I have some news!!!

Guess what? I'M GETTING PUBLISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just found out today that one of my short stories, Ashley's Heart, is going to be published! I'm a published author!!! Does that not just sound amazingly cool?!?!!!! WOW. I still can't believe it. God is Good!!!

Beautiful Secrets

So, I was going to post something totally different today, but I found this video and fell in love with it. I hope you guys will love it to. Check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9HNBxiLRH8 I just checked the link and it's good to go, so hope you guys enjoy the clip. let me know what you think P.S I posted the Erynn Mangum interview yesterday, if you haven't checked it out already, you definatly should :)

Introducing... Erynn Mangum!!!

Ok, here it is, the interview with Christian Author, Erynn Mangum! The questions are in purple, and her answers are in pink. Hope you guys enjoy reading this interview as much as I did making it How did you become a Christian? I was raised in a Christian home and accepted Christ when I was very small. Growing up, I always felt a little self-conscious about my "boring" testimony. But now that's what I pray for for my son! Ha! What is your favorite Bible verse? Oh goodness - this changes on a daily basis! My all-time favorite chapter will always be Psalm 121. Tell us about your family. How do they play a part in your career, and your life? My family plays a HUGE part in my life and so they are definitely a huge part of my career! My mom and my husband are by far my biggest encouragers (aka enforcers!) to get me to write. My mom watches Nathan (my eight-month-old son) once a week so I can get some work done. I'm so thankful for that! Did you take anything in College that helped you become an author? I didn't actually go to college. Starting my senior year of high school, I began taking courses through the Christian Writers Guild and took those for three years. I went to many, many, MANY writer's conferences and learned as much as I could! How did you decide to write the kind of books that you do? Ha! It was actually an accident! I was working on a suspense story when one day I just sat down and started writing the opening lines to Miss Match. I had so much fun writing about Lauren that I eventually stopped working on the suspense so I'd have more time to write her story. If you could say one thing that everyone would hear, what would it be? Love Christ. If you love Him first and foremost, everything else will fall into place. How do you get inspiration for your books? Just by living my life. I hang out with friends, I go get coffee, I read. I get inspired by things God is teaching me. I get about 756 ideas a week, so ideas are NEVER my problem! How do your two series, the Maya Davis series and the Lauren Hollbrooke series, differ and how are they the same? They are the same in that they are both about girls who love God and love coffee. They are different in that they have two very unique personalities, friends and situations. Lauren is very much a people person and anyone can be a best friend. Maya tends to be more of a loner and has a select group of people she confides to and that's it. What's your favorite way to spend a Saturday? Well, before my son was born, I would have said to go shopping and to a movie and then dinner out. Now that Nathan is here, I think I'd pick a day in my pajamas and takeout. Ha! :) Who is your hero? My grandmother. She took care of my grandfather for ten long years while he suffered with Alzheimer's. She set the biggest example of what a real marriage looks like to me! If you could do one thing and not fail, what would it be? Skydiving. :) If you could write a book that everyone would read, what would it be? Of ones that have been written already? I think I wish I would have written Go, Dog, Go! :) Are you writing any books right now? If so, can you give us a hint to what they will be about? I'm ALWAYS working on something new! I've got a new young adult series coming out in September that I'm so excited for! What are your plans for the future? I'm praying that God has me still writing, still being a mom and still just LOVING my life!

Thanks for answering these questions, Erynn. I am a HUGE fan of your books, and really enjoyed getting this interview. It was an honor having you on my blog!

Latte Daze

"What?" I protest. "You can't threaten me with no dessert now." He growls and chomps on the popcorn. I watch him for a minute. "It's got a goofy saying on it, huh?" More chomping. "Yes." I grin. "What's it say?" "I'm not going to tell you. You'll mock me." "Then I'll just come Monday to see it." I gesture to him with a kernel of popcorn. "Want to be mocked in private at the table here or in public next to the sea otter exibit?" "I don't work with sea otters." "Jack." He sighs and throws another popcorn kernel at my head. "It says, Save the Animals- We can Zoo it." He ducks his head and winces. "Well, that's not too bad," I say. He lifts his head and squints at me. "What?" "I mean, it's not like We're just zooing out job or We Zoo this so you can Zoo that or Zoo days are better then One." He's laughing now. "Nutkin." "Saving the animals is a very noble cause, and I think you can zoo it," I say, keeping my expression very serious. He snorts. "Nutkin." "I mean, if you guys weren't going to zoo it, who would?" "Maya!" I start giggling. "Or if you-" "Hey!" Jen yells from the living room. "We are trying to watch a very romantic scene where Ike and Maggie are finally falling in love and you are ruining it!" "Sorry Jen." "Sorry Jenny." She's still frustrated. "I mean it. Keep it down in there!" "We will, Jen," Jack says, his voice all pacifying. "We'll zoo our best," I holler back. Jack loses it. He snorts loudly and bursts into gut-wrenching laughter. He's trying to hold it in, but it's spilling out as he leans back in the kitchen chair. "Hey!" Jen yells again. "Sorry Jen," I say nicely, "Jack's being loud." Travis rubs Jen's arm. "He does work in a zoo." I have to bite my thumb to keep from laughing

So that's a quote from the novel Latte Daze by Erynn Mangum. And yes, she is going to be out next featured author. I sent out the questions today and she'll send them back ASAP. She has definatly made it onto my favorites list. I love this girl! I hope you guys will love her to. Her books are definatly classified as CAN'T PUT DOWN!!!!!!

Haircuts and Mangos

It started out like any other Monday Morning. Ok, not any other monday morning. Most monday morning's I do not dream about being in buildings that are collapsing while, along with some of the kids in my youth group, trying to rescue my little brother from some people from another country who had taken him hostage. So This morning did not start out like any other monday. But after I woke up, it did carry on as any other Monday would have. So, I got up, ate a bowl of Corn Flakes and started school. I had a lot of tests, so it didn't take very long, and I finished just after lunch, which was a pita, in case you care. Earlier in the day, we had made a plan to not say anything mean to anybody else. well, planning on sticking to that deal, I locked myself in my room and began writing a story. I wrote for a few hours, until my hand was aching, my brain wasn't forming complete words and I had to keep scribbling out every second word because of spelling errors. I came out into the kitchen, where my sister was eating a mango, well trying to eat a mango. The thing is, she doesn't like mango's. BUT, she thought she did, SO she got one. and now she had to eat it. She was doing everything to avoid eating that mango. I, being a wonderful amazing sister who planned on sticking to her plan, kept my mouth shut. While she was giving the mango the evil eye, my mom made some comment about needing to cut my bangs. Well that planted the seed in my head and, as you can probably guess, out came the scissors and goodbye went part of my bangs.
So, you are probably wondering why I'm writing about mango's and haircuts. Good Question. I don't know. I'm hoping that when I write this something amazingly profound is going to come out and I am going to sound smart. Don't you think that there should be an importent life lesson in mango's and haircuts. I would say it is don't give into peer pressure, but my mom didn't pressure me to cut my hair. I would say it is don't buy something you don't like, but you never know unless you try. I would say that change is bad, but it's not, because I have amazing bangs and if there was no change there would only be vanilla ice cream. So change. I, for one, hate change. If everything would stay the same, I would be happy. But like I said, if there was no change there would only be vanilla ice cream and I would have no rocking bangs.
~Is still waiting for something profound to come out of her mouth~
So, I asked some of my friends on SBW what profound thing could come out of mango's and haircuts, and this is what I got
:the day you eat your first mango, your hair grows nine inches
:Don't get mango juice in your hair cut
:I had a very very bad mango today
:I should eat a mango since my hair is short from chemo... hmmm

So that's about all my profound advice for the day.
1. Embrace change. without it, there would be only vanilla icecream
2. The day you eat your first mango, you're hair grows 9 inches (Hmm)
3. Don't get mango juice in your hair cut

100

This post makes 100.

Another Sunrise

Roar

So chin up. Put your shoulders back, walk proud, strut a little. Don't lick your wounds: celebrate them. The scars you bear are the signs of a competitor. You're in a lion fight. Just because you didn't win doesn't mean you don't know how to roar

Quotes

One thing I love is quotes. I love that feeling when you find just the right quote, or when reading something that someone else said brings you encouragement or hope. So, recently, I've been looking up quotes and keeping some of my favorites in a word document. I want to share some of my favorite one's with you guys. Maybe they'll be what you need today

Maybe we’re not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful is recognizing what you have for what it is, appreciating small victories admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human. Maybe we're thankful for the familiar things we know and maybe we're thankful for the things we will never know. At the end of the day the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate.

There comes a moment when it's more than just a game, and you either take that step forward or turn around and walk away. I could quit but here's the thing, I love the playing field.

It comes in waves. There's a lull and then another wave hits you. I just wanted you to know that it’s okay not to be fine sometimes.

Well, I'm going to get out of bed every morning...breathe in and out all day long. Then, after a while I won't have to remind myself to get out of bed every morning and breathe in and out....and, then after a while, I won't have to think about how great and perfect I had it once

You can't change who people are without destroying who they were

Tragedies happen. What are you gonna do, give up? Quit? No. I realize now that when your heart breaks, you got to fight like hell to make sure you're still alive. Because you are. And that pain you feel? That's life. The confusion and fear? That's there to remind you that somewhere out there is something better, & that something is worth fighting for.

We like to think we're fearless, eager to explore unknown lands and soak up new experiences, but the fact is, we're always terrified

Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever

You should never take life too seriously - no one ever makes it out alive!

Squeeze

I see him standing there, in his uniform, looking as handsome as ever. His blue eyes are twinkling, his mouth turned up in a half smile. I take a step towards him, stretching out my hand, my pink dress swishing at my feet. His eyes look right into mine and...

"Rachel! Come on, look at me, baby, open your eyes. I need some help in here!" The frantic crys of my husband fill the air. "Come on, Rae, stay with me," He pleads as he begins CPR on my limp body

He's still standing there. I want to run to him, to touch him, but I can't. It's like I'm stuck. I can't go up or down. I can't move. I can't control anything. It's like I'm drowning

"Kyle! Move! Get the crash cart!" I can hear their screams as I'm slipping away. A nurse brings in the crash cart and they jolt my body. I can hear Kyle's sobs. I want to go to him, to tell him I'm alright. But I'm not. I know this by the way they jolt my still body. I'm dead

He gives me a smile just as he turns to leave. "NO! Justin! Don't leave me!" He takes a step towards me. "Not yet, Rae. Go. I'm ok. I'll see you one day, but not now. They still need you." He stretches out his scarred hand, scarred from the bomb, the one that killed him, until only inches seperate us. "Go," He says as he turns and walks away.

"We got a faint signal." I know everyone is holding their breath, in hopes that I might return to the land of the living. More orders are yelled

The best day of my life. There he is, his face glowing. My groom is waiting. I take his hand. we repeat after the minister, we say our vows, we kiss. He carries me back down the aisle because I'm too weak to walk. In his arms, I am safe

"We're getting her back." A hand takes mine. Kyle's hand. "Come on, Rae. You can do it, baby. Come back to me."

The worst day of my life. She lay in the casket as we set it in the ground. My beautiful baby girl. She died in my womb, a miscarriage. My darling Sarah Isabel Katherine will forever lay on a bed of satin. Her uncle Justin will take care of her, this I know. Kyle holds me close, holds me up. "It was a miracle she survived as long as she did," The doctors told me. Kyle holds me up as I bury my baby

"Rachel? Rae, honey, can you hear me? Wake up baby. squeeze my hand if you can hear me." I push past that barrier, break through the water in which I was drowning, and, even though it takes everything in me, I do the one thing I can. I squeeze.

Do you hear what I hear?

I hear the wheels of the office chair, scraping on the hardwood. I hear Jaxon singing at the top of his lungs "You spin my hair right round right round, like a whippersnapper!" I hear the other 2 kids singing it back at him, as loud as they can, trying to show him how loud he is. I hear the other 2 playing with lego, making gun noises. I hear lego rattling around in the bucket. I hear the dishwasher running, my computer running and my fingers on the keyboard. I hear, mostly, happy voices.
I see my computer screen, my fingers typing out the letters on the keyboard. I see the living room, and the kitchen. I see a half eaten cookie on the table. Once in a while, I see a little brown boy, flying down the hall on his chair, looking at me and going "Did you see that 'Lish?" Yep, I saw that.

I feel the chair beneath me, the computer on my lap, the blanket covering me. I smell the fresh cookies my mom baked earlier. I can still taste that amazingly tasty half a cookie I had after they came out of the oven. There's a million little thoughts in my head, most of them meaningless. "Lisha? Can you help me put on my stuff?" Yep, I can. He takes my hand and leads me to where his snow stuff is waiting to be put on. He holds on to my shoulder as we get him into his snowpants, zip up his coat, put on his boots, hat and mitts. And then they're gone. The house is quiet. No more noise. Silence, except for the hum of the dishwasher, my fingers on the keys. Yep, they drive me crazy. Sometimes all I want is that little bit of silence. But when everyone is gone, the house is still, I miss that noise. I miss that little guy who sang Carrie Underwood as I was buttoning up his coat. I miss the older two, playing with their lego and talking about video games. I miss the wheels on the hardwood floor. Soon they'll come in and they'll start making noise again. soon I'll be there and wishing for here. But a house is not a home with no one to share it with. I'm glad I get to stay here, at home, for a little while longer. Because, as much as I like to think other wise, I would miss it here. What do you hear?

The little things

Sometimes it's the little things that make a big difference in a day. Those little things that make you smile but don't really seem that big when you think back. Recently, I've started making a list before I go to bed of everything I was thankful for in that day. I come up with things like an amazing youth group who makes me laugh, grey's anatomy nights, that feeling of peace or love or joy or whatever I'm feeling that day, talking to my friends or comments from people that made my day. Before I started making my lists, I would think back over my day, but I wouldn't see those tiny details that made all the difference. I wouldn't think that I was so thankful for grey's anatomy because it was a break I needed and it gave me something to look forward to all day. I wouldn't think that what that person said to me at church made me smile. I would focus on everything bad that happened that day, like failing a test or getting bad news or having a fight with a friend. I'm realizing that the little things can have a big impact on my day. I'm thankful for those little things that make me smile and give me hope on a crappy day. The little things that give me hope every day reminds me of how blessed I really am. And when I start actually telling God that I am thankful for those things, things start to change. It's not all, today was so horrible. it turns into, today was horrible BUT I found hope in this or this made me smile and gave me the strength to keep going. It's in those little things where I find hope on a day where I just can't do it anymore.
So, here are some of the things I am thankful for on this fine day
1. pink pens
2. getting to show the new hosts the ropes, and being frozen by Jill so she could test out the buttons (SBW)
3. Lovely new Erynn Mangum books that make me laugh and cry all at the same time (Maybe I'll review one soon)
4. random conversations

ok, so that's just some of the things I am thankful for today. What are you thankful for today? What's giving you hope?

Just a lil' bit of what I've been writing recently

"I'm just saying, it's a lot harder to put a band-aid on a broken heart." Something flashed across her eyes and she opened her mouth, like she had something to say, then closed it again. "I don't care what Riley says about me. I... I know what a broken heart is. I know what's it's like to lose everything. I'm living with a freakin' brain tumor! Riley can't take anything from me. He has no power to make me who I am. He can say what He wants. BUt He can't DO anything to me. He has no power over me." For a minute, I saw Allie, the real Allie. I saw the Allie who is passionate and strong and beautiful and bold, outspoken and optinionated, courageous and brave. I saw the Allie who has to wake up each day facing the fact that there is a tumor invading her brain, stealing her life away from her. I saw the Allie who is fighting back. I leaned in, my lips only inches from hers. In one smooth move, she placed her hands on my chest and pushed, ducking under my arm and fleeing from the bathroom. I followed her out and found her in the entry, lacing up her shoes. "I really do have to go," She said. "But," She moved closer to me, "I love you and I'll call you tonight." She kissed my cheek and let herself out.