Looking for Lovely Preorder Goodies

 

One week from today, I will be posting two separate book reviews for two wonderful books by two women I greatly admire: Looking for Lovely and Brazen.

For today, here is a promotional preview for all the preorder goodies you can get for Annie F. Downs's book Looking for Lovely. You can access the website by clicking the graphic or here: www.lookingforlovelybook.com

It's spring break here, so I should get to writing...

Where did January go?

No, really.

Where did it go?

I am sitting here on a Saturday morning, typing between coughing fits (Yes, I went to the doctor. Yes, I have bronchitis, so yes, meds and I am drinking lots of water.), incredulous that I haven't written much at all since November.

I have been journaling a bit more, which is good for me personally. But even that has gone by the wayside in favor of more time with my family and more time reading. I still have the burning in my heart to write a book, and I have been jotting down ideas and thoughts toward that topic and those things to explore.

I have also been working. Ten months ago when we learned we were moving to Georgia, I started the process of applying for a teaching license and filing applications with both the high school where my daughter attends and the colleges in the area. Now I am working as a substitute teacher in her school, and twice now I've had long-term assignments. This has taken all of my previous online writing time and channeled those energies into the classroom. It's funny to me that several people have asked me if I want to teach. It's more that I feel I have to. It's not perfect, peaceful, or always fun, but it's where I feel most purposeful.

One thing I must address is this: My work with Wives of Faith (www.wivesoffaith.org) is complete. The ministry closed its doors last week, and so ends my seven years of online ministry with that wonderful group of ladies. You can follow Sara Horn for more info about her ministry, which I hope to continue to support with my friendship and my love for her and her books.

As for a "one word 2016" - I never got one, so I'm not too worried anymore about whether or not I'll get one. Maybe it's "teach" or "work" or even "don't stress out so much, for the love!"

I have several books to review in coming weeks that I haven't gotten to yet (major apologies to the authors! I have been talking them up on social media and in my friendship circles, I promise!), so I will be posting book reviews.

So...what's new with you? How's 2016 for you? Are you sick of political stuff yet? :)

And...it's a bust.

And...it's a bust. I wasn't able to finish even the first few chapters of my novel this year.

I'm continuing to see that writing nonfiction is more my thing than fiction. But what really threw me was the long-term substitute teaching position that fell into my lap without any warning the second week of November.

I just might not have what it takes to finish a book, after all. I guess time will tell.

2015's NaNoWriMo is a bust, but I'll still keep reading and writing and book reviewing here at Fresh-Brewed Writer as long as I am able.

National Novel Writing Month 2015

And now...fiction. I'll be working on a novel during the month of November. We'll see if I actually finish this year!

In Conclusion: 31 Days of Friendship

“I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Even though I've written about friendship for an entire month, I feel as if there is more to say. It's interesting that on September 30, I wondered if I'd have enough for 31 full days--and now that it's October 31 I still have several other stories and topics I haven't even touched.

As I conclude my series, I'd like to offer a list the characteristics of a good friendship.

Day 30: What does the Bible say? Part 5 {31 Days of Friendship}

For this last entry into the "What does the Bible Say about Friendship" miniseries in my #31daysoffriendship series for the Write 31 Days challenge, I would like to talk about Jesus.

When I was a child growing up in a Christian home and going to church, we sang many songs about Jesus being our friend. I'm not really sure I knew what it meant until I felt Him in a more real sense, in college and in sad times, when I was going through some of the situations I've described in this series with friendships, and during my parents' divorce.

The Gospels tell us about Jesus's disciples (there were 12), his closest friends or the "inner circle" of best friends (there were 3), Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha, and of course the group that traveled with Him and His disciples as he preached and taught about His Father (unnumbered and many were unnamed, but we know they were present).

There are many analyses out there about the friendship model Jesus set for us: have a circle of friends, a tighter circle of confidantes, an adopted family of friends. The list could go on and on. But I wonder sometimes if it isn't supposed to be that complicated.

Here is what Jesus says in John 15:

9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

Love first. Love God first, then love each other, and joy will abound. Pretty simple.

This is my last Bible-related post, and it's going to be online late after a busy week. So maybe as I write this with a tired brain and a full heart, I'm feeling a bit sentimental about ending this series on my blog about friendship. I wonder if we worry about friendships too much. Maybe we need to spend more of our time cultivating our friendship with Jesus, with His Father, more than with others first. If we let the friends be our primary focus, maybe that is missing the point. Let's put our focus on Jesus, and on learning God's Word, and cultivating that relationship first, before we worry about whether or not Jane* likes us or if we should invite her for coffee, or whatever. I know that the Lord will lead me where He wants me, and He has often placed people in my path (oh who am I kidding, every day I exit my house I talk to people outside my social circle!). He has provided me with friends before, and He will do so again. He already has for me here.

Tomorrow will be my wrap-up post about my friendship series. I hope you'll join me, and if you've enjoyed my musings on friendship, I hope you'll let me know - or better yet, share with one of your friends.



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*Jane Austen nicknames are used in this series, and all month I never used Jane. So here she is!

Mini-series on What does the Bible Say about Friendship?
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

To read the introductory post for this #write31days series, click here.

Day 29: Being a Good Friend {31 Days of Friendship}

It might seem weird that I am concluding with this topic, but for me it feels as if I'm coming full-circle after a long journey through the memories I've sorted through this month.