How precious are Your thoughts to me, O LORD ... how vast is the sum of them!

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Guest Post: Hope Pennington!

Today I'm happy to welcome Hope Pennington to my blog! She’s written a meaningful, fun, poignant post that I’m excited to share. Enjoy and be encouraged!



When You Can't Get Out Of Bed...

Morning dawns. Sun dances on my skin from the window and once again...I don't want to get up.

Static in my mind.

I have no plans for my life.

Gee. Life stinks sometimes.

Some people, some mornings get up, stretch like a Disney princess and dance through chores and their job like a Disney princess.

More often I feel like the villain. I don't save the world. My job isn't important. I'm not a hero, I'm not a princess. Why should I even bother getting up?

There's a sunrise outside.

Don't worry that you're in your pajamas. You walk outside. Feel the wet grass on your toes. Bring your bible. Read a psalms. Climb a fence. Look at clouds.

Stop waiting for something big. Your life. Your moment. Right now. Just looking at that sky. Is something big and amazing. Don't waist it worrying. Leave the worrying to God and laugh that happy laugh or if you can't - smile. Enjoy that sunrise. God painted it for you.

And dance. Dance like it's the last day of your life. Don't worry what people think. People get it wrong anyway. It's just you and God and the sky. And God loves in you.

Enjoy

Yourself

You're the hero of your story. And you rock.

Then go inside. Wear stuff. Who cares what. You kill it kid. So your room's a reck. So you flunked math. So your mom had to tell you for the millionth time to take out the trash. Take it out with pride and kick off your shoes. I need every single one of my adventures to know they're a hero today and live the adventure of having fun here and now.

Today

Kiss your mom.

Hug your dad.

Do your thing and #noworryaloud

Today is your day to #ROCK







Hope Pennington is a nerdy scifi and fantasy author who loves to encourage people to believe that they're the epic hero of their own life story. If she's not writing she can be found vlogging, making comic books or hanging out with random people who like the same TV shows as her.

Here’s how to connect with her:

Blog - The Epic Place, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Author Photoshoot


These photos have been patiently waiting for me to share them since July. A dear friend of mine, Sonja Langford (http://sonjalangford.com/) is responsible for taking these pictures that, I feel, really capture my personality. 

The impetus was my need for an updated author photo, because my previous one is four years old. But Sonja took such a variety that I had to share more. Don't you just love that vintage typewriter? That's a gift from another dear friend!










Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Surfeited Summer

Life has been chock full of interesting experiences for me lately. Let’s see if I can cover them all in one blog post today!

At the end of June, I spent about a week in Nebraska with some dear friends. I experienced several firsts—first time milking goats (my hands got so tired!), first time helping with calf branding (probably the hardest work I’ve ever done), first time actually directing a horse while I was riding him instead of just sitting back and following a trail. These real-life, out-of-the-ordinary-for-me experiences really enriched me. The time in the unfilled countryside was so refreshing, and the close fellowship with my friends was so sweet.



Nebraska is for the most part wide open country. Southwestern Nebraska, my location, was full of steep hills that gave intrigue to the landscape and made up for the general deficiency in trees. Where trees did take root, however, they were thick and healthy. Mostly there were cattle, horses, corn fields, and wheat fields, but there were also houses, small towns, and wildlife. I was fascinated by the homes built into hillsides, the descendants of Little House on the Prairie-style dugouts. It seems I can’t go anywhere without being reminded of a book or an author; Nebraska is the state of Willa Cather, whose book My Antonia made a big impression on me several years ago. Her books had a big presence at the used bookstore I visited, as did the books by Elinore Pruitt Stewart, a woman who wrote about her homesteading life nearby in Wyoming.

The second week of July, I had a precious friend come stay with me for a bit, and we drove up to be staff members at a Bible camp in Oklahoma. I’ve gone to this camp for eleven years now, and every year is an incredible spiritual event in my life. This time was no exception. I love getting to serve here now that I’m older, but I’m always out-blessed.

When I got back from that camp, it was time to get fully prepared for a local music day camp that took place the first week of August. It was fun putting different creative muscles to work—planning crafts, doing a collage board, choreographing a dance, researching history, writing discussion outlines, and of course listening to music. The kids were fun to teach and interact with, and the other teachers were such gracious and talented people. Our theme was 1950s and ’60s music…talk about catchy songs! They’re still taking turns whirling in my head.

Using clothes as a teaching tool was fun - 1950s
1960s!

Interspersed with all this, plus working and teaching karate, I’ve been developing my proofreading business. I’ve had almost nonstop projects since June, praise God. Fitting creative writing into that has been a challenge, but I’m still feeling my way forward and hope it will all slide into place once I get comfortable with the schedule and new routine.

So now you know how my summer has been! How about yours? Busier or slower than normal? What new experiences have you had?