Please welcome this weeks guest Carrie Turansky for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? My Writing Journey I’ve loved reading since I first visited the library as a young child and checked out a tall stack of picture books. I soon graduated to chapter books and spent many happy hours, lying on our porch swing reading. Those lazy days gave my imagination a chance to grow, and they helped me develop a love for well-told stories. My love … [Read more...]
Day 155: Telling Family Secrets
I think of books out there like A Child Called It or Go Ask Alice and how either the person who wrote it, how'd they do it knowing family secrets would be revealed or how did the person who allowed Alice's journal to be published how they felt about revealing all this girl's most private thoughts when she was alive. They probably did it for the same reason as I'm telling Mari's story that by sharing their most intimate details of what happened in that person's life that somehow maybe they might … [Read more...]
Day 151: Walking Away
In life sometimes there are things we want to do so bad, and then we start to do them only to find that about two-thirds to three-fourths of the way through what we are doing isn't anything like we'd thought it'd be. As a result, we realize we need to stop without finishing. Has this ever happened to you before in your life? It has with me, only I realized this when I had completed the full first draft of Mari's book. The book I'd written was a complete biography of Mari's life as well as some … [Read more...]
Day 148: Intimacy
When some thinks of intimacy, they might think about those who are married or couples. However, in some case, it's within yourself and being willing to open yourself up to others about you and your family. I love what Barbara Abercrombie wrote about intimacy: "I want to read writers who have the courage to let me into their lives, who are open and intimate. If they've gone to the trouble of writing a book or an essay, I want it to be emotionally true; I want the details, the nitty-gritty, … [Read more...]
Day 147: Themes
When we write, do we have a theme we write about right off the bat or do we just start to write and have no clue what that theme is. Most of the time when I'm writing on this site, I have no clue what the theme will be when I begin to write my thoughts down. It's not until after I've written everything down and then thought about what was just written I realize what that theme was. It's how I decide to come up with a title. On my 365 day writing journey, the theme each day has basically been … [Read more...]
Day 141: Poetry for Your Table
Sometimes the words we speak or see can be that old saying, "Poetry to our ears." It's not so much the words that are spoken as much as the meaning behind them. I think that has become more evident for me now than any other time in my past. When I'd read a book, it was just that, a book. Don't get me wrong. If I read a book it's because I enjoyed it. However, now, those same words take on a different meaning for me. When put together just right, they can seem like they are poetry to our … [Read more...]
Dedicating this to My Daughter in Heaven
I think most people who visit this site and read what I write know that this site was started as a dedication website in honor of my daughter who left this earth for heaven on July 16, 2008. I've been so blessed as a result of this decision. When I go to write something for on here, it almost always ends up being about my daughter somehow, the tragedy, or how I've been doing along the way. I've been very open about my journey over the past five years. I want to be true to who I am and that … [Read more...]
Serving the ONE
I can remember growing up and going to church when I was in high school and hearing about the missionaries that serve around the world. However, I could never pictures me as one. You basically pick up your life and go to a new place, often times a new culture, and have to start fresh somewhere. It just wasn't my thing and I guess God never called me to be one as my husband never wanted to be one either. The last 20 years we've been together have always had the army apart of them. Even the short … [Read more...]
Live for Today
What if you could do things in your life that would enable you to live longer. Would you do it? I don't think I would. I say this because I know that God already has a plan for my life so no matter what I do or don't do He will take me home when it's my time. That day will be a glorious day as I'm reunited with my daughter, Granny and Grandpa. None of know the exact time and place our time will end. However, we need to live our lives as though it were our last day. I think of the song by … [Read more...]
Never Do Good Deeds Halfheartedly
How can anyone say they are doing a good deed if their heart isn't fully into it? I don't get that personally. If I'm going to do a good deed for someone or something then I need to have my heart fully into it. The fact is others will be able to tell that I'm not into it otherwise. Unless, of course, you're a fantastic actor/actress who can get away with faking it, but if that's the case maybe that person should be paid millions to do movies and what not then too. When Mari died, I could have … [Read more...]
