Writing Tip #1 How to Stay Inspired

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Wedding Jitters

It's coming up! You're big day! The day you'll vow to spend the rest of your life with the person you adore! How exciting! How new! How terrifying!

I will be married this Saturday (just three days) and, let met tell you, even when you are committed to another and KNOW you will marry them, that doesn't mean you won't have wedding jitters.

You know, those knots in your stomach as you think of all that will change. Knowing you'll have to take care of another person and not be as selfish as you are right now. You'll have to love when you want to be disrespectful. Cook dinner. Clean. Fold his underwear. Fix the plumbing again! Hand him a beer after his long day of work, though you just got off too. Listen to her talk in circles about how she feels (which never makes that much sense anyways). Those kind of things.

Don't get me wrong, I love my husband-to-be. A lot. A LOT! And there's nothing that will change my love (because true love is a chose based of the honor of your word and not a feeling that comes and goes like the wind). I know he will take care of me and be by my side when things get hard. We'll love, we'll fight, we'll say mean things without meaning it, and kiss and make up, and learning from everything and everyone we can. 

Still. I'm nervous.

Satan's a smart booger too, if you haven't noticed. He hates marriage, because God created marriage to be a epic metaphor of Jesus and the Church. The husband is Jesus and the wife is the Church. Ephesians 5:22-24 - "Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything." Jesus laid down his life for the Church, and in turn the Church submits and follows Jesus wherever he goes.

Because of Satan's hate of truth, he has been trying everything to destroy our engagement. The love of my life and I got into a huge fight that rippled into other areas of our lives, creating unneeded stress and drama. We did learn more about one another, so always be on the look out for troubles teaching you something valuable. Also, for the first time, I've been looking at other guys. Not in a "oh, I'm gonna flirt with them and see where it goes! ;)" but in a curious way. I know it will lead to fantasizing, which will lead to desire, which will morph into unfaithfulness. I don't want that. In the name of Jesus! I don't want that. So, these new thoughts from the enemy have been met with brutal force and will be silenced with the Word of God. 

Please respect what I say here, as you see, I'm being very blunt and honest with you.

It's ok to have wedding jitters. It's normal. Marriage is a HUGE thing that should not be taken lightly. Far to many people don't take it seriously, thus all the broken homes and damaged kids who will be the leaders of the next generation, who don't know what a healthy, non-chaotic lifestyle truly is. Brakes my heart. 

What is not good is to not talk to someone about it. Find a good, trusted friend who is strong in the Lord who can listen to all your fears and worries and gently remind you of the truth.

Now, if you are in an unhealthy relationship, by all means your wedding jitters won't leave. If you know the relationship is bad, get out now before you have said your vows before God and man. Just because someone said "I love you and will always be here for you" means nothing when their actions do not line up. Stop. Breath. Look out your relationship objectively. Find out what God wants. Do it. Please don't stay in a destructive relationship. For the sake of your children and your own sanity, find someone who will love and respect you unconditionally. 

If you are in a relationship God wants and blesses, then please relax and remember it's ok to be nervous and have jitters about your wedding day. No cold feet now! :)

You've got it! Your day will be great! All the planning and organizing is almost over! Even if all your ducks don't line up in a row, at the end of the day you'll be married and happy! :)

And may God bless you as your adventure finally begins!!! 

The Car who Wanted to be a Motorcycle

Once there was a car named Sam. Sam was a sleek, green car with tinted windows and a secret no one knew. Sam had always wanted to be a motorcycle instead of a car. They always went so fast and looked so cool with two wheels instead of four, bulky tires like Sam had. Motorcycles always got more attention too, and they always where ahead of him on the roads. Sam wanted that.
Looking at his reflextion, he frowned at his large frame and his windows and doors. He was mad at the Global Operations Department, the factory where he and anything with wheels was manufacturered, had decided to build him. Though he had never spoken with the Global Operations Department, or G.O.D., he knew they had made a mistake in his design plans.
"They made a mistake!" Sam said angerly. "They don't know what they're doing! I'll fix myself then to what feels right!"
That day, he went to the auto shop and declared he wanted to be what he was always ment to be, a motorcycle. "But," the repair man stammered, "but you're not a motorcycle. Your a car."
"Can't you see that's not who I am?!?!? I'm supposed to be a motorcycle! Don't you tell me what I can and can't be!"
"Alright! Alright, I'll do it."
Sam had to go into the auto shop several times to correct G.O.D.'s error. Bit by bit, his wheels came off and he learned how to ballance on two, his frame was replaced with a narrower build, and his stearing wheel was replaced by handels. After months of work and change, Sam looked at himself again, smiling at his motorcycle appearance. "Great!" He said. "Now put in a motorcycle engine."
"Hum, we can't do that," the repair man said. "We tried the last time you where in, but the wiring goes beyond our abilities and if we tried, we'd probably brake you.  You'd never start again."
Sam's smile faded as he thought. "But, I still have a car's engine. A can't be a real motorcycle without a motorcycle engine!" "Well, we can't help you." "But, your the best!" The repair man shrugged. Sam sighed, knowing that it didn't matter how much he looked like a motorcycle, he would never be able to function like one.
"G.O.D. might be able to do it for you," the repair man said.
"I'll try them," Sam said with hope.
He drove up to the G.O.D. office, though it wasn't a good drive like he thought it be. He wasn't ballance on his new two wheels and kept forgetting to think like a motorcycle, not a car.
When he reached the office, he went inside and found a man standing at the door with a huge roll of papers in his hands. "Hello, Sam," he said. "The repair man called ahead and asked if we could put a motorcycle engine inside you."
"Can you?" The car/motorcycle grinned, feeling hope at last. Maybe now I can be what I was ment to be!
"No," the man said. Sam frowned. "To replace your car engine with a motorcycle engine goes against your original plans and design. We made you a car and a car is who you'll always be."
Sam shook his head, confused. "I'm not a car. I'm a motorcycle! See? See my two wheels, my seat and no doors? See my handlebars and frame?"
The man shook his head as he unrolled the papers in his hands. "Sam, look. Here are your designs. It took six months to come up with the perfect design just for you, two months to draw it out, and eight months to create you."
Sam's mouth dropped open as he stared at the hundreds of calculations, draw plans, interior and exterior design, engine construction, and so much more. Maybe . . . Sam though, maybe they did know what they where doing.
"You will always be a car, Sam." The man rolled up his papers, his brow knotted for he knew this was hard for Sam to hear; hard but good. "It doesn't matter how much you change G.O.D.'s design, we meant for you to be a car, and a car is what you are." "
But," Sam looked down, "I don't feel like a car."
"But a car is what you are."
"But it doesn't feel right."
"So you think that G.O.D., the manufacturer of thousands of cars in hundreds of countries before your designs where even thought of, is wrong?"
"Yes. Maybe. I don't know . . ." The man and Sam stared at one another without a word.
"We can help you, Sam," the man said. "We can rebuild you from the top to the bottom based on your original design."
Sam shook his head. "I don't know."
"You want to be true to yourself?" Sam nodded. The man held up the rolls of paper. "This is who you are! Be true to your original design that G.O.D. has made for you!"
Sam looked up at the man, at his plans. He looked behind him down the road away from G.O.D. He didn't know what to do.

Do you?

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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