Oh. My. Goodness.

Have mercy-- I have simply NOT been tending to my blog.  I'm sorry, folks.  Let's just say this school year has been a challenge so far.  Or rather, life has been a challenge recently.

I have lots of pictures to post, and will do so before too long.

But it might be a little while before I get back into my blogging schedule.

For right now, let me be totally honest with you.  The Bible tells me that godliness with contentment is great gain.  And it just so happens that those are the two areas in which God is growing me right now.  And just like when I was a kid, growing pains hurt.

Regarding godliness:  I had gotten into a passionless routine with the Lord.  I spent time with him, and truly, I wanted to become more godly.  But I wasn't making it a priority.  Hband and I had the opportunity to go to the Ekklesia conference in Jupiter, Florida, and it was so refreshing for my soul in many ways.  I was reminded that everything except Jesus is superfluous.  And that helped me tremendously, though it's not easy.  I was bombarded, again and again, with the truth from God's Word that God picked me to belong to him from before time began, plucking me from my headlong race to hell.  He chose me to love him, and because of that, eternity with him is mine.  How can I then not make him my priority?  He gave his everything for me.  How can I be so ungrateful?  This refocusing of my soul has also brought with it trials, as trials tend to produce the most fruit in my life.  And that's where contentment comes in.

I told Hband yesterday that I just feel "stuck."  "I'm just stuck," I told him, through tears.  "No, not stuck," he said.  "Placed."  He's right.  I'm only here because God placed me here, with specific things to do.  Where is here, you may ask?  The here that I'm struggling with is in Florida (the heat, my God, the heat!!  And absence of fall...), away from my family, friends far away, in a job I'm not wild about anymore, in an apartment and not a house, and an indefinite amount of time before we can have kids because we need to pay off our debt and Hband needs a better paying job.  I'd like to have a house, start a family, and move somewhere where it's just Hband and me, on our own little adventure (somewhere where the leaves change).  But that's not where God placed me right now.  Right now he placed me in a little apartment with a high-maintenance dog and a low-paying, difficult job in the heat of Florida's Gulf Coast, with no wiggle-room in our budget and no definite time we can start a family.

And I am choosing to be grateful and have joy in it, because that same God that plucked my from my headlong race to hell has also placed me in this moment, for some reason I can't see. 

Godliness with contentment is great gain.  And so I will persevere, if only out of thanks to my Savior.

xoxo, A

Hello, My Name is Amanda and I'm a Published Author.

Finally.

After years of writing and many queries, I'm published.

But let's be real here: it's just Chicken Soup for the Soul.  Hahaha!  Everytime I think of it, I laugh.  I mean, there are plenty of people who are really blessed by the Chicken Soup books, but they have never really been my thing, you know?  Still, the story I wrote is one of the most important of my life, and they chose it, and for that I'm grateful.

What's most amazing about this is that God is continuing to use my late youth pastor, years after his death.  That is a legacy.  I pray someday that God will use me even after my death.

Another amazing thing is that this was totally unexpected, and very encouraging.  God has words for me to write, and this gives me encouragement to keep writing them. 

So if you're interested, my story "My First Ebenezer" is published in Chicken Soup for the Soul:Finding My Faith.  I don't get any royalties though.  Hahaha!  Still, there could be some other good stories in there, so take a look, if you're so inclined!  The Kindle edition is available now on Amazon, but it won't be on the shelves until some time in October, I believe.

Meanwhile, I got several copies in the mail.  And my father in law wants me to sign his, just in case I become the next Mark Twain.  Hahahaha.  As if (channeling my inner Cher from Clueless there.  90s girls: wasn't that just a great movie?!  Haha!).

But seriously.  Thanks, God.  This is an awesome thing to happen. :)

xoxo, A