Wow… 2023 is almost over. I can hardly believe a full year has—just about—passed. 

Honestly, I feel like this year flew by. With the exception of a few particularly trying stretches of time, the weeks and months seem to have all blurred together.

Am I the only girl who thinks she practically missed 2023? Haha!

Like I did last year around this time, I’m going to give a full year recap. A lot happened, but I’ll try to list some of the big things. 

IN WRITING

Several things happened this year in my writing life. That I’d like to share. I… 

1. Wrote a novella

This was a retelling of my dad’s bedtime stories, titled Rodney the Rooster, so I wrote it in honor of him. This was my first full length project—something other than a (poorly written) short story—that I saw to completion, so this was a huge thing for me!

2. Wrote a novelette

Basically in between a novella and a short story, this was a rewrite of my original Rodney the Rooster, because I didn’t like how the story turned out. And yes, it ended up shorter than the previous novella, but the original draft had a lot of unnecessary fluff in there; so I’m glad that I at least learned how to condense, haha! 

I was truly satisfied with how this story turned out, though, and I see this as a big milestone for me as a writer.

3. Wrote a short story

This was an assignment I had for school, and although 3000 words isn’t all that impressive, it really helped me understand stories as a whole a lot better. It especially helped me grow in the area of character arcs—something that last year’s NaNoWriMo project had none of—so I see this as time, effort, and writing well spent. 

4. Submitted said short story for publication

And in case you were wondering, it didn’t get accepted, hahahah! Submitting to a website for publication was also a part of my writing assignment, and although I didn’t end up publishing there, this was a great learning curve for me. I learned how to write a query letter and pitch a story, among other things.

One of my writing instructors, Jaquelle Crowe (Ferris), reminded me that receiving a rejection isn’t something to get discouraged over. It is, in fact, an achievement! In her words: “…it means you exercised courage, you learned, you grew…” 

If you’ve just had a piece of writing rejected… I want to tell you something: you were not rejected. Your value is not placed in your writing. 

If you’re writing a story, it’s because you see something of value there. And if you see that, so will other people. You’re just learning how to communicate that in a way that others will understand your heart behind this story. 

So don’t worry, okay? Because rejections are achievements, especially when you get right up and keep going. 

5. Revamped my blog/website

Actually, I “officially” started blogging right around the beginning of this year (December 26th, 2022, to be exact). So within days of 2023 I started my blog, although it used to have a different name, hosting, and design. 

This summer, I had the privilege of getting my site completely redone by Daisis & Design Co.! And, to top it all off, I got things officially transferred right on my birthday. That was a special treat. 

6. Learned a ton about the craft of writing

In my writing community, there are many lessons about writing—from blog naming to book marketing to worldbuilding and everything in between. Between this, some websites, and books, I’ve learned a whole lot. 

And while I’m still putting these things into practice, I feel much more prepared for my new book!

7. Started writing my second novel

To try to avoid last year’s pitfall—no outline during NaNoWriMo, which meant a plot that made no sense—I outlined this story like crazy. With thousands of words of worldbuilding, character development, outlines, and more, I did a lot of prep work. 

From the time I deemed this story my current project to when I decided that I was ready to stop planning and start writing—which was a few weeks ago!— was about two and a half months. 

So yes, I’m ready to begin writing this thing! 

(While I don’t plan on sharing many of the story details here, I’d love to give you a little sneak peek. If you combine speculative fiction, romance, royalty, the past, secrets, and strong themes of trust in God + redemption… you get a small picture of what this book encompasses. I’ll be sharing updates in my email newsletter from time to time, so you can sign up here if you’d like occasional previews into my book writing journey (and some insider tips).

8. Joined my favorite author’s street team

This June, I received an email from Chuck Black’s newsletter that his team was accepting applications for his street team, and would be choosing a small group of people to interact with, give updates, and chat with. In return, these people would help promote his books and products. 

I prayed about this a lot, and was thrilled when I got the news that they wanted me to join his team! This has been such a great experience and was totally a blessing from God. 

IN LIFE

A few things happened this year that I’d like to share about:

• God answered a big prayer for our family: He gifted us a skoolie. (I definitely want to do a post about this soon!)!

We had been wanting to travel and share the gospel + connect with other believers around the USA, but we could only do so much with plane tickets. In March of this year, we flew out of state to “meet” our new bus and drove home in it. It was such an incredible experience! 

• I’ve been getting more involved in our ministry.

My parents started a ministry to inner city children several years ago, and I’ve had the blessing of growing up right alongside it! Now I’m leading small groups, acting as a car/van monitor for when kids are being picked up, and serving meals during our bigger events. 

God has definitely been stretching me here, since although I have some natural leader tendencies, I sometimes get nervous when I’m in charge and everyone is looking to me. (Yes, a unique combination, haha!). However, God has been teaching me a lot about trusting Him and following His lead, even if it pushes me outside of my comfort zones. 

• We rehomed our horse and donkey in September.

While that was very difficult at first, we feel as though the Lord is freeing us up to travel more in our skoolie and be mobile as we fulfill The Great Commission as a family. 

I wrote a blog post about the concept of seasons right around the time Cricket and Keeper—the horse and donkey—were rehomed. You can read You’re Safe In Every Season right here.

• My niece + nephew count went up this year! 

I’m such a blessed auntie to the cutest little kiddos. <3 And I have another niece on the way in March. 

WITH GOD

What can I say? No amount of words can express all that God has done in my life this year, but I’ll share a little. God…

• Taught me about the hiding place.

My hiding place is something that has been game-changing to me as a daughter of God. When I realized I could go to a place in my mind where it can be just God and me, I was amazed. 

• Set me free.

There were some things in my life from years ago that I hadn’t realized had taken root and were festering. But one night, something happened and I knew that I needed freedom from some things. So, I repented and prayed, and God gave me freedom. Who the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36)! 

• Is helping me understand real love.

Both His love for me, how I should be loving others, and how the two are completely intertwined. I memorized 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 recently, and that’s something that I definitely need to bring to mind when I’m struggling to show love to people. One part of that verse that I come back to continually is, “[love] is not provoked.”

There’s something about God’s love that’s just become so clear to me this year. Yes, I’ll never truly understand it, for it far surpases human understanding. 

But I know what it’s like to come to God in desperation and then fall into His embrace as He holds me tightly, reminding me of His intense love and great power. He’s the best, and I’d completely fall apart if it weren’t for Him.

• Began showing me what trust looks like.

So much so, that the theme of my new book is about trusting God! As someone who has walked through a lot of insecurity and fear before, I’ve been amazed to see God getting a hold of me and showing me so many wonderful things about how He sees me.

And as He answers prayers and proves His faithfulness to me over and over again, I’m learning what it looks like to really trust Him with everything. 

God has done so much, and I truly couldn’t share it all here because a) some of the things He’s done are personal + special to me, and b) it’d take way too long to write everything down! Those were just a few of the big things. 

However, I’ll link to a few of my blog posts that talk about some things God has been showing me this year: 

• What I Never Realized About Scripture Memory
• When You Feel Like You’re Not Strong Enough (God is)
• You’re Safe In Every Season
• Your Purpose Is Not In Your Productivity
• Being Faithful In The Little Builds Character
• Trusting the Only One Who Can Be Trusted

IN CONCLUSION…

This has been a good year. Not without it’s hard times, for sure, but I’ve seen God’s hand every step of the way. He’s once again proved that He is the very best friend + leader, and He works all things—even things the enemy has tried to use against me— together for good. 

I know that in last year’s conclusion, I said the word that summed up the year was “faithful.” Well, that’s the word again. God has been so faithful to me, doing more in my life than I could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 2:20).  

And I’m ready for 2024. Jesus said In John 14:30, “…for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.” 

Let the same be said of me! That the enemy will have nothing to work with in my life through 2024, because I will be victorious in Christ in every aspect of my life (1 Corinthians 15:57).

I’m ready to tackle this coming year because God is on my side. He has promised to never leave me and always protect me, so I know I’m safe with Him. 

What are your thoughts on this coming year? Any goals, plans, dreams? I’d love to chat with you in the comments!