Confessions Of A First-Time Author [Part Four]

20 Comments

• http://www.fapfans.net jill teamed with shelbee.
  xxxdoc.monster tattooed cab driver licks busty babe.

  Oh my word! When do things ever go as we plan? With 4 kids and a little mini-farm ourselves, things hardly ever go as we plan. Amazingly, some of my favorite memories is when an animal has escaped and we give the all hands on deck call. Sometimes that’s included calling friends and neighbors to help. We’ve cornered escaped, calves, pigs and chickens in our adventures.

• My husband and I took a Dave Ramsey course and determined to get out of debt. We sold our house, downsized and within months my husband finally surrendered to the call of full time ministry. We packed up and moved to seminary, didn’t sell that house for two years (went through all of our savings because of it), and learned what it truly meant to give thanks for our daily bread. We didn’t give up on our plan of becoming debt free and finally reached it in March of 2015….6 years later! Our plan that should have taken us less than 2 years took much more….and it was so much more rewarding!

• My plans were to grow as an interior designer in a successful firm in Pittsburgh. I loved my job and it was helping me cope with the inevitable divorce from my husband.

  But, whammo, I was laid off. Single mom, unemployed, no place to live: my life was totally turned upside down!

  That was 7 years ago. I still suffer the effects of the panic attacks it brought on. But I’m in an even better job, am remarried and have a 3rd daughter.

  I’m not sure what God has planned but I’m sure it’s better than I imagine!

• I am a retired elementary teacher. I began helping at my church’s child development center. I had planned to quit last May. With the director leaving and an interim coming, a new director coming and then leaving, I became the new interim director. Nothing had ever prepared me for this. We finally found another new director and she is great. I finally quit 8 months later than planned but the experience in the middle was amazing. Beyond anything I could ever have imagined.

• I retired from ministry 3 years ago with the intent of writing. My hubby set up my little writing area in the bedroom and I made a beautiful sign that said dream and bought all the supplies….Pencils, pens, markers etc… Ready to go!
  Mom calls and say, ” I would love to come out and live with you and John .”
  Long story short, several months of helping Mom clean and organize a home of 50 years and then the move of her few prize possessions across country to live with us.
  A recent stay in the hospital for her and two new golden retired puppies joined our household after our precious Sandy, golden retriever of 12 years passed away.
  I continue to pray God will help me focus on my writing again in the morning hours of quiet as I feel the need to share what’s been put on my mind by Him.
  My impatience is growing but watching my Mom blossom here in our home we all share together eases that impatience. God is that plan of writing getting closer? Please give me some hints….
  Thanks so much Nicki for giving us a place to share with others and yourself! Blessings on your journey now sharing your new book with others.

• We have made plans so many times and something happened to change it all. Mine is not as exciting as having a book release though. We had twice made plans to go on vacation and had the non perishable foods all packed in a box and suitcases packed except for last minute things and all arrangements made where we were to stay and then both times the day before we were to leave my mother ended up in the hospital in critical condition and they didn’t think she was going to live. My priority came to needing to stay home to make decisions. They say 3rd time is a charm but I also say the next time I’m leaving without telling anyone. We are planning a vacation it’s been 10 years so we are over due but not telling anyone when we are thinking yet.

• Thank you Nikki,

  My husband passed away 8 years ago this past December. I am still trying to get on my feet. Many changes have happened since that awful week. For the past 5 years I have been wanting to get a new job. I have put applications out in the work world but no new job ever happened. I work in a small dental office with five other girls.

  Last summer I had had enough of my work situation and was once again on the move to find another job. A situation came up at work that looked promising and I moved forward on it. The position was on a trial basis. A new doctor was possibly coming aboard and I was allow to assist him though I was not assistant certified. This was what I had been waiting for to help with my financial situation. I was not given a raise since this was a trial to see if the doctor would fit in. I excepted this. However, when trial period was over the doctor stayed and there was no raise for me. Things quickly started to get ugly within the office. Struggles where coming from all areas. I was growing in frustration quickly. A couple of co-works were giving me a hard time and my confidence and self-esteem was falling fast.

  Ok, back to the plan of looking for a new job. Put out some applications…no bites.

  For five years I have tried to get out of this job. God has not allowed me a way out. How do I know this is of God. It’s PEACE. that peace that passes all understanding. What I want is not what HE wants. I do not understand why HE would want me to stay in an unhealthy environment. Prov. 16:9 is my life right now. God is in control. He guides my steps. He gives me peace to deal with whatever I need to deal with until He has brought my steps to HIS perfect plan for me. There is peace if I allow HIM to direct my steps.

• I am not a planner in any sense. I am the type of girl that flies by the seat of my pants. I need this book to determine if my steps are in tune with his word and his teachings. Thanks for the opportunity to win one. Blessings to you!

• Wow. Plans changing on me makes me my worst kind of mean. The kind of mean I desperately need to learn not to feel. It’s not always so easy as ” Let go and let God,” though, is it? Working on leaning into the Bible and memorizing more scripture so I have timely wisdom to counteract the bad attutude when somebody stomps on my rosy intentions.

• When have I ever NOT planned…ha ha ha! I planned to marry a prince – nope married an electrician; I planned to have 2.5 children – nope took 7 years to get pregnant and have now 3 children; I planned to not have to work – nope became a single Mom raising 3 children and worked from ages 19 to 61; planned to follow God forever – BUT quit that one and thought I could live this life without Him…and in His infinite wisdom and extreme love He forgave and forgives me again and again and again.

  Just your book title is beyond relevant to ALL.

  Happy Saturday Nicki!

• I was recently bitten by the writer bug. For a long time “writing a book” has been thrown my way by family members and friends. But the ball didn’t start rolling until just recently when all these “doors” started to open. So, I was ready to roll……..have an idea, written and published all in one day. Yeah……so it doesn’t really happen that way. I have learned that, now that I know how to open these doors, each one has a lesson. So each day I am learning a little more about what I am to write about, what to write down and just growing myself spiritually. Can’t talk about something I really haven’t experienced fully. So, I have learned that books are not written over night and that this process may take a year, or two or maybe three. 🙂

• I most certainly did. I will try and make this brief. After losing my mom wayyyy to young (she was 47) to cancer and seeing her suffer so badly, I prayed and prayed and prayed that the Lord would never allow cancer to touch me. Well, guess what, 10 years ago, I had breast cancer and had to go through chemo and all the other “stuff.” To say my plans had changed is an understatement. I felt so forsaken and felt it had to be my own fault. Now, 10 years later, I can honestly say that breast cancer was my biggest blessing and God walked with me through it all and He has taught me some AMAZING things. I am so grateful and I’ve learned that this life we are given is to live for Him and His glory.

• Life was going along and on our first snow/ice day here in Western Carolina I fell in my driveway and broke my ankle in two places and dislocated it. I was in the hospital for 3 days and the nursing home/rehab for 2 weeks. During this time I would pray and pray and also ask the Lord why he had allowed this to happen. I can’t work now and He knew we really needed me working. We have to watch every penny now, but the Lord is providing and I know I am praising Him through the pain and discouragement. You used to know me as Nana Trish is Living the Dream. Since then I moved to the mountains and I have still kept up with you. I am so happy and proud for you that you have been published. I pray to someday follow that dream. I hope I win the book. Although it’s just been a month into this adventure with my ankle I know there will be blessings that come from this great change in my life.

• Congratulations on the release of your book!!!
  While God’s plans are often different than my own, looking back I see how His ways are better than I could have imagined. : )

• Dear Nicki, thanks for sharing these posts, it’s been a blessing to read. I’m excited for you about your first book. I’m sure it will be at my favorite store soon – Parables. 🙂
  I was planning to be writing my first book this year, my husband and I prayed over it, and had many people praying.. then, at the beginning of this year, I had what you could call a stress breakdown (or nervous breakdown). We are seeing it now as a blessing, as there are so many blessings that have come from it. It humbled me (much needed), slowed me down, and helped me realize God sometimes interrupts my plans. I thought it was His will, but now I’m surrendering it to Him and if He even wants me to write the book (or maybe it’s just not His timing for me, I don’t know). So I am thankful now but it was hard in the process of the intense stress. God is so faithful and gracious and His timing is always perfect. Blessings! To you and through you.

• I’ve learned to not have plans “set in stone,” because more often than not, they end up changing. My husband and I had plans for him to be retired by now, but due to some decisions (in hindsight weren’t the best) it has been delayed. That is not to say that we aren’t still planning for it though.

• I’m a planner. I’ve had it all planned out from the time I was in H.S., maybe before that! I’ve also grown up knowing that God is in control, but in the heart of a planner that just means you have to “help” things along. Ah! The lessons one learns from thinking they are in charge. I could make a list, a long list, of the times that made a plan and they suddenly changed. The most painful of those was purchasing a lovely home when our kiddos were young in a neighborhood we’d always wanted to live in. We thought we’d be there forever. Fast forward 2 years and you will find us struggling. My husband loses his job, we fall behind in everything and you next find us living in a tiny apt wondering why. God has changed our entire world – and perspective on life – since that time. I wanted to quit on a lot of things and hide during those years. Sometimes I still do. I know God’s got a plan and it’s HIS plan for my life, not mine. No matter how much I plan, HE never lets me quit and neither will I.

• I enjoy reading your posts! It reminds me I’m not the only one who tries to get something done, only to be “interrupted” by a change of plans. Right now we are struggling with a child who is not following our rules and we are faces with very tough decisions! What a change in plans! We have desires to see her choose God and His forgiveness and healing, but she is not choosing that right now. If nothing else, this adoption journey has made us rely fully on Jesus, minute by minute.
  Thanks and congrats, Nicki!

• Congratulations on your book, Nicki! I have enjoyed listening to you and reading your posts through the Proverbs 31 Online Bible Studies. You are a gifted writer and have made me laugh and cry through your adventures in life!

  God has turned my plans upside down a time or two too. My favorite happened December of 1999, I had just finished my Master’s degree and had my dream job all lined up in sunny San Diego. I spent time with friends welcoming in the new year, big Y2K, my parents were in route driving my belongings from WA state, when I got a phone call from my boss that my job was not going to be funded as she had thought! UGH, I had to re-evaluate how I was going to have enough income to afford my new apartment and how this was all going to work out. Well, God had BIG plans that I didn’t even know yet! No sooner had my family unpacked all of my belongings, we repacked them and headed back up to Washington. I had a previous supervisor who offered me a job and I was able to live with family until I figured things out. Okay, God provides, I was okay, just had my ego bruised a little! Well, 2 months later I agreed to a blind date, a friend of a friend. Long story short… it was love at first sight, meeting my now Husband!! We have been together almost 16 years, complete with 2 amazing kids. I feel so blessed that God took me on a U-turn and led our paths together! Thanks for letting me share! 🙂

• I’m so happy that I’ve already got my hands on your book, but I just wanted to say how proud I am of you for being flexible. I…cannot….imagine….what……your….emotions…..were…..doing….on….Thursday. God must REALLLLLLLY want you to learn and apply each and every aspect of your book to your own life. LOL! Stay strong, sister! He’s got you in the palm of His hand.