Picking Up Steam

You may have noticed that it has been awhile since my last post but this thing called life happened, throwing me off track a bit. I assure you that I have not been taking it easy; in fact, quite the opposite has occurred.

Where the book writing process is concerned, I have found myself in a very comfortable place and am eagerly looking forward to the next phase, which will begin soon. I finished my first draft and passed it on to three peer editors, two of which have finished their work. Once the third is ready to reveal his remarks, I will revise again and pass the new draft to the final editor, who will ultimately tie everything together.

The publishing phase may prove to be most challenging but I am doing what I do best currently and that is research and preparation. I will continue to clue you in along the way, sharing my victories, challenges and welcoming helpful comments and input.

Parting Words of Wisdom:
Bless someone today! Every blessing counts, no matter how seemingly small or insignificant!

Thank you for your support!

Take Comfort in the Quiet Moments

After taking time off from my writing to earn a quick paycheck, I am realizing that distractions such as this are severely impeding my progress. Hopefully next week will be a better week for writing but in the meantime, I am trying to live according to the words in my devotional.

• Do not spoil the quiet hours by wishing them away.
• Instead of resenting the limitations of a weakened body, search for My way in the midst of your circumstances.
• Although you feel cut off from the activity of the world, your quiet trust makes a powerful statement in spiritual realms.
• My strength and power show themselves most effective in weakness.
• Pry your mind away from your problems so you can focus your attention on Me.
• Recall that I am able to do immeasurably more than you ask or imagine.

You get the point. I cling to all of this guidance as I struggle with my own demons and deadlines. Tomorrow is definitely a new day (filled with many more distractions, unfortunately).

Make peace with this phase of your life, regardless of whether it is a phase full of wealth and good health or full of despair and pain.

Slow Going This Week...

I just wanted to post that I am not really making book-writing progress this week because I am working another job during the daytime and training for my half-marathon during the evenings. Hopefully next week I will have significant updates.


At least I have accomplished this in the past few days...

• I have four peer reviewers who are awaiting my rough draft.
• After speaking with the person who manages my church's bookstore, I have my first and possibly second bookstore interested in selling my book.
• I have made contact with several published authors who are happy to assist me in my self-publishing journey.

Those are exciting steps in the right direction!

Have a productive week and I will check in later...

Take Each Day as it Comes

I was reminded today of the need to be flexible and adaptable at all times. While I woke up this morning with the intention of finishing Chapter 9 in my book (I am so close!), I simply was not able to wrap it up. My concentration and focus are not where I wanted them to be but I am telling myself that it is okay. There must be something about Fridays and Mondays because I just feel like I cannot achieve my goals with the alotted time on those particular days! On Friday I am totally preoccupied with the weekend and exhausted from the week's activities and on Monday I am forever playing the game of catch-up.

This is what Jesus has to say about my issue...
Each day is a precious gift from My Father. How are you to focus on future gifts when today's are right in front of you? Receive today's gift with gratitude, for as you savor this gift, you will find Me. (paraphrased by me)

I don't know what this does for you but for me, it speaks volumes! I am always so focused on the future that I lose myself and, in turn, lose my joy.

This subject has been my focus this week, as I am sure you have discovered from my past posts but it is so important to continue to remind myself to take each day as it comes.

Those are my parting words of wisdom today:

Take Each Day as it Comes...

You will be so glad you did!

Take full advantage of this weekend. There will never be another like it and you will never be able to go back.

Continued Blessings!

I can tell that God means for me to write this book because I have yet to experience a road block of any sort. Each day brings new blessings that are, quite frankly, a lot to take in! I am so conditioned to expect my efforts to be difficult and stifled in one way or another but that is simply not the case with this particular venture.

You may or may not know that I have a daily devotional that was given to me by my leader at church called Jesus Calling (thanks Keith!) and most days it speaks to me as if God wrote it just for my eyes. As with any process, sometimes we find ourselves becoming overwhelmed with the end product and overlook much of the journey that leads us to that end. I have struggled with this over the course of the past week or so because instead of focusing upon writing my story and finishing the last two chapters, I have been distracted by details that aren't yet important. I am tied up in a web of publishers, blog posts, message boards and expert opinions regarding how to publish the book, how much it is going to cost me and researching one idea after another. I find myself sifting through the story and ripping it to shreds before I have even completed it!

So yesterday when I opened up my devotional, the craziest thing happened (as it usually does when I dive into God's word!) The discussion was all about taking your focus off of the gigantic mountain that looms up ahead and instead keeping your mind on what today holds. It reads "Keep your mind on the present journey, enjoying My Presence. Walk by faith, not by sight, trusting Me to open up the way before you."

Perfect! Today I kept that in mind and I have made more progress than I even imagined I would in just a few short hours, despite all of the distractions that occurred earlier in my day! I put my faith in Him and he kept His word just as He always has. Isn't it amazing what happens when you let go of the things that have no matter and focus on those that do?

Today's devotion stated that He is training my mind to seek Him in every moment and is renewing my thought process. He most certainly did! I am back on track and feeling high as a kite!

My departing words of wisdom for the day:

Find and keep your focus!

Don't sweat the small stuff because it just doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Do not allow distractions to move your focus to unimportant issues.

Thanks for checking in! Have a day full of blessings and don't forget to thank Him for them all!

A New Perspective

After talking with my editor yesterday I realize that I have A LOT of work to do before I am ready to hand my story over to her. I still have two chapters to write and will then need to go through the book and add things that I inadvertently left out. I will also need to expand upon ideas that I just threw onto the "paper" and add details, etc.

Upon finishing my editing and rewriting, I will then hand my story off to four peer reviewers who will give me their feedback on items such as content and grammar. Some of them are very familiar with my story and some are not so those who have knowledge of the events will also be instrumental in providing information that I may have either forgotten or of which I have no recollection at all because I was unconscious at the time.

There is also so much research I still need to do because I have chosen to self publish the book. By doing this, I am able to keep the rights to the story and will have total control over the process. (If you know me at all you know that I MUST have control!)

So while I thank you all for your support and anticipation of the final product, I have to tell you that it may be a bit further out into the future than I originally had anticipated. No biggie, just keep tuning into my blog for updates...you will probably get more information than you had hoped for!

My parting words of wisdom for today:

Write your story!

Whether it is in the form of a blog or a book, share your story of tribulation and triumph! I know that many of you who are following this blog have incredible stories to share and people want to hear all about it. If you don't know how to do it, I will help you happily!

Grab this day and use it for all it's worth!

Progress, Not Perfection

Today was productive but I did not get to work on Chapter 10 as I had planned to do. Instead, I spent a great deal of time back tracking through previous chapters, adding events that I had forgotten about and elaborating upon others.

I have to say that I am increasingly glad that I am a documentarian in my daily habits. I don't journal but I keep all of my appointments and happenings documented in my Day Planners. I have planners full of information dating back to 2002 and some not so full planners that go even further back than that. If it weren't for them, I would have only my memory to expand upon and if you know anything about me, you know that my memory is shady at best!

Bottom line: I will not be ready to hand my story over to an editor tomorrow or even Wednesday but hopefully my rough draft will be done by Friday. I am encouraged and will keep up with progression, throwing the idea of perfection out the metaphorical window!

My parting words of wisdom for the day:

"Be the person that people will miss when you're away." (Author: Me)

Busy Week Coming Up...

This is the week I finish my rough draft! I have two more chapters to write and then the first of many edits will occur. Thank you to all who have already supported me in this process, either by cheering me on or advising me in one way or another. Oh yes, and those of you who say you are anxious to read it...I am making a list and will be hunting you down when I need to sell copies! Ha ha!

Seriously, I appreciate the encouragement and will keep you posted. Please keep me in your prayers!

Book coming soon!

So you may or may not know that I am in the midst of writing my story with the intent to publish and all news regarding this will be posted here. I am two chapters away from finishing my rough draft and will speak with an editor on Tuesday in hopes to get the story through its first edit...yay!

Since the premature birth of my baby girl nine years ago, I have thought on occasion that it would be great to share my story as inspiration to all who would hold it in their hands. When I was 32-weeks pregnant with her, I was blindsided by a horrific crash that involved my Grand Am, a pickup truck and two semi trucks. Our worlds changed in a million different ways on that day and my family and I have been on a neverending roller coaster as a result. I was just an infant in my relationship with God at the time and He had some serious plans about how he would grow me in my walk with Him!

Writing my memoirs is something that I have dreamed of doing and up until about a month ago, had only written occasionally with the thought that it might be nice to publish one day. Well, if I learned anything in 2011 it was that "one day" doesn't always come! I lost my dad in May of last year and for as long as I can remember, he had been an incredible inspiration to me. He encouraged me to just start writing and he had a solution for every excuse I made so once the dust settled, I decided I would take his advice. I began to write and research the medical records, notes and day planners that I had kept through the years (not realizing how priceless they would become) and it all seemed to flow so well. Before I knew it, I was networking with everyone I knew to communicate with and stumbled upon editors and publishers, blogs and books, all of which would be incredibly helpful in paving the way.

So embark on this journey with me; it promises to be bumpy but encouraging and will surely have a happy ending. By following my blog, you will be the first to know when the book becomes available in eBook formatting, as well as paperback. I will do my best to keep you posted concerning my progress and appreciate your support in the meantime!

Never take a single day for granted...each second is a special blessing of its own!