My Memories Suite Product Review + Giveaway

I've had the lovely opportunity to review and use the My Memory Suites digital scrapbooking software recently and I truly love it! I loved that it was so super user friendly and easy to navigate throughout the whole program. I didn't have to toy around with trying to find a users guide because the software is so well designed and laid out and did I mention easy to use? ;) You can make more than just a scrapbook page with My Memory Suites! You can add music to your pages, have them printed out into a book, make cards and more. There are even freebies on their website (such as page embellishments and page templates) that you can download to your own scrapbooking program for FREE. I will definitely continue to use this program. And just so you web designers know your downloaded text fonts will automatically show up in the MMS program. Cool, right? I thought so! Check out the pages that I made below!

Here is a video all about the software:

I am extremely happy to say that thanks to MMS I have the pleasure of giving away one copy of their My Memories Suite v2 software programs to one of my dear readers! 

Here's how to enter in for your very own copy of the My Memories Suites v2 digital scrapbooking software: First, you must be a follower of Daughter of the King to gain any entries into this giveaway. Make sure to leave a separate comment for each and every individual thing you do (below) along with your e-mail address or blog url (so I can contact you to claim your prize!) in the comments section.

There are a total of 9 ways to enter:

 - Follow -
Daughter of the King

(1 entry)

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Neo Victorian Photography

 (1 entry)

- Follow -
me on Twitter
(1 entry)

Blog about this giveaway and leave me a link to your post
(1 entry)

Add my blog giveaway button to your blog
(1 entry)

 - Follow - 
My Memories Suites' 

-Blog

-Facebook

-Twitter

(1 entry for each of these)

Go to My Memory Suites' website and tell me which digital scrapbooking kit is your fave!
(1 entry)

This blog giveaway will be open until midnight on Labor Day.  

(The winner will be announced shortly thereafter.)

I also was blessed enough by the wonderful ladies at My Memories Suites by being able to give my readers a special coupon code to use for purchasing their awesome digital scrapbooking software. To receive $10 off of your purchase of their My Memories Suite v2 software enter in this special coupon code at the checkout: STMMMS36772


Good luck ladies!


THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

thy name is randominity

{this will be my future home. sigh.}

I've been decluttering. Yes, decluttering everything. Mind. Heart. Closet. Bookshelves. Last time I counted I had 3 full bags of trash (mostly paper scraps scrawled all over), a ginormous box of to-go-somewhere-need-to-find-that-somewhere-soon! stuff and a stack of 26 books and 3 dvds that need to go to the used bookstore. I feel lighter and enlightened. It's amazing how cleaning can cleanse the soul and mind all at the same time! Also, talking issues/things out with the people you love most works wonders.

This week I got all shook up...uh huh un yeah yeah...by the aftershocks of an earthquake and lived to tell the tale. Epic stuff, right? 

I let my little sister cut my hair. She wants to be a cosmetologist some day and my thoughts were she has to start somewhere, plus my hair was getting kind of unruly lately. Mission tame the curly maned thick headed beast: accomplished. I am pleased to say that I was officially my sister's first ever paying client. Thanks, Mo! ;)

I'm in love with these music artists and just cannot get enough of them: JJ Heller, Adele, Jars of Clay, Elenowen and Jenny & Tyler

I recently found a copy of "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick at a local used bookstore and liked to have flipped out when I did. This. Book. Is. Beautiful. The illustrations and story are brilliant (from what little snippets of it I've read thus far.) 

I have a blog giveaway coming up next week and I am super excited about it! 

I'm so thankful with days out and about with momma and my little sis. Whenever there are cajun filet biscuits, sweet tea, used books and a trip to Bath & Body Works involved this young lady is blissfully happy. Sigh. 

This smells deliciously like autumn. Bliss.

Isn't it adorable? I'm owl about the owls right now! ;)

Oh, and I must brag about the Cozy Autumn Vanilla scented goodies that I got at B&BW because they're simply delish smelling and just plain delightful. You need to smell the autumnal goodness too, you know you do! Also, I got the cutest little owl-scent-disperser-thingy (called a 'wallflower') from there too and I totally heart it!

I love this quote: 

"There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein." 

- Walter Wellesley Smith

{i'm pretty sure he'd blog more if he actually had internet access. praying that happens soon.}

Recently I've been trying my hand more at blog design. I've redesigned my blog...stream lined it and added in a drop down toggle menu in my sidebar which I adore! Check out my friend Sarah's blog and my boyfriend's blog to see the designs I did for them (per their own personal specifications.) I also created two blog headers for Sierra. You can find her blogs here and here. What do you think of the designs?

{The Feathered Gals: Bertha, Harlee (Harlequin), Marlee, Tyra Beaks, Maddie (Madeline) and Twilight}

Our baby chickens are now full fledged hens. Boy does time fly! (Sorry about being so punny!) A few of the feathery femmes have serious attitudes and consequently they are super flighty. Tyra is our resident snob and Marlee is our resident escape artist. Oh, feathered farm life! As hard as I tried I could not get all 6 gals into one picture together. They really need their coop to be finished...currently they reside in our garage in a large sofa cardboard box. 

Lately I've been reading Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts and her beautifully strung together words have swayed my heart over and over again. Have you read her book yet?

Momma just made spaghetti. So for now I will say 'Ciao!'

earthquake

{image via: weheartit.com}

A little over 20 minutes ago I felt everything shake around me. I thought perhaps that I might have been shaking my leg...hence why the ground beneath me was shaking. I looked down at my leg, and it wasn't shaking. I stood up from where I was sitting at my desk and the shaking got even heavier. My bookshelves swayed and the view of our land outside my bedroom window shook strongly, as did I while standing. Yes, it was indeed an earthquake!

Did you feel it too? What were you doing when it hit? 

it's the little things

{image via: weheartit.com}

Despite being the city-girl who's been grumpy about living in a small country-fied town some (okay most) days, I've decided that I'm going to do my best to see the little things in everyday country-livin' life as blessings or joys-to-be-found-in-disguise. Now, those little things may masquerade as the insignificant or the unnoticeable, but I know that if I look hard enough I can surely find them. They are there waiting for me patiently to be sought after and found. I know that the Lord is challenging me to stake His cross here in this clay-earthened town in which I've been painstakingly planted.

Now the big question I have to ask myself is: Am I willing to let God use me where I have been stationed? I want to. I need to. I am going to try my hardest to. Sincerely. I've been running from the idea lately of letting God use me here because I've just been wanting to wait until I move to where I want to live at (which is not here), but God doesn't work like that. God wants to move me. He wants for me to be moved by Him and to move where I've been planted. Am I completely blissfully happy about this whole trying to find things to be happy about right here, right now, no not all the time. Most days I'm not happy about where I've been placed, but I never would have grown as much as I have in my lifetime so far had I not moved here. These are the little things that God has been whispering to my stubborn hardened soul.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe  

{image via: kolbemission.org}

All of these reflections over the last few days made me think back to a few weeks ago when I heard Ann Voskamp (One Thousand Gifts) speak at the She Speaks Conference about a man named Maximilian Kolbe. I sat there listening to her painting the horrible circumstances of this man's life before me, and I wept. I wept because it saddened me greatly and because it brought me a strong sense of hope. A hope which ashamedly I have forgotten over the past few weeks. This hope is that all joy and love is found in Him. In the places which He has planted us. In the places He will one day re-plant us in...

Kolbe praised the Lord every day, all day long, while living in a brutal, war torn, fear filled world: the camps of Auschwitz. He had no name there. His was prisoner #16670. While others in the camp were afraid to speak out in front of the Nazi's he was not. He praised the name of the Lord and told the countless residents of Auschwitz about God's great love for them. (Please, read Kolbe's full story sometime. You won't regret it!)

{image via: weheartit.com}

With these thoughts and whispers now driven like a spear deeper and deeper into my heart I begin to wonder how I could ever complain about where I've been planted at when Kolbe gave praise and a great sacrifice in the name of love while in one of the ugliest places on earth. Then I think on further... What about the Apostle Paul giving great thanks to God while living in a prison cell, still enthusiastic about the Message that he carried within his heart and shared with everyone he met daily? If these great men could praise and give great thanks to the Creator in the midst of their darkest times then why can I not be a woman who is so filled with Him, with the name of His praise on my lips no matter where I live at or what I am going through? I believe that I can be love here too. In this place.

Thoughts of love. Perspectives. Our perceptions. Are they not everything? Is a place not only made beautiful because of the people who dwell there? If we but chose to see beauty within each face placed before us then wouldn't we perhaps find the place in which we dwell more beautiful than ever before? So many thoughts...more whispering...

"I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am." (Philippians 4:12-13, The Message)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - -  - - - - - - 

{Questions for you} 

If you've been struggling with living where God has planted you at right now, how have you been dealing with it? How are you conquering it?

{Additional Reading}

The Book of Philippians

'One Thousand Gifts' by Ann Voskamp

{My prayer} 

Lord, use me where I've been planted, and where I will one day be planted. Help me to live a full life that is always mindful of the thanks which are to be given to you daily, Father. Thank you for your mighty love, the salvation you give and your gentle everyday whispers. Thank you for speaking into me and constantly wooing heart. May my heart always long to run after you. Amen.

this little blog of mine. i'm gonna let it shine.

{image via: weheartit.com}

I feel like a proud momma. This little blog of mine has grown so much over the last two years. Thank you so much to every one of you who reads and leave comments on my blog! You all make my writing even more worth while. You have helped me grow into the young woman I am today. The one who is restless for Him.

Now as a blog momma I must apologize to my little blog, because I've forgotten to celebrate her birthday the last couple of years. Will you ever be able to forgive me little blog? Happy Belated Birthday To You!

You know, when I started writing my blog it was to find out who I was, and I've done exactly that along the way. I have found out who I am as a person. I've moved on from being the silent shy just-a-twenty-year-old-girl who didn't really know herself to becoming a young woman who is so much deeper in love with Him. I accept myself, and all of my many talents, hidden and otherwise, right alongside my flaws.

I've been so blessed with the words which I have been given to write. I write because it frees the caged bird in my soul...and because to share my heart for Jesus with others is a lovely honor. I am so very glad to have the role of 'daughter of the king.' I think I'm only just now (at 22) learning to embrace my God-given-position and to embrace the gifts which He alone has gifted me with. They are my gifts, to hold and to give, and no one else has gifts just like mine.

I pray that as you read these words of ours here on dotk that you will seek Him out even more desperately and restlessly than you ever have before. That you...the restless bird...will find peace and rest in the one who constantly blesses us and gives. The One where love resides, because He is l o v e.

God has been writing and re-writing my story, as you've seen from following me along here on my little blog's journey. He wants to be the author of your life's story too if you'll let Him in. He has helped me grow through my many written words, through some intensely rough seasons and through the many beautiful people that I've met through this amazing platform called blogging.

This little blog of mine is dying to pour out and to be poured into. I want this little blog to be a place where love and peace resides. I want it to be the well to quench your thirst, and I hope that you'll stay and invite others to come drink Him in here too!

Remember dear ones: never be afraid to leave the nest of life, for He will surely catch you when you swoop too low out of His will for you. He will rescue you and become your place to nest in peace. Just fly...

To Tweet or not to Tweet?

{{image via: weheartit.com}}

I've finally decided to Tweet my little heart away, my dears! So, do you Tweet? What about advice? Do you have any of that for this novice nest-escapee-tweeter? I'd love to hear your suggestions! Because honestly this new world of tweeting-fever is leaving me feeling a bit overwhelmed and twitterpated. 

Make sure to leave me a comment on this post with your Twitter name so we can Tweet back and forth together, okay? 

P.S. -- Be on the lookout for a review (of some sort-of which I cannot tell you!) and a giveaway on my blog in a  week or two. ;-)

Beautiful Book Covers

 I just bought this book a couple of weeks ago. As it turns out Beth Revis is a local author from my neck of the mountains. I learned about her from my writer friend Marybeth Whalen. I am anxious to sink my teeth into this novel! *Beth's next book is coming out soon*

 Cinderella meets cyborgs? I think YES. This book will be available 1/3/2012

 Young adult dystopia. I think I may just want to read this one some day.

 Honestly, I bought this book (used for $4) because 1) The cover photography was so stunning and 2) I love Hilary Duff!

 You know it's funny that I love stories and movies about the circus and all things cirque freaky, but I do not actually love going to real life circuses. I am afraid of clowns. There I said it. This book will be out sometime next year, as well. Isn't the cover art just fab? 

{{image via: girlsinthestacks.com}}

I recently used this photo in my last blog post, and at the time I had NO CLUE that it was indeed a book cover until I just so happened to spot the novel listed on goodreads.com. 

'Beauty & The Beast' is my all time favorite fairy tale. And this is Melanie Dickerson's up-and-coming novel that is a retelling of B&B. I am beyond ecstatic about the release of this book! I loved Melanie's first book "The Healer's Apprentice" (which was a reimagining/retelling of Sleeping Beauty) so very much and I'm sure her next book will be just as great...if not better! This book releases in November of this year.

A retelling/imagining of Romeo & Juliet. A mythos all it's own. I must read this book...soon!

I adore this book cover. I was so happy to find that Lisa T. Bergen's novel 'Waterfall' was (AND STILL IS) FREE on Amazon for Kindle. Hurry on over to amazon and get your e-book!!

{{all of the images in this post except 'hourglass' were via: goodreads.com}}

I'm a sucker for beautiful book covers, as you might have noticed. Book covers are what I look at first when browsing for books. Usually if the cover design doesn't pique my interest I don't even bother to pick the book up (sad to say), unless of course the book is written by one of my all time favorite authors. I know, I know! "Don't judge a book by it's cover." 

How about you? Have you heard of any good reads or seen any super beautiful book covers lately? I'd love for you to feed my ever hungry book list and spark my imagination further with an image of a lovely book cover, or two or three!

Happy Saturday! Keep on reading!!

Re-painting Distracted Walls

{{image via: weheartit.com}}

Oh, stress. Why are you so bothersome?

It's just been a little hectic in the life of this dotk lately! And while I know that life has it's highs and lows, sometimes I just want the forecast to be calm, cool and collected, you know? Stress seems like it wants to take a giant bite out of me and all I want is for everything to just be alright. So, what do I do to keep myself from getting all emotional or taking charge of my own stressful life? I distract myself. With t.v and books and food and etc.I let the walls of my heart become hastily covered in the paint splatted colors of doubt, insecurity, longing, stress, fear and anger.

Why do I distract myself? I choose to block out things so I don't have to deal with the Lord on the issue of this heart of mine. I distract myself so I won't have to think about how crazy this world in which we live in really is. I distract myself from lies and truths, and also from God. I self destruct by letting a dream world wreak havoc in my mind instead of letting my mind dwell on Him. being creative and dreaming about a dream-world is okay, as long as it doesn't become the inception that locks down your soul.  

Why do I choose to hide? When I could be opening my palms wide, letting go and facing the One who makes me WHOLE? Why do I settle for being distracted instead of being focused. Honestly, sometimes I'd just rather not deal than deal. It's a sad thing to say, but so very true. 

Why do I let my heart become faint? I let my weary heart faint because I am human. I faint because I choose to focus on everything else BUT my relationship with Him. Don't get me wrong. I have been reading my Bible more, but all the while I've been burying my head in the sand from facing my life as an adult. Sometimes I'd rather not think about bills, where to get gas money at, the reason I have to wait to get married to the man I love. I know that God is my providence. So why do I become faint...letting myself shrink back from my life as a child frightened by the higher ocean waves? 

I need to re-paint the walls of my heart and soul. I think I could use a good white-washing. A cleansing. A renewing of mind. I've been perfectly happy with a cerulean colored heart as of late, when my heart yearns to be a bright crisp ivory. 

This is my season of re-painting distracted walls. This is my season to fight for my dreams, for what I so desperately long for. This is my season to grow stronger and steadfast. This is my season of tempering. This is my season of becoming wiser than ever before. This is the season that waves goodbye to distracting myself and say's hello to Jesus. This is my season of claiming my rite of adulthood. This is the season...

My heart becomes white-washed by His great love for me. I've realized that I do not have to distract myself anymore. Deciding to fight for my dreams and my heart's desires, while not letting my heart faint in the process will not be easy. This I know. But what I also know and hold dear onto is that the Lord has taken His precious time this week trying to regain my focus. He had my whole focus when I was at She Speaks. It was easy then to be so focused on Him while I was living out the road He had so obviously planned and set before me. While He had placed me there with so many beautiful and wise women to learn from, to befriend and to grow right alongside them. Now I am Home and life isn't quite as simple. Life is chaotic. I am struggling to be an adult who wants to make a bright future for herself. 

Life is still full of simplicity. If you or I are willing to grasp after it. Life doesn't have to just be crazy. Life can be crazy beautiful, if we'll but let it be so. What is simple is that He is still gently whispering to my soul. Everyday. Single. Day. Whether I want to hear it or not! Right now I know that He wants me to fight for my dreams. I must do so faithfully. It will be hard, but the Lord my God will be with me wherever I go (Joshua 1:9).   

Sometimes those distracted walls that hold us are the very ones that need to be re-painted. Only then when we've re-painted those troubled walls will we be set free. This is my epiphany. One that was realized and gained yesterday morning as I walked into the kitchen and saw my momma with a bucket of paint in her hands. She said "I don't like the color of this dining room anymore. It needs to be repainted. Needs to be lighter." And so she started re-painting the dining room. And it did make things much lighter. Not only the walls in our dining room, but in mine and my momma's souls. All of the dark distractions washed away with The Light. 

I was no longer lost in the darkness of distraction, because I came to the realization that Jesus was calling me. He started speaking yesterday and I starting breaking down and most importantly listening. 

I'm letting God paint the walls of my heart, my life and my dearly held dreams. I may still have many lessons to learn. Many dreams to chase after...and boy are my dreams fast runners! ;) Adult life may suck be awesome sometimes, but I know that I don't have to distract myself anymore to learn how to deal...to cope alone. I know that God will teach me the art of learning how to deal in life. He just wants a little effort in the fighting department right now, and always. Okay, God. I can do this!

What "walls" are distracting you from your relationship with Christ? What are you distracting yourself with, instead of facing your reality? What could you "re-paint" in your life to make yourself whole again?

Bible Verses for Re-painting the Soul:

"God can do anything, you know--far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, His spirit deeply and gently within us." Ephesians 3:20 {The Message} 

"Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? I fix my eyes on God and soon I'll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He's my God." Psalm 42:5 {The Message}

"But God, Who comforts and encourages and refreshes and cheers the depressed and the sinking, comforted and encouraged and refreshed and cheered me." 2 Corinthians 7:6

Beauty & The Bee

{{all image in this post via: weheartit.com}}

     It's a beautiful sunny off-from-work kinda day for me and I just got through watching 'Soul Surfer' and swimming in the pool. (If you haven't seen 'Soul Surfer' yet YOU MUST!!) So, I thought I'd just pop in to say 'ello! I've been super busy working and traveling to and fro. And I am still downloading and processing all of the things I learned and took to heart from my writer's weekend getaway spent at the She Speaks Conference. Since I got back from She Speaks I've been trying to stay more focused on God. Like remembering to put Him first in my day, to commune with Him and to constantly talk with Him through prayer every day. Remembering to keep Him in on the life-loop isn't always easy though I'll admit. But I'm a dotk and writer in the works nonetheless! 


     I've been reading a lot of different books lately (maybe I'll post about the books I've been reading through later sometime), to help me in my journey of stepping boldly into the world of writing. I've found that reading, writing more and having a group of writing mentors helps sooo very much.  Now that I have accepted my rite as a writer I know that I have to discipline myself in more areas of my life to become that writer that I want to be. I know that I do indeed have many stories to tell...they are just silently waiting in my mind's wings patiently. Ready to be drawn out. 

     That all said I've been gathering all of my writing ideas together and have organized them into story binders ("Book Bibles.")  I have really enjoyed seeing my many ideas before my very eyes collectively for me to sort through. Now the fun begins...the sifting through of my many zany and scatterbrained ideas, and of course the writing part! Sigh. I've been talking with my writing buddy (a.k.a. Jared Fisher) a lot about my story ideas, and he seems to think they're pretty interesting. I'm so glad Jay thinks there's some semblance of a good story in my many idea stacks, and that they are not just stupid ideas after all! 


     You know, I always thought writing was a strictly solo thing, but God has completely opened my eyes on this matter as of late. Especially after having gone to She Speaks. Us writer's need one another and more importantly we need Him. Sometimes we just need to be there to spur one another on with gentle friendly words of criticism, critiquing, and of course we all want a listening ear now and again, am I right? I'm very thankful that God and Jared have been doing just those exact things for me over the past two weeks! They've been pouring into me, listening and critiquing me where I need it.

     Oh, very quickly (and randomly) I wanted to tell ya'll a little story about my day today:


     I was swimming, arms spreading out before me, under water and bright blue skies. The air outside was deliciously warm thanks to the beautiful glowing sun. I took another turn swimming around the pool, and as I opened my arms to do another swift broad stroke gliding under the water I suddenly felt the shock of fire surging through my neck. Yes, a BEE stung my neck! So much for my swim, that only lasted 5 minutes!


     Well, I hope you all are having a lovely Summery day basking in the Son that is Him. I know I am! And just a quick reminder before I go: When diving under cool blue water for the remainder of your Summer days remember to keep a keen eye out for those kamikaze stinging bees! You'll thank me! 


*I wrote every line of this blog post while under the influence of Benadryl. Forgive me for being so wordy and random in advance. Thanks!

Conned Into Writing

{all images via: weheartit.com}

     I remember writing as a child, with such fondness. I wrote for my own amusement, and because I desperately wanted friends. My characters, even the non-humanoid ones, were my friends that I carefully crafted. I would write stories about young girls who could do the things in life that I thought I could would never do. I was each and every one of the young women in my stories, to a degree. At least I was in the sense that I was nothing like them, but desperately dreamed of being pretty and popular just like them. I wrote about Indian Princesses, Captains, cute boys, horses, many camp adventures, history and broken homes. I wrote about anything and everything that I could think of. I wrote out of my young-life experiences, and my large lack of inexperience in life. I wrote because it filled me up.

     Sadly, many of my old stories were torn into tiny bits and thrown into the trash. All my stories were cast aside because I thought they were stupid. That they would never amount to anything. I did not see myself as a true writer back then. I saw myself as a shy little girl who only dabbled into writing a bit now and again to find her voice within herself. I'd give anything to have my stories back now. I really would. Especially now that I consider myself to be a true writer. To have cast aside my old works will always pain me, but now I will remember to not just throw away endless written possibilities. Every word penned is just that, a beautiful possibility. I will hold onto every word that I have thought out and written down. I will cherish the words the Lord gives me. I will acknowledge that I am indeed a writer, and have been for quite some time.

     Just yesterday I was putting together two binders for two of my 'novel ideas' by trying to scrounge up all of my old tossed around notebooks and no-longer-sticky sticky notes with ideas scrawled scratchily across them. I was frantically searching through my drawers beside my bed for some of my old stories, the ones that had not had a bad run-in with the evil-paper-shredder-of-doom. I finally spotted my old grey notebook under a stack of other random note filled notebooks. I quickly flipped through my notebook and realized that I was holding within my hands at least 7 chapters of possibilities. As I continued to flip through it's pages I thanked God that I had not thrown it out too...and then I spotted a sentence, or dedication rather, in the back of the notebook. It said: "To my sister, Mary, who conned me into writing." After reading that line my mind was flooded with old memories. I was ready to take that stroll down memory lane...

{The Walton's}

     I remember the day when my younger sister, Mary, conned me into writing once again... (Okay, so maybe I wasn't conned into writing, but I was challenged to write, and my sister is a pretty smooth talker after all.) My family and I had just recently started watching The Walton's on dvd. A lot of our free time after schoolwork was spent watching episode after episode about life on Walton's Mountain. I was 17 years old that year, and we were going to be moving to the WNC Foothills within the next few months. Needless to say, I didn't want to move at all! I was full of angst towards my parents for making me move, and my being very shy made life that much more difficult because I just knew that if I moved I would never fit in ever again.

     It amazes me the way the threads of an old t.v. show and my moving 4.5 hours away from my Hometown wove themselves together into a beautiful tapestry. Hopefully those threads will be something that I will never forget in my lifetime. (God works in the mysterious does He not?) After having watched an episode of The Walton's one evening my sister, Mary, came into my room and said "Sarah, you know I bet you could write like John Boy writes. He writes what he feels to feel better. You could too." And that's when I started turning my anger and pain into words. I wrote poetry that flowed from my cut open veins. I bled out my anger and struggled to find my joy again in my rekindled love for word-smithing. I started finding God again in the words I wrote. I found out who I was through writing words on notebook paper. Pens and notebook paper became my weaponry against angst and misery. I found Him in His Holy Word and His words inspired me to write for Him.

     I have had this gifting all along. The gift of writing. I had cast it aside many years ago, but it has always been there lying in wait. I am happy to say that I am starting to find my voice once again. I am a writer, and my little sister conned me into it!

{{P.S.}} My sissy wasn't the only one who conned me into writing. God, Momma, Lyn-love, Jared, Nancy Rue and Marybeth Whalen (among many others!) have all inspired me to write. They have told me many times that I should write, and that I should chase after my dreams. And now I most certainly shall!

Thank You, July

 I used to not care for you too much, July. Now I see that even though you were stifling hot you held dear memories that laid in wait within your sweltering veins for me. You held many gifts. Gifts of which I will be forever grateful for. Gifts I cannot reciprocate, but ones that I can clasp tightly to my beating heart.

 You held summer-time in your palms, and frightening storms that illumined the night skies. You held new adventures and hope. You held much laughter and quarrels, but much much more laughter!

New memories and road trips were among your many days. I learned more about life, and the ways in which You would have me go. You've held the fears of which I had to face, but you held beauty as well for the world to see. July, you weren't just another month after all that I thought I would have wanted to wish away. I wanted to embrace you dearly, and so I did. Many gifts did I receive.

 You became a broad smile on my freckled pale face. You became a place that holds warm dream filled memories for the colder days that are coming. You became the knowledge giver, and the drive to carry on. You became the will to get through the rough days, and gave me the dream to hold on.

August, will you now speak to my heart? Show me how to live a life of gratitude and trust. Help me to have faith in His plans that are so much greater than I.

Will you hold my fears at bay? It's a brand new day, with no mistakes in it, yet. It's a new month to cherish. It's a new season to draw closer to The Giver.

There are many gifts to receive I am sure, but help me live a life that does not forget to give. Help me to live.