That one little word, approval, can mean so much to someone. To know that someone approves of something you have said or done. It gives you the confidence you might not have had otherwise. I think back on the time when Mari was in the hospital. When she had made it to her fourth and final hospital, I was told by one of the nurses about CarePages. She told me it was a way to keep family and friends updated on Mari and how she was doing. I couldn’t wait to get started. We had so many people … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2014
Day 124: Breaking Glass: Metaphor and Symbols #acfw
In life, it seems so many of us try to compare our grief and pain to someone else’s. Our tragedy to theirs. The thing is that even if the tragedies sound similar in nature, no two are the same. I remember going to a wake a few months after my daughter had passed. This may be long but here it goes: My husband’s sister’s husband’s (David’s) grandfather had passed away. Both David’s grandmother and grandfather had come to Mari’s wake. Basically his whole family came by to pay their respects. I … [Read more...]
Day 123: An Empty Swimming Pool #acfw
Life. The unexpectable waiting around any corner for us to come and find it. Yet, so many of us fight the unknown. It can scare the you-know-what out of us, and it's even worse for those we affectionately call “control freaks.” It’s in their nature to try to stay in control of everything. However, life has a way of deciding when and where it will take us. It’s like a pool that sits right in your backyard. You know it like the back of your hand. You swim in it every day as it brings you … [Read more...]
Day 122: Fiction vs. Nonfiction #acfw
I think back to the day Mari was in the hospital and I told someone whether Mari made it or if she passed I was thinking about writing a book about her life. I’m not exactly sure why I would've thought to do something like this as I definitely didn’t believe I was a writer. After she passed and a little time went by, I decided to write a book about her life. The only drawback is I had no idea what I was doing. My husband tried to help me with editing it the best he could. His main comment was … [Read more...]
Day 121: Life Rafts #acfw
Life rafts can mean so many different things to different people. For me, my life rafts come from my Heavenly Father. He knows when I’m about to drown. It’s in these moments He gives me a life raft, in other words, He carries me through whatever is happening in my life at that time. When Mari got sick, I started on my very long sixteen day journey that felt like the worst roller coast I’d ever been on, and I love roller coasters. It’s like I couldn’t wait for the terrible ride to end, only in … [Read more...]
The Journey with Janet Sketchley #acfw
Please welcome this week's guest Janet Sketchley for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? God dragged me into writing kicking and grumbling. I was a sleep-deprived at-home mom. My husband knew I needed to get out of the house, so he encouraged me to join a friend's new writing group. She needed bodies to fill the chairs, so what was I to do? Then God nudged me to pray for someone in jail. Again I struggled, but He didn't let up until I … [Read more...]
Day 120: Writing the Event #acfw
There an old adage in writing about ‘show don’t tell.’ I’d never heard of this personally before I started to write my first fiction book. Even when I was writing the original book about my daughter I was being told to add fiction elements to her story. I’d never understood exactly what that meant until I made my first attempt. When I submitted it for comments, I was told that it was much better but I knew I needed to go deep to really convey what I was trying to say. One day I had an idea … [Read more...]
Day 119: Stillness #acfw
For me, I like to write in complete silence. No TV on. No music playing in the background. This is what works for me. My mind is clear. The words flow forth. I tend to get distracted if anything is happening around me. Writing in silence helps me to be a better writer. It’s the stillness around me that helps my creative juices to really flow forth. Sometimes as a parent we need that stillness, or quiet time, away from our children. It’s not that we don’t love them or don’t want them. We just … [Read more...]
Day 118: Infusion of Hope: The Circus Rider #acfw
The circus rider who stands on top of the horse as the horse gallops around the arena stays focused. He doesn’t allow those around him to distract him. If he did he might fall. This holds true in our writing. If we allow those around us to influence us to either change our writing to what others say it should be or those around us don’t support our writing then we won’t write or we change our voice which becomes lost in who we really are as a writer. We have to remember to always be true … [Read more...]
Day 117: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Writer #acfw
I love this. Here is what the author said about loneliness: “Writing can be a lonely business. But gradually your characters, or the scenes and people from your past, begin to rise up around you, and you find yourself writing your way out of loneliness, writing your own company. And you’ll find yourself at dinner some evening telling your family or friends, “Well, Natalie really made a mess of things today” or “I can’t believe what John said about Kathryn’s dog.” And everyone will look at you … [Read more...]
