Writer's World Blog Tour

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Okay, okay, I am finally getting to this, and I am quite excited about it. I was invited to participate in the Writers World Blog Tour by my friend Christen Krumm, whom I met at the wedding of a lifelong friend. We got to don our little black dresses together and participate as bridesmaids to our dear friend, old to me and new(er) to her. She is also a full-time blogger, wife to Andy, and mom to three adorable littles (Elsie, Drew, and "Scout").

You can read her blog post from last week here. She is in the midst of finishing her first YA fiction novel about a dystopian society in a post life-as-we-know-it-now setting. I've only gotten to read the prologue, but so far, it reveals an intense story, about a young woman pursuing true freedom in the midst of torn-apart times along with other members of their society. 

It has yet to be named, and I know she will be happy to receive suggestions, check her out, she's a great inspiration to me! She has prodded me to get me writing again since the last time I seriously pursued it was high school, and folks, that was just too long ago. So here goes...

What are you working on?

Right now, I am just focusing on this little bloggity blog. My purpose is to write about marriage and family, and some of the things I have learned in the process. Eventually I will be interviewing other women and asking them to share their advice on marriage, love, and relationships-and in a way get to tell their stories. 

Another thing that I am doing is reworking some of my old stories (from my late adolescence) and regaining inspiration, falling in love with my characters again, and placing them in a time period. 

How does your work differ from others in its genre?

Well I have always thought that I would write fiction romance. However, I have gotten away from reading them as much because of school textbooks or motivational books that I have had to read for certain courses I have taken. I still want to write fiction, and I still want to incorporate romance, but one of the things I pursue is transparency and authenticity. 

I want the message to be redemptive, but I don't necessarily want it to be overtly preachy. I would say it may be veiled in metaphors, somewhat similar to the style of C.S. Lewis in the Narnia series. 

Why do you write what you do?

I think most of what I write comes from either my experiences or the experiences of people I know. I love stories and I think everyone has one to share, whether or not they know it, or whether or not they will be the one to tell it. Most of all, I want to cultivate space for creativity and discovery, and I think what I write has the potential to do that. 

How does your writing process work?

To be honest, it isn't much of a process right now, and not as professional or intentional of some of the others I've encountered. I have started utilizing the voice memo feature on my phone to remember points of inspiration, and I usually just sit down and start writing. That is the hardest part, once I do that, the rest comes eventually. What I will be incorporating is starting with the main point I want to convey and working back through the tangles from there. 

I would like to invite a couple other young ladies to join me in this journey. I will introduce my friend, Laurén Heffer, whom I met several years ago when we both volunteered to teach 5th/6th grade girls at our church. She sadly no longer has a blog anymore, but has contributed to GUTS or (Girls Using Their Strengths). And you can read about that here.

I am excited with her as she is working through a book for young girls, teaching them to sew in story format. It will be the "Emmaline" series, and I am stoked for it, as I am sure she is. Through the process, she is cultivating her marriage to her husband John, and working on a certification program to teach cake decorating at JoAnn's! Though she is no longer blogging, you can view her previous posts and inspiration here.


Finally I would like to introduce my lovely friend, Lilah Higgins. I met her at a Bible study several years ago, and had the privilege of sharing the journey of her engagement and marriage to her husband, Zac and mommy hood to Fletcher and Elladee.  Lilah is also a contributor to GUTS, as well as one of their graphic designers, you can view some of her contributions here. She works with her husband in their own business, called Higgins Creative.You can view their work on her blog here.

Currently, Lilah is working through the first draft of her first book. It is called Insecure to Undaunted. It is a beautiful book, written in a devotional voice that is so inspiring to young wives and moms. I have had the pleasure of working with her on this project, and it is an honor to be included in a "first" like this. 

Thank you for sharing this time with me as I have introduced some of my lovely friends and their current projects. I hope you find these inspiring as you continue on your journey today!

Summer Lovin'

Summer is officially here and I couldn't be happier. As much as I love this time of year, it is easy to let boredom from an unstructured routine  lack of routine creep in and keep the time from being as fun as it can be. Now some of this won't apply to me since I am a student and for all intents and purposes don't take a "summer break," but its okay, it keeps me on track to have my degree in hand in a year and a half or so. The thing is though that my education plan is flexible and allows me short weekend trips to visit family and friends, and the ability to watch seasonal blockbusters with my man, which are wonderful by the way. 

Newport Beach, CA 2013

So to give you plenty of opportunities to maximize this fabulous season, I thought I would give you a few ideas to break it up a little bit and add a skip to your step. 

Bird's-eye view to the whole parade///

Times of late, it seems that I find myself struggling in my times with God. I have had two people in the last week ask how that is going, and one of them just a lovely stranger I met at Starbucks. Another is a good friend and knows me well... and struck the nail precisely on the head. But it seems to me that I am not the only one experiencing a challenge in this area of my life. 

It is so easy to get caught up in what has to be done in life on a daily basis, and a lot of other things demand time and priority. And since God is a gentleman, He never demands that time of us, nor does He tap His foot impatiently when we fail to fulfill those commitments and expectations. In fact, He doesn't even need it. This concept blows my religious thinking, which has been shattering for the last six or so years. 

On things like river trails and such..

This gorgeous trail was most definitely hiked by my husband and I today. See, we are in the process of trying to become more healthy and active, and this trail running parallel to the local river seemed a good choice for starters... notice seemed. Don't get me wrong, the beauty and viridescence of this manmade path in the woods was unlike any I've seen in the last few years of living in the plateau desert of California. I have truly missed the greenery that the Midwest proudly boasts of in grass and trees. 

///Long-Dormant///

I woke up the other morning to see my husband off to work, and saw an encouraging (wordy) text from a dear friend out west telling me that I needed to write....and not to let feelings of fear or inferiority stop me.

Authentic

This week I have had the pleasure of visiting my hometown and being surrounded with long-time relationships. There has been ample conversation, laughter, and coffee-lots and lots of coffee. I really like coffee, and apparently, so do most of my friends. I have had several of these dates already and have three on the calendar for tomorrow.
A common thread I have seen through these conversations is an earnest desire and longing for authenticity. It is woven into the fabric of this millennial generation. We crave what comes with being genuine, and "real," is the word we like to incorporate into our vocabulary to encourage honesty, truth, and a deeper perspective.
I struggle with this at times because part of my upbringing hid the reality of society while focusing on the "power of positive words." I do believe the words we speak are life-sucking or uplifting, they can wound or heal, they can destroy or build. I've experienced this phenomenon in my life and can attest to the fact that it does make a difference in attitude, behavior, and even physical health.
However, where we are at in this stage of life, and place in our culture, we want people to cut the fake, pull off the façade, and live life without the mask of pretense. I personally find honesty invigorating. It can be difficult to hear at times, but truth creates space for change when spoken with love. That doesn't always soften the blow though-it depends on the speaker and the heart of the listener.
Here's the rub, authenticity brings with it candor, vulnerability, and at times, disagreement. I know that I can be too candid at times. Sometimes I lack discretion, and according to King Solomon, "a woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig's snout." (Proverbs 11:22) That image reminds me what I don't want to imulate. Despite my struggle with this, my heart is to be transparent, to love truly and without attempting to change people. That isn't my responsibility. My responsibility is to reveal the grace and love of God as an image-bearer of Christ to the best of my ability and rely on Him to take it the rest of the way.
That being said, the craving is not diminished. It only grows with each encounter I have. So I'll sip my coffee while we talk and I'll be prepared to take a look inside and evaluate my life in truth. The way it works is symbiotic, but the space it fosters  for freedom and change is well worth it's weight in gold. I'm taking on the challenge of losing fake and choosing to be true. Dare to join me?