Yes, You Should Go to Declare & What You Need to Remember
“The voice of anxiety is an invitation to call on God.” Lara Williams, Delcare Conference I’m in post-conference mode, meditating on all the things I learned, the people I met, the God “nudges” that nudged, what I want to do next or need to do now. At the moment my most pressing issues are: wash post-camp+post-conference clothes+a ginormous sleeping bag, enroll kids in public school after years of homeschooling, grill the marinated chicken (because I’m more of a griller than a cake-baker),...
read moreArticles, Videos, and Posts that Affected Me this Past Week (Plus a PokemonGo Trailer?)
{Hey subscribers, I sent a newsletter earlier this week with the latest going-on’s so be sure and check your inbox. Some of you took me up on the limited-time freebie so “Yay!” If you missed the offer, don’t worry. More freebie are coming for ya.} Great reads from this past week: In Defense of Beauty, by Alia Joy. Be ready to have your breath taken away when reading the whole article. Here’s a teaser: “Maybe there are poets who write the simple things of bread and earth and sky but in the...
read moreAn Exodus Backstory in My Return to Writing & a Declare Conference Meet-n-Greet
(Hi, to all my readers! I’m linking up this week in a get to know ya, kinda post as I share how I started blogging. I’m going to the July conference and love connecting with people in real life. Some of you may remember my former blog: If Meadows Speak. But if you’re a new subscriber, today you’ll discover parts of my backstory of how I came to blog and write. And if you’re subscribed to my free ebook on how I survived an indie book launch, my post-launch data has come in and I’ll be sending you the last...
read moreHow My “Perfectly” Obsessed Writing Increased My Anxiety for Public Speaking
When I send private newsletters to subscribers, y’all, readers get whole lotta Texas. It’s like my words flow in a cascade off the cliff of “stage fright”, comfortable and with ease. But then I come here, public and all. I strain for every word. Back-spacing, replacing, and perfecting each sentence. When writing blog posts, I arrange or re-arrange my thoughts. I place words in a logical and smooth order. I kill the “darlings,” those sentences or paragraphs I had enamored myself too. ...
read moreWin a Kindle Fire, Gift Cards, and More
Who doesn’t like FREE, new stuff? Giving away things makes the world go ’round, am I right? Maybe not exactly, but you get my drift. Handing out free gifts puts a little joy in your soul. After being sequestered in the writer’s closest, you sorta-kinda-alot just want to bust a move and sing Cyndi Lauper songs. A girl just wants to have fun, eventually. So without further ado: And here’s your easy peasy way to enter. Just follow me over here (<<–click) and the...
read more8 Things I Learned about Myself while Writing a Book
A self-published friend recently asked me what I learned during the upcoming launch of my debut book (set for the end of this month). Her question referred to steps such as book formatting, cover design, marketing, etc. But what first came to mind were lessons I learned about myself. Does that count? In a subscriber-email-only letter, I recently shared parts of my spiritual journey in the past months. And that journey has transcended my writing too. Often times, we write (or live life) with two voices in our head. ...
read moreWriting & this Season of Change
I have not fallen off the map. Over the last few months, I’ve been fleshing out writing ideas that go beyond one blog post. And when I’m working on something, I squeeze all my energy in that direction, tunneling my vision as if aiming at a bull’s eye. In our house, we call it the “Pit Bull” mentality. Once I sink my teeth into a project or responsibility, I hold on, expending time and resources into that venture. And after my creative canines firmly bite in, I throw my weight behind it. But I also...
read moreCalling Brave Writers & Why I’m Taking a Blogging Break
Y’all, I’ve blogged for over six years. This online world isn’t the same one I knew back then and that’s ok. But it’s time, y’all, for me to take a break. And yes, I kinda sorta have taken a blogging a break since Christmas with exception to my one word for 2016. Believe me, that one word didn’t waste time. I’ve taken blogging breaks in the past as well. But this time, I’m scheduling a big ol’ sabbatical, from this day forward. I’ve procrastinated in saying...
read moreLiving the Propelled Life, Or More Aptly, Not Slamming Doors & Nailing Them Shut
Any eloquence for my one word of this year, has vanished. Part of that has everything to do with how, since 2012, each one word has inflicted me with an awe-inspiring and frightfully prophetic nature. Last year’s “invite”, opened doors of certain invitation I was not prepared for. And when they opened, I, from pure habit, shut them with a “no”. In fact, I slammed them rather rudely, the door jams rattling from force. A time or two, I even laughed at the folly that the knobs had turned in the first place....
read moreUntil Next Year, Friends–I leave You With Some enCouragement
You need breaks. You need sabbaticals to go and recharge your soul. If God Himself rested on the 7th day, I mean, come on, He’s God and He rested. I’m always in awe of that and also am reminded of how I (we) need to rest, time to time. That’s why I’m taking a blogging break. Plus, I’m re-evaluating my time commitments, you know, because the new year and all. I’ve started working part-time but will share more on that, next month. Regardless, I’m committed to this group right here. I never tire...
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