Heather R. Acquistapace's Blog, page 4

Wedding Jitters

It's coming up! You're big day! The day you'll vow to spend the rest of your life with the person you adore! How exciting! How new! How terrifying! I will be married this Saturday (just three days) and, let met tell you, even when you are committed to another and KNOW you will marry them, that doesn't mean you won't have wedding jitters.
You know, those knots in your stomach as you think of all that will change. Knowing you'll have to take care of another person and not be as selfish as you are right now. You'll have to love when you want to be disrespectful. Cook dinner. Clean. Fold his underwear. Fix the plumbing again! Hand him a beer after his long day of work, though you just got off too. Listen to her talk in circles about how she feels (which never makes that much sense anyways). Those kind of things.
Don't get me wrong, I love my husband-to-be. A lot. A LOT! And there's nothing that will change my love (because true love is a chose based of the honor of your word and not a feeling that comes and goes like the wind). I know he will take care of me and be by my side when things get hard. We'll love, we'll fight, we'll say mean things without meaning it, and kiss and make up, and learning from everything and everyone we can. 
Still. I'm nervous.
Satan's a smart booger too, if you haven't noticed. He hates marriage, because God created marriage to be a epic metaphor of Jesus and the Church. The husband is Jesus and the wife is the Church. Ephesians 5:22-24 - "Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything." Jesus laid down his life for the Church, and in turn the Church submits and follows Jesus wherever he goes. Because of Satan's hate of truth, he has been trying everything to destroy our engagement. The love of my life and I got into a huge fight that rippled into other areas of our lives, creating unneeded stress and drama. We did learn more about one another, so always be on the look out for troubles teaching you something valuable. Also, for the first time, I've been looking at other guys. Not in a "oh, I'm gonna flirt with them and see where it goes! ;)" but in a curious way. I know it will lead to fantasizing, which will lead to desire, which will morph into unfaithfulness. I don't want that. In the name of Jesus! I don't want that. So, these new thoughts from the enemy have been met with brutal force and will be silenced with the Word of God. 
Please respect what I say here, as you see, I'm being very blunt and honest with you.
It's ok to have wedding jitters. It's normal. Marriage is a HUGE thing that should not be taken lightly. Far to many people don't take it seriously, thus all the broken homes and damaged kids who will be the leaders of the next generation, who don't know what a healthy, non-chaotic lifestyle truly is. Brakes my heart. 
What is not good is to not talk to someone about it. Find a good, trusted friend who is strong in the Lord who can listen to all your fears and worries and gently remind you of the truth.
Now, if you are in an unhealthy relationship, by all means your wedding jitters won't leave. If you know the relationship is bad, get out now before you have said your vows before God and man. Just because someone said "I love you and will always be here for you" means nothing when their actions do not line up. Stop. Breath. Look out your relationship objectively. Find out what God wants. Do it. Please don't stay in a destructive relationship. For the sake of your children and your own sanity, find someone who will love and respect you unconditionally. 
If you are in a relationship God wants and blesses, then please relax and remember it's ok to be nervous and have jitters about your wedding day. No cold feet now! :)
You've got it! Your day will be great! All the planning and organizing is almost over! Even if all your ducks don't line up in a row, at the end of the day you'll be married and happy! :)


And may God bless you as your adventure finally begins!!! 

The Car who Wanted to be a Motorcycle

Once there was a car named Sam. Sam was a sleek, green car with tinted windows and a secret no one knew. Sam had always wanted to be a motorcycle instead of a car. They always went so fast and looked so cool with two wheels instead of four, bulky tires like Sam had. Motorcycles always got more attention too, and they always where ahead of him on the roads. Sam wanted that.
Looking at his reflextion, he frowned at his large frame and his windows and doors. He was mad at the Global Operations Department, the factory where he and anything with wheels was manufacturered, had decided to build him. Though he had never spoken with the Global Operations Department, or G.O.D., he knew they had made a mistake in his design plans.
"They made a mistake!" Sam said angerly. "They don't know what they're doing! I'll fix myself then to what feels right!"
That day, he went to the auto shop and declared he wanted to be what he was always ment to be, a motorcycle. "But," the repair man stammered, "but you're not a motorcycle. Your a car."
"Can't you see that's not who I am?!?!? I'm supposed to be a motorcycle! Don't you tell me what I can and can't be!"
"Alright! Alright, I'll do it."
Sam had to go into the auto shop several times to correct G.O.D.'s error. Bit by bit, his wheels came off and he learned how to ballance on two, his frame was replaced with a narrower build, and his stearing wheel was replaced by handels. After months of work and change, Sam looked at himself again, smiling at his motorcycle appearance. "Great!" He said. "Now put in a motorcycle engine."
"Hum, we can't do that," the repair man said. "We tried the last time you where in, but the wiring goes beyond our abilities and if we tried, we'd probably brake you.  You'd never start again."
Sam's smile faded as he thought. "But, I still have a car's engine. A can't be a real motorcycle without a motorcycle engine!" "Well, we can't help you." "But, your the best!" The repair man shrugged. Sam sighed, knowing that it didn't matter how much he looked like a motorcycle, he would never be able to function like one.
"G.O.D. might be able to do it for you," the repair man said.
"I'll try them," Sam said with hope.
He drove up to the G.O.D. office, though it wasn't a good drive like he thought it be. He wasn't ballance on his new two wheels and kept forgetting to think like a motorcycle, not a car.
When he reached the office, he went inside and found a man standing at the door with a huge roll of papers in his hands. "Hello, Sam," he said. "The repair man called ahead and asked if we could put a motorcycle engine inside you."
"Can you?" The car/motorcycle grinned, feeling hope at last. Maybe now I can be what I was ment to be!
"No," the man said. Sam frowned. "To replace your car engine with a motorcycle engine goes against your original plans and design. We made you a car and a car is who you'll always be."
Sam shook his head, confused. "I'm not a car. I'm a motorcycle! See? See my two wheels, my seat and no doors? See my handlebars and frame?"
The man shook his head as he unrolled the papers in his hands. "Sam, look. Here are your designs. It took six months to come up with the perfect design just for you, two months to draw it out, and eight months to create you."
Sam's mouth dropped open as he stared at the hundreds of calculations, draw plans, interior and exterior design, engine construction, and so much more. Maybe . . . Sam though, maybe they did know what they where doing.
"You will always be a car, Sam." The man rolled up his papers, his brow knotted for he knew this was hard for Sam to hear; hard but good. "It doesn't matter how much you change G.O.D.'s design, we meant for you to be a car, and a car is what you are." "
But," Sam looked down, "I don't feel like a car."
"But a car is what you are."
"But it doesn't feel right."
"So you think that G.O.D., the manufacturer of thousands of cars in hundreds of countries before your designs where even thought of, is wrong?"
"Yes. Maybe. I don't know . . ." The man and Sam stared at one another without a word.
"We can help you, Sam," the man said. "We can rebuild you from the top to the bottom based on your original design."
Sam shook his head. "I don't know."
"You want to be true to yourself?" Sam nodded. The man held up the rolls of paper. "This is who you are! Be true to your original design that G.O.D. has made for you!"
Sam looked up at the man, at his plans. He looked behind him down the road away from G.O.D. He didn't know what to do.

Do you?

Kingdom Minded

I've been learning something very strange that I really like!
I've started going to an ultra in depth Bible study at my church and have been learning so much! God has been pointing out my pride through a book called "The Bait of Satan" by John Bevere, broke down my insecurities of being "stupid" in another of John's books, "Under Cover", and now have opened my eyes to the Kingdom of God through a WONDERFUL book called "The Final Battle" by Rick Warner. Each book has been very helpful and has opened my eyes to things I need to change about myself and I strongly encourage you to read them as well.
Anyways, I've been learning how to be Kingdom Minded. When I say Kingdom, I mean God's economy, life through God's eyes and not how this world says to live. It's difficult, I'm not going to lie. I'm a human, in a physical world, trying to think and act like someone who lives in a spiritual world with a Kingdom, Heavenly Army, and system that is far above earth. Yah . . . it's a bit tricky sometimes.
But!
It can be done for all things are possible with God. So, how do we start?
First, we must understand what it means to have a Kingdom Mindset. It means that your goals, motive, and drive is all based off what God wants. It is rejecting our world's mindset, or working hard only to be successful just to die comfortably, and taking on a godly attitude. This means that the speed racer who cut you off at rush hour should not be cussed at, but prayed for. They might have had a worse day then you and is late to pick up their kids from school. It means to help that smelly bum, instead of ignoring them. It means to stop thinking "How can this situation better me and what I want?" and think "What can I do for someone else?" W.W.J.D. isn't an cheesy phrase, it's truth. What would Jesus do should be a constant question. I know for me, if I just ask what would I do, nothing good or fulfilling will ever happen.
Well, why would you want to have a Kingdom Mind? Let's face it, life sucks. The people who act like it isn't are either good at lying, good at dulling the pain, or have God. When we stop thinking like this crappy world tells us to think, we begin to see things as they really are.
Everyone has a spirit, but we don't function naturally in the spiritual world. Therefore, our spirit can get sick and weak and need help. However, in this physical world, we don't know how to think, act, walk in, and live in a way that edifices our spirit. God made the spiritual world. He knows how to nurture and protect our spirits. He is more then able to in fact. Therefore, we must strip away the physical, deteriorating world's view and take on God's eternal mindset.
What would this look like? Well, I'll tell you.
My dream sense I was thirteen is to become a successful author with my stories available all over the world where everyone knows my epic tails! I've been striving for that goal ever sense. So, I've been learning how to market, signed up to teach writing workshops, I'm going to several book fairs, learning how to use social media to my advantage, and so on. BUT! God does not seem interested in marketing or aggressively pursuing success. This confuses me because I'd think he wants our books to become popular so that more people can read it, therefore more lives can be changed. Apparently, he thinks differently. God and I have been talking a lot about the future lately and he has shown me my goals are not Kingdom Minded. For the moment, God seems more interested in me writing, establishing the Hearts of Glass series, and not worrying about the next big gig. I kind of think I'm not ready to be big, so he's wanting me to go slow.It's annoying, honestly, because I feel like a race horse unable to speed out onto the track to beat the race. My rider, God, is chill and laid back and not wanting me to speed ahead. I have to trust him and know his way is the best way; being Kingdom Minded. I'm not very good at this, its still a new idea, but it is a fulfilling one. When I know that my goals align with God's, things go a lot smoother. If I was left to myself, I would be punishing myself all the time for not writing or working on marketing, while I'm currently working full time and planning my wedding. I'm learning its okay to relax and let writing wait for a time. It's hard, but its what God wants.Be Kingdom minded. It's not natural, but it's worth it. It will take time and a conscious effort, but I know you can do it!

:)

Writing Workshop: Writing Fundamentals

Writing is an art, and like all arts, it is helpful to learn from an instructor. I will be teaching a Writing Workshop on April 9th at the La Grande Art Center. You will learn the fundamentals of writing, such as word choice, plot development, and, my personal favorite, character development. Please bring a pen and paper to partake in the exercises. After the session, I will read exerts from both my books, "The Day the Devil Smiled" and "Hearts of Glass: Shattered Lives" and share my personal adventures in the writing world. Throughout the two hours, I long to encourage you to pursue your dreams of writing and give you resources to publish your own work. Everyone should give their story a chance and let it be printed!Come and check it out, learn a lot of necessary writing tools, and I'd love to chat with you afterward. See you there!

Day: April 9thTime: 1-3 P.M.Location: Union County Art CenterBring: Pen and paper

"The Day the Devil Smiled" Book Trailer

LIKESHARECOMMENT

:)

How to Kiss

You're first kiss! What a magical thing! When you press your lips against someone elses and feel all their lip wrinkles and a little bit of spit after eating a hamburger and a dozen onion rings.
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Hee-tee, I had to say that!
Kissing, when you boil it down, is kind of odd. Why would two people take their mouths, that they use to eat ALL SORTS of things with, and smoosh them together for a while. Oh, with eyes closed. (My fiance promptly told me when, we kissed the first time, that most people don't keep their eyes open. Well, how should I know? I don't know what I was doing?!)
With kissing, I've learned some things about it. 1) its a lot of fun! 2) you can do it wrong.
Here's some do's and don't with kissing. ;)

Do:

KNOW THE OTHER PERSON! Don't just kiss around! You only have one first kiss, don't waist it one someone who won't aprishiate it.Respect the other person. My fience and I believe sex is for marriage, therefore we have boundrys we try really hard not to cross. I respect him by not overly stimulating him, and vis versa. (Please don't think we're perfect, stingy christians! This is one of the most difficult test of self-control of my life.)Enjoy it! Don't get wierded out like I did. I over think things sometimes and, well, squishing my mouth over my fiance's sounded strange. It's not. Just do it.Give to the other person. No one ever told me you can tell if you're being kissed because the other person needs a kiss, or if they're wanting to give you a kiss. When I say give, I don't mean give your body. Give your attention and heart in the kiss.

Don't:No fish-lips! Lips can move in different ways so don't pucker up and just live 'em like that! No one want's to kiss a fish.Please don't be squished into a lazyboy chair and crain the girl's head back to kiss her. That's an odd first kiss, believe me. My neck hurt!Be carfule of spit. It happends, alright. Please, for the love of God, respect other people! Don't start making out on the couch when there's people around; that'll make them uncomfortable and aquward. Don't eat before kissing: Pizza, onions, Mexican, eggs, and something that makes you burpy. ;)Don't kiss all the time. It's special because your special. 
That's all I can think of for now. What about you? Do you have any insight into the art of smooching? 
;)

Dreams are like Fireflies

There has been one dream that I have had almost all my life and that is to publish books. BOOM! Got that one checked off the list! Yes! But. I have more dreams and, to be honest, I’m afraid of them.
I have been learning a lot about dreams and what to do with them.Dreams are like fireflies caught in a glass jar; they’re cool to look at but no one ever knows what to do with them. That’s how I feel anyway.I love books. Like a lot. I enjoy sitting down and reading a story, but that’s not what I mean when I refer to books. I LOVE formatting books and designing them, I love opening a box and finding books inside, books I have created, or helped create. Which brings me to my dream: I would love to begin a book formatting business that act as a representative for authors to my publishing company. How cool is that?! Doesn’t that sound awesome? I think it does, very much, but what do I do now? I have my firefly caught in a jar. It’s flying around, all aglow with beauty, but what do I do? This is what I have been learning with dreams, and my mentor is so wonderful in encouraging me! If a dream doesn’t scare you, then it’s not big enough. God is a real powerful Guy, He can make things happen that we could never do on our own! But, there is one stipulation. . . .A dream that God is willing to bless is one that He wishes to happen. Makes sense. If He don’t want it, He ain’t blessing it. I wouldn’t either (praise God I’m not god though!) If you have a dream that is outside God’s will for your life, then DON’T DO IT! But what if it’s a good thing, something you know He’ll like? So what. Don’t do it. It might not be good for right now, but it will be perfect later in life.For example, I have dreamed of marring my boyfriend for a whole year. I wanted to marry him last summer, but God said no. I knew God brought us together and that He wanted us to marry, but He said no? What’s that about? Six months later, I know why. We weren’t ready for such an in-depth level of a relationship. We had yet to learn the heart of the other and be willing to honor it. Now, after waiting on the Lord and doing as He says, we’re engaged! (He! Ha! He asked yesterday!!! XD) Were we out of God’s will in wanting to marry? No, but we weren’t ready yet. You many have a dream that you are not ready to for. And that’s ok. There’s nothing wrong with that. So what are you going to do with your firefly?I know God is a-ok for me to begin formatting and publishing other people’s books. I can’t wait to begin! I’ve already published one man’s work, which you’ll see by clicking here. I know it is the first of many and I’m excited to turn ANY writer’s dream into a reality. So, if you have a finished book you want to be printed, put on Amazon, and or made into an e-book, let me know. Click here to message me.I’m sure God will take my firefly and make it shine bright! He already has with my dream to publish books.So, dream big and give your fireflies to God. He knows what to do. 

Invest emotion

Writing is all about investing.
When you write, you invest your time and knowledge of the subject you are writing about. You invest your energy to make the words flow and fit together like a song. Most importantly, when you write you must write with the emotion.
I have a theory. People usually do not remember specifics of a book they have read, they remember how the book them feel. Therefore, the readers must feel strong emotions, positive or negative depending on how you want them to feel, regarding your book. In order to do this, writers must write with emotion and vigor. Without it, a reader will have no reason to pick up your book. For your reader invests as well. They invest their time and attention.
So how does one write with emotion?
First of all, the writer must adore the topic they are writing about. That or hated it. I know that sometimes I start with a book that I love and by the end I simply hate it. It must be something that matters to you in the strong way and something you know others need to feel it the same way as you do.
You must be brave. Sometimes I read books whose authors are timid. They are scared to say something offensive or traumatic or opinionated. It is in your story, so write with strength in the face of the reader. Right about something controversial. Sure, it will make someone unhappy, but someone will always be unhappy. I did not intend my first book, "The Day the Devil Smiled", to be a topic that is debatable. And that's okay! It is my best selling book because people have the possibility to disagree with it. Be brave and write about something challenging, something that is hard to write about. I respect authors who take horrible, real life stories and make into novels that evokes such intense emotion that no one can put it down.
Invest in your character. I'll always stress this, realistic characters make realistic stories. If your characters are not believable or relatable then there will be no point to your story. Why do we listen to our friends talk about their day and past experiences? As far as stories go, they are usually not action packed, full of twists and turns, and unexpected events that catch you by surprise. Sure they have a good line here and there, but in general it is usually simple, commonplace stories that are nothing exceptionally special. So why do we listen? Because we care about our friend. Same is true with the characters. You must invest in your character to the point that they are a close friend so that when they die, you cry, when they succeed, you rejoice, and when they have hardships, you feel bad for them. For whatever you feel for your characters, your readers will feel the same.
Being a writer is not easy. There is a lot of responsibility and talent in writing. You hold several lives in your hands; your characters and your readers. The most important of all is your readers. You must be swept off your feet by the tale dancing in your head so that your reader also may be carried off into the fantasy. Dive deep into what you create and become connected with all that you write so that your reader may follow suit.  Let them feel the heartbeat of your book just as you do.

I know Where You'll Be on the 25th

Guess where you'll be on the 25th of July???At the Pionear Square in Portland Oregon for the Book Festival! Come and see all the venders, including yours truly at booth 11, and take part in the fun! Every type of book you can think of will be there, including "The Day the Devil Smiled" and the first book in the "Hearts of Glass" series!Don't miss out!
Click here to sign up!

Should I Cry? Should I Laugh?

Life is full of those stupid moments where you have a decision to make: should I laugh, or should I cry? This happens way too often for me. Sometimes I cry, but most of the time I laugh with everyone else at my own silliness. You know what I'm talking about. When you say something, but mean something else. When you walk into a conversation at the wrong time. Life just happens and silly things get blamed on you. So, for the fun of it, I've made a list of the times when one needs to decide to laugh or cry. Judge which ones you would cry for or life for.
When you walk into a room where people are talking, and all you hear is, " I'd rather do it with my pants off."
If you, as a girl, walk into the girls bathroom and a man walks out of one of the stalls. "Oh no," you exclaim! "Am I in the men's restroom?" The man just glares at you and you realize it's a very ugly, very indistinguishable woman.
Pretend your texting someone by talking to your phone. You were just asked how was work. You tell your phone, " I'm pooped. It was hard. I had to take a bath and go to bed." But! Your phone misses one letter: "m". So, the response you send is "I pooped. It was hard. I had to take a bath and go to bed."
Let's say you're at a river watching several people swim. One guy has two or so tennis balls he has thrown into the river for his dog. He doesn't notice, but one of the balls start to float down the river. To help him notice and save the ball, you shout loud enough for him to hear above the water's roar and people's play, "Sir! Did you come with two balls?"
Pretend you come across someone you don't really like who makes you nervous. You expect them to ask how you are doing. So, without thinking about it, you respond "Good, how are you?" even though all they said was, "Hi!"
A long distance friend has come to see you. You haven't talked with her for a year so it's nice to catch up. She turns to the guy next to her and says that he is her husband. You didn't even know she was dating someone! And so, as your brain is racing with shock, wondering why you're not married yet, why you weren't even told she got married, and realizing how long you haven't seen your friend, you make yourself look like an idiot by saying, "Nnnnnniiiiiiicccceeeee . . . . . . to meet you!"
And the list can go on and on with crazy situations. Just so that you are aware, I didn't make any of these scenarios up. They either happened to me or my family members. Life's full of moments where you to decide to laugh or cry. Choose to laugh. You're a silly person who make silly mistakes, we all are. Life's more fun and relaxed when you can laugh at yourself.