June 2020 Wrap-Up

Hello, friends! It's July. The middle of July. As if you didn't know. It's very hot. Which you probably also already knew. And I'm here with our rather late June wrap-up. I'm just full of shocking new information, aren't I? 

Quick note before I start: I've discovered the reason why my posts for this blog don't send out notifications anymore. I think it's because it's too heavy as there are too many pictures. So I am seriously reducing the number of pictures I will be putting in this post. Sorry. :(

~ Happenings ~ 

// I grew out my nails! And them most of them promptly disappeared because they were so weak. I'm now putting coconut oil on them though, and they're doing well! 

// We started having services in the church building we're renting. It's really so fun and nice to have a real church building! We've never had one before. We're very grateful that beyond social distancing and disinfecting things, there are no restrictions--not even masks. :) And we can still sing!

// The three little girls are now sleeping in another room and so we three big girls have the bedroom to ourselves! We were able to do a fun makeover. My desk is now in my room, which is much better. We also got our very own bookshelf! And a new bunkbed. The youngest sister sleeps on a trundle bed now, which significantly saves room. It's very nice now. And I got my fairy lights up. :) 

// Right after we filled the bookshelf, we went to visit some old friends who are planning to move, and we came home with two big bags fullll of books. Many of them were books I've been looking for years for, so I was over the moon! They also gave me a thin black shortsleeved cardigan, like the kind I've also been looking for years for. <3

// I finally finished the first course of my copyediting certificate class--Grammar Lab. I did my exam on June 13th and received my final marks on the 15th. 93.63142%. 5,896.84 points out of 6,285. A-. I had 308 points out of 330 for the final exam. So I was pretty happy.

I really enjoyed the course. I learned a lot, had fun, and enjoyed talking with my classmates. And I got to discuss my favourite novel in an assignment. :D And as a result, several classmates added it to their TBRs!!! 

And for the record, that exam was the only one to make me laugh out loud several times. 

// I decided to actually step out and start talking about current happenings and other stuff on my blog and public Instagram accounts. The whole time I was scared I would get bashed, but instead people have thanked me. So thanks to the Lord, I've kept on. I just can't keep silent about this. My conscience won't let me. And I'm grateful for that, and for all my awesome friends who support me. 

So I talk now. I talk about hard things and truths people don't like to hear. And it feels so freeing, and I am so peace-filled about it. 

// I joined Pinterest. Which was one of the best things ever. I totally love it. And I haven't found it to be too much of a time sucker, as everyone predicted. I'm a visual person and I love quotes and things, so I'm finding so much pleasure in all those pictures! And I LOVE organized things, so all those boards and sections make me so happy! :D 

// I have been participating in Camp NaNo & NaNoWriMo for about 7 years now. I was an enthusiastic supporter of the organization. But on June 2nd, I deleted my NaNo account, unsubscribed from all their emails, & quit following their Instagram. There are several reasons for this. NaNo’s been promoting unbiblical lifestyles (transgenderism & homosexuality) loudly for about two years now, not only to older adults but to young writers (13-18) as well; & I’ve been thinking of getting out of this organization for a while. Then on June 2 they made a blatant & unjust attack upon police officers which shocked & upset me deeply. They essentially called the police racist, which makes the family members of some dear friends of mine—people that NaNo doesn’t even know—racist, simply because they’re LEO. They also seem to support terrorist groups. I am not American, but I am not going to stand by silent at such injustice & wrong. As I said, I have deleted my NaNoWriMo account & I will no longer promote or recommend an organization that speaks such rampant injustice & does not honour authority. I am not alone. Many of my writer friends (more than one with LEO family) are also deeply upset by that attack. My friends are hurting; my friends’ country is being ravaged. The way to fix this is not by attacking the brave officers who place you & your loved ones above them & their loved ones. The way to fix this is by showing grace, love, mercy, & forgiveness, & moving on. The American justice system may have flaws, but it is not the officers’ fault, it is the responsibility of those higher up. Again, this is not political in any way, nor is it an attack upon anyone, nor is it saying that black lives don’t matter (some of my dearest friends are black), nor is it saying that every officer is a good officer, nor that racism doesn’t exist. It is simply a protest against the injustice of calling every single police officer in America racist—an insult to people I love—& against the unbiblical agenda that NaNo is pushing. You can email me if you want to see screenshots of emails & posts for proof of what I’m saying. 

Since so many people took a stand with us on this, my writers’ group began working on creating an alternative to NaNo. On June 9, we were super excited to announce WE NOW HAVE AN ALTERNATIVE!! We set up a Writing Camp for Christian ladies. We tested it on June 8, and it is now officially open! It is called the King’s Daughters’ Writing Camp, & it is a free, online camp for Christian ladies of all ages. You can set your own goals; create your own tent or be placed in one of the current tents; there’s a whole Campground to chat & sprint with the other Campers on... it’s really super fun. It is on Slack, so everyone has to create an account, which is free & super quick to do—& really Slack is an extremely useful app; best messaging app I’ve ever used, actually. Camp runs from July 1st to July 31st. We have many campers of all ages from all over and we are having so much fun, as well as writing an awful lot. :) I believe it is still open if you want to join, so you can email me for information if you like. 

Watching that thing explode into being was crazy. The very day we announced it, we had so many people message us asking for information or to be let in. So many people shared about it and about NaNoWriMo. We though we'd barely have 20 campers; we now have over 70. God is so good. 

// So like I said in May, I started a new short story called The Colour Red which was supposed to be about 10k max. It grew to 20k, and then 30k... it's now almost at 40k. And thanks to my friends (and Pinterest) it has grown into a 3-book series--The Colour Blue, book 2, and The Colour Yellow, book 3. Which cover the history of Kalsyia. :D And it's called the Colours of Life Series. I had so much fun making Mood Boards! And doing MBTI tests for the characters. And just plain writing Colour Red. And so many people love it too and it makes me so happy. My MC is very appealing. XP I also researched/looked up some crazy/cool stuff for it, like ranch-style homes, bow windows, SUVs, ice cream flavours, lawn rollers, and German Shepherds... Asked for a lot of help from my writer friends and accidentally sparked a couple long discussions over ice cream and pizza instead of sprinting... XD (and made everyone crave said pizza and ice cream...). It's been fun. :D I also had to work really hard on the history, culture, and geography of Kalsyia. I also cried a lot. This story is so sad and so beautiful... 

And I designed a lot of covers for my WIPs! They're quite nice and I'm very happy with them. 

I also realized some really cool things about the books. The Colour Red is about danger & finding love; The Colour Blue, the police & finding peace; and The Colour Yellow, danger & finding hope. And those colours literally stand for all those things. And I didn't quite plan that!

// I also made a new Book Lover's Bliz reading challenge. And added all of the challenges to Pinterest! ;)

// People don’t generally reveal a book when it’s still unfinished & the author has no idea when she’ll get around to working on it. 😅 But I am not people, & I’m just crazy excited to reveal this & see other people’s opinions!! Bethany worked on this for a long time and I love it so, so much.

Ready??

Three brothers. Three characters. Three foundations. Which one will prove the strongest?

Roland, William, & Zephaniah Edwards have only a last name in common. Roland is a first lieutenant aboard one of Her Majesty’s ships, polished and gentlemanly, clinging to all the traditional prejudices and opinions of his class. Will is a stolid, silent gentleman farmer in Australia, hard and reserved, with no apparent interest in anything but his work. And Zeph is a long-legged, merry-tongued, unconventional lad with a warm heart full of love for every living creature.

When the three brothers visit their uncle, a wealthy settler in rural Australia, they create very different impressions. Roland plays the cavalier to his cousin and her friend, and conducts himself in every way like the model gentleman. Will lends his uncle his advice, and riles the farm hands by his exactingness and lack of communication. And Zeph, not content with befriending every creature on the place, decides to worm his way into the heart of his uncle’s right-hand man—a silent, rough ex-convict.

When unexpected tragedy befall the family, each young man is forced to sound for his foundation and reassess his character. Which one will emerge victorious over his foes within and without?

It’s more beautiful than I ever dreamed!! I am SO incredibly excited to finish with all my Kalsyian stories (Symphony of Hope Series + Colours of Life Series) & get to work on this one! It’s Australian Historical Fiction & it will definitely take a lot of work (not to mention a complete rewriting...) but it has great potential & I am really excited. I plan to do a blog post really soon revealing all the stories I’m currently working on... which I’m super excited about as well.

// I MANAGED TO KEEP A THEME ON MY BOOKSTAGRAM, Y'ALL. And on my lifestyle account!!

// I also started saying "y'all" a lot and my Southern friends wouldn't let it pass without a comment. XD 

// For some odd reason I quoted a lot from the Anne books... 

// I also kept up the typos with Bethany. XP We have quite a book-full now, and they include the most hilarious things such as toads, campaigns, and Lomé... though the one I will never live down is the one where I accidentally said I loved Beyoncé in a thread in the writing group. We laughed about that for a solid hour and I haven't heard the last of it. (Just for the record, I barely know who Beyoncé is and I don't endorse her in any way; I have no idea how that typo came about). 

// I started wearing my Thin Blue Line bracelet basically 24/7. It stands for something.

// My 9-year-old brother saved his pennies and bought a box of fudgesicles for everyone to enjoy. <33

// I complained about "free giveaways" (GIVEAWAYS ARE BY DEFINITION FREE, PEOPLE) and about people writing emotion-triggering posts and using incorrect words, such as "grizzly" (a bear) instead of "grisly" (gruesome). *eye roll*

// For the first time in my 19 years I realized that I always look for the deep meaning in everything. Every time I took the MBTI test I always marked that as "no," but this time I realized... I do. Which is why I seldom share funny pins, lol! I always look below the surface of quotes or things and see that it's either not really truly or that it's nasty. It's a bit annoying. XP

// I started listening to the Bible + Brahms' Lullaby at night to go to sleep, and found it very relaxing. I gave it up though after I forgot to take off my earphones and woke up next morning with them wound all around my neck... #scary. 

// While we're at it (actually this isn't related at all, but whatever) I just want to say how amazing my writing group is. There's always someone there to praise your writing, to help you brainstorm, to pray for you, or to encourage you. I love how we're always sharing things from the Bible in our "chapel," how we "sing" hymns around our "campfire," and how we all band around each other. It's amazing to have a group of likeminded ladies who have the same heart for Jesus and the same desire to reach out to the world with His word. 

And we have a lot of fun, too. :)

// Also there are some amazing books coming out and I signed up for a lot of blog tours and cover reveals. XP

// I also decided we need to bring back the B) emoji. And wondered why no one used it. And I was told it's  because we now have the real thing, the sunglasses emoji.

Well, the fact is, to me that emoji always meant a smug grin. It looks like Garfield. 

And I still think we should bring it back. 

// I also binged-watched almost the entire Babar episodes (still not quite done) and totally fell in love. I read the books in French as a kid, but the TV show is different. I absolutely love it. it's very conservative and refreshing and sweet, very funny, very well done from a writing point of view... I only had a few little things against it (euphemisms, a couple mentions of aliens & witches, and a mention about fate, I believe is all). The episodes can be intense but also just puzzling, but they're very humorous and relaxing to me. There's just so much truth and wisdom and beauty in them! They really helped me calm down at times.

// Read the story of Micaiah (1 Kings 22 & 2 Chronicles 18) and really admired him... decided I'm totally naming a son Michée (French version). 

// I read some really fantastic books, you guys. Books I've wanted to read forever; books that were strongly recommended to me... so many great ones. <33

// And I had my first piece of fan fiction. Someone designed a birthday party invitation for Jay. ;)

// I also signed up for my next class, Copyediting I. 

// Oh, and we kept documenting things the kids say. The 4-year-old told us, "Tomorrow, when I grow up, I'm gonna buy some popsicles!" We also had the following dialogue:

Me: What are you going to be when you grow up?

Him: I'm going to be Big [his name] and have a plane, and a trailer truck, and a car, and a motorcycle.

Me: Where will you get the money for all that?!

Him: From the government.

#canyoutellhewasbornunderaliberalgovernment 

// We ate a lot of tostadas and hamburgers and ice cream and chicken burgers and nachos and summer officially has the best foods.

// Besides watching Babar, I also had fun watching Country Mouse & City Mouse, Little Bear, Franklin, and Fireman Sam with my siblings. :D We also were going to take a look at Miss Spider for fun because we'd seen a couple episodes as kids and like it, but both Lissa and I were creeped out within the first ten seconds of the view because THEY ARE HUGE SPIDERS and so we didn't. XD 

// We are still trying to sell our house and we've had lots of visit but no results yet (prayers appreciated)... and our amazing real estate agent keeps bringing up doughnuts when he comes. <33

// On the first Wednesday of June we kids stayed at home and watched Papa preach through livestream. It was fun and weird and interesting... XD 

// I rediscovered instrumental pieces I love, like 'O min babbino caro' by Gianni Schicchi and the 'Canon & Gigue in D major' by Pachelbel. 

// I've been doing really well on my read-the-Bible-in-a-year-challenge and I am learning so much and being blessed so much!! The Bible is such a marvellous book, I can't stop being amazed by it. <33

~Verse of the Month~

"Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God." (Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 AKJV).

~Poem of the Month~

Nox Nocti Indicat Scientiam. Yes, it is in English. And yes, it is beautiful. 

~Quote of the Month~

From Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary:

"Natural liberty consists in the power of acting as one thinks fit, without any restraint or control, except from the laws of nature. It is a state of exemption from the control of others, and from positive laws and the institutions of social life. This liberty is abridged by the establishment of government.

Civil liberty is the liberty of men in a state of society, or natural liberty so far only abridged and restrained, as is necessary and expedient for the safety and interest of the society, state or nation. A restraint of natural liberty not necessary or expedient for the public, is tyranny or oppression. civil liberty is an exemption from the arbitrary will of others, which exemption is secured by established laws, which restrain every man from injuring or controlling another. Hence the restraints of law are essential to civil liberty.

The liberty of one depends not so much on the removal of all restraint from him, as on the due restraint upon the liberty of others.

In this sentence, the latter word liberty denotes natural liberty."

~Song of the Month~

Ancient Words.

~Favourite Post of the Month~

I Can't Earn Anything // A Message to Perfectionists

~Reading~

Books Read: 23 books. 

3 stars: 7 books. 

3.5 stars: 1 book. 

4 stars: 2 books.

4.5 stars: 4 books.

5 stars: 1 book. 

5+ stars: 7 books. 

Favourite New Read of the Month: Message to Hadrian by Geoffrey Trease. 

Favourite Re-Read of the Month: The Children of the New Forest by Frederick Marryat. 

~Favourite Blog Posts~

Why Make the Hard Choices? | Amanda Tero

See Glass Treasures | Showers of Blessings

Dealing with Tough Topics in your WIP | Whimsical Writings for His Glory

A Raincloud Man | Well... Go Read!

What Website Crashes have to do with Gratitude | Amanda Tero

Heartstorm | Once Upon an Ordinary

The Post-Modern Desire to Ruin Beauty | Professor Carol

What... | Well... Go Read!

4 Ways to Support Your Friend During Illness | Life Without a Latte

What I Love About Robin Hood | The Destiny of One

Productive Morning Routine During COVID-19 in 3 Simple Steps | Everyday Blooms

Why You Should Have A Nighttime Routine | Everyday Blooms

This is Your American Hero | Soldier Girl Stories

Endless Majesty | Well... Go Read!

Writing Themes // Duty | Life of Heritage

What Do I Know? | Choose Joy Day By Day

Keep Saying It | Soldier Girl Stories

My Inspiration (by Faith Potts) | Summer Social Book Bash

sing it for the blue sky and a couple live oak trees | Soldier Girl Stories

Summer is Nostalgia | Well... Go Read!

A Hope Surrendered | Loved Before Time

Sweeter As The Years Go By | Choose Joy Day By Day

Repairing the Collapse of Virtue | Professor Carol

Love People; All People | Quintessentially Living

~ // ~ 

Tell me how your June went! :)