Given a Second Chance

                I was once reading Isaiah 38 where King Hezekiah was praying and crying out to the Lord for his life. God granted his request. God had the prophet Isaiah tell Hezekiah that he would be given an additional 15 years of life, and God, in an act to show Hezekiah He meant what He said, made the sun go backwards! That story made me think of a similar situation in Les Misérables, where the priest gave Jean Valjean a second chance and Jean was shocked that anyone would help him at a moment when he thought he would be thrown back into prison. Hezekiah and Jean’s words are similar in their songs that follow these second chances. I know in these stories that the men were given a second chance after moral failures, but I think this concept could also apply to personal goals.

                We sometimes use a new year to start over. 2020 was a very difficult year for most of us. Plans canceled, dreams ruined, and goals unachieved made this last year feel rather disheartening. Now, as we enter into February, how many of us have already lost sight of our goals for the new year? Maybe circumstances outside of your control have hindered your plans once again, maybe you decided to ease into this year with caution, or perhaps you have procrastinated or failed to achieve what you hoped to over the last month. Regardless of the circumstances or the failures, you can always try again or set a new goal. Sometimes, you just need to take a different approach. I had spent years trying to sort through and organize my belongings, only to end up buried with stuff over and over again, until I discovered the KonMari method, which worked wonders for me. Also, when it comes to taking a different approach, sometimes something that works for another person will not work for you. That seems to be especially true with diets. We are all different, our bodies are different, and sometimes we may have to try and fail a few times before we find a method that works. The point is that you keep trying! If you are given an opportunity to make a positive change in your life like Hezekiah or Jean, make the most of it. As long as you are alive and breathing, God still has a purpose for your life. You can start over, you can try again, and you can keep working toward your goals. Don’t give up!

                I would like to welcome my returning followers and new readers back to my blog. I have given my blog a second chance and a new name. I had hoped to start posting early in January, but I suppose I should take a dose of my own advice and work on finding an approach that works better for me with my writing.

IWSG: Slowly Making Progress

Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month.

 Sorry about last month. I really thought I would find time to write a post during the week before I left, but I got caught up with over-packing and doing chores that needed to be done before I left. Then I copied down the monthly question and told myself I’d write a post during downtime, but, as is the case with most of my trips, downtime was used for resting.

Aside from experiencing a lot of cold and allergy symptoms since my return from New Mexico, February was a good month. I have been working through the KonMari Method with tidying up my stuff. It has been a slow-going process, but I’ve been seeing a little bit of progress as I make my surroundings more joyful and less cluttered. This process has really put a lot in perspective, and I find myself more thankful for what God has blessed me with. You may ask: What has this got to do with my writing? Quite a lot actually. All the clutter surrounding me has been one of the hindrances to my writing. As a person who likes to be organized, I felt so distracted and unable to concentrate when I tried to write. This is still a work in progress, but I have been thinking more about where I’m going with my writing. At this point, writing a novel is not my goal. I’ve enjoyed doing short stories and devotional writings, and I have a long list of ideas to utilize once my surroundings are more peaceful. It feels good to still be working toward the goal I made in January, which is to make more room for writing, and I’ve taken that quite literally!

Taos, New Mexico

Since I like this month’s optional question, I thought I’d give a quick answer. Whose perspective do you like to write from best, the hero (protagonist) or the villain (antagonist)? And why? I enjoy writing from the hero’s perspective, because I like showing how good can overcome evil within a conflict. I think I also feel more comfortable writing from a perspective that I can relate to. I’ve never tried this, but I have considered writing as the villain in a story of redemption, like The Grinch or my personal favorite: Megamind (if you have not watched that animated movie, I highly recommend!).

IWSG: You Have a Blog?

Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month.

The question for January is: What are your favorite and least favorite questions people ask you about your writing?

I do not get asked a lot of questions about writing, mostly because I do not write enough publically. Most people I know in person do not even know that I like to write, and are surprised to learn I have a blog. In their defense, I am an introvert, so those people do not know much about me at all. What I like is when someone asks me if they can read something I’ve written; it shows that they are actually interested. It is even better when they start asking questions about my characters and plots, though few people have ventured that far.

 The questions I dislike the most are the ones I ask myself. Why am I still trying to write? What’s the point? Isn’t it about time I just quit? I may have been taking a long extended break from writing, but it is not entirely by choice. My current life circumstances have created a roadblock that has proven itself quite difficult to bypass. No matter what, though, as long as I have stories within me that are left unwritten, I could never quit writing entirely. I cannot let the negative thoughts in my head cause me to give up completely. I’ve been reading Chrys Fey’s series of posts on writer’s burnout, and I think I’m experiencing something similar to that. It’s about time I take steps to rekindle the flame. I normally do not make New Year’s resolutions, but this year one of my goals is to move writing up on my priority list. It has been pushed aside for far too long.

I wish each of you a prosperous year in writing and other creative outlets you pursue! Happy 2019!

IWSG: A Better Month

Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month.

Thank you all for the encouragement last month! I was really down and discouraged when I wrote that post, plus I had procrastinated and wrote it late the night before post day. I was tired and frustrated, and the blogging community swooped in and made me feel better. Thank you! August was a better month overall. I participated in the WEP, which helped get me back in a better writing flow. I started working on an idea for the IWSG Anthology Contest, although I’m not yet sure if I can pull it together into a decent story. It is nice to feel inspired to write again, but I’m still working on balancing my energy to make time for it.

This month, the optional question is: What publishing path are you considering/did you take, and why? That is a question I ask myself quite often. I realize that I do not have anything ready to be published, but that it still something to consider now, so I can be ready once I get to that part of the writing journey. I have heard pros and cons of both self-publishing and using a publisher. I think that starting off, I would be better off with a publisher to help get my name out there. I would still consider self-publishing. It depends on what I end up writing first, it could be a novel, a collection of poems or short stories, or a book of devotionals. I do hope to get at least one of those unfinished ideas published someday. 

Happy September, everyone!

IWSG: Clearing Clutter, Changing Goals, and D&D

Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We usually share our posts the first Wednesday of the month, but since the U.S. Fourth of July holiday is on Wednesday this year, we are posting on Tuesday. July’s optional question is: What are your ultimate writing goals, and how have they changed over time (if at all)?

June went a little better than May for me, but I still have a lot of catching up to do in nearly every area of my life. It seems as though I will not be able to fully concentrate on my writing until I start clearing away the clutter around me. Not just concrete things like clothes and desk supplies (although those are on the list), but also digital clutter with emails and organizing files, and clearing my head of distractions and negativity. It has been a long, difficult process, and I feel as though circumstances keep trying to pull me backwards, but I must keep moving forward.

As for my goals, they have adjusted themselves over time. I still would like to write my non-fiction “quiet book” someday, but organizing those thoughts and ideas into meaningful words has proved harder than I thought it would be. I feel like I would have to change to a better, less stressful day job in order to give that project the attention it requires. I have recently grown fond of writing short stories and even a little flash fiction. I hope to get a short story published within the next few years. I have been tweaking and adding to my fantasy story entry from the 2016 IWSG anthology contest. My friend and her husband inadvertently helped me with it a couple weeks ago. ~ Warning: The next sentence will reveal just how much of a nerd I truly am. ~ They started a sort of Dungeons and Dragons role-playing story and invited me to join, so I decided to use one of my fantasy story characters. We are not following the typical D&D rules, but I think this will be an entertaining verbal storytelling experience. I highly recommend it for fantasy writers!

I guess I distracted myself from the initial question. My ultimate goal, under my current circumstances, is to publish at least one book. If I ever manage to obtain my dream job of being a stay-at-home wife and mother, I may be able to publish more (maybe). Under better day job circumstances, another goal of mine would be to write weekly devotional blog posts similar to the ones I used to write when I started this blog. So, to better my writing, I need to broaden my search to find a better job, or get married (lol 😄).

To my United States followers: Happy Independence Day!

IWSG: Reflections on the Year

           

            This is my post for the December 6th IWSG Day. I am posting early because I will be taking a trip to London next week! The Insecure Writer’s Support Group was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh for writers to share their insecurities and encourage one another. We are given an optional question to answer each month, and here is the question for December 6:

As you look back on 2017, with all its successes and failures, if you could backtrack, what would you do differently?

            I could discuss other areas where I have reached my goals, but this post is meant to specifically address writing. I would have to say that as far as writing goes, 2017 was not the best year for me. I nearly abandoned my blog and followers a couple times (sorry guys!), I did not participate in the IWSG Anthology contest this year, and I did not listen to my own recommendation to discipline myself and write every day. As for NaNoWriMo, I will probably fall somewhere between 3000 and 4000 words by the end of the day. I was not aiming for 50,000, nor was I working on a novel, but I did hope to get a little more written. I guess I had some distractions this month, including London planning, so I’m not entirely disappointed with the results. It will make it easier to beat next year! I had fun with the little projects I was working on with NaNo, so it was a good experience.

            If I could backtrack, I would probably not only say I want to be more disciplined in my writing, but I would also take the time to plan out writing sessions and stick to them. I’d put my words into action instead of just thinking about it all the time. I would have planned time for my blog posts and visits instead of handling my blog with the casual disregard I’ve had most of this year. There are probably many other moments when I could have been writing this year, and I will need to work on those things that I allow to divert my attention in the year to come.

            Congrats to the NaNo winners out there! You have accomplished a great feat! 

Now it's time to finish packing!

IWSG: The Write Time

            Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month.

            I keep meaning to do an update post, and the next thing you know another month has gone by. I find myself constantly caught up in other things or just downright tired. I have bits and pieces of writing that I have done over the past few months, but nothing substantial. I even started a mystery/crime short story for the IWSG anthology contest, but then I decided that I am completely terrible at writing mystery/crime and probably have to read more in that genre beyond Sherlock Holmes.

            The optional question for this month is: Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published?

For my non-writer friends and those who are new to the online writing community, I was in your shoes two years ago asking “What is NaNo?” NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and it takes place in November. In order to “win” you must write 50,000 words of your novel. When I first heard about it I knew that I would eventually make an attempt at participating. Last year I was not ready, and I’m not ready this year either, but I did set up an account under a pen name. I have some other projects and preparations to work on this month, so attempting to win NaNo would not be an obtainable goal. I have decided to use this month to work on getting into a better writing habit, and the word count feature is nice to see how much I get written. I’m probably not going to work on one single novel. I have a few ideas for some short stories that I would like to work on and other bits and pieces I’d like to dive into. According to the forums on the site, I would be classified as a NaNo rebel since I'm working on multiple pieces, which is fine with me :)

For those who are in it to win it or at least making an effort to finish a novel, I commend you. Happy writing! 

IWSG: Useful Distraction?

 

            Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month.

            My focus has been so far off lately. That is why I can’t seem to get anything done. Lack of time is not the problem. It’s complete lack of motivation, discipline, and focus. My mind is constantly going in ten different directions and I never know which lead to follow. Sometimes it’s with writing: should I write a blog post? Should I be working on a short story? A novel? A children’s book? I have all of that floating in my head that needs to get out on the page before it all dies. But, this goes far beyond writing decisions. Getting myself to sit down and write is a chore in and of itself. Ever a distracted procrastinator, I find everything else to do and I start random crafts or projects. I actually did finish a couple long term projects this last month, which was nice. I suppose I need to find motivation in those moments of accomplishment, even if it’s not with writing. If I could get more of the organizational projects out of the way, I may be able to focus more on my writing (or so I tell myself). One of my finished projects involved creating a significant amount of storage space in my room, which allows me to FINALLY clear off the random books, crafts and sewing supplies on my desk. That is my next project, to sort and move that stuff so my computer can have its old home back. My current set up in the living room is too full of distractions like the TV, large window, and cats. I have read that it’s helpful to find a place to get away from distractions, so I am working on creating that space.

My current "writing" spot
 

In the midst of the storage wars, I did manage little bits of writing here and there. One day, when I intentionally sat down for ten minutes to write, I wrote 350 words. Now that may not sound like a lot, but I did the math :) If I only wrote 300 words per day, every day, I would have 109,500 words by the end of the year! I know more experienced writers probably manage a lot more than that, and then there’s the editing and revising stages and beyond, but that still looks like a good number to start with for a beginning novelist like me, especially in only ten minutes a day. Feeling motivated yet?

IWSG: One Step at a Time

 

            Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month. Congratulations to the IWSG for making it on the 100 Best Websites for Writers list!

            I thought about being discouraged and talking about my typical lack of time and motivation, and how it is already March and what I have I done with my writing so far this year? But, you know, things are not always as bad as they seem. Change will come, but sometimes it only comes in small baby steps. Have I met my goal of writing every day? Not yet, but I do find myself making notes of ideas more often and I have written quite a bit in my journals. Journaling may not always feel like writing because it is not usually for others to see, but I think there is power in unleashing those inner thoughts and it taps into your source of creativity. Beyond journaling, I have made some decisions and plans for my writing this last month. The most immediate is that I decided I will attend the monthly writer’s group meeting at my local library tomorrow. From the way the librarian described the group, it sounds like a critique group, and I thought I would just sit in this time to see how it goes. I’m a little bit nervous, but I think it is a good step forward for my future writing pursuits. I will reveal my other plans and steps as I reach them. One step at a time.

Pixabay.com

March’s question is: Have you ever pulled out a really old story and reworked it? Did it work out? I did not think I had much of an answer to this, because most of my fictional writing is from the last couple years, besides a few from high school and college. Of course, there is my ongoing “quiet book” that I started collecting notes for about 10 years ago, but it has not entered the drafting phase yet. Today, I was looking through my high school (and beyond) diary, and I was actually thinking about how some of those early entries would make a pretty comical preteen book. I’m thinking something along the lines of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but I’ll have to wait to see if that will work out or not. I have a long list of other projects to work on ahead of it. One step at a time. :)

If You Give a Page a Picture

            I really don’t know where the time goes. I feel as though I lose track of it so easily. I wanted to be more proactive with my blog posts this year, but I did not have a solid plan in place so it has fallen by the wayside yet again. I think of the quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” I mean to make amends to this, so I have spent the majority of my blogging absence analyzing my goals, schedule, and time usage. I even bought a Life Planner, which has encouraged a lot of journal writing. Elsewhere in writing, I started a couple short stories. My main problem is that I have a lot of starts and few finishes.

One reason for these infrequent finishes (and loss of time) is that I tend to make things too difficult for myself. I spend too much time on tasks that should be simple. For example, a few weeks ago, I wanted to start putting up a weekly quote on my Facebook page and I found one I liked. I was about to schedule it to be posted on a Monday, but then I thought it needed a picture. So, I searched through some internet memes and couldn’t quite find the right picture and quote combination. I have been wanting to start using more of my own photography and less from the internet, so I decided I’d put the quote on my own picture, and I opened up the rarely used GIMP program that my brother downloaded on my computer. GIMP has so many functions, too many, and I don’t understand most of it (it’s one of those programs that you need to watch video tutorials in order for it to be beneficial). After changing the font size ten times and endlessly shifting the position of my quote, I saw a shadow in my picture and thought, “I could probably edit that out.” After multiple attempts at finding a function that removes shadows, I gave up and my Facebook page still lacks this new update. I don’t even want to know how long this useless process took me, and in order to gain closure on it, I am sharing that photo (with unwanted car shadow) today.

The font still looks too small...

 

Sadly, this example is how many blog posts, writings, and other projects go for me. My life plays out like a never-ending If You Give a Mouse a Cookie story. I need to add this to the goal list in my planner: Simplify things! I think I will start that weekly quote on Facebook and I'll use a less-complex program, or just share the quote and photo separately. Watch for it on my page, Monday!

Anyone else guilty of overthinking/overdoing simple things?

IWSG: Just Keep Writing

 

            Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer's Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month. 

            Over the past few weeks, my motivation levels have flip flopped as much as the weather here in Oklahoma. I took a week of staycation in the middle of December which did not involve as much staying home as I’d hoped. I enjoyed some time with friends and family, though, so it was still a worthwhile time. When I was home, I had so many cleaning and organizing tasks to catch up on that I did not have much time to write. I guess taking time off is not necessarily the solution to my writing-time problem because my time gets booked up fast. I started the New Year feeling slightly motivated because I was off for the weekend and I felt refreshed and ready to start a daily writing session…then I went to work on Monday and all motivation was gone. I finally felt reenergized around 12:30 that night, which was terrible because I had work in the morning, so I had to stifle my creativity in order to wind myself down to go to sleep. Are there any other night owls out there who are forced to get up early for a day job? Add introversion and having to unwind after dealing with people all day and that is why I don’t have much energy to spare.

            Tuesday night, after another life-sucking day at work, I decided to find some New Year motivational articles to read and remind myself of the goals I would like to accomplish this year with my writing. Inspired by the articles in this month’s IWSG newsletter, I think my main goal for this year is to start a daily writing habit. Even if it is just a little bit of journaling, I need to write every single day. I know this will be a tough undertaking at first, but it will be rewarding once it becomes a regular part of my daily routine. I hope each of you find success in your goals for this year! Happy 2017!


Time to fill this notebook with stories!

IWSG: Writing Goals

 

            Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month. The IWSG poses a question for us to answer in our monthly posts. Here is the question for December:

In terms of your writing career, where do you see yourself five years from now, and what’s your plan to get there?

            This has just been a week of future-oriented questions. First, the Question of the Month was about retirement, and now this. Maybe this is God’s way of telling me to start thinking more about the future in my life. I must admit that this is a tough question to answer because I have not set many definitive goals with my writing. I’ve allowed stress and many distractions to get in the way of my search for writing contests and publications to submit to. The book that I started sometime in the last year has been put on hold because it was loosely based on some of my own experiences and I’m not ready to write a character that is too much like myself. So, those are the things I’m not doing, but what am I doing? What are my writing plans? These are questions that really get me thinking and I actually have been thinking about these things a lot more the last few months than I was previously.

            Five years from now, I hope to be a lot more writing-oriented, and in order to get to that point, I will need to make some changes with my current job situation. I hope to turn one of the ideas floating around in my head into a novel and I want to participate in NaNoWriMo at least once in the next five years. In the meantime, I have decided that I really enjoy writing short stories after the two anthology entries I’ve written. My entry from last year was mostly an experiment and I’m not sure I like it anymore, but I plan to steal one of the characters from that story and give him his own new story. In fact, I may introduce him in a blog post in the next couple months. As for this year’s entry, my brain has already created a prequel and multiple character continuations of the story I wrote and these ideas could have novel potential. Although, the idea of writing a fantasy novel is quite intimidating. I also hope to have at least one thing published somewhere; an article, a story, or even a book. I know in order to get something published I need to write more and submit more, which would mean scheduling my writing time better. These goals may not seem very big to those who are career writers, but for me these sound doable under my current circumstances. I’m a slow writer, so each step I take with my writing feels like a big step for me! If some other life circumstances change, I may be able to shift to writing on a more full-time basis and then I would have a whole new set of goals to share.

 

Do you like to keep your goals small or do you think big? Any other slow writers out there?

Regaining Energy

            “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 (NIV1984)

            That verse has so often applied to my life, especially this summer. I thought I had some great posts planned out and ready to be scheduled during the past few months, however, the summer turned out to be a lot busier than I thought it would outside of the blogging community. In the last eight to ten weeks, I have had two, maybe three, full 24-hour days spent at home. I have been constantly on the go to work, church activities, shopping trips, and outings with friends and family. In early August, I went to an amazing youth conference as a youth worker/leader, and I am really glad I decided to go. Besides my job, I do enjoy all these aforementioned activities, but my introverted self is in desperate need of some alone time to recharge my energy. Without being recharged, I feel strained socially, mentally, and emotionally. If you have come across me, whether in person or online, I apologize if I seemed cross or unpleasant; it may have been one of those completely drained moments.

An important part of the blogging experience is the community, and I enjoy reading comments and posts from my fellow bloggers. Even though it is a lot easier for me to interact with people in writing, I do still consider blogging a form of social engagement and it has been hard to get into an interactive mood lately. So, what have I been doing with those seemly few hours I have at home? Mostly, I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching. I’ve been thinking about my personality and how it affects my choices and goals. I’ve been thinking about majors I should have picked in college, like psychology, neurology, or journalism. I’ve been thinking about my dreams and desires and wondering if some will ever be reached, like marriage. I’ve also spent a lot of time in prayer during this introspective process. I think God did use this socially-overwhelmed time to help me to spend my leftover time away from communicative activities and more into studying and learning by myself. I cannot say that this process is over, but I am ready to attempt to get back on a regular blog post schedule. I have been trying to get this particular post written for the last month, and here it finally is! The thing that has bothered me the most is all the work I put in to visit and meet new bloggers in April’s A to Z Challenge seems to have fallen apart during the summer. That is another area I should work on, consistency. Thanks to those of you who continue to bear with me! You are great friends!

Question of the Month: Where to Next?

 

The Question of the Month is a bloghop that occurs the first Monday of each month and it is hosted by Michael G D'Agostino from A Life Examined. Here is this month’s question:

Of all the places in the world that you haven’t yet been to, where would you like to go next?

            Initially, I thought this would be a hard question to answer, because I love traveling and I have dreams of traveling to many different places around the world. It would be hard to pick just one place I’d like to go next. After thinking it over, I realized that I know exactly where I hope to go next: Virginia! “Why Virginia?” you may be asking, well, because that is where one of my best friends has been living for the past few years and I have not yet been able to visit her there. Since I have never been to Virginia, I would have a new state to mark off my list. It has been over a year since I have seen my friend, so it would be great to catch up with her in person again. Plus, she has invited me multiple times to fly out there, so I think it’s about time I go!
 

Where would you like to go?

March IWSG

            Time for another posting with the Insecure Writers Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month. Last month, we got a new badge, which I really like, and our first monthly newsletter put together by Chrys Fey! The co-hosts for March are: Lauren Hennessy, Lisa Buie-Collard, Lidy Wilks, Christine Rains, and Mary Aalgaard.

            This month, the only thing I’m slightly insecure about is the upcoming Blogging from A to Z Challenge. My theme idea may be more elaborate than I can handle and I hope I can pull it all together before April begins. Putting the alphabet aside, I have been bookmarking some writing contest websites. I hope to start writing and submitting short stories and maybe even give flash fiction a try this summer, if I’m not too worn out after April is over :) I might even share some of my fiction on this blog if I think it’s worth sharing. I guess that’s all for now, I’ll check back in with my weekly posts for March, otherwise you will probably find me researching my letters and putting them all together! I hope everyone has a productive month!
 

 

IWSG: Excuses, Excuses

 

            Time for another posting with the Insecure Writers Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month. The co-hosts this month are:  Allison Gammons, Tamara Narayan, Eva E. Solar, Rachel Pattison, and Ann V. Friend.  

 

            Honestly, I have not really been thinking much about writing a book or even short stories this last month. I know, I know I was so goal-oriented in January’s post, but then I was sick, and then work got really hectic leaving me stressed and entirely too tired. This is becoming my biggest obstacle. I’m a procrastinator by nature, and since there is no deadline for my unwritten book ideas, I continue to put them off. Setting my own deadlines doesn’t really help unless I get other people involved. That’s why I managed to participate in the A to Z Challenge after a long hiatus from blogging and why I continue to post monthly for the Question of the Month and IWSG. I can do those because I’m signed up on a list and other people are expecting my posts. Of course, a book is a lot longer than a blog post and that is where all the excuses start rolling in. My job is an obstacle because it severely drains my mental and creative energy. I don’t search for short story contests with the deadlines I need and I think part of me is afraid to hold myself accountable to someone else for an entire book.

 

Maybe I am being too hard on myself: I just looked back at last month’s IWSG post, and I did say my first goal was to set more time aside for writing, which I actually have done. I’ve mostly been writing reflections and notes from my daily devotional reading, but any writing is better than no writing. I have also been getting excited about this year’s A to Z Challenge and I have been doing some research for me letters, which I think can also count toward my writing time because it’s a part of the preparation process :) I am taking a “staycation” in a couple weeks, so I hope that can help revive my creative juices and rework my writing goals.

Blurry Week and A to Z Challenge

                I must say that I have no idea where the last week went! Work has been exceptionally stressful with a constant stream of patients and new year insurance changes. The only day I had away from work since my last post was Sunday and I feel as though the entire week has completely escaped in a blur. I even fell asleep before 11:00pm one night, and that is early for this night owl. On top of that, I just announced my Wednesday postings because of having Tuesdays off to write and then a coworker needed to trade with me for Thursday this week. It’s almost ironic! But, I'm posting nonetheless.

I had a really great idea for today’s post on Tuesday morning and I was sorting out the details in my head on the way to work. The problem was that work came between my idea and getting home to write it out. I forgot some of my points and lost the direction I wanted to take with it, so I hope the rest of that idea will come back to me, but it’s not going to make it for this post. I guess as foolish as it may feel, I probably should start voicing my thoughts to my phone’s recorder.

 

 

Back to this month’s theme of goals: in the midst of the chaos, I managed to officially sign up for the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge. The list opened on Monday and I signed up at about 2:30pm CST and I was #251, and the last time I checked there were 377 blogs signed up! It amazes me how many people participate and the hosts do an amazing job at maintaining and promoting it. The challenge’s founder Arlee Bird had an excellent idea and even he probably never imagined it would get this big! I am excited about participating again, and I think I have finally settled on the theme I want to use this year. I had another theme in mind, but I came up with an idea I liked better earlier this month. I will have to do a little research for a few of those trouble letters, but I think this theme will work well and I will reveal it in March. I am leaving you with a few verses that have helped me this week and I will see again next week with a particularly difficult Question of the Month and the IWSG.

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9 (KJV)

“I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content…I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:11b, 13 (KJV)

 
 

Making Plans

                I’ve been sticking to a theme of goals in my posts so far this month and I kind of like having an overall theme for the month, so I might try it again sometime. In this post, I will attempt to lay out a plan for the next few months on my blog. Disclaimer: Anything I assign here is subject to change or cancelation.

                I plan to continue participating in the Question of the Month on the first Monday and the Insecure Writers Support Group on the first Wednesday of each month. In April, I plan to participate in the A to Z Challenge for a second year. Besides April and the beginning of each month, my blog schedule is fairly open. As I stated last spring, the possibilities and directions I can go are endless! I do plan on mainly sticking to this blog’s roots of devotional content and life lessons God is teaching me. Since I am usually off work on Tuesdays, I plan to make Wednesday my regular post day each week after the QotM and IWSG. If my plans are hindered for some reason, I will most likely have a Throwback Thursday Photos post. I will probably include some extra Throwback Thursdays every once in a while. I may sign up for an occasional blog hop. I would also be open to guest posts or author tours. I’m not exactly sure how to conduct a guest post, so anyone who might be interested would be my guinea pig (or maybe I’m the guinea pig here, haha). 

                As for my ailment, I am still experiencing a bit of congestion, but the symptoms are becoming less severe. With that, my motivation seems to be increasing a little more. Thank you for your prayers! As I said in my last post, slowing down on the busyness for a couple weeks wasn’t too bad because I have been more diligently focused on my daily Bible reading and study. I have actually stayed caught up on a Bible reading in one year plan, but it has only been 20 days so far, we’ll see how the rest of the year goes :)

Unexpected Accomplishment

                So, the New Year came and I was almost feeling slightly motivated. Then, wham! I get hit with a sore throat on January 2^nd. Then, another hit the same day with a substitute pharmacist at work who was unfamiliar with our regular processes and with it being a New Year, just about everyone’s insurance changed and only half of them had a new card. And who had to fix all of the insurance problems and make the phone calls? Me! And I hate making phone calls! So, my sore throat turned into a raging fire by the end of that day and I think the stress was too much for my immune system because I have been having cold symptoms and congestion since then. Did you know that feeling ill is not very motivating? So, I have spent most of this year so far sleeping and resting when I wasn’t at work. As I stated before, this is part of the reason I don’t make resolutions, because you never know what’s going to hit next. At least I don’t have any failed promises to cause disappointment, but I still feel a bit unaccomplished since I haven’t really worked on any of my goals for the year yet. The other day as I was coughing and pitying myself, I realized that I was overlooking something. On my days off so far, I have been spending an extra hour sitting in my warm, cozy bed and reading the Bible and looking through some Bible study and devotional books. I still need to work on the mornings when I have to go to work, but I now have a plan laid out to start the day off right when I’ll be home all day. I used some of my downtime to write down lists of things I would like to accomplish in different areas of my life. I also took a Sunday afternoon nap the past two Sundays, which was nice and relaxing. I still have some congestion issues, but maybe God has used this slight ailment to help me slow down and really consider my goals and plans for the year. I may not be entirely motivated to conquer some of my goals yet, but breaking them down and making a more detailed plan has helped me see them as more manageable. At first, I didn’t think the year was starting out well, but when I look past the physical roadblock, I now see that spending more time with God and allowing Him to guide my plans is the greatest thing I could accomplish this year!

 

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (KJV)

P.S. I am trying to set up a more routine schedule for this blog and I hope to have something ready to present next Wednesday. Have a great week, everyone!