Jesus Loves Me! No really it's true

Do you ever have moments where something random or really minor but great happens, moments where you find such joy in something so ridiculous or small that you think "It really is the little things in life?"

I do. I call them my "Jesus Loves Me moments"

Like when you're going through a certain tough situation, and right when you get in the car, a song on the radio comes on that applies to you so specifically, a song that hasn't played on the radio in FOREVER. And you think "Jesus loves me".

Or when your husband is about to go buy a motorcycle in New York and drive it all the way from New York to north Louisiana, and in the middle of your panic attack, the seller of the motorcycle gets all shady and refuses a mechanical check, and the deal is off. And you think "Jesus loves me."

I had another moment like that today. I was planning on going to McDonalds and getting a hot caramal mocha. I had counted calories before and planned my day around it (was only 200 calories or so) and was going to get it to help my throat (Fall allergies). But I couldn't get over into the right lane, so I turned into Sonic instead and was just gonna get a boring ol' Diet Coke again. Then I remembered Sonic had coffee, so I ordered a hot caramal mocha from them.

And instead, I somehow was given a cold caramal mocha Java Chiller, which is like a coffee milkshake, and I had no idea how many calories it was, and didn't care, because honestly, it was the best thing I'd eaten/drank in a super long time. It was FABULOUS. And I was free to enjoy it and just relish it because I had no idea how bad it was for me and truly didn't care. It was my little "have a good morning" treat from the Lord. A reminder to quit being so uptight, so strict, so organized and detailed and anal about everything and just enjoy life sometimes.

Jesus loves me!

Some of those examples might be silly to you, but they're real, nontheless, and if we don't take the time to find Jesus in the daily grind, in the everyday hectic moments of life, and appreciate Him, acknowledge Him, thank Him - what do we really have? Abundant life? Not so much.

A ton of people - Christians or not - could experience all of the above (all 3 of those examples happened within the past week FYI) and blow it off. Not even notice. Call it coincidence or destiny or whatever else they wanted to. But I call it Jesus.

What do you call it?

Have you had any moments like that recently? Moments where you felt connected to your Saviour in a way that would sound totally dumb if you tried to explain it out loud, but knew in your heart it was the real deal?

Please share! I'd love to hear about it and praise with you!

The Post Where I Confess I'm A Wuss

I’m as fly-by-night as they come. When Ethan and I got engaged, it was kind of like, Sure… why not now? We just met three months ago, but we know this is forever. 

(Yeah, there were raised eyebrows from friends, but when they met him (some five minutes before the ceremony) there was unabashed approval.)

I figured having a baby would be the same way. Since I’m not a planner I decided NOT to take a birth class (insert raised eyebrows from friends again). I preferred the ignorant rout.

I knew it was gonna hurt... what more did I need to know?

In the end I caved and took a 60 minute session just so I would “know how to breathe”. (I didn’t realize labor would take away that ability, but apparently it did. Somehow I did manage to gasp out the word “epidural”, though, and suddenly my world was a much brighter place.)

OK, enough evidence that I don’t like planning. But sometimes, folks, planning is necessary. Especially for writers.

The truth is, writing a book is a lot different than engagement or childbirth. Both of those things are dependent on other people. Ethan popped the question – Zoey popped my butt bone.They were both going to happen no matter how unprepared I was.

But there’s one thing I've learned if you don't work in a newsroom: You have to create your own deadlines.

So join me, fellow fly-by-night artists. Set a real deadline. Something attainable. Ask someone to keep you accountable.

Your book is not going to write itself. SCHEDULE TIME to write, and do it, preferably before the ninth hour like this post. (Which actually proves my point – schedule your time to write BEFORE the day you want it to happen.)

Because it's Monday...

Ha! What are you guys working on today?

(P.S. No, toilet paper is not a valid answer.) ;)

Seasonal Bliss Part 2

What's been keeping me company during NaNoWriMo you ask?

Well, my brand of seasonal bliss, the illustrious gingerbread latte, of course.

Since I'm attempting to write 50,000 words in a single month, there will be no special holiday stories for me this year. But I will say that I'm pretty sure that I write soo soo much faster when there's happy Christmas music playing in the background (my favorites of late are She and Him's holiday album and Michael Buble's new one).

For some reason hearing "It's Beginning to Look a Like Christmas" and "Silent Night" gets those words flowing on the page in record time. Maybe I should listen to Christmas music all year long then? Hmmm. But then again, there wouldn't be gingerbread lattes to accompany it. Oh well, a girl can dream, right?

Seasonal Bliss

It's beginning to look a lot like...Peppermint mochas at Starbucks!

I mean, er, Christmas...hehehe.

What is your favorite holiday treat to look forward to? And do you incorporate these goodies into your novels?

I LOVE writing holiday-themed stories. The only problem was one time I was revising a Christmas novella (THE GINGERBREAD SEASON, Love Inspired novella compilation October 2010) in the summer. That was tricky. And hubby is one of these Scrooge types who can't bear holiday music until the day after Thanksgiving at the earliest, and even then, he would rather not hear any at all. LOL. So yeah that was an interesting couple of weeks.

I'm trying to be good this year and not skip Thanksgiving celebrations. I always get ahead of myself and start humming O Holy Night in, like, mid October. I won't forget turkey day this year - especially because right after Thanksgiving we're going to DISNEYWORLD!! WOOHOO!! Talk about a great holiday season. :)

What do you have coming up this holiday season? Are you writing a holiday story? Or are you taking a break from writing to enjoy a seasonal break? What inspires you the most about this time of year? :) (I think we all know my answer to this can be found in the Starbucks drive through line, and well, probably Erynn's too. haha)

Playing pretend

I remember when I was a little kid, I loved playing house.

I loved to dress up in aprons - because, of course, all moms always wore aprons. I loved to set up pretend beds and tuck my baby dolls to sleep. I used to plan activities for them and then scold them when they did something wrong. I'd make their meals, help them with their homework and teach them how to play leapfrog.

I had a very vivid imagination.

And today, I took the first step in introducing the gift of an imagination to my little Nater Tot. We went and bought some plastic fruits and vegetables, an eighty-eight cent set of spoons and spatulas, a set of measuring cups and a bunch of plastic bowls. And he pretended to make soup for the next HOUR.

Considering my boy has about a sixteen-second attention span, this was amazing!

I was thinking about it today though - it's not just fifteen-month-olds who need to learn how to use their imaginations. Writers do too. Maybe not in the same way - I'm not sure I'd get a lot of inspiration from stirring a giant purple plastic eggplant and what looks like a yellow orange around in a bowl. :) Instead, writers have to learn how to "force" their imagination and inspiration - deadlines don't get made by just writing when you feel like it, sad to say.

So, if your well is running a little dry, try out a few of my ideas to get your imagination and inspiration back up and running!

* Read a book you've never read before.

* Read a book you've read before and love and try to figure out why it means so much to you.

* Create a winter wreath (sometimes doing something creative in a different way can get the writing juices flowing!).

* Learn a new card game.

* Check Facebook. (Ok, I can hear all of you now: "WHAT??!!" Just do it. Those status updates will definitely provoke some sort of story idea! Another new favorite - Pinterest. Need setting ideas? Check out the houses/rooms on there. Just be sure to give yourself a time limit or you may never get to your writing.)

* Go for a walk or do a workout. Brains need blood flow and oxygen. Plus, you might make a little progress on counteracting that "writer's booty" that is a matched set to your couch cushion.

* See how you can dress up an ordinary chocolate chip cookie recipe.

* Try changing your location from where you usually write. Do you write at a desk? Move to the kitchen table. Inside? Head outside for a little bit. At night? Try writing in the mornings (assuming you aren't operating off a nap schedule.)

Now, stop reading this and get to cultivating that inspiration!! And come back and let us know how it went!

God's fingerprints

Do you ever look back on your life and see how God worked all those (at the time) random, confusing or hurtful situations for good? Romans 8:28 in action! I call this God's fingerprints.

I see them today. There's a situation going on in my life where I look back and realize now that all the devotional topics I read during a period of time, all the encouraging songs I kept hearing on repeat on the radio, all the comments from friends, snippets of certain topics in church, articles I read on random Christian blogs, were all leading me to this point in time. To strengthen, encourage, uplift, and comfort. To give direction for my actions today, in the storm. To prove God is there and was there all along, and most importantly, will continue to be. :)

God's fingerprints.

Do you see His hands at work in your life today?

I tell you, there is NOTHING on this earth more comforting than that. It's almost like having an inside joke with the Lord. And that's worth every heartache, every question, every soul-character development going on.

God doesn't wear gloves. He lets His glory shine through, He gives us evidence of Himself if we simply open our eyes and LOOK for it.

Will you look today?