Guest Post: Your Theme in 2019

Your Theme in 2019

Every January, we commit. 

We commit to exercise more and eat healthier.  We resolve to have the best year ever at work. And yet, we neglect the essential part—our spiritual connection with Jesus. 

Some people have the same reaction to the term “spiritual goals” as they do to the word “budget”! Begrudgingly, we settle for the more-easily-said-than-done, simple fixes.  If you ask a friend how they’re going to improve their spiritual relationship with Christ this year, they may give you one of these examples: Continue reading

Refocus Your Lens In Changing Seasons

By Guest Blogger Billie Jauss

I’m feeling old. “Life flies by so fast.” I hear myself saying this more and more often now that I am ‘over 50’ and my baby boy just turned 21 and is heading into his junior year of college. It seems that I have seen a lot of the past flash by in front of me. Panic creeps deep into my spirit. I become focused on the past and what I think I have lost, not the truth of who I am. I focus on me, not on Jesus.

The yearning to change my focus sent me on a spiritual journey to rectify my panic, my selfish spotlight. Being a consummate list maker, I began to list the positive truths of who I am now. Continue reading

The Struggle Is Real for Catholic Fiction Authors

By Guest Blogger T.M. Gaouette

As the author of Catholic fiction for teens and young adults, I find myself in a constant battle of the wills. There’s this desire to delight the reader with an entertaining and relatable story, while still remaining focused on pleasing God and sharing His Word. Some may not think this much of a challenge, but when you reflect on the world we live in, as well as what passes for entertainment these days, hardly a fraction of it would be considered godly. In fact, entertainment is so focused on stories that do everything but promote God’s word, or worse, indulge in ideas that are contrary to God’s word.

Teens Reading

Photo by Alexis Brown on Unsplash

Continue reading

Wise Like an Old Dog

By Guest Blogger Cynthia Toney

I learn a lot about human behavior from my dogs.

Recently, one of my female dogs lay in the sun enjoying the freshly mowed grass. In spite of there being hundreds of square feet of similar space available, another of my dogs (a male) joined her and nestled back-to-back against her.

Upon his contact, the female’s ears slicked back. She turned her head and gave the intruder a hard look. Then she got up and left.

In her defense, the weather was uncomfortably hot. I wouldn’t have appreciated another warm body pressed to mine either, especially during much-needed personal time.

You have something valuable to offer, and you don’t even have to try very hard. @CynthiaTToney #wisdom Click To Tweet

But besides being amused by their awkward social situation, I wondered why the male dog had risked intruding on the female. What did the second dog need so badly from the first one to risk rejection? Reassurance of his rank in the pack? Comforting because he felt ill? Relief from loneliness?

Dogs, especially younger ones, often lie or sit next to another dog to learn or to receive protection from the first. Maybe that wasn’t the case this time, but you’ve seen humans do this.

Whether younger or less experienced in some way, a person might awkwardly invade another’s space in order to learn something or gain an emotional benefit.

Sometimes that invasion is a stare. (Dogs stare at each other a lot, which is not considered rude.) If you have a coworker, neighbor, or family member who stares at you while you work, you might find that irritating.

If someone repeatedly hangs around you at the most inconvenient times, maybe you try to avoid him or her. Or you brush ’em off. If you give in, you want to kick yourself afterward. You wish you could be mean and simply get up and leave like my dog did, just to have more time to yourself.

But have you wondered why that person seeks you so often?

sleeping puppies

Photo by Annett Aagot, pixabay

Espionage or other bad intentions aside, consider that a person may consciously or subconsciously need to learn something from you. Even if it’s the manner in which you speak. (Really.) Why everyone seems to like you. Or how you remain calm in a crisis. (You won’t learn that from me.) It can be something neither of you is aware of that draws him or her to you.

Oh, no! There he (or she) is! You duck your head.

Too late! Now you have to listen to problems and offer words of encouragement.

Take this attention as a compliment. You have something valuable to offer, and you don’t even have to try very hard.

You are admired. You are considered wise.

Proverbs 13:20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

 

Cynthia Toney

Cynthia Toney

Cynthia writes novels for preteens and teens because she wants them to know how wonderful, powerful, and lovable God made them. She is the author of the Bird Face series, including 8 Notes to a Nobody and 10 Steps to Girlfriend Status, and a new series coming soon, The Other Side of Freedom.

In her spare time, when she’s not cooking Cajun or Italian food, Cynthia grows herbs and makes silk accent pillows. If you make her angry, she will throw one at you. A pillow, not an herb. Well, maybe both.

Cynthia has a passion for rescuing dogs from animal shelters and encourages others to save a life by adopting a shelter pet. She enjoys studying the complex history of the friendly southern U.S. from Georgia to Texas, where she resides with her husband and several canines.

Website:  http://www.cynthiattoney.com

Blog:  http://birdfacewendy.wordpress.com

Facebook Author Page:  https://www.facebook.com/birdfacewendy

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/CynthiaTToney

Twitter:  @CynthiaTToney

Instagram:  @CynthiaTToney

Pinterest:  Cynthia T. Toney, YA Author

When Nothing Works

by Guest Blogger Erin McCole Cupp

The beginning of another school year approached, and I was scared.  Even with the slowed-down summer schedule, I was not making any headway with my next book. There was virtually no time in which to really write, and when I did get a moment to steal, nothing I wrote worked, because I hadn’t had any time to let the story form in my head so it could flow onto the page.  Where on earth was I going to get the time to have a chance at success?

I went to my writing network’s Facebook page and asked for advice.

“Wake up one hour earlier than your kids do.”

Silly me, already waking up two hours before they did.

“Make family creative time a habitual part of your day! Everyone is working on something.”

When the youngest family member’s idea of “creative” is either decorating her walls with nail polish or asking busy people incessant questions?

“Just do whatever works!”

I didn’t type the words, but I wanted to reply, “BUT NOTHING WORKS!” Continue reading

When God Says Wait

by Guest Blogger Olivia Folmar Ard

When I was a child, the saying “slow as Christmas” actually meant something to me. For someone with a single digit age, the twelve months passing from Christmas to Christmas might as well be twelve years. I remember how slowly each day passed as I mentally counted down to the blessed holiday from New Year’s Day, spring break, summer vacation, and Thanksgiving.

Even during the month of December, I found it difficult not to squirm. Moving our little stuffed mouse from one day to the next on the cloth Advent calendar hanging on the door was physically agonizing. I couldn’t wait for Christmas and all the joy that day symbolizes, which in that season of my life meant lots of baked goodies, family get-togethers, and more gifts than I knew what to do with.

As I age, “slow as Christmas” means less and less to me. My life is so busy and filled with activity that by the time I pause to check the date, I am astounded by how much time has passed me by. I’m more likely to say, “Christmas again, already?” Continue reading

Do the Next Thing God Asks You to Do

by Guest Blogger Billie Jauss

Over my life, which at this point has spanned nearly half a century, I have taken on many roles. I grew up the baby of a large, blended family. At a young age, I knew I wanted to be a nurse and fulfilled that dream when I graduated from college and landed my dream job as a critical care nurse. Then the role as wife and mother took over my full-time gig as a nurse. My hubby is a Major League Baseball coach, so for 29 seasons I have been a baseball wife. However, no role ever confused me as much as the role I find myself entering in my empty nest. A writer. Continue reading