Kingdom Minded

I've been learning something very strange that I really like!
I've started going to an ultra in depth Bible study at my church and have been learning so much! God has been pointing out my pride through a book called "The Bait of Satan" by John Bevere, broke down my insecurities of being "stupid" in another of John's books, "Under Cover", and now have opened my eyes to the Kingdom of God through a WONDERFUL book called "The Final Battle" by Rick Warner. Each book has been very helpful and has opened my eyes to things I need to change about myself and I strongly encourage you to read them as well.
Anyways, I've been learning how to be Kingdom Minded. When I say Kingdom, I mean God's economy, life through God's eyes and not how this world says to live. It's difficult, I'm not going to lie. I'm a human, in a physical world, trying to think and act like someone who lives in a spiritual world with a Kingdom, Heavenly Army, and system that is far above earth. Yah . . . it's a bit tricky sometimes.
But!
It can be done for all things are possible with God. So, how do we start?
First, we must understand what it means to have a Kingdom Mindset. It means that your goals, motive, and drive is all based off what God wants. It is rejecting our world's mindset, or working hard only to be successful just to die comfortably, and taking on a godly attitude. This means that the speed racer who cut you off at rush hour should not be cussed at, but prayed for. They might have had a worse day then you and is late to pick up their kids from school. It means to help that smelly bum, instead of ignoring them. It means to stop thinking "How can this situation better me and what I want?" and think "What can I do for someone else?" W.W.J.D. isn't an cheesy phrase, it's truth. What would Jesus do should be a constant question. I know for me, if I just ask what would I do, nothing good or fulfilling will ever happen.
Well, why would you want to have a Kingdom Mind? Let's face it, life sucks. The people who act like it isn't are either good at lying, good at dulling the pain, or have God. When we stop thinking like this crappy world tells us to think, we begin to see things as they really are.
Everyone has a spirit, but we don't function naturally in the spiritual world. Therefore, our spirit can get sick and weak and need help. However, in this physical world, we don't know how to think, act, walk in, and live in a way that edifices our spirit. God made the spiritual world. He knows how to nurture and protect our spirits. He is more then able to in fact. Therefore, we must strip away the physical, deteriorating world's view and take on God's eternal mindset.
What would this look like? Well, I'll tell you.
My dream sense I was thirteen is to become a successful author with my stories available all over the world where everyone knows my epic tails! I've been striving for that goal ever sense. So, I've been learning how to market, signed up to teach writing workshops, I'm going to several book fairs, learning how to use social media to my advantage, and so on. BUT! God does not seem interested in marketing or aggressively pursuing success. This confuses me because I'd think he wants our books to become popular so that more people can read it, therefore more lives can be changed. Apparently, he thinks differently. God and I have been talking a lot about the future lately and he has shown me my goals are not Kingdom Minded. For the moment, God seems more interested in me writing, establishing the Hearts of Glass series, and not worrying about the next big gig. I kind of think I'm not ready to be big, so he's wanting me to go slow.

It's annoying, honestly, because I feel like a race horse unable to speed out onto the track to beat the race. My rider, God, is chill and laid back and not wanting me to speed ahead. I have to trust him and know his way is the best way; being Kingdom Minded. I'm not very good at this, its still a new idea, but it is a fulfilling one. When I know that my goals align with God's, things go a lot smoother. If I was left to myself, I would be punishing myself all the time for not writing or working on marketing, while I'm currently working full time and planning my wedding. I'm learning its okay to relax and let writing wait for a time. It's hard, but its what God wants.

Be Kingdom minded. It's not natural, but it's worth it. It will take time and a conscious effort, but I know you can do it!

:)

Writing Workshop: Writing Fundamentals

Writing is an art, and like all arts, it is helpful to learn from an instructor. I will be teaching a Writing Workshop on April 9th at the La Grande Art Center. You will learn the fundamentals of writing, such as word choice, plot development, and, my personal favorite, character development. Please bring a pen and paper to partake in the exercises. 

After the session, I will read exerts from both my books, "The Day the Devil Smiled" and "Hearts of Glass: Shattered Lives" and share my personal adventures in the writing world. 

Throughout the two hours, I long to encourage you to pursue your dreams of writing and give you resources to publish your own work. Everyone should give their story a chance and let it be printed!

Come and check it out, learn a lot of necessary writing tools, and I'd love to chat with you afterward. See you there!

Day: April 9th

Time: 1-3 P.M.

Location: Union County Art Center

Bring: Pen and paper

"The Day the Devil Smiled" Book Trailer

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:)

How to Kiss

You're first kiss! What a magical thing! When you press your lips against someone elses and feel all their lip wrinkles and a little bit of spit after eating a hamburger and a dozen onion rings.
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Hee-tee, I had to say that!
Kissing, when you boil it down, is kind of odd. Why would two people take their mouths, that they use to eat ALL SORTS of things with, and smoosh them together for a while. Oh, with eyes closed. (My fiance promptly told me when, we kissed the first time, that most people don't keep their eyes open. Well, how should I know? I don't know what I was doing?!)
With kissing, I've learned some things about it. 1) its a lot of fun! 2) you can do it wrong.
Here's some do's and don't with kissing. ;)

Do:

• KNOW THE OTHER PERSON! Don't just kiss around! You only have one first kiss, don't waist it one someone who won't aprishiate it.
• Respect the other person. My fience and I believe sex is for marriage, therefore we have boundrys we try really hard not to cross. I respect him by not overly stimulating him, and vis versa. (Please don't think we're perfect, stingy christians! This is one of the most difficult test of self-control of my life.)
• Enjoy it! Don't get wierded out like I did. I over think things sometimes and, well, squishing my mouth over my fiance's sounded strange. It's not. Just do it.
• Give to the other person. No one ever told me you can tell if you're being kissed because the other person needs a kiss, or if they're wanting to give you a kiss. When I say give, I don't mean give your body. Give your attention and heart in the kiss.

Don't:

• No fish-lips! Lips can move in different ways so don't pucker up and just live 'em like that! No one want's to kiss a fish.
• Please don't be squished into a lazyboy chair and crain the girl's head back to kiss her. That's an odd first kiss, believe me. My neck hurt!
• Be carfule of spit. It happends, alright. 
• Please, for the love of God, respect other people! Don't start making out on the couch when there's people around; that'll make them uncomfortable and aquward. 
• Don't eat before kissing: Pizza, onions, Mexican, eggs, and something that makes you burpy. ;)
• Don't kiss all the time. It's special because your special. 

That's all I can think of for now. What about you? Do you have any insight into the art of smooching? 

;)

Dreams are like Fireflies

There has been one dream that I have had almost all my life and that is to publish books. BOOM! Got that one checked off the list! Yes! But. I have more dreams and, to be honest, I’m afraid of them.

I have been learning a lot about dreams and what to do with them.

Dreams are like fireflies caught in a glass jar; they’re cool to look at but no one ever knows what to do with them. That’s how I feel anyway.

I love books. Like a lot. I enjoy sitting down and reading a story, but that’s not what I mean when I refer to books. I LOVE formatting books and designing them, I love opening a box and finding books inside, books I have created, or helped create. Which brings me to my dream:

I would love to begin a book formatting business that act as a representative for authors to my publishing company. How cool is that?! Doesn’t that sound awesome? I think it does, very much, but what do I do now? I have my firefly caught in a jar. It’s flying around, all aglow with beauty, but what do I do?

This is what I have been learning with dreams, and my mentor is so wonderful in encouraging me! If a dream doesn’t scare you, then it’s not big enough. God is a real powerful Guy, He can make things happen that we could never do on our own! But, there is one stipulation. . . .

A dream that God is willing to bless is one that He wishes to happen. Makes sense. If He don’t want it, He ain’t blessing it. I wouldn’t either (praise God I’m not god though!) If you have a dream that is outside God’s will for your life, then DON’T DO IT! But what if it’s a good thing, something you know He’ll like? So what. Don’t do it. It might not be good for right now, but it will be perfect later in life.

For example, I have dreamed of marring my boyfriend for a whole year. I wanted to marry him last summer, but God said no. I knew God brought us together and that He wanted us to marry, but He said no? What’s that about? Six months later, I know why. We weren’t ready for such an in-depth level of a relationship. We had yet to learn the heart of the other and be willing to honor it. Now, after waiting on the Lord and doing as He says, we’re engaged! (He! Ha! He asked yesterday!!! XD) Were we out of God’s will in wanting to marry? No, but we weren’t ready yet.

You many have a dream that you are not ready to for. And that’s ok. There’s nothing wrong with that.

So what are you going to do with your firefly?

I know God is a-ok for me to begin formatting and publishing other people’s books. I can’t wait to begin! I’ve already published one man’s work, which you’ll see by clicking here. I know it is the first of many and I’m excited to turn ANY writer’s dream into a reality. So, if you have a finished book you want to be printed, put on Amazon, and or made into an e-book, let me know. Click here to message me.

I’m sure God will take my firefly and make it shine bright! He already has with my dream to publish books.

So, dream big and give your fireflies to God. He knows what to do. 

Invest emotion

Writing is all about investing.
When you write, you invest your time and knowledge of the subject you are writing about. You invest your energy to make the words flow and fit together like a song. Most importantly, when you write you must write with the emotion.
I have a theory. People usually do not remember specifics of a book they have read, they remember how the book them feel. Therefore, the readers must feel strong emotions, positive or negative depending on how you want them to feel, regarding your book. In order to do this, writers must write with emotion and vigor. Without it, a reader will have no reason to pick up your book. For your reader invests as well. They invest their time and attention.
So how does one write with emotion?
First of all, the writer must adore the topic they are writing about. That or hated it. I know that sometimes I start with a book that I love and by the end I simply hate it. It must be something that matters to you in the strong way and something you know others need to feel it the same way as you do.
You must be brave. Sometimes I read books whose authors are timid. They are scared to say something offensive or traumatic or opinionated. It is in your story, so write with strength in the face of the reader. Right about something controversial. Sure, it will make someone unhappy, but someone will always be unhappy. I did not intend my first book, "The Day the Devil Smiled", to be a topic that is debatable. And that's okay! It is my best selling book because people have the possibility to disagree with it. Be brave and write about something challenging, something that is hard to write about. I respect authors who take horrible, real life stories and make into novels that evokes such intense emotion that no one can put it down.
Invest in your character. I'll always stress this, realistic characters make realistic stories. If your characters are not believable or relatable then there will be no point to your story. Why do we listen to our friends talk about their day and past experiences? As far as stories go, they are usually not action packed, full of twists and turns, and unexpected events that catch you by surprise. Sure they have a good line here and there, but in general it is usually simple, commonplace stories that are nothing exceptionally special. So why do we listen? Because we care about our friend. Same is true with the characters. You must invest in your character to the point that they are a close friend so that when they die, you cry, when they succeed, you rejoice, and when they have hardships, you feel bad for them. For whatever you feel for your characters, your readers will feel the same.
Being a writer is not easy. There is a lot of responsibility and talent in writing. You hold several lives in your hands; your characters and your readers. The most important of all is your readers. You must be swept off your feet by the tale dancing in your head so that your reader also may be carried off into the fantasy. Dive deep into what you create and become connected with all that you write so that your reader may follow suit.  Let them feel the heartbeat of your book just as you do.

I know Where You'll Be on the 25th

Guess where you'll be on the 25th of July???

At the Pionear Square in Portland Oregon for the Book Festival! Come and see all the venders, including yours truly at booth 11, and take part in the fun! Every type of book you can think of will be there, including "The Day the Devil Smiled" and the first book in the "Hearts of Glass" series!

Don't miss out!

Click here to sign up!