Dear Baby

Dear Baby,

you are precious. 

Dear Baby, 

you are loved.

Dear Baby,

you are wanted. 

Dear Baby, 

you are deserving of life.

Dear Baby, 

you are worth fighting for. 

Dear Baby, 

you are not a choice.

Dear Baby, 

you are a miracle.

Dear Baby, 

you are not a mistake.

Dear Baby, 

you are not a problem.

Dear Baby, 

you are a blessing.

Dear Baby, 

you are not forgotten.

Dear Baby, 

you have not died in vain. 

Dear Baby, 

you are being fought for. 

Dear Baby, 

you are special. 

Dear Baby, 

you are not unseen.

Dear Baby, 

you are not unheard.

Dear Baby, 

you are wept for. 

Dear Baby, 

you are cherished in our hearts. 

Dear Baby, 

we know you are safe in the arms of Jesus.

Dear Baby, 

we stand for your right to live. 

Dear Baby, 

we will not yield.

Dear Baby, 

we will not give up.

Dear Baby, 

your death will not be in vain.

Dear Baby, 

we will choose life. 

Dear Baby, 

we will help the mothers scarred by this horror.

Dear Baby, 

we will not be silent.

Dear Baby, 

we will not be passive. 

Dear Baby, 

we will try to make a difference. 

Dear Baby, 

we will continue to stand for the Right.

Dear Baby, 

we will continue to fight in God's strength. 

Dear Baby, 

you are not forgotten. 

~ // ~ 

Today is Chain Life Sunday. Please think & share about this. Stand for life.

Why I No Longer Do NaNoWriMo + My Alternative

I have been participating in Camp NaNo & @NaNoWriMo for about 7 years now. I was an enthusiastic supporter of the organization, and I was always recommending it and gearing up for November. But on Tuesday, June 2, 2020, I deleted my NaNo account, unsubscribed from all their emails, & quit following their Instagram. 

There are several reasons for this, and I will briefly list them out.

NaNo’s been promoting homosexuality, transgenderism, & other unbiblical things/lifestyles loudly for about two years now—not only to older adults but to young writers (13-18) as well. I kept thinking off and on about getting out of this organization, but the pros always outdid the cons. 

Then on that Tuesday, NaNoWriMo made a blatant & unjust attack upon police officers which shocked & upset me deeply. They sent out a newsletter which 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 supported terrorist groups and promoted anarchy & the destruction of their country. 

I am not American, but I cannot stand by silent at such injustice & wrong. Do not make this out to be a Black Lives Matter affair. I grew up surrounded by blacks and some of my dearest friends are blacks. Black lives matter, emphatically, and no one can say the contrary. But so do blue lives. Every single life matters, and I will not stay silent on the subject. 

I have deleted my NaNoWriMo account and I will no longer promote or recommend an organization that speaks such rampant injustice and does does not honour authority. I am not alone. Many of my writer friends (more than one with LEO family) were also deeply upset by this. 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 and your loved ones above them and their loved ones. The way to fix this is by showing grace, love, mercy, and forgiveness, and moving on. The American justice system may have flaws, but it is not the officers’ fault, it is the responsibility of those higher up. There are bad apples in every group, but on a whole, 99% of police officers are good, self-sacrificing people. 

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, nor is it saying that every officer is a good officer, nor is it saying 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—and a blatant lie—and a protest against the unbiblical agenda that NaNo is pushing.

To be very plain:

I don't like injustice, and this loud pushing of injustice towards so many children really bothered me. And that's what it boils down into. Police or not, no one deserves this type of injustice. No child should be taught such injustice. No child should be taught such unbiblical lifestyles are okay, either. I could no longer support an organization that did this. 

Feel free to email/message me if you want to see screenshots of emails & posts for proof of what I’m saying. 

Now onto the good news! 

As I said, lots of Christian authors rallied around me & my friends and deleted their NaNoWriMo accounts. My friends and I got busy and worked hard to set up a Writing Camp for Christian ladies. It is called the King’s Daughters’ Writing Camp, and 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 and super quick to do—and really Slack is an extremely useful app; best messaging app I’ve ever used, actually. It's available both online and as an app, too. Here's some extra info direct from the website... 

"This camp is a gathering of Christian ladies from all over to focus on writing stories that honor God. 

It was created by a group of writers who wanted a safe place for Christian ladies of all ages to connect with and encourage each other in our writing journeys without worrying about the offensive or unbiblical messages promoted by secular writing organizations.

The camp is run on Slack. (Each participant must create a simple account.) There are separate channels in which to chat with fellow writers, participate in writing sprints, get help on your story, and encourage each other. All information such as emails are kept private, and participants may use pen names if they so desire.

Every “camper” is divided into “tents” and each “tent” has an older, mature young lady counselor known as an “Auntie” who will be there if anyone needs anything, to encourage, answer questions, and to just be an older mentor for writers of all ages. 

Since this is an all girls camp, there is no need to worry about inappropriate relationships between guys and girls. We also have a statement of faith and a simple set of rules we ask each camper to agree to."

Isn't that awesome?? The camp website is https://kingsdaughterswritingcamp.blogspot.com; be sure to follow it for updates of the next writing camp. We had one Summer Camp from July 1st to July 31st and it was a huge success. We had over 70 ladies from all over the world & of all ages, and we had an absolutely amazing time. We made so many new friends and wrote a ton and just had a lot of fun! I highly recommend it--and here are some more testimonials! ;) I really recommend checking out the whole website, too—there's a lot of useful and fun information. 

We have spent the summer fixing issues and getting ready and we are now starting a new writing camp, which runs from October 15 to November 15th. If you’re interested in joining in with us, head over to the website; there is all the information you need to know, and the information on how to sign up to join! Let me know if you have any questions. ;)

I am super excited for this new Camp and everything we will be able to do; and I feel so much better and cleaner after definitely breaking up with NaNo. 

Whether you do NaNo, KDWC, or anything else, happy writing, everyone!! And those of you who aren't writers, happy October. :) 

Stop the Rain Cover Reveal Tour!!

YOU. GUYS. 

IT'S FINALLY HERE.

Man, I love this book so much already and I've only read snippets. Many snippets.

Kassie was working on Harley's story while I worked on Nathan's. Harley reminded me of several of my characters, and my heart went out to this poor, broken adult kid. He's basically become my nephew. No joke.

I cannot wait to read this book. Even though I know it will tear me apart even worse than Tattered Wings and O To Be Like Thee did. 

So anyways, here's the book.

THAT COVER THOUGH. THAT COVER. 

And here's the...

Synopsis 

He left his entire world in Iraq. So why did the war follow him home?

Harley Keane and his best friend Nigel were just kids when 9/11 rocked their world and changed their lives forever. When they’re finally old enough to join the Army, all their childhood dreams seem about to come true. But war wasn’t supposed to be like this. A kid’s dream isn’t supposed to become a living nightmare. Fellow soldiers aren’t supposed to bleed out in front of your eyes.

Back home, safe and unwounded, Harley feels anything but. Why would God spare him when so many others were taken? Why won’t the nightmares stop, even when he’s awake? And how long can he hide the truth that threatens everything he has left? When Harley’s invisible scars refuse to stay hidden, will he let anyone close enough to help? And how do you go on with life when “okay” isn’t okay at all?

Coming November 11, 2020

A PTSD awareness novel – no one fights alone

*cries*

Author Bio

Kassie Angle is a teenaged Christian author, cowgirl, therapy dog trainer, stereotypical INFJ, and Army girl to the core. Her first love, i.e. debut novel, O to be Like Thee, swept her unexpectedly into the world of indie authors. She tries to use her stories to fill the silences in literature, helping more people understand the world of the Army and showing how God heals the broken-hearted. You can find her and more of her writing at SoldierGirlStories.com.

*NOTE: KASSIE’S DOMAIN HAS LAPSED AS OF 2022 AND BEEN TAKEN OVER BY ANOTHER COMPANY. DO NOT GOOGLE IT*

Instagram: @saving_grace_and_a_blue_sky

So, yeah. There you go. It's coming. Get ready. 

'Cause this book needs to be read. 

Thanks, Kassie. Thanks so much.

You Are Not Allowed to Hate // A Protest Against Prejudice

I want to say this before I start. I do not want to offend anyone. I want to prevent offence to people. Please keep this in mind as you read this, and don’t take it personally. I say this with passionate care, not with anger or hatred. 

I have been observing this lately, and it has alarmed me. We all know that in this world, there is a lot of intolerance and hatred. One nation hates another; one culture is intolerant of another. It has been a part of this fallen world since the curse. 

But what alarms me is that Christians allow themselves to hold this. I believe it is wrong for us to hate or be intolerant of a country, culture, race, or nation. We disagree with the sin; we are allowed to disagree with choices; but we are not allowed to hate a whole nation or culture or race. 

Take this, for example. Suppose you are Chinese and you hate the Japanese for what they did to your country in WWII. Was Japan right in what it did? No. Absolutely not. Does that mean that I, a Chinese person, can hate my Japanese coworker? No. My Japanese coworker had nothing to do with the Japanese army in 1944. My Japanese coworker may not even be related to those people! My Japanese coworker is 100% innocent. I am not allowed to dislike him for his nationality. This is 100% against Scripture. The Bible tells us to love one another. God loves the Japanese and died to save them. Hating a person is equal to murdering them. I hope you’ll agree with me that you won’t go murder the person from a nation you dislike! But hating him or disliking him for his nationality is the same thing. 

Another thing. I find a certain culture noisy, bragging, & bold. I’m allowed to think that. It’s my opinion, and I’m allowed to hold it. My culture is much more quiet; that’s why I think that. But I am not allowed to say my culture is better. I’m not allowed to hate people of that culture because I dislike some of their culture. I am not allowed to judge their culture. It is not mine. It is theirs & there is nothing wrong with it. (I’m talking personality here, not stuff like using a lot of blasphemy or anything immoral like that.) I mean that you cannot hate a culture because you think it is too cold, or too bubbly, or too impetuous. You can say you don’t particularly like it, you can say you don’t understand it—but you cannot hate it or intensely dislike it. I will admit, this year I had some difficult experience with people of a certain nation. For a time I struggled a lot with hating their culture. I was quick to get offended or annoyed. I was dismayed by this and I worked on changing my attitude. Now, I have a healthier attitude towards that country. I love my friends from that country, I agree to disagree with them, I’ve learned to hold my tongue & not begin useless debates. And I choose to not hate that culture, despite what I think they are or are not.

You are allowed your tastes & opinion. You are not allowed to shove it onto someone else, or judge them by your tastes. 

One more example. I have found that Christian people of one nation strongly dislike another nation. They’re ready to believe every bad thing of them. They’re ready to twist everything they hear about that nation to a negative sense. They say they don’t hate that nation, but they act as if they strongly dislike them. I submit that this is a wrong attitude. You cannot allow the past to make you dislike people in the present. Hey, if I wanted to, I could hate America for the stuff Americans did to Canada those times that they invaded us. I could hate Britain for how she treated Québec (and France). I could hate France for how she treated my First Nation ancestors. I could hate England for how she treated my Irish ancestors. But I refuse to hate. I refuse to dislike. I want to judge every individual by themselves. Not their family, not their race, not their colour, not their nation, not their former religion. I want to judge them for who they are, themselves. I want to love them as Christ loves them. 

I can’t tell you how unhappy it makes me when I hear people lambasting another nation because of things that happened hundreds of years ago. It breaks my heart. It’s so unfair. Unfairness is so wrong. God is 100% just and we need to be just too. We cannot—we must not—be unjust. 

Friends, I don’t even know what to say to end this. Please, just think about this. Pray about it. Look at your prejudices and see what is at the root. Ask God to help you see if you are being unjust or unChristlike. 

Again, I beg you not to be offended. Nothing is further from my intentions. I am simply pouring out my heart about a subject that I am passionate about. I pray it can be used to God’s glory.

Rejecting Prejudice // An Appeal to Christians

This is a short post, but it is heartfelt. 

I grew up in Montréal, surrounded by people of every culture, colour, race, & religion. Ever since I can remember, our church had been full of diversity. Just now Italy, Africa, Haiti, Québec, & English Canada is represented in our church. I would be happy to see Jews, Arabs, First Nations, Asians, West Indians, South Americans, Europeans--anybody--joining too. I am convinced that when God sees our church, He is happy to see so many people of different countries, colours, races, nations, & backgrounds all gathered together, worshiping Him, growing in faith, & striving to reach the world for Him. 

I don’t get how someone can allow a person’s race, nation, colour, or religion to make them dislike that person. I don’t get it. I don’t, I don’t. What does it matter what their skin colour is? What does it matter what country they’re from? What matters is whether they have Christ in their hearts or not. What matters is to give them the Gospel.

My friends, it breaks my heart to think that some churches don’t accept people of a certain colour or nation. It breaks my heart that some people dislike people of another nation. This is contrary to Scripture. God tells us He loves the whole world—not the whites, not the Europeans, not the athletic, not the geniuses, not the rich, not the beautiful—THE WHOLE WORLD. We, as Christians, need to reflect that love. We cannot allow prejudice to creep into our hearts. Friends, I challenge & beg you. Reject prejudice. Don’t allow the Devil to plant that thought in your mind. Show God’s love & Jesus’ sacrifice to everyone, without any distinction. God created every single person on this planet; He cares for every single individual. Who are we to decide one is greater than another? We cannot. We will not. 

Cast this cancer far from you, and learn to love everyone. We hate the sin, but we do not hate the person. We disagree with the sin, but we love the person. Treat everyone as Christ would treat them.

Ask yourself this: What would Jesus do? Then go thou and do likewise.

Choose Life

There are so many stories in the world. Everyone has a story. Every thing has a story. Joys and sorrows, days and nights, rainstorms and sunshine, winters and summers, smiles and tears, are interwoven. Wherever someone’s story is now, there’s more coming. New friendships will arrive. A husband or wife, Children. New homes. New neighbours. Careers. Dreams. Plans. Hopes. Aspirations. Miracles. There’s more coming. 

But every day, every hour, every minute, a story is being stopped. The threads are roughly snapped. The weaving is destroyed. 

Some of those weavings are only days or weeks old. They are ruthlessly destroyed by pills or suction or any other abortion procedure. Future children are killed. Future friendships are prevented. New hobbies and dreams and smiles and stories are smothered. The world is robbed of inventions and the unique sparkle of that person.

Other weavings are more complete. They are cut short by the hand of the person themselves. The story is stopped abruptly. God’s weaving is destroyed.

God doesn’t want stories to end in death. God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” (John 5:24 & 11:25-26). God wants every story to end in everlasting life. He is not  willing that any should perish. He did everything He could for us to triumph over death—it is up to us whether we accept what He did or not. 

Choose life. Choose life over abortion. Choose life over suicide. Choose life over eternity in Hell. Choose life. And watch God weave your story and that of those around you... and be amazed by His work.