Month: June 2016

You know, I never really celebrated Father’s Day. In fact, if it weren’t for people saying happy Father’s Day to the men at church (Since it falls on a Sunday every year.) I would probably forget all about it.  That may seem a bit insensitive at first, but give me a minute to explain. 😀

I spent most of my life without a father. I have some good memories of him like his delicious Sunday morning pancakes or those peanut brittle candy bar thingamajigs he used to bring home from the city. (That’s Chicago. LOL) Oh, and he used to love roasting peanuts. LOL Man, did he love peanuts. 😀  Unfortunately, most of my memories are not so good.  I’m sure he did his very best, but he was mentally ill.  He committed suicide when I was seven years old. I promise this isn’t a sad post. The Lord blessed our family to move on with what we had, a strong woman who raised four children.

What’s my point?  I wrote a little about my father to let you in on a little secret about Book 1 of my AUTUMN MOON series which will be available in October. 😉 PLUG!

Pastor Knight is the father of the protagonist, Qiuxia (choo sha) Knight. He’s a long way from being perfect, but overall he’s great.  As I was creating that character, I thought about the person my father would’ve been had he not suffered from a mental illness. Pastor Knight is my father . . . sort of.  LOL  He’s a strong, protective man who values family above everything except God. No one would ever suspect the emotional pain he’s hiding.

“I’m a pastor and people don’t expect me to be sad, angry, unforgiving, or have a desire to kill.” 

Just blogging it out . . . Oh and Happy Thursday Night!! 😀

It’s that time again . . . GOAL SETTING TIME! 😀  I’ve decided on a few . . .3 to be exact.  Since June is almost over and there are only 192 days until Christmas, I figured now is a great time to challenge myself again. Here are my goals:

The first one is a short term goal I started on Monday. I will be going to hot yoga/Bikram at least five days a week for a month. A little history:  I used to go to hot yoga on a regular basis.  Unfortunately, I experienced an injury (not from yoga) that caused me to have to take a break. Also the studio is very far from my house.  In other words . . . TRAFFIC! LOL  Now that I’m all better and there’s a closer studio, it’s back to my favorite workout.

The second one is to complete book 3 of the AUTUMN MOON series by the end of July.  I signed up for another writer’s camp. It’s starts on July 1st. I’m working on book 2 which will be complete by the end of this month.

The last one is a year long challenge. One that will push me harder than the first two combined. I will not buy any clothes, shoes, or other accessories for a year starting on July 13th. Why July 13th?  Because that’s one day after my birthday. 😀 Enough said. LOL

Just blogging it out . . .Oh and Happy Wednesday Night!! 😀

Have you ever been so sleepy you can hardly keep your eyes open, but you don’t want to go to sleep because you’re having such a good time?  That’s me practically every night because I’m doing what I absolutely love (writing) and doing it for Him who absolutely loves me.  That’s THE GOOD KIND of TIRED.  LOL  The only bible verse I can think of right now (probably because I feel like Tom in this GIF :D) is Ephesians 6:7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 

When it’s all about Him, it ALWAYS worth it!

Just blogging it out . . . Oh and Happy Tuesday Night!! 😀

I made a few mistakes this past month.  I’m talking DOOZIES! LOL 😀  The kind of mistakes that make you want to kick yourself.

 LOL

If you’re the type of person who wants to know what kind of mistakes, they were mostly bad decision. (Nosy. LOL Just kidding.)

This morning as I found myself in a bit of a funk, Lamentations 3:22-23 crushed the enemy’s plan to ruin my entire day: ²²The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. ²³ Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

The word of God will always crush the enemy’s plan, but it’s up to us to study and saturate our minds with it daily. CRUSHABILITY!! 😀

I’ve been listening to songs like: “We Fall Down”, “Great is Your Mercy”, “Our Father”, “No Greater Love”, etc.  I don’t know about you, but listening to songs about our beautiful savior always makes me feel better. No matter how many times we fall down, He is there to pick us up. All we have to do is recognize, repent, and redirect our focus back to the Father.

Well, that’s it for tonight. I will move forward with Jesus no matter what. Here’s the link to the song I’m listening to now. It’s old school Fred Hammond-“You Are the Living Word”

Just blogging it out . . .Oh and Happy Monday Night!! 😀

What a week, right?  The right side of my laptop, Sammie, suddenly stopped working yesterday. Of course the extended warranty expired last month.  Although Sammie was old in technology world, I had no plans to replace her anytime soon.  Plans change . . . quickly. After careful consideration, a discussion with my husband and the Best Buy sales person, I brought home a brand new laptop. It’s going to take some getting used to, but I’m sure it won’t take long.

Speaking of plans changing, Qiuxia Knight never imagined being anything other than a ballet dancer.  According to her father, she was born with perfectly pointed toes. And her dance instructor has never seen someone so young with such a strong technique. Her goal is to finish high school in New York where she can learn from the best.  She won’t allow anything to stand in the way of reaching her goal.  Or will she?  You have to read AUTUMN MOON-BOOK 1 to find out. 😀 Available this October.

Just blogging it out  . . . Oh and Happy Friday Night!

 

 

I’ve always been fascinated by twins mainly because of the mental bond they have. And also the convenience of having two babies with one pregnancy. LOL  The protagonist in my next series, AUTUMN MOON, has a twin brother. I absolutely love their tight bond which includes a lot of bickering.

“Wash your hands, stinky butt.”  This has been an ongoing argument.  Quincy believes as long as he hasn’t been outside or gone to the restroom he doesn’t need to wash his hands. 

His lips curl as he glareds in my direction.  “I washed my hands before I went to bed.”  

“Daddy, Quincy didn’t wash his nasty hands!”

He stands up as if he’d been poked in the butt with a pin.  “I’m going, Pop.  I’m going.”  He purposely bumps me as he walks by.  “Shrek.” 

“Whatever, ugmo!”

😀

Although Qiuxia and Quincy are twins, he’s protective like an older brother.  He believes it is his duty to look out for her.

“. . .that’s what I’m here for, to serve and protect.”

So how does Quincy react when he’s unable to protect Qiuxia? Book 1 of the AUTUMN MOON series will be available this October. Can’t wait for you to read it.

Just blogging it out . . . Oh and Happy Thursday Night!! 😀

 

One of the most important parts of writing a story to me is coming up with the character names, especially the protagonist.  It usually takes a long time for me to come up with names. In fact, the entire first draft of AUTUMN MOON was written before I chose the name Qiuxia (choo sha).  How did I come up with it? Glad you asked. LOL

Well, it’s pretty simple. I was at work preparing to call my next client who happened to have an unusual name, at least to me.  I couldn’t pronounce it no matter how much I tried. LOL However, I was able to pronounce her last name.  I didn’t waste anytime asking her to pronounce her first name once she sat down at my desk. As soon as she said it, I knew Qiuxia would be the name of my protagonist. 😀 She said it’s a Chinese name that means autumn or beautiful dawn in autumn.

If you haven’t already figured it out, I also used the name for the title. Since I couldn’t pronounce Qiuxia, I thought it was better to use autumn. 😀

The AUTUMN MOON series is a heartfelt Contemporary Christian fiction novel that includes lessons of perseverance, faith, forgiveness, and true love that will touch the lives of many.  I can’t wait for you to read.

Just blogging it out . . . Oh and Happy Wednesday Night!! 😀

 

 

Have you ever wondered why bad things happen to good people? We spend countless hours thinking, but usually there is no answer.  At least one that’s satisfying. Trying to figure out that age-old question can drive a person insane, right? I guess a better question is:  what should you do after the bad stuff happens?

As Christians the best thing for us to do is focus on God, pray, and study the bible.  But what if the unthinkable happens to you?  Is it really that easy?

My next book is about the journey of a young girl, Qiuxia (choo sha) Knight, who experiences something so horrible that she prays for death.  Her life was spared. Why? I guess you’ll have to read the book to find out. 😀

AUTUMN MOON is a three part series. The first book will be available in October.

Just blogging it out . . .Oh and Happy Tuesday Night!! 😀

 

I’m back! I went out of town for a few days. 😀 Here’s my thought for tonight . . .

I once heard someone say, “we worry because we don’t realize how much God loves us.” I can’t recall exactly who said it, but I know I heard it. LOL

Philippians 4:6-7 says,  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Don’t worry. He loves us.

Just blogging it out . . . Oh and Happy Monday Night!! 😀

I’m not much of a complainer which gives some people the impression that I’m living on Easy Street. HA! 😀  I appreciate what I have so you won’t hear me griping about what I lack.  I’ve learned over the years to give as much grace as I need which is immeasurable. LOL  When stuff happens I do my best to go to God right away because that’s where I find immediate strength and peace.

Today, a whole lot of stuff happened . . .well actually just four stuffs (LOL), but it seemed like a whole lot. 😀  Proverbs 18:10 crossed my mind:  The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
The righteous run to it and are safe.

We have to stay focused on Him no matter what.

Just blogging it out. . . Oh and Happy Wednesday Night! 😀