Monday, November 30, 2015

Monthly Highlights: November 2015




Talk about another busy month! And, once again I'm writing the summary of this month's events during a break from classes. This month has been full of memorable events for me. Lots of adventure, hard work, and discovery. If you're new to Forgotten Featherpen, this is where I take the time to look back at the highlights from the month. This could be anything from real-life events to updates on my on-going book project. This time around I do have some exciting blog discoveries to share. Plus my thoughts on Thanksgiving this year. Enjoy!



The Blog


With the approach of the Holiday Season and the close of the National Novel Writing Month, I'm happy I was able to keep up with the weekly blog posting. Let's hope I can keep this momentum through December!



I kicked off November with an exciting Release Announcement: The Secrets of Ancient Man. I'm still waiting to get my hands on the book! I can't wait!










In Calm Amidst Chaos: A Response I shared my thoughts on a Worldview Art event on my College Campus. It was a great experience getting to share some of my art and view the work of my fellow students.










In the middle of the NaNoWriMo rush, I got to feeling a little discouraged about my writing. It's happened for many years. So I shared my mixed up feelings in Writing is Hard - When a Dream has to Wait. I'm hoping that soon I'll be able to join some of my friends who have completed their novels in a month!






Lastly, in Movies and Worldview: Spirited Away I shared the results of a Worldview assignment I recently completed. I had to inspect the worldview presented in Ghibli's masterpiece: Spirited Away. It was such a fun assignment! Seriously, I could write multiple papers on that movie very happily.






In addition to all this, I found three more bloggers here at Bryan College! That brings the number up to nine people! Anyone know of other bloggers here at Bryan? Welcome to the unofficial club...




My Life


Since I was entirely negligent in posting to social media this Thanksgiving, I will use the space here to share why I'm thankful this year.

This Thanksgiving, I was thankful for family.

I'm thankful for safety on the road for mine and friend's families this week. We were about to get on the highway when we turned off to pull into a gas station. We struck the curb with a horrible jerk, and when Dad opened the door to check the damage the hissing told everyone one of our tires was gone. And yet no one was hurt. Many friendly people were put in our path to help make sure we were back on the road before the night was out.

I was thankful for the old dirt road to Grandma and Grandad's out amid the cotton fields of Georgia. With the big harvest moon hanging in the sky, I could see the bare pecan trees against the wide open sky. Grandma and Grandad's house hasn't changed in years. There's still that one bedroom in the back that all four siblings have to share. My two brothers have to bear a mattress and a cot on the floor while I and my little sister claim the big bed. Sleeping with a six-year-old girl is not an easy thing. I knew I would risk an elbow to the eye or a foot to the throat from all her thrashing in the night. But I was still thankful for it. Because once the lights went out she turned towards me and held my hand as she went to sleep. I listened to my youngest brother start to snore. Judging by the white glow on the wall my other brother stayed up a bit longer on his phone. Still, I was so, so thankful.

I'd missed this closeness. And I know I won't be able to do this much longer. The number of times my family will be together like this is growing smaller. Change is always coming, so, I want to make sure I'm thankful for all the little moments.

I'm thankful for sibling telepathy and random, shared laughs. I'm thankful for sibling dates to movies and long talks with my Mom and Dad. I'm thankful for precious times with beloved Grandparents. I'm thankful for texts from friends, for health to help, and for God's provision in times of need.

Every year I'm reminded anew of why I should give thanks to God for all He's given. And yet, I need to continually be giving thanks. Every morning, every sight that meets these eyes, is a gift. Only when I'm thankful do I truly experience this thing we call Joy. As I head into this Season of Christmas I'm greeted with the anthem, "Joy to the World!" Learning the lesson of thankfulness is the only way I can have joy in the coming season and all the seasons of life yet to come.




I hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for?
Did any of you finish NaNoWriMo? Any more Bryan Bloggers out there? 
Have a Happy Monday, Y'all!







4 comments:

  1. Aw it sounds like you had a lovely Thanksgiving! Family is so important. Your grandparents live in Georgia? I live in Georgia! What part do they live in? I used to live in an area right next to pecan groves as well. ^ ^

    storitorigrace.blogspot.com

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    1. Yeah! My grandparents live in Cordele, Ga. I actually grew up in Toccoa :)

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  2. Car troubles are the worst, aren't they? Still, I'm glad you all made it safely! I had a lovely time with family too, and did a lot of driving myself.
    I did NaNo (47K words, lol)! The writing went pretty well, I just didn't have a lot of time (and I'm really good at procrastinating)
    Also, liked your review of Spirited Away. I actually haven't watched it yet (gasp), but my sister and I have had many interesting discussions about Princess Mononoke :) I tend to gravitate toward Japanese art/culture/film myself, so as a fellow Christian, I also tend to examine it thoroughly as well. I find that Eastern Culture versus Western Culture is also very fascinating!

    Oh, btw, I tagged you for the Dragon's Loyalty Award if you want to do it :) Don't feel pressured, but here is the link if you are so inclined: http://rlhendrian.blogspot.com/2015/12/dragons-loyalty-award-with-lots-of.html

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    1. Hey Rebekah! So nice to see you! Thanks for commenting :) Congrats on winning NaNoWriMo! That's a huge accomplishment! You tagged me in something? *gasp* I loves you forever, thanks so much! I might not get to it this December, but I will definitely try to do it in the New Year :)

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