Catastrophe. That’s quite a word. It’s the epitomy of a word trying to describe the worst of a circumstance and even with this word it’s still not enough to truly explain the loss. Flood, almost 4 feet deep = Catastrophe. The catastrophic nature of what happened back on May 19 doesn’t begin to describe enough the significant loss Keith, Athena, me, and my mom went through. Athena literally no longer has a bedroom. Our house only has 3 bedrooms in it. Two on the main floor - Keith & I … [Read more...]
Loss… Sentimental and/or Physical #flood2020
The evening of Monday, May 18, it had been a typical day in our home. I’m a virtual assistant (equivalent to an executive assistant/personal assistant from the comfort of my home office). I’d had another typical day of taking care of my clients and the tasks they needed me to take care of. Due to COVID-19, Keith was home and not working (lots of freetime). Athena was also home as there was supposed to be “online” learning. Yet today’s school system has no belief in this generation to be able to … [Read more...]
A 61 Day Bible Study Quiet Time Plan for going through Ephesians
(Since I originally wrote this post back on February 25, 2016, I started Ephesians, then made it through the third chapter, stopped for a while, started up again from the beginning last August then stopped again. When I started to have my quiet time again last month (April 2017), my desire to go through Ephesians had passed. I instead chose a short book, Jude, and went through it in about 14 days. I was debating on whether to post what I wrote below or not as I'm no longer going through it. Then … [Read more...]
The Journey with Renee Blare #acfw #thejourney
Please welcome this week's guest Renee Blare for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? One Step at a Time 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV) “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” When I became a Christian at eighteen years old, I made a discovery. One that I use many different ways. I learned how to walk by faith. Now, I’m not talking about walking down the aisle, although I did make that trip; several times. But I’ll tell you about that … [Read more...]
The Journey with Cathy Elliott #acfw #thejourney
Please welcome this week's guest Cathy Elliott for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? Bloom Where You’re Planted? When I finally answered the writer call, it was with the words, “What shall I write?” The desire had long been nestled inside, popping up every so often, tapping me on the heart. But the nudge seemed playful, without purpose. Now, at-the-ready, I felt lost before my journey even began. At my first writers group meeting, … [Read more...]
2014 ACFW Pre-Conference Mix and Mingle #acfw
My plan this morning had been to get back to writing my 365 day journey. However, I came across something in my email this morning that I'm quite excited about. It's the ACFW Pre-Conference Mix and Mingle. Laurie Tomlinson has been gracious enough to start this and I'm excited to participate. All you have to do is answer a few questions, which I've put below. If you'd like to join in the fun and add yourself to the list, please click this link: laurietomlinson.com and if you don't have a … [Read more...]
Sorry it took so long… #acfw
I sit here this morning thinking back on the last couple of months, and the time seems to have flown by. Only eight months ago I sat up in my room with my husband discussing with him why I felt I needed to go to the ACFW writers conference in September. Besides that awesome friends I'll finally get to meet in person (Joy Avery Melville, Julie Lessman, Dineen Miller, just to name a few :) ) and the fantastic workshops I'll get to go to, I'll have that rare opportunity to pitch both my fiction … [Read more...]
Postponing my journey
Many of you have probably noticed I have not been posting about my 365 day journey since the end of June. While I plan to keep going with it, this past month is always hard for me. For those of you who don't know me very well, my husband and I have lost our only child, our 8 1/2-year-old daughter, six years ago on July 16. I end up having a hard time focusing as the days draw closer to this time. This year has been no different. On July 1 we also had family fly in from California and has been … [Read more...]
Day 116: Why Writers Get Scared #acfw
As writers we have to be willing to pour ourselves into our writing. It’s what makes a good story. I think the reason why my daughter’s hospital story has touched so many is because the words written came directly from my heart. I didn’t hold anything back. At the time I only thought of them as updates for friends and family. But over time they have become so much more. Some of the comments I’ve received have been such a blessing for me. (To read the comments others have left, click the … [Read more...]
Day 115: Writing the Tree #acfw
In life we usually learn by either example or making a wrong decision. This is how we better ourselves. I love this because if I never learned from any of my mistakes what good would that be. My writing has benefited from this. If I had started to write and then didn't get any feedback/critiques on my writing, I wouldn’t have learned how to become a better writer. My writing has become stronger as a result of the time and effort I've put in. My hope is that those who have been helping me will … [Read more...]
