I can remember from the time I was little dreaming of the job I’d want to do when I grew up. My dream to be a nurse started before I was 5 years old. I can remember sitting for an artist who drew one of those silly characters to where you have a little itty bitty body and your head is HUGE. He drew me like this as a nurse. I just knew this is what I wanted to be all through elementary school, junior high, and high school. I applied to colleges based on whether they had a nursing program or … [Read more...]
How to Find Sincere Love
Today (week 3 day 3), Jen has us looking at Romans 12:9-21 again. She has us choose from a list of original phrases found in this set of verses and then has a cross-reference for a specific phrase for each one. I chose two of the nine she has listed on page 173. Original Phrase (NIV): Romans 12:9—“[sincere] love” Cross-Reference: 1 Timothy 1:5, which reads: “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart (2 Timothy 2:22) and a good conscience and a sincere … [Read more...]
Are You a Good Host?
Wow, I had decided I would continue to post some of what I wrote when I first did Jen Hatmaker's study guide in the back of her book A Modern Girl's Guide to Bible Study. I was trying to find the post I'd started but the draft has disappeared for some reason. As I was scrolling through all my posts, I saw a bunch of drafts. So I decided to open them all up and saw that I'd already typed up about 5 days worth of quiet times from when I did it over a year and a half ago. I figured I might as well … [Read more...]
What does love look like?
We continue on with 1 Corinthians 13 (week 2 day 4). I love how Jen has us continuing to dig deeper into these 13 verses and that’s it. We’ve now been looking at them for three days in a row. Here’s the thing, each day I get that much more out of them. I love the growth I gain by doing this. 1. I am directed to re-read the verses as well as the first two journal entries. 2. Then I am to journal through the following questions. The most important things I need to remember is to listen to … [Read more...]
The Journey with Stephanie Prichard #acfw
Please welcome this week's guest Stephanie Prichard for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? Riding the Emotional Roller Coaster When my love of writing became an earnest intent to publish, I had no idea I was mounting a twisting, looping roller coaster. Please note that from my perspective a roller coaster is NOT an instrument of fun and delight. Chugging to a peak is no problem, but the other side of that peak? Uh-uhhhh. Not a matter of … [Read more...]
Day 128: Learning to Swim #acfw #365days
I normally don’t like to quote from the book but I like what this had to say: “I learned to swim from a magazine article I read when I was eight years old. It told me to grab my knees, duck my head, form a tight little ball in the water, and then float. The next step was to stretch out and continue to float. I did exactly what the article said to do, and lo and behold, it worked. I got my arms going at some point, and I was a swimmer. It’s kind of like writing: get a paper and a pen, start with … [Read more...]
Day 125: Approval #acfw
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...]
The Journey with Melody Balthaser #acfw
Please welcome this weeks guest Melody Blathaser for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? A special thank you to you, Kristena, for allowing me to share my writing journey. It is a privilege! As a teenager, I stumbled upon romance novels and the rest is history. School nights spent under covers with a flashlight, entrenched in an imaginary world of spirited southern belles and handsome drifters. A time or two, I read all night! This … [Read more...]
The Journey with Natalie Monk #acfw
Please welcome this weeks guest Natalie Monk for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? “He hath made every thing beautiful in His time...” Ecclesiastes 3:11 Sometimes the writing journey is wonderful. Other times we writers shove our foot onto the brake pedal and ask ourselves if the endless hours we spend drafting, rewriting, editing, marketing and networking are really accomplishing anything. This is especially true for those of us … [Read more...]
The Journey with Sylvia Bambola #acfw
Please welcome this weeks guest Sylvia Bambola for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? Years ago God spoke to me about writing a novel for the secular world. I believed it. I received it. There was no doubt in my mind that it was God even though He sounded nothing like Cecil B. DeMille. So, for two years I worked feverishly until finally the great American novel was ready. I had amassed a list of all the publishers I planned to favor with … [Read more...]
