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Christmas, Released & New Year

a daughter who thought she got a new purse...

a daughter who found an iPod Touch in said purse...

Other daughter after her violin concert


In an earlier post, I mentioned my writing rest. And how I was already ready to be released from that rest. December 23 is when I felt the "hold" hand on my shoulder lift. Not wanting to rush forward in case I was wrong, I allowed myself to do some light editing, but I still did not write. In my mind, I'd hoped for the day after Christmas...and that's exactly when the well unstopped. :-P

I started a new fantasy...and I just wrote. And wrote. I'm up to 13K since December 27. That's not a record for my by an means (hey, I wrote almost 30K in one weekend before!), but it was a beautiful sensation. I would write after I got home from work, then go to bed at a decent hour (no all-nighters for me LOL).

the really incredible thing for me is this--it opened my creative juice vein. Last night, I sat thinking about my new military thrillers series. I've tried to figure out what's going to happen in that story all month and got...NUTHIN'!!! But last night--it came flooding out. I am soooo excited. It took a month of not writing or editing or critiquing, then a handful of days where I just wrote (internal editor squashed flat as I wrote and wrote with redundancies and repetitions and misspellings...shhh, don't tell her. LOL).

So. I'm back. but in this New Year, I want to be focused on four things:

FATHER
FAMILY
FRIENDS
FICTION

Okay, so that pretty much encompasses my entire life, save my day JOB (but hey, even those hours got cut!!). :-D But I'm determined to make the last three a priority in my life as the first one GUIDES my life by increasing my daily time with Him.

Last year, i felt strongly it would be a YEAR OF TRANSITION. And let me tell you, if God ever speaks that to you, brace yourself! LOL But for this year, I believe the phrase came to me in october. It's going to be a YEAR OF PROMISE!

I like the sound of that.

How about you??

I've Been Carded Meme

Okay, I altered this CARDED meme to include a Spiritual Wish list. I think that way we can know how to pray for each other, both spiritually and physically. *grin*

THE RULES:
1. Each player starts with 5 gifts that they would want for Christmas.
2. People who are "CARDED" need to write their own Blog about their 5 things & post these rules.
3. At the end of your Blog, you need to choose 5 people to get "CARDED" and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a COMMENT telling them they're "CARDED", and to read your Blog.

My Materialistic Gift/Wish List:
1. Okay, I'll be 100% honest and "materialistic"--a book contract. There. I've confessed. :-D
2. A certain kitten from the animal shelter
3. for our finances to heal enough that I can stop working retail
4. Skillet shirt :-D
5. Romance or Tommy Girl perfume

My Spiritual Gift/Wish List:
1. To get my life organized in a way that I can have the prayer and worship time I need
2. Come Christmas, I pray to be released from this time of relaxation (cuz really, I'm not relaxing when I can't write!!!!!!!!!!!)
3. To write a compelling and gratifying book that will bring the healing of Christ to others
4. To start a Beth Moore Bible study
5. More of HIM, less of me *wink*

The people I have carded (in alphabetical order):
1. Dineen Miller
2. Robin Miller
3. Sara Mills
4. Mindy Obenhaus
5. Camy Tang

Time off for ... Good behavior?

Well, I've felt God nudging me the last few months to take a short break from writing. Not in the sense that He's asking me to give up writing, but to relax, take time to focus on Him, my family, and relationships. I confess I fought that nudging--fought it out of fear. You see, I was scared God would remove this gift He'd given me. That alone was irrational because God's not an "Indian Giver." I love writing. it's fulfilling and extremely satisfying. At times, it's even my therapy after a hard day. Yet I still feared taking the time off, feared, I'd come back to write one day and....couldn't.

However, after a difficult rejection, my fab-o agent suggested I spend the next few weeks concentrating on friends and family. I knew then that what he said was a confirmation of what God was urging me to do.

So. I am. I'm not holding fast to my daily writing goal. As a matter of fact, I am not writing. Period. I'm not critiquing either. However, I am reading and studying...and in the midst of all this, my well that had run dry is once again bubbling up with story ideas and thoughts on how to make some of my stories better. After Christmas, I am praying that I can return to writing with a renewed vigor and vision to be all that God wants...to write compelling stories that drive God's message into the hearts of the hurting and searching.

And in the middle of all *that*, I'm enjoying my family, surviving my job in the retail world, and taking it easy. I almost feel guilty. :-D I said ALMOST. LOL

Christmas Carol Riddles

Hey, y'all! Wow--this month is just zipping along. It's been frought with a lot of stress, but also a lot of joy. This is the first year Brian and I have lived close to his parents--close enough to wake up Christmas morning and pop in at their house to open presents. We can't wait!! :-D Other good things: I've seen God move on behalf of several friends, and I've seen four friends receive contracts (or promises of one) in the last 30 days. HOW KEWL IS THAT????

Well, since I'm working and stress (customers get snippier and snarkier as the day of wonder draws closer!), I'm posting this Christmas Carol Riddle in lieu of a full/real post. Enjoy!!

Name the Christmas Carol described in each riddle.

1. Wanted in December:Top forward incisors

2. The lad is a diminutive percussionist

3. Oh small Israel urban center

4. We are Kong, Lear and Nat Cole

5. Our fervent joy is that you thoroughly enjoy your yuletide season

6. Listen, the winged heavenly messengers are proclaiming tunefully

7. Jubilation to the entire terrestrial globe

8. Do you perceive the same vibrations which stimulate my auditory senses?

9. May the Deity bestow an absence of fatigue to mild male humans

10. Leave and broadcast from an elevation