Truly Thankful

"O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever." (Psalm 107:1)

Thanksgiving. What a beautiful holiday. A day where we stop and count up our blessings.

... or that's the idea.

Thanksgiving, especially among Christians, is known as a day for giving thanks. But how often do we just say vaguely, "Oh, yes, I'm thankful for all God did," or 'I'm grateful for ___________"--and leave it at that?

Thanksgiving ought to be a real thing. Every day, we are called to give thanks in everything (1 Thess. 5:18). But on this day which is specifically set aside to be grateful, I think we should really be purposeful about giving thanks.

"Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness." (Psalm 97:12)

Draw up a list. Write out....

• the things that you're grateful you have. 
• The moments you got to experience. 
• The people you're grateful to have in your life.
• The works that God did in your life this year.
• The things you learned.
• The areas you grew in.
• The little pleasures (or big ones) of the year.
• The things that He's brought you through or given you throughout all your life.

Look at your blessings for real! Nothing is too small or too big to write down. Count your blessings and I promise you will see what God has done for you. 

"Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the people." (1 Chronicles 16:8)

Then share some of those things with someone. Encourage them in the Lord. Bless them by sharing His works with them. Sing His praises! Let people know what an amazing GOD you have!

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto Thy Name, O most High." (Psalm 92:1)

Take time to speak with God personally in prayer and thank Him for what He's done for you. Praise Him for His wondrous works & ways. Take time to read His word & really meditate on what He's done for us & given us and continues to do for & give to us. Our God is awe-inspiring! Worship Him!

"O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto Thee for ever." (Psalm 30:12)

And remember to keep being grateful & thanking Him & worshipping Him. When you feel like grumbling, thank Him for 3 things. When you feel worried, praise Him for 3 things. When you feel angry, thank Him for 3 things. Keep on seeing what God does for you & find JOY in it! 

Just be truly thankful. 

"The blessings that you take for granted someone else is praying for." 

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed;

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost;

Count your many blessings, name them one by one, 

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. 

Are you ever burdened with a load of care? 

Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? 

Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, 

And you will be singing as the days go by. 

When you look at others with their lands and gold, 

Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold. 

Count your many blessings, money cannot buy 

Your reward in heaven, nor your Lord on high. 

So amid the conflict, whether great or small,

Do not be discouraged, God is over all; 

Count your many blessings, angels will attend, 

Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Count your blessings, name them one by one; 
Count your blessings, see what God hath done; 
Count your blessings, name them one by one,     
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. 

-Johnson Oatman, Jr. 

An Author's Prayer // A Poem

An Author's Prayer

Help me, Lord, to write for You;

To always say and write what's true;

To pray, and use my time for You;

Help me, Lord, to write for You.

Help me, Lord, to write what's true;

To always give the praise to You.

To sing, and use my time for You;

Help me, Lord, to write for You.

Help me, Lord, to aye praise You;

To help another though the slough.

To trust, and use my time for You;

Help me, Lord, to write for You.

Help me, Lord, to aid like You;

To try to be a blessing too.

To work, and use my time for You;

Help me, Lord, to write for You.

written c. 2016-2017

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. :) 

The Second Chances Book Tag

We all know I love the themes of second chances, redemption, hope... so this was such a fun tag! And I thought it was appropriate to this month. Give yourself & other people second chances, friends. <33 

1. Name a book you expected to dislike but ended up loving because you stuck with it to the end.

“With Roberts to Pretoria” by G.A. Henty. The beginning wasn’t very interesting, & I was pretty sure it would be among Henty’s duller, dragging books. But I chugged on & I was pleasantly surprised!! It was exciting, interesting, & enjoyable. 

2. Admit it--we all judge books by their covers. What is one book you’ve given a try and enjoyed despite a less-than-appealing cover? 

I really don’t love the cover of Livy Jarmusch’s Tales of Tarsurella. They’re just not my type at all. So the covers definitely didn’t move me in favour of them. But I gave them a try and I’m SO glad I did because I really, really enjoyed them!! 

3. Ranting opportunity! Which author are you forever mad at for denying a character their second chance? Talk about it. 😀 

There was this one L.M. Montgomery short story about a scoundrel who was engaged to a girl. He heard people talking about how miserable her life would be with him & because he truly loved her, he decided to pretend to abandon her & leave so she could marry someone else & be happy. I was so happy with his changing but I was SO MAD that he didn’t have a second chance with the girl!!!! 

4. Do you have a favourite book that includes a theme of second chances?

Do I?? Do I!!! Alone in London, Charlie to the Rescue, Beloved, Off Course, A Tale of Two Cities, Until We All Find Home, Johnny Tremain, Enemy Brothers, The Reb & the Redcoats, The Dark House on the Moss.... yes, yes, I do, I do. <33 

 

5. Name a favourite fictional romance that only succeeded because the characters were willing to let go of their first impressions and move on.

Everyone’s thinking Pride & Prejudice here, hm?? XP I’m saying Persuasion. Both Anne & Wentworth had to let go of some impressions & seek the other. I do know several other romances where the characters had to let go of impressions and move on, but I just can't think of them right now....

There ya go! Feel free to steal this tag. and tell me one book you gave a second chance to. ;)