Firestarter: Launching a Blog that Blazes

Recently I got to be a Beta for Livy Lynn's new program Firestarter: Launching a blog that blazes and it was an amazing experience. Up ahead is a review and a code so you can get a huge discount on the program. 

I was so excited when Livy asked for Beta’s for a new project. I jumped at the chance and haven’t regretted it at all.

This 20-day course is packed full of some of the best advice I’ve heard about starting a blog. Firestarter cover’s everything from how to choose the best platform for your needs, to growing your social media, to how to make money from your blog.

She gave some really solid advice on why you should start a blog, why you should try to make money from it, and why you should connect with your readers.

And the best part? This whole course is done from a Christian perspective. I found that refreshing since most advice I’ve found is from a secular view. Livy is not overly preachy, so I don’t think non-Christian’s would find it annoying.

It’s all done into bite-sized days, and while I personally would probably take more than 20 day’s to be able to accomplish all of this, it’s doable. I had so much fun working through the printable at each step.

Photo is linked to the Firestarter page

My only disclaimer is that this course is packed full of advice, which you probably won’t all agree with. For instance, there is a whole day on how to grow your Pinterest, something I am not interested in at all. And Blogger isn’t even mentioned, so if you use it, a lot will apply to you, but you’ll have to figure out some things on your own. Still, there is a lot in here.

Overall, this was a lovely course that made me excited about blogging again. I now have step by step instructions on how to go about growing my blog, and I will probably refer back to this for months to come (if not years).

If you’re looking for a solid Christian course on how to get your blog started with a bang, or how to improve your existing blog, Firestarter is for you. 


You can get the corse here and use the code Mikayla at checkout to get 100 off! That means it will only be 50 dollars!

I want to be honest with y'all, I am an affiliate for this program, so if you use my code, I will receive a commission. But I didn't just become an affiliate because of money, I became one because this program is amazing and I learned SO much from it. I wouldn't be recommending it except I loved it so much!

If you check out the program, let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Couldn't Ask For Better

This is for a dear friend.

Working all day 

Studying all night 

Gotta make good grades 

Dedicated 

Coming home to little sis 

Watching her grow so fast 

Being the best sister possible 

Caring 

Stepping out and making friends 

When it's easier to stay alone 

Knowing connections are worth it 

Priorities in line 

Taking the time in a busy day 

Calling friends just to say hi 

Making time for them 

Sacrificial 

Listening to God's call 

Following His word 

Putting Him first 

Loving 

I couldn't ask for a better friend than you, girl. Happy 20'th birthday!!

Choose Your Own Ending

Hello everyone! Today I’m taking part in Sarah Holman’s, Choose Your Own Story, event. This is to celebrate the release of her latest book, Escape and Endurance (In this event, you get to pick the outcome of the story by making choices. A lot of different things can happen. What are you waiting for? Start your adventure by clicking the image below.

Sir Andrew dropped his hands to his side and was about to move toward her when the princess spun around and pushed him into the room. Before he had time to react, the princess had locked the door. She laughed.

“Did you really think that I would be so easy to persuade.”

“Let me out.”

She laughed and walked away. 

It took a while, but Andrew finally succeeded in breaking down the door. He returned to the castle only to find the princess had arrived before him and spread the tale of what she had done. 

In the end, he supposed that he was the one to learn a lesson: Never trust a princess.

Are you interested in reading about a knight, a tower, a princess, and a servant? Pick up a copy of Escape and Endurance! Haven’t read the other books in the Tales of Taelis series? Not to worry. Each book can stand alone.

About Sarah:

Sarah Holman is a not-so-typical girl, a homeschool graduate, sister to six awesome siblings, and lives in the great state of Texas. If there’s anything adventuresome about her life, it’s because she serves a God with a destiny greater than anything she could have imagined. You can find out more about her at her website: www.thedestinyofone.com

You can join the Adventurers (her newsletter) by going here: http://eepurl.com/bitBIf

Thank you all for joing us!

Keira Blog Tour || Character Interview

Alright, I've got a special guest on my blog today: Jade. Who is Jade? Well, she's a little girl from Kate Willis's new book Keira. This book is releasing next week, and honestly, she's my favorite. I've already done one post about this book, over here.

So, here is the inverview with Jade: (She's two, by the way)

So Jade, could you tell us about your kitten? 
Ummm… My kitty is fuwwy and gway. He jus likes to wave his tail at me.

Where is your favorite place to go? 
To see Gwammy. She lets me have strawbewwies, and I jus eats them all. *eyes widen for emphasis*

Could you tell us about your Aunt Destiny? 
*giggles* She’s funny. She gave me my kitty.

What's your favorite thing to do with Kiera? 
We jus plays dolliesh. *shrugs* And the tea party.

And lastly, what kind of cake do you like best? 
*claps hands together and jumps up and down* Chlokit!!! With sprinkles. I jus eats all the sprinkles. Nom, nom, nom. *runs off to ask for sprinkles*

You can find the book here on Goodreads

Kate's Bio: 

Kate Willis has been homeschooled her whole life in a loving family that values the Gospel of Jesus Christ, creativity, and thoughtful conversations. She is inspired by red shoes, a good story, little children, and chai tea. It is her desire to serve God in the home having a family of her own in the future. She is the author of The Treasure Hunt, The Twin Arrows, Kiera, and two short stories Enjoy the Poodle Skirt and Red Boots.

Her blog

She's got a super awesome giveaway going on, so you should definitly check it out! There are some awesome preizes included and it's super easy to enter! (You can happy dance as an enter. No lie. This giveaway is awesome.)
Giveaway link

Check out the rest of the giveaway on Kates blog here.

A Question of Courage

Hello everyone! Today I am taking part of Jesseca Wheaton's blog tour for her newest book A Question of Courage!

About the book: 

A man. A decision. A destiny. 

Rafe Sullivan never imagined the war would come to his doorstep. But when Pearl Harbor is attacked and America's focus suddenly shifts to the pacific, he finds he can't ignore the problem anymore. 

Leaving the life he loves behind, he joins up to do what he does best. Fly. 

Yet, nothing could have prepared him for the horrors of war, and the struggle that is going on in his own heart. As an outstanding navy pilot, he is stationed on one of the few Pacific carriers. But could God be calling him to step out in faith, and go beyond the call of duty? 

Lily Wilson gives her all to help the hurting community around her. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the war is brought home to many American families. And as a nurse, she longs to be able to relive some of the suffering. Yet, her own grief is still fresh in her heart, and though she's made the decision to get on with her life, she can't seem to leave the past behind. When healing at last comes, the guard she placed around her heart slowly begins to crumble. 

But when she receives the news she hoped she would never again hear, can she trust that God’s plan is always right?

Arthur Warrington saw the Navy as an escape from the life he left behind. And it seems good for him. He is able to forge new friendships and distance himself from his past. But when his best friend makes a decision that rocks his world, he is left grappling with the question: what is true courage? 

Three lives. One War. And a search for the Courage to go on.

My Review:

Warning: There may be spoilers in this review if you have not read A Question of Honor first

What I liked:
1. I was drawn in quickly by Rafe being so very different from David. Rafe's chatty and witty, and really an all around fun guy. He has faith that keeps him out of a lot of trouble.
2. Rafe's relationship with Lily was extremely sweet. I would have liked to know more about how they became close friends in the first place, but it was still well done.
3. Jesseca Wheaton's style is getting better with every story. This story's structure was even stronger then the first books.
4. The author took a very realistic view on war. She did a great job of showing the bad parts and good.
5. Rafe has got great standards. Even when he pranks people, he doesn't just leave them hanging.
6. That ending. <3

What I didn't like:

1. David and Rafe's motto (and Kansas's to) is to the stars, through any difficulties. I think this was supposed to mean something to us, but honestly it didn't really mean anything to me.
2. Sometimes the author threw things in like "The old rift between Navy men and Marines hadn't helped." That really jerked me out of the book because, call me clueless, but I hadn't known there was a rift between them. She did this with several different things.
3. Near the end of the book Rafe started to sound more and more like David. I was really sad, because he had started off so different.

Overall, this was a great sequel to Jesseca Wheaton's A Question of Honor. This authors style is definitely improving and I look forward to reading more by her in the future. I would highly recommend you try her books out. 

Find the first book in the series, A Question of Honor on Goodreads and Amazon 

And A Question of Courage on Goodreads and Amazon

Note: I made the two quote graphics in my review. The photos are from Unsplash.com and the quotes are copyrighted to Jesseca Wheaton. And I apologize for spelling the authors name wrong.

About the Author

Jesseca is a daughter, sister, and a child of God. Her days are spent reading, cooking, spending time with siblings, or playing piano. And writing, of course! At an early age words fascinated her, and her love for the printed page has only grown. She lives with her parents and seven siblings in the sunny state of Kansas, and she’s convinced there’s no place like home.

Jesseca's Blog || Goodreads || Instagram

And she's running a giveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I hope y'all get to check her books out! 

Happy December!

Q&A Part Two!

Well guys, here is part two of the Q&A with Micaiah!!

Visit her blog here: Adventures Beyond the Horizon

What did ya'll think?

Friends, Midnight Talks, and a Q&A

Faraget!

The sunset behind our Q&A

And here I am. Only one month since part one of my Washington trip. *Coughs* Sorry about that.

Day Four

Friday, August 18

We went to Faraget. Guys, this place is SO pretty!! Clear water lakes surrounded by evergreens are such a treat to this Texan! So, we got there and Micaiah and I filmed our Q&A. That was actually pretty painless. Then we went down to the actual lake and hiked for awhile. Then we got to walk in the water, and Micaiah and her siblings thought me how to skip rocks. Micaiah's siblings found a wild apple tree, and after both tasting it and proclaiming it terrible, they said we needed to taste it. Of coarse, I tried it. It really wasn't to bad. We went to a late lunch, and then back to their home. That's where we discovered the Q&A had wind noise all through it, and it was cut off! So, we determinedly hiked up to a nice bench (It was up a steep hill) and re-filmed the video while having to turn the camera back on every fifteen minutes as it stopped. 

So after that exhausting and awesome day, we both crashed. 

Amazing ice cream

Day Five 

Saturday, August 19

Micaiah joined me for a jog that morning. She learned that I am not a very good jogger, and I learned she is extremely good company during runs. Then, after a leisurely morning, we did a bit of shopping. We mostly parked at the Hallmark store and Micaiah and I sighed over Signed, Sealed Delived. Then we went to the card section and drooled over those. We had ice cream at this place that actually folds whatever toppings you want into the ice cream! Is that to cool or what? I can't have to much ice cream because of my dairy problem, but I was able to have some mint ice cream with chocolate chips and sprinkles. That stuff was good! 

When we got back to their home we had homemade pizza. And Micaiah, her brother and I, being the mature adults-of-sorts we were, engaged in a forty five minute sword fight with  each other using styrofoam swords. I finally got to use all those sword fighting tips I had picked up. I don't know if anyone was proclaimed a winner, but we sure did have fun! 

We all watched a Hallmark movie together because it had my much loved stars Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner. Well, I don't love the stars so much as I love the characters they play in Bionic Woman.

Me, Ivy, Micaiah, and Abi.

Day Six 

Sunday, August 20

Micaiah and I got ready to meet the authors Ivy Rose and Abigayle Claire for coffee (or tea, in my case)! The coffee shop we had agreed to meet at was... well... lets just say it didn't have the best atmosphere. So, Ivy and Abi arrived, and we walked down to Starbucks. I had Starbucks for the first time in my life. I got a very odd look from the lady as I ordered just plain sweet tea. We had a lovely time talking, and we walked around a bookshop! Abi and Ivy were seriously a delight to be with. Though I thought it would have been a good joke that Abi and I, who live only an hour apart and have met up before, flew all the way to Washington to meet up. And then Ivy and Micaiah, who live only an hour apart, had never met until the Texan's planned a meet up. ;D 

Then Micaiah and I went back to their home and watched Prince Caspian, our favorite Narnia movie. 

At the football practice!

Micaiah's a natural at photography. 

Day Seven 

Monday, August 21 

We watched the eclipse! They had an extra pair of glasses, which I got to use. It was pretty awesome to see it, even at only 90%. The temperature dropped a lot!

We went back to their home, and I packed up my stuff. We talked, and took her brother to football practice. They introduced me to Bring Your Own Book, which has very quickly become one of my favorite games (Its like Apples to Apples with books instead of cards).

Then came one of my favorite parts of the trip. Micaiah and I sat out on their patio. We were shivering out there, but this country girl needed some time to watch the stars every night. We stargazed and talked. Then when we got to cold for that, we moved inside onto the couch and talked. We had to get up super early the next day, but it didn't matter. Words cannot describe how much talks like that mean to me.

Day Eight 

Tuesday, August 22

We got up at 4:00 after having stayed up until 12:30. They took me to the airport and we had to say goodbye. I was so sad to say goodbye to my time with Micaiah and her amazing family, but I was happy to be going back to my own. After going through security I had a bit of time before my flight so I stopped and got myself a snack. I would like to say it was something good for me, but at that time of the morning Lays and Coke was the best I could do. And after searching all week long for one souvenir to take home, I found an awesome shirt in the airport and bought it. I slept through most of my first flight. Then I had a nice, thirty minute layover, so I got to leisurely make my way to my next plane. I slept more, and wrote. The Austen airport looked so good to my homesick heart. I met up with my family, and got some much needed hugs. Then they took me to my favorite restaurant, Whataburger (Texan burgers).

This trip was so amazing-I enjoyed the whole time. I cannot wait until Micaiah and I are able to meet up again!!

Below is the Q&A we filmed together! Part two is coming soon!

Have an awesome day! 

Flights and Friends

Day one. 

Tuesday, August 15. 

My mom and my sister Rebekkah got up with me at 5:00 AM to take me to the airport. I was a bit nervous, this being my very first time to be on a plane, travel by myself, and meet Micaiah. (Pronounced Mic-kay-a by the way. I mispronounced it for a long time. Thankfully she’s very forgiving and didn’t mind) 

I nearly cried when I said goodbye to my family, but I managed to steel myself some as I went through security. It was super easy, I didn’t have any problems. I found my gate, and texted family and friends until we boarded. I must admit, the plane was a bit smaller than I expected. But my first take off was amazing. Going up into the clouds like that is something I hope I never forget. I took pictures and just marveled at the awesomeness of the whole thing. My plane was a bit late, so when we set down in San Francisco I had to run to catch my next flight. But, I made it. This plane was bigger, and I wrote until me and my seatmate got into a conversation. We hit turbulence and my weak stomach was not happy. But, I survived. I exited the Washington airport, and Micaiah found me. Goodness that girl is just like she appears online; sweet, and happy, and pretty much like bottled sunshine. They took me out for burritos, which were amazing after the long flight and time change. We went to their home and I was so tired we decided to watch a movie. We decided on Wreck it Ralph because I had never seen it before. It was cute. 

And then I crashed at ten, which felt like midnight to me because of the time change. 

And thus ended a very long and amazing day in which I got to give one of my best friends a hug for the first time. 

Me and Micaiah

Cookies after they were baked!

Day Two.

Wednesday, August 16 

Micaiah wanted to take me to Barnes and Nobbles because I really have only been there twice in my life. So we spent a good hour looking over shelfs of books and CD’s, and taking selfies together with our some of our favorite books. Then Micaiah and I went to Red Robin (A gourmet burger place) because I had never been there. I’ve got to admit that to a casual Texan girl, gourmet and burger didn’t really seem to mesh, but amazingly this place made it work. We had an amazing lunch and even better conversation. 

When we got back to the apartment we made cookies together and got to share them with some of the kids in the neighborhood, which was super fun! Then we watched Signed, Sealed, Delivered together!

Hiking

On the hike!

Day Three

Thursday, August 17

We went to a hiking trail around a beautiful river. Here in Texas, we don’t have a lot of really beautiful rivers, so it was a treat to see this one! The water was a gorgeous blue! We had to go over a suspension bridge, which swayed some. I did fine on the way there, but coming back my fear of heights kicked in a bit more and I got off as fast as I could. We had a pretty fun hike with some amazing overlooks. We got a bit turned around at one point, but thankfully managed to get back on the right path. We ate a picnic in the park, then went back to their home. Me, Micaiah, and her two siblings played on the Wii together. They introduced me to the Wii U, which I had never played on before. That thing is pretty fun. Then we watched a Hallmark movie together called The Midnight Masquerade. 

Thus ends day three, and this post. If I was dividing this more equally I would include one more day here, but I am typing this at eleven at night and I am egsousted. Also our internet has been really fluky, so I am praising God that I got the photos to upload at all. 

Thank you so much for reading. Just wait for a super long post next Monday including the Q&A and the notes from the rest of my trip!