bookish Thanksgiving novella collection. I'm about to dive into planning out the rest of my writing year. The next project up for writing is the next Kate book!

One of the real blessings during this time, our sweet dog Belle had puppies! We often just go and watch their antics. They are so much fun. One of the puppies looks exactly like his papa, Luke, our other dog. We may be keeping one of the puppies, but a couple of them have already been spoken for. I don't think it's going to take us long to find good homes for all of them. As always, we celebrated Passover. While we weren't able to share it with the Larkin family or my friend Kelsey as planned, we had a wonderful time, remember what Jesus has done for us. It's in times like these that those reminders are important. 
Easter, of course, looked different this year. I missed celebrating it with my church family. However, we found ways to make it special. Rose and I put on our Easter dresses to watch church and our family took a long walk in the beautiful weather. 


Amazon | GoodreadsI really loved this book. It convicted me and also encouraged me. I highly recommend it.
Amazon | GoodreadsI didn't love this book, but I did love the narrator.