2016 was a Success

I am beginning to notice a pattern. I get really excited about the New Year and all the changes I plan to make and I start off strong and then sometime around mid to end March I disappear. I have done that the last two years. I hope not to do that again this year. Last year, my husband and I sought out changes, some of them worked, some of them didn’t. This year we are tweaking the plan and hope for some improvements. I will post about this more in a later blog. However, the changes we did make have been incredible. I cast the net wide and captured more than I could have dreamed.

            I was accepted into college and managed to balance a marriage, children, writing, and school. It was not easy. We needed help from friends and family in order to make it work. But the first semester was successful. Turns out that I will only need two years to finish a B.A. in English instead of the three I feared.

            I got a publishing contract. This is something that I have worked on for over five years now. I owe a lot to Nanowrimo, who I highly support, my critique group, which I recommend for anyone hoping to become a published writer, and my mother, who edits my atrocious grammar. There is no release date yet, but I hope to be starting a pre-promotion campaign soon.

            I just celebrated my six year anniversary to an amazing man, who has supported me through all the insanity and I can only hope it will pay off for him in the end. My boys are now, five and a half, five, and two and a half. They are growing by leaps and bounds and never fail to surprise me daily.

            Also, and this idea took a very long time to come around to, I am already planning to attend seminary for my master’s degree. This summer I was attending a Synod meeting through my church and through a series of coincidences ended up speaking to the keynote speaker for nearly half an hour before she was called away. I explained to her what was going on in my life, what was important to me, and how inspirational I found her message to be. She gave me encouragement to press ahead. A couple of months later, I spoke to another woman, asked her how she knew God had called her to her work, told her I was considering seminary. After speaking to her, again I was encouraged to continue on my path.

            There is still a lot of work ahead of me. I have gone from being a stay-at-home mother to a schedule that I wouldn’t wish any anyone and I am beyond excited.

            As always, stay with me as I continue on my journey and maybe my journey will encourage you.