My Writer's Journey-the continuing saga

I truly love my Heavenly Father, but sometimes I get kind of snarky with Him. Like the time I drove around for almost a half hour looking for an open place to park, and I said, "Father, if you want me to be here, then you better find me a parking space."

One opened up immediately.

Things like this happen to me all the time. "Father, I can't find my keys. I know you know where they're at, could you just show me?"

And Voila, there they are.

That is true evidence that He hears me and is in the details of my life. 

Recently someone said something unkind to me about my writing journey. I knew this person was coming from a place of pain, and the words most likely weren't meant the way I'd heard them. I realized Father would want me to offer the same kind of grace that He offers me. Nevertheless, the words still left me hurting.

I took my pain to the Him and told him I wanted to quit writing.

I heard Him say to me, "I have not given you this talent to bury under a bushel."

I asked, "Then what do you want me to do with this talent."

I then received a clear impression of what I need to do. I'm not quite ready to share that plan with you, but it's going to be great when I do all that He gave me to do. It's overwhelming, and getting started is the hardest part. But I am on the next step in my writer's journey.

How has God led you through your journey?

Musings on a winter afternoon

 

The view from my front porch

When I was a little girl, my grandparents would travel down from Utah to Tucson, Arizona, where I grew up. I would gladly give up my bedroom for them. Grandpa would set up his easel in my room. The aroma of turpentine and oils filled the air, and to this day, every time I smell those, I am taken right back to that time in my life. I loved it when my grandparents came to visit. I felt loved and cherish, like I was their most important grandchild (there were over 50 of us). 

Grandpa Boswell's Painting-1972

I wonder if Grandpa ever got discouraged while he was creating. When he first laid in the colors, was it a mess? Did he know what colors to put where? Did they blend the way he wanted them to?

Flash forward a bunch of years. This painting he did hung in my parent's home forever! I love it with a passion! My mother promised it to me before she died. Well, she passed before my father. I kept reminding him I wanted that painting. He would always answer, "We'll see." (He was kind of a stinker that way).

When my father passed a few years ago, my siblings and I met together in the family home and they all agreed that since Mom had made that promise to me, that I should have it.

It now hangs in my writing office where I can see it every day. Whenever I think about my grandparents, I feel them close and know they are watching over me. I truly look forward to the day when I get to see them again. I can only imagine what exquisite works of art Grandpa is creating.

In the meantime, I am busy creating my own art through words. I'm trying not to get discouraged because the colors aren't just right (or in my case, the words). I keep plugging along, even if no one buys my books because I love writing that much.

What are some ways that your ancestors have left their legacy with you? Do you try to emulate them?

A Fresh Start

 

Since I lost all my posts on my other hosting site, I am taking this opportunity to start a new site!

Sometimes life has a funny way of making plans for you that you had no idea were coming. This year has been amazing. "What?" you might ask. "2020 has been horrible!" In general, I guess I wouldn't argue with you. World-wide, it has certainly slammed so many people hard. Our business suffered, but not to the extent as so many of you. Things slowed down and luckily, we find ourselves homeless, which means no house payments. 

"How is that amazing?"

Because, now DeWalt and I get to live our dream.

"Sleeping in a shed is living your dream?"

Well, not exactly. But look at that sunset! That's the view from where our home is going to be in just a few short weeks. 

A little over five years ago, we bought this beautiful piece of property in Linden, AZ. We've been anxiously awaiting the day we could move here full time. In May, I gave 30 day's notice to our landlord, and on July 1 we moved here. Yeah, sleeping in a shed hasn't been the best, but hey, I come from Pioneer stock. I can do this! Even when it's freezing inside and the space heater barely takes off the chill. But it's only for a few more weeks, and then I'll be living in my beautiful new home. 

That's only one piece of my excitement for the year. I've been working on a fantasy series. I started it about 10 years ago. I would pull it out and look at, add to it, edit, and then shelve it again to work on other projects. This summer I took a serious look at it and decided I'd slice off the ending, leave it at a bit of a cliff-hanger, and continue where I cut it off and make book 2.  Books 3 and 4 are mostly written.

This summer, I've learned to format and publish all on my own. That was pretty nerve-wracking and exciting all at the same time.

I couldn't have done it without the help of my wonderful daughter-in-law who did a great job with the cover, and my dear friend Anne Marie who dropped whatever she was doing to answer formatting questions.

My next big project is to finish formatting my Christmas novel.

There's so many more things I could tell that's great about 2020, but I'll save that for another post.

What amazing things have you seen happen this year?