you never know

A few of my friends came over to my house last night.  I wish I could say that it was just a friendly visit.  The truth is, they were here to support me through a very difficult time.  Although it is NEVER appropriate to share all of my personal information with my online readers, I will just ask you to pray for my family.

And I will leave it at that.

My parent's live across the street and have a pool in their back yard.  That is where we sat for a few hours talking to one another.  Under different circumstances, it would have been such a beautiful night.  (Despite the mosquitoes!)  Anyway, when they stood to leave, we made sure we pushed all of the pool furniture up against the house.  This is what prompted my dear friend to make the following statement.

'We just really want to make sure these chairs don't blow into the pool.  I know they are not calling for rain, but you just never know when a storm might roll in."

And I began to cry.

How painfully true that is.  We, as Christians, have no way of knowing when the wind around us is going to pick up speed and turn our hearts and our world completely upside down.  Take it from me.... find the Anchor and secure yourself  against Him.

Otherwise, you are likely to drown.

soon to be back to normal

I go back to work this week.  While I am sad, it's going to be a positive thing in the long run.  Not only have I not written ANYTHING all summer like I had planned, JP and I have been so lazy.  And it's not good. 

• I really do have lots to write about.  My family is stuck between two churches right now and I need to get those thoughts/feelings off of my chest and onto paper. 
• Although it's sad, God has used the trials of others over the summer to remind me of the blessings in my life.  I'd like to devote a blog post to that as well.
• Ialso think it will be fun to do a "Question/Answer" post. 

These are only a FEW of the ideas I've had over the past few weeks.  Once school begins for JP, (a week from Wednesday), I'll be back to writing every day.

And I am REALLY looking forward to it!  Thanks for hanging in there with me.

I need a routine

If nothing else, I have learned a few things about myself this summer.  One of the biggest things I found out is that I NEED ROUTINE AND STRUCTURE!  And it's funny because I've always thought of myself as someone who didn't need it.

But I definitely do.

You see, during the school year I work all day, come home, make dinner and do homework with my son.  Afterwards, I watch a little television with my husband while JP showers or takes a bath.  We read a book and they both go to sleep around eight o'clock (my husband gets up super early for work).  Once both my boys are down for the night, I sit at the computer and write, write, write.  I go to sleep and begin all over again the following day.  It works.  I feel productive.

However, the only word I can use to describe myself during the summer is L.A.Z.Y.  I am a total mess!  We stay up late at night and sleep in late every morning.  I have not written the first word of a devotion ( to be published anyway, I have a couple saved on my computer) AND I have done absolutely NOTHING to either of my manuscripts.  Awful, I know.  I thought it would be nice to offer an explanation as to why this blog has been so pitiful.

Oh well, I guess that's how life goes, right?!  I made all sorts of plans for myself and set several writing goals.  Yet here I sit having done NOTHING.  But you know what?  I do not feel the least bit guilty about that.  Mainly because I have done the following:

• Snuggled in the bed every morning with my son
• Watched Disney movies and Nickelodeon
• I've gone swimming almost every day with my son
• I've gone out on several "date nights" with my husband
• We've hiked/picnicked and gone to free movies
• I've gone to the lake with friends more than once
• I took my son to the beach for a week.

And the list goes on.  Thank God.  So while I have been less than productive as far a my writing career goes, if you were to ask my son, he would say that our summer has been a TOTAL success!


And in the end, that is all that matters.

praying for those in colorado

I shared a post on my family blog about the shooting in Colorado.  Please visit here to read the post.

home sweet home

JP and I arrived back in town last night.  We had a wonderful trip...I have lots to share.  Please hop on over to my family blog to view pictures of our time in Charleston.

As I said, I have a lot to share.  We went to church this morning with my mother.  The service was interesting, to say the least.  I have a behavior class I have to attend in the morning that lasts all day.  I will update with another post tomorrow evening. 

Please check back in with me!

beach bound

I am off to the beach tomorrow.  My son and I will be back on Saturday.  Not that this blog will be affected by my absence.  I have not been writing at all! 

Again, I'm sorry about that.

Actually, I'm kinda not.  I have enjoyed taking a break from my writing.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE putting the pen to paper, (or fingers to the keyboard in this case), but just like my day job it has been a breath of fresh air NOT to stare at a computer all night long.

Alrighty, friends!  I hope you all have a wonderful week!  Feel free to follow my family blog for possible updates while we're gone.

update

Well, for those of you who have not given up on me I say thank you!  Our summer so far has been so much fun.  And very busy!  To be honest with you, I have put my writing away for a few weeks.  JP and I have been on the go.  And we have been having a BLAST!

God continues to give me devotional ideas and I have them stored on my computer.  I just have not sat down to write them out.  I will get around to it.  For now, however, I am focusing on my family and enjoying my time off work.  Once I print these last few devotions and put them in my folder, I believe I will have the 40 pieces needed for my manuscript.  All I will have left to do is add a few scripture references and a prayer to a few of them. 

I am planning to attend a conference at Furman at the end of this month.  I will carry what I have of my manuscript with me and hopefully meet an agent or publisher that will allow me to share my work. 

I am truly sorry for the lack of blogging.  I hope that you continue to keep up with our family on my other site.  We are heading out in the morning for Tennessee for the weekend.  I will do my best to finish my writing so that I have something to post next week.

Until then...