Sarah Holman's Blog, page 82

Relitive Moralisam

As this has been a hard week, our house has been filled with some serious conversations. One of them got me to thinking a lot, mainly because it is something that God has been teaching me about this year: moral relativism. This sounds deep, no? What do I really mean by this phrase?

Most of us (if not all) are guilty of it in some form or fashion. When deciding weather or not to watch a movie we say: “Well, it is a lot better than most of the stuff out there.” Or when we pick up a book we think: “Maybe it isn’t the best, but it is better than that book over there.” We even base our standards on this relative moralism. We treat our siblings better than most of the world, we don’t date the really promiscuous people, we stay away from the worst habits.

While all of this looks good on the surface, we miss God’s greatest blessings. In essence, when our morals are relative, we are walking as close as we can to the edge of God’s plan, and are often surprised when we step outside. I know I am guilty of this, and have been many times. I have watched some movies and TV shows that were cleaner than most of the things my friends watch, but realized they were far outside what God has called me to. I have allowed my speech to my siblings to become harsh and sarcastic at times, while still patting myself on the back for being nicer to them than most of the world.

Jesus never taught moral relativism. He didn’t call us to be better than most of the world, he called us to live for him with an all-out passion. He invited us into a close relationship with himself and asked us to walk as closely to him as we could.

When we want to watch a movie, instead of asking is it okay to watch, what if we asked if it lined up with Philippians 4:8? What if, though we are treating people better than most, we lined it up with the principles found in the Sermon on the Mount? What if we stopped looking at being relatively better than those around us, and started passionately trying to follow our Heavenly Father?

It hurts, doesn’t it? I know right now I want to go and hide some of those movies I like (but aren’t great), defend my sarcastic and witty speech, and pat myself some more for how I generally treat people, but that would be more moral relativism. I know that if my morals are based on relative standards, I don’t truly have any morals at all, only an ever moving behavior target.

I don’t want relative moralism anymore. I want to follow Christ with a passion. I don’t want to pat myself on the back for being better than most, I want to ask God the areas I am failing in. I want to stop asking how far I can go, and instead ask how close I can stay, because I know the greatest blessings come not from living a relatively good life, but by living passionately sold out to God.

Courage: It's not what people think

Courage is not what people think. There are a hundred cutesy little sayings about having courage, but they often call short. Because courage is about more than facing a fear, it is not about sacrificing to gain. True acts of courage are those where something precious to you is laid down because your eyes are not on temporary comfort or the easy way, but on what is best.

My sister Rose was full of courage this week. She sacrificed a dream she holds dear, becoming a wife and mother. A guy was interested in her, but after some conversations, it became clear that he was not the right one for her. He was nice, and was a Christian, so it would have been so easy for her to justify keeping him. Instead, she had the courage to say that she would accept nothing less then what she was willing to give: her pure self and total commitment.

This was an act of true courage. She sacrificed a dream that she has no way of knowing if she will ever get it back. I can tell her there are other guys out there, that the right one will notice, but that doesn’t mean that it will happen. For all we know this could be sacrificing that dream forever.

As and older sister, I want to be able to rush in and fix everything. To make sure that each of my siblings have an easy time of it. I wish I could carry every pain for them. The hardest thing for me is realizing that I can’t do that. All I can do is pray and hold them tight as they cry.

Having the courage to do what is right, often means sacrifice. However, I firmly believe that the reward for those who have the courage to do so will be richly rewarded, not only in heaven, but also on earth. A life lived doing what is right, courageously, is one that reaps the natural and wonderful benefits of those actions.

What is the most courageous act you have witnessed?

Half-Blood blog Tour!

A story just about Jace? One where I finally get to hear about his background? Yes please! *ahem* Yes, I was very eager to read this book when I was offered an advanced reader copy.

The first thing, have a box of tissues with you. This story was heart-wrenching. I knew it wasn’t going to be lighthearted, but I was not prepared for the emotional punch this story packed. Knight didn’t spare the readers of the hurt that made Jace into the person he was.

Knight’s writing gets stronger with each story and books she writes. The words painted a harsh world in which Jace lived and brought it to life. I could see everything in my mind so perfectly. Talent must be her middle name.

The message of the power of words and the power of acts of kindness were a part of the story, though I am not sure if the author even concisely thought about it. However, both were very powerful.

This powerful novella will answer many of the questions that readers have about Jace, as well as give them a deeper glimpse into his character. I highly recommend it for those who like the Ilyon Chronicles, want to understand Jace better, or like stories that tug on your emotions.

I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

Changing Destiny: Where God has me right now

Has it really been almost since I posted on this blog? Wow! It is a testament to how busy my life is and how God reveals His new plans (new to us, not Him) quickly sometimes.

On Memorial weekend of this year, central Texas was hit heavily by the floods. While my family and I were fine, many in my home town did not fair so well. That is when an organization called Austin Disaster Relief Network moved in to help.

I went to a training class and I knew that this was something God wanted me to take part in.
This is that training I went to. Someone snapped a picture while everyone was praying.
So I started volunteering along with my sisters.

Yes, we ware awesome yellow shirtsWhile I expected to volunteer for two to three weeks straight and then come in every so often, God had other plans. I found myself, as the call center manager. That was not my plan, but God has much bigger plans for us then we could ever have for ourselves.

There are a lot of ups and downs right now emotionally because of how stressful my job is, but God is teaching me so much. I feel like in the last four weeks, I have grown more in my faith then I had in the previous year. I praise God for this time of great change and stretching.

Hopefully I will learn how to balance my full-time job with the rest of my life so that I can blog more often.

Office, friends, and family help celebrate my 25th Birthday

Watlz for Free!

Ready for another free book? This time, a fairytale retelling?

Happy Almost 4th of July

My book is this weeks Read-to-Win book for HomeschooledAuthors.com

Cover Reveal: Water Princess, Fire Prince

What is your favorite part of designing a cover?
I didn't design this cover - my amazingly talented cousin did. So lucky to have him. His mom did my Bookania Quests - so lucky to have her, as well.

However, I do design the covers for my short stories, so I suppose I can answer the question. I like seeing it come together. The moment when all of the pieces fall into place, the filters make the picture pop perfectly, and I know that I've found my cover. My favorite ones I've done are for "The Derao" and "The Sun Jewel Adventure."

What can people expect from this book?
 A lot of words ... (This question is always so difficult!)

You can expect a fun adventure with a sweet romance and quite a bit of witty dialogue. A story of faith, and waiting on God's timing because he's

As for advisories, um, there is a bit of physical in the romance, but never past kissing, and I do use a low-key system of magic that's similar to Narnia.

Does it have any relation to any of your other books?
There is an Easter Egg if you've read Sew, It's a Quest, but other than that, nothing directly. However, all of my books are interconnected if you dig deep enough into my subconscious. I just haven't written enough that you can see the full spiderweb.

Book Description:When the Lady Dragon does come,
Hold fast, do not fear, do not run.
Your Water Princess will fight,
Fire Prince will set all to right.
Each shall come from a Fall,
Their union will save you all.

Despite the fact that she's on track for competing in the Olympics, and he's practically raised his younger brothers since they lost their mom in a car accident, Clara Mandras and Andrew Stevenson are pretty much normal teens. They have normal hopes, normal dreams, and they live in a normal world.
All this is torn away from them when they are thrust into another world and declared Water Princess and Fire Prince. With no experience ruling a country, meeting each other for the first time, and being expected to fight the Lady Dragon – an evil sorceress plaguing the world of Rizkaland – Clara and Andrew are underprepared and inexperienced. Unless they learn to work together despite their standing opposition, Rizkaland's hope will be lost.

What is to come will change their lives forever.


Author Bio:Kendra E. Ardnek loves fairy tales and twisting them in new and exciting ways.  She's been practicing her skills on her dozen plus cousins and siblings for years, "Finish your story, Kendra", is frequently heard at family gatherings.  Her sole life goal has always been to grow up and be an author of fantasy and children's tales that also glorify God and his Word. You can read more about her on her blog,knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com.
Available for kindle preorder: http://www.amazon.com/Water-Princess-Prince-Rizkaland-Legends-ebook/dp/B00YTQBTDI/  $2.99 the 19th and 20th ONLY (at which point I’ll put it up to its official price of 3.99)
Add it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24022364-water-princess-fire-prince
Part 1’s first chapter: http://knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com/2014/12/water-princess-chapter-1.html
Part 2’s first chapter: http://knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com/2014/12/fire-prince-chapter-1.html

Creighton Hill Blog Tour: Historical Research for Fantasy Worldbuilding

by Morgan Hunke

All writing requires some level of research. Even fantasy requires research. The type of research required depends on the fantasy. The more a fantasy world is based on real historical events/places/cultures, the more research is required. For my fantasy Time Captives, I combined many things, medieval castles and warfare, ships of the era of exploration, Ancient Rome, and ante-bellum South. I’ll share with you some of the things I researched.

When worldbuilding, I started off with a base idea of a medieval fantasy. I actually wrote an entire school research paper on medieval warfare. Stacks of library books taught me about the process of becoming a knight, common military tactics, the way castles were built to withstand a siege, what different pieces of armor were called, and much more. I learned little tidbits of information, like that keeping a bow strung all the time weakens the wood and eventually destroys the bow. Some military tactics I drew from events in the American Revolution, which I reviewed to be sure I remembered them correctly. Knowing this information allowed me to give the medieval and battle side of the story a more authentic feel.

Ships were another thing that required my research. There is a pirate ship in Creighton Hill, and book two, The Crossways, greatly involves the sea. That involved another stack of library books. I could find little on the ins and outs of sailing itself, but visits to replicas of ships, the Nina and the Pinta, the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and the Discovery certainly served to give me an idea of what it would be like to be on board the ship, as did those working on the ship telling what they knew of it. I highly recommend visiting a replica of a ship if at all possible, whether or not you are going to write about sailing. It really gives a new respect for what the founders of America did to come here. The Susan Constant, Godspeed, and the Discovery are at Jamestown Settlement in Virginia. The Nina and the Pinta travel about to many places.

A side note on the issue of ships and medieval warfare is the subject of cannons. I had cannons on my ships, but I didn’t want guns in the battles. I therefore did a bit of research to be sure it was plausible for them to have cannons, but not guns. Indeed, it is, since it took a while to figure out how to make such weapons small enough to be hand held.

I reviewed school books to refresh my memory of the ante-bellum South when I decided to base the plantations of Calhortz off that. The decision to add gladiators inspired searches for internet articles on gladiator training, docudramas about gladiators, and research on Spartacus. I also researched pop culture in the history of America, since Time Captives is a portal fantasy in which the characters come from different eras.

One of the great things about fantasy is being able to throw whatever things you want together and making it work. However, do not discount historical research. Readers do like believable fantasy, and researching the historical elements in your worldbuilding makes it more believable, creating a solid world that readers will want to visit again and again.

Writing Saturday: Continuing Destiny

A glimpse into my latest release:

Road block

As I type this, I am blinking back a tear. No, I am not sad, I had a bug fly into my eye yesterday and my eye is very irritated and keeps watering. I have to take frequent breaks when writing and reading because that strains it.

This is just one in a long line of roadblocks I have hit lately when it comes to writing. But sometimes those road blocks are because we need the time to realize something and grow.

Stories are coming, in God's perfect time.