NEW WEEK NEW FACE – AMY McNEW (repost)

Welcome to my FIRST EVER New Week New Face Feature, with my friend, Amy McNew! Welcome Amy! (repost)

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Breath and Life

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Thank you so much, Robin, for having me on your blog today! I’m excited to be here and have the chance to speak to new people, and hopefully meet some new friends.

For those who don’t know, I’m the fighter chick. The books I write are speculative in nature, bridging the gap between fantasy and reality. They are all about love and war spanning the realms. On my blog, I discuss war, both spiritual and physical. I talk about those demons we all face, and strive to offer hope in fighting them. I talk about causes that are important to me. I am honest. I am real. Sometimes brutally so. I lay my guts on the page, putting all of me into every post and revealing those parts of myself that can be difficult to uncover. In doing so, I hope that I encourage others to lay themselves open, get real, and above all, understand that they are not alone in their struggles.

Today, I offer you a part of myself. My hope is that you will see there is peace to be had, even in the darkest battles.

Yes, peace.

That’s my word for this week.

I know many of you will probably find that a bit odd, considering I’m the woman that’s always yelling fight! Fight! Fight! But even the fiercest warrior has to have a season of peace. Of rest. Of rejuvenation.

I realized yesterday that it is past time for my season of peace. I’ve been running myself ragged, and haven’t taken the time to reset, to restore my spirit. So today, I’m reminding myself of ways I find peace and rest, and get you to think about the things that breathe fresh air into your life.

There are so many people, places, and things that I find sanctuary in. That are my breath and life. I want to share some of them with you today, in no particular order.

Above is a picture of the White River in Northern Arkansas, not far from where I grew up. This place will always hold a piece of my heart. The smell of pine, the rivers and lake I grew up around, the quiet, being surrounded by nature. When I was younger, all I wanted was to get out of that backwater and see the big world. Now, I return as often as I can, which is not often enough.

 

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These are a few of the crazy people in my life. While often they drive me absolutely batty, each one has at one time or another spoken love into my heart and breathed life back into me when I was fading. For all our ups and downs, we are family and I love these people.

 

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Music. Music is what motivates me. It’s what powers me. I have been a musician and music lover all my life. I find solace in melody, comfort in rhythm. My life has a soundtrack and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

 

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Martial arts have been a part of my life for 20 years. Though I no longer compete due to health issues, I can still spar lightly, let loose on the bag, work through my forms, and train as hard as always. Even if it’s just me running through a form (think Tai Chi) all by my lonesome, I get a rush. I am centered. I am focused. For that moment, I am powerful.

 

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I would be remiss if I failed to mention my greatest Source of peace. I’ve been involved with church pretty much my whole life. But only in the past several years have I come to have a true, honest, no holds barred relationship with my God, and not just hold to a religion. In opening myself up like that, having faith, I have found peace that is beyond description.

I’ve been in some utterly dark and wretched places, spiritually and physically. Places and situations I thought there was no way out of. Many times I’ve felt that there was nothing but chaos around me, and I had no light to see by, nothing to hold on to. Then I really met my Savior. Once I surrendered, turning everything over to Him without holding back, even in my darkest times I’ve felt Him. He holds me. He comforts me. He whispers to me, letting me know I’m never alone. I’m never without light, even if I have to squint to see it. He infuses me with peace exactly when I need it most.

If you have yet to find that for yourself, I challenge you to reach out to Him. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Now that I’ve laid a little bit more of my guts on the page, how about you? What gives you peace? How do you find rest? Is there a place or person you run to when you need your spirit replenished, when you need to get away from it all, or you just need to be reminded who you are and rediscover your dreams? Share with us! Maybe someone reading this needs some ideas for getting a little fresh air in their lungs. Remember, we’re in this fight together.

On my own blog, I always have a song that follows my post. The melody I’m sharing with you today is an instrumental I find relaxing and soothing. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Thank you again for letting me share with you today.

Fight on friends, victory is ours.

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Meet Amy Brock McNew. Author. Blogger. Fighter.

Former nurse and martial artist.

Amy doesn’t just write speculative fiction, she lives and breathes it. She enthusiastically explores the strange, the supernatural, and the wonderfully weird. She pours her guts onto the pages she writes, honestly and brutally revealing herself in the process. Nothing is off limits. Her favorite question is “what if?” and she believes fiction can be truer than our sheltered and controlled realities.

This wife and mom is a lover of music, chocolate, the beach, and cherry vanilla Coke. Her home is a zoo, filled with teenagers–both hers and those she seems to collect–two dogs, a cat, and various fish and amphibians. Strangely enough, her kids are the ones who have to tell her to turn the music down.

It is her firm belief that everyone should have a theme song.

 

You can find Amy at:

Facebook: Facebook.com/AmyBrockMcNewauthor

Twitter: twitter.com/amybrockmcnew

Website: www.AmyBrockMcNew.com

 

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#amymcnew, #newweeknewface, #NWNF, #authorbloggerfighter, #specfiction, #peace

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