Faith, Trust, and Pencil Dust-Part One

I just reviewed my old blog posts and noticed a pattern; one blog a year from 2011-2017. This is my first since 2017! Three years are too long. I've allowed too much of my life to pass, ignoring God's calling for my life; to write. I have dabbled in writing since elementary school. But, I have never been focused or devoted my time to cultivating my craft. Instead, I have allowed life to distract me. I pray for God's grace, strength, and guidance to help me create a new habit and pursue the dream He has given me. I don't want to waste the talent He gifted me with and continue to let the enemy keep me from using my abilities for God's glory. I hope that from this moment forward, God will use the words He gives me to draw others to closer to Him.

So, new goal! Instead of a blog once a year, I am going to try really hard to post once a month. I will write about whatever God lays on my heart, but plan to include reading and writing updates if the Lord allows it. I want to seek His will above all else. Now is a good time for hope and change. Today is Easter Sunday; A day believers celebrate the resurrection of our Savior worldwide! I am so thankful for Jesus! He sacrificed His life and conquered death so that whosoever will might be saved and live forever in Heaven. Thank you, Lord!

I was supposed to write this blog April 1st, but better late than never. I'm going to start with a few simple writing goals for April. 

1. Write every day! A journal entry, a blog post, a story, anything! Just write.
2. Make a list of all of the story ideas I have and ask God what project He would have me to work first.
3. Plan to set deadlines in May.

I am already making progress on my first goal. 

I will post an update in May to record how I do.

Now for my reading goals. At the beginning of the year, I made a resolution to read a book from each of the following categories each month:

-A book in a series
-A favorite re-read
-A New Release
-A Kindle book
-A library book
-A book from an email newsletter
-A book from my book shelf

There are so many good reads out there, I feel like I will never make progress on my TBR list. The list above seemed like a good idea at the time that I made it, but now seems intimidating. Then I realized, one book can check more than one box off my list. And I have decided on some simplified goals.

1. Just read.
2. A minimum of 4 books a month
3. Pull from alternate options from the list above
4. Update progress on Good Reads

Here is my TBR pile for April 2020:

I have already completed Exile, the second book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities Series. I almost did not give this series a try because the main character is a 12 year-old-girl. Due to the age, I thought the story might be kind of silly.But I kept seeing posts on Pinterest about the series and decided to give it a try. I am so happy I did. The characters are mature for their age. But the writing is at a level that is easy to read and keeps the story clean providing a wholesome, exciting read. This book began a little slow, once it picked up pace, it did not slow down until the end. I immediately had to begin reading the third book, Everblaze. I am struggling to put this book down so I can make progress on my other books to read in April. 4/5 stars.

Remnants: Season of Wonder is written by my current favorite author, Lisa T. Bergen. I read this book once before when it was available on Kindle Unlimited, but did not get to complete the trilogy before it was no longer available. I am re-reading the first book before continuing the series. I will save my rating/review  until after I complete by re-read.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before- I love the Netflix movie and can't wait to read the book that inspired the film.

Love & Gelato- I read this book a few months ago and cannot get the characters or story out of my mind. It became an immediate favorite of mine. I was excited to find out their was a sequel and third book releasing this summer! I cannot wait to be swept away by this story again. I will share my full review after the re-read but for now, I'll simply say: I LOVE this book and this should be a Hallmark movie!

Keturah- Is the first book in the Sugar Baron's Daughters trilogy by Lisa T. Bergren. The third book in the series, Seleah was just released. I wanted to revisit the exciting lives of these ladies before launching into the final book. Review to come. 

Also reading...

Castles-Contains four short stories by Christian fiction author Traci Peterson. I have just completed the first story, A Kingdom Divided. I will try to post a review sometime this week while the story is still fresh on my mind.

Hardy Boys- I am reading my way through the Hardy Boys series. There are so many! My goal for April is to read books 9-13. I will post reviews as I read them.

There you go, three years worth in one post. There is so much more...Part Two coming soon.

P.S. I just read back over my post and it wasn't as long as it felt like it was while I was writing it.