Andrea's Star || Story Tidbits

I just finished writing my novella Andrea's Star, which I had started during NaNoWriMo. I would love to give y'all a synopsis, but so far what I've got is: "Its about a girl and her family." Yeah, still working on building those synopsis skills. I'll write one eventually. 

Anyway, here are some unedited pieces of the story:

"Katie, I tired, I really tried." 
But he should have tried harder. Andrea could have gotten hurt. I got hurt. Daddy should have been there. He should have kept me from those men, but he hadn’t. He had just sighed and let them take me, like it was no big deal.
Well, nothing like this was ever going to happen to Andrea. I would make sure of it. 

Daddy left. I watched Andrea play with my toys. I would protect her. She would never get hurt. 
But that keep I just kept staring at my pink cast, wondering if my arm would always be broken. 

“Katlin!” The pain in his eyes didn’t break through the fury inside me. 
“Just like all those years ago, you let us get hurt!” Images faded together, forming one fuel for the pain I was feeling. 
“Lower your voice.” His was authoritative, but I didn’t pay attention. He reached out twords me. 
“Don’t touch me!” I screamed “Just stay away. I never asked for you to come back in our lifes. Just stay away from both of us!” 

"Grandad would have known what to do." I whispered, holding the ring with both hands. 

He would have been so sad that I didn't talk to dad. He would have helped me find sense in all this mess. He would have known how to trust. 

I slipped the ring onto my thumb, letting it hang loosely, the string dangling into space. 

Granddad would have told me trust. 

I spun the ring slowly. It was so comforting in face of all the problems I could not touch.  

A World of Problems

We yell

We scream

We want to fix

A world of problems

We shake our fists

And argue

We want to lock up

Whoever did this

We try to grab attention

We want people to hear

Our opinions

We yell

We scream

All this time forgetting

That God never asked for rants 

He never asked for arguments

And the weight of this world

Isn’t ours to bear

Maybe we should replace yells with tears

Screams with helping hands

Arguments with encouragement

And opinions with prayer

Because in the end

I think you’ll see

That one tear was better

Then a flood of posts

And one word of encouragement

Is better than any argument you made

I'm praying for you, Florida. 

Savoring Single

Hey Everyone! I'm participating in Shelley Black's Savoring Singleness tour!

About the book:

Why savoring single? Because you were meant to enjoy it!

Finding purpose, knowing love, and experiencing adventure aren’t reserved solely for the married girls! You can enjoy a full and vibrant life even while being single. It’s also a perfect time to partner with what God wants to develop in you through this once-in-a-lifetime part of your journey! Girl, being single is okay. There is a purpose for it, and it won’t last forever. So savor it!

Amazon || Goodreads

My Review:

I’ll be honest here, singleness is not a topic I really dwell on much. I’m eighteen and very happily… me. I am very well aware this might change but until then, I’m pretty happy. 

So why did I pick up a book on singleness? Well, honestly I just enjoy most none fiction. 

And this one did not disappoint me. 

For the first few chapters, Miss Black did focus mainly on singleness and how to be content. She gave practical advice on how to rededicate that time to God. She showed how to use your singleness to pull your closer to God, and how the things you learn now will apply to your whole life.

My favorite part of the whole book was the section about purity. The author did it in such a way it really was not uncomfortable, and she really showed the reasons behind it. Also, she covered mental purity, which I appreciated so much. It really got me to thinking about way's I can work on making my thought patterns purer.

Overall, this was a very thought-provoking book on singleness.

I would not recommend this for anyone under 15 due to the mature themes discussed. 

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 

About The Author:

Shelley Black has journeyed through being single longer than she expected and has since found joy, hope and purpose from a once begrudged season. She now challenges the status quo of what it means to be single as a modern-day Christian female, with a passion to infuse hope and restore joy to every single-girl heart. Shelley is a loving momma to her pup Lucy, is one proud “T” to six nieces and nephews and serves her local church in North Mississippi as the worship leader. Find her at SavoringSingle.com and across social media at SavoringSingle.

When Dreams Are Just Beyond Your Fingertips

I've been thinking a lot about dreams recently (Which explains last weeks post.) and I suddenly realized something. Sitting here, at eighteen years old, I am almost touching some dreams I had when I was younger.

Go to college. Learn to drive. Have a consistent job. Grow my blog. 

So maybe none of my dreams are huge, but they felt huge to me. They still do, in a way. 

I will be taking online college classes this year. Though I'm not going for a degree, I am looking forward to going back into school (Yes, I've missed it). 

This month I will be taking my first driving lessons. I might be a bit late jumping onto the bandwagon with this one, but that's because my siblings needed to learn first. I'm excited to finally get behind the driver seat. 

I'm am now working regularly as a babysitter. While babysitting is not my favorite thing to do, it has been great. Not only am I learning new skills, but I'm also earning money to pay for my college!

For two months now I have been working on a plan for my blog. I've realized some of the faults I have when it comes to blogging, and I'm working on ways to get better. I can't wait to see where the blog will go from here.

I've been dreaming about these things for years, and now they are close enough to feel. I am excited to see them unfold and see what God has in store. 

What are some dreams you are near to touching? 

The Dreams of a Thousand Nights

Here in this place 

Lays to rest

The dreams of a thousand nights 

The hopes of a thousand tomorrows 

The wishes of a hundred dandelions

And the longings of countless days 

Here in this place 

Lays to rest 

The dreams of a thousand dreamers 

Hundreds of fallen starts 

Here is laid to rest 

A million tears of pain 

The sadness of winter nights 

The anguish of summers crushed 

The bitterness of fall’s past 

And the depression of never sprouting spring 

Here in this place 

Is laid to rest 

Everything that we wanted 

Everything that we wished for 

Everything that should have come 

Here in this place 

Is laid to rest 

Every dream Good choose not to fulfill 

In the hope beyond hope 

That He will use these broken things 

To be soil for new plants

New dreams 

New hope and the promise 

Of countless tomorrows 

To be with Him