Absence

So. Yeah. It's me... I didn't fall off a cliff, join a cult, enter the witness protection program, or spend time behind bars. Squeaks didn't hold me hostage in my own house, and I haven't lost my passion for writing (if anything my passion has increased...more on that later!). Nope. I didn't even run off with Jason Statham OR join the circus. Of all the aforementioned things, the circus is the least plausible. Me. No. Likey. Clowns. I think I am allergic to their brand of happy.

I won't bore you with a sequential list of "here's what I've been doing" or even offer excuses for my absence. I will, however, offer some morsels of goodness that I have discovered this past year...

1. My mom is a fighter. She kicked cancer out of the playground. This strong, resilient woman is new...and I like her.

2. Life is too short to read bad books. I used to give a book 50 pages. Now, if it doesn't hook me by the first chapter, I am done. By "hook", I don't mean the books has to jar me with a thrilling plot. I want to care about the story and the protagonist.And I certainly don't want to read sloppy writing.

3. It's OK to admit you don't like a person...and even to their face. I am trying on this new outfit called truth. For too long I've lived under the stifling assumption that I can't be honest with my feelings. Let me tell you, truth is freeing. I participated in an activity for too long, simply because I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Meanwhile, I was sick inside. I listened to a sermon on facing your giants and realized, this person was a giant in my life and it was time to move forward and move on. So I did. Confrontation is NOT easy for me, but I did it. And survived. I sloshed around in the muck of self-doubt and self-pity for awhile, but God pulled me through, and I am stronger now. What or who are your giants?

http://thechurch.at/teachings/giants/

4. Reading the Bible in chronological order pretty much rocks my socks. And some of my husband's comments as we read together give me the biggest laugh I've had in weeks. (Perhaps I will share some of our discussions...)

5. I love spending time with people who encourage me in my passions, who push me to search for truth in my life, who will share a cup of coffee and a laugh, who give me free reign over organizing their life's work, who feed me simple solutions to my writing dilemmas, and who won't let me pull away when that's all I want to do.

6. I love Stonewood Coffee and Cafe. I am a regular. I love meeting my writing friends there to chat, eat, sip coffee, write, and eavesdrop. Don't judge...you know you've done it, too.

Tuna salad sammie yumminess...

7. My cats Gizmo and Snickers are getting old. Fifteen, in fact. I cried when I lost my goldfish that I'd had for ten minutes. I'm pretty sure it was an accidental murder. I don't know what I will do when the time comes to make THE decision for Giz and Snicks. Squeaks has kept them young these past few years. She has brought joy into our home. Is it weird for a cat to do that? Look at that belly...

Did someone say "tuna"?

8. I am a writer. There...I said it. It's in my bones, veins, cells, hair follicles... A dear friend of mine, who you can visit here, gave me the BEST writing advice EVER. Now I am not writhing under the assumption that there is a magic pill somewhere that nobody will sell to me. There's actually a plan. A simple one. And if I follow it, then those four books I have swimming in my head can reach fruition.

9. I've edited papers, stories, articles, other people's writing, and now...I've edited my life. And it was probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I don't recommend you do this on your own... In fact it's nearly impossible to do on your own. Grab a friend, spouse, sibling, and read Dan Allender's To Be Told. But DON'T, I repeat, DON'T expect to go through the process unchanged. Awesome book. About killed me...but it was awesome. 

That's it for now... Off to writing and working...