Kintsukuroi // beautiful ending {the final chapter of 2015}

"Oh, why do I let myself let go

of Hands that painted the stars

and hold tears that fall?

And the pride of my heart makes me forget

It's not me but You, that makes the heart beat

I'm lost without You, Your dying for me

So tell me, what is our ending?

Will it be beautiful, so beautiful?"

-Beautiful Ending by BarlowGirl

// 2015 was a whirlwind. 

It was a tsunami that has left me stunned, numbed and speechless. I still can't believe it's nearly gone, and I still can't believe all that happened within these 365 days. 

Not gonna lie, I've had pleasanter years. 2015 was exhilarating and bombastic. It was full of beautiful moments and wonderful memories. 

But I also made mistakes, had my heart broken a few times and cried myself to sleep more times than I can count. Along with the good memories, there are plenty of times I wish I could forget. Things I wish I hadn't said, bad choices I made. I wandered away from God many times. 

I feel like I was a prodigal child this year in my relationship with the Lord. Still, as I draw back closer to Him, His grace and peace only becomes sweeter. 

Even amidst those painful experiences and messes I got myself into, there is still a silver lining. I learned valuable lessons which I will never forget, and you can mark my word, I won't be making the same mistakes again. I am a stronger person for having gone through 2015. Parts of me may have been broken, but I know these scars do not define me. When you look at me, don't think that I presume to know everything or imagine myself to be immaculate. Don't look surprised when you find out I've taken some hits and botched things up. 

I was just a shattered vessel that the Lord pieced back together with love and patience. I'm no longer broken because He has won the victory for me and He has pulled me out of the ashes. I'm not the same girl you knew last year. I'm a work in progress. God is writing my story, and I'm just trying to go where He leads. 

So, from this perspective, 2015 was like a piece of kintsukuroi - broken Japanese pottery that is pieced back together with gold. In the end, the pottery is even more beautiful for having been broken.

Some of the highlights from 2015 included but were not limited to -

♪ many amazing reenactments and improving my reenacting impressions vastly

♪ taking up snare drumming for reenacting, creating my female soldier impression

♪ my very first individual piano concert

♪ lots of piano teaching

♪ lots of instruction with my own piano teacher 

♪ lots of adventures traveling and exploring new places with people I care about

♪ lots of trips to get coffee with mom 

♪ starting a beautiful courtship with my best male friend

♪ revising The Rebels of Florida, to be completely historically accurate

♪ started brainstorming other new book ideas

♪ got to go to lots of dances

♪ started up my own local monthly contra dance group 

♪ got my first car

♪ went shooting, canoeing, camping, and hiked everywhere possible

♪ got paid to do my biggest art commission ever 

♪ got to meet two of my distance writing friends, Lauren and Carilyn in person

♪ our family had a cow for a little while

♪ got to hear/see the Piano Guys in person

from when our dear friends visited

reenacting memories

McIntosh contra

Gainesville contra, for the first time together

my ride!

before-Maygan's-wedding girls' day out

My best friend's wedding happened <3

With one of my piano students at the first recital I coordinated 

playing with the Morses at Ocali Country Days

possibly my favorite picture of the year

canoe trips with him are the best

My favorite commission yet 

 Southern Lights playing at the Micanopy festival 

Southern Lights playing at the McIntosh fall festival

from the visit with my dear friend Carilyn 

teaching my brothers their anatomy got kinda crazy

he's into daredevil, i'm into river tam and shiny 

korean writings - i think this will be my motto this year 

Anyways, there you go!

It was a memorable year. Here's to twenty-sixteen being remarkably better, and much more full of Christ. ♪ ♥

The Most Fabulous Store on Etsy - Mine!

 

 

"The most fabulous store on Etsy - mine."

 

So maybe that would be a bit narcissist, not to mention not entirely true - there are tons of way fabulous-er shops on Etsy. Like, stores full of awesome fandom geekery thingies. And hair swords. And ridiculously amazing medieval costumes. And Galadriel inspired perfume.

 

Yes, there is certainly all of that. And it's truly fabulous. (It also can be slightly addictive, scrolling the vast pages of Etsy...)

 

But that's beside the point here! See, as the title dictates, I'm now the proud owner of my own Etsy boutique, full of my own fabulous, original, quirky things.  Things you'll find nowhere else in the whole 'verse, because I made them!

 

Oh, and I'm currently having a shop-opening sale - buy two bracelets or earrings and get one free!

Now you're definitely obliged to go have a peek. I know you want to.

 

Here's the link. CLICK IT. -----> The Turquoise Tempest - My Official Etsy Store!

 

There will be a lot more stuff coming, trust me. I literally have a whole inventory of jewelry items, cards and poetry books just sitting here in my room waiting to be bought and enjoyed.

 

Anyway, hope you guys are faring marvelously! Have a blessed weekend!

 

Action Kids' Club Blog Tour!

 

(Hey people! Today I'm participating in a blog tour post from Lydia Howe, the author of this awesome new kids' book Action Kids' Club! Turning the microphone over to her now so make sure you keep reading!)

 

Today we’re at the forth blog tour stop, celebrating the release of the first book in the Action Kids  series, Action Kids' Club. . Read the post from yesterday at this blog. 

The answer to yesterday’s quote puzzle is: Failure is an event...it’s not a person. - Don Howe

Today I’m really excited to have an interview to share with y’all! Leah, who illustrated Action Kids' Club, will be answering some questions!

1. First off, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Well, I'm 18, I live in the rural north Florida countryside, and I have four younger brothers. I love telling people about Christ, drinking hot tea of various sorts, and laughing, among many other things! If you really want to learn more about me you can check out my About page up there at the top of the blog. :)
2. How long have you been drawing?  Since I could first pick up a writing/drawing instrument. So basically, all of my life.
3. Tell us a little bit about your process? It depends on what I'm working on. If it's an illustration project like what I did with this book, I have to visualize the subject in my head first. Then, when I've come up with a satisfactory mental image, I start sketching casually with pencil. When I get a nice pencil draft done, I bring out the inks, which consist mostly of Prismacolor illustration pens. Then comes the coloring, which is probably the most enjoyable part. Afterwards I do mild touch-up work and scan the picture.
4. What is your favorite thing about being an artist? The freedom it gives me to express the ideas in my head. I have an excessive amount of creativity, and being an artist allows me to manifest that creativity in a physical form. It's very satisfying.
5. What inspires you to draw? Mostly just random people. Specifically, faces. Every face conveys so much uniqueness and beauty. God's incredible design never ceases to amaze me, and I love to study it through art, which helps me to understand it better. For example, sketches of the skeletal system help me in my comprehension of anatomy. Also, being a writer, I'm constantly in the mood to draw my characters which inspire my art projects significantly.
6. If you had one piece of advice for aspiring artists, what would it be? Practice, practice, practice! Every fellow artist I've known, when I asked them this question, said the same thing. Literally the best thing you can do to improve your skill is to actually do it. The more you draw, the more you will understand the craft and develop your own unique style.  

___

 

Here’s your quote puzzle for today. Figure it out and leave the answer in the comments section and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a great prize! And, check out my blog to find out about the $50 gift card I’m giving away!

 

Khuh lv d vlpsoh exw srzhuiro uxoh... Dozdbv jlyh shrosh pruh wkdq wkhb hashfw wr jhw. -Nelson Boswell

Make sure you check out this blog tomorrow for the answer to the quote puzzle and the next stop on the blog tour. Thanks for stopping by! 

 

Action Kids’ Club Back Cover Blurb: 

Twelve-year-old Olivia Hall’s dream of a friends' club ends when she finds out her family is moving. Her parents assure her it's a good thing, opening a new world of possibilities for the Halls. But going from ‘miss popular’ to ‘the new girl’ won’t be easy, and Olivia is not convinced.

Soon she begins to realize that although her life has suddenly changed, there's plenty of adventure to keep her on her toes. From making new friends at Forward Focus, to hanging out at the world-renowned Kids Zone, to meeting the curious head chef, she discovers that there's much more to life - and her new surroundings - than she ever imagined. How will she make the most of these new opportunities? Or will she let them slip away?

 

 

About the Author: 

Lydia Howe (aka Aidyl Ewoh) is a twenty-something adventurous author who enjoys hiking in the mountains of Asia and South America, building life-size models of dinosaurs, taking road trips across Europe and cooking for large crowds. 

Lydia grew up in a barn and has always dreamed of living in a tipi. She is trained as a John Maxwell coach and her passions include self-development and Christian apologetics One of her life-long dreams was realized when her first book, “Cave Secrets of the Pterodactyl”, was published by Answers in Genesis in 2013. Her second book, “Action Kids’ Club” was published in November of 2014. Find her online at her Blog, Facebook, Twitter,  Google+, Goodreads and Pinterest.

 

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(Answer key to puzzle)

A B C D E F G H I  J   K L M N O P Q R  S T  U V W X Y Z 

D E F G H I  J  K L M N O P Q  R S T  U V W X Y Z  A B C

 



Self Destruct {a new story idea}

 

For centuries, it's been acknowledged that humanity is its own worst enemy.

Within each human mind is a constant struggle between voices of good and evil. Some people consider themselves to have split personalities. What if, in a certain dimension, this became more than just a mental battle? What if the voices had physical bodies just like us? What if your split personality had a body and its own free will?

In 17-year-old Lotus' world, not everyone has the ability to recognize that the greatest adversary lies within their own skins. Only a small remnant of the human race have obtained the power to see their alter-egos in action as they go about causing all sort of pandemonium. To those who haven't been burdened with this ability, this skill is seen as a curse, a mental disease. But to those who are able to see the Speculum Carnis (Latin for "mirror self"), or Specks, it's no joke. Specks are dark, dangerous creatures which possess no mercy or justice. As the complete opposite of good, they are responsible for everything evil in the world. Lotus is one of the few who can see the Specks, and it haunts her daily. According to the tradition of the Speck viewers, when she encounters her own mirror-self she must destroy it, or it will destroy her. The only problem is, Lotus kind of likes her Speck. Sometimes she hears her Speck's voice echoing in her mind. It's weird, but the two share a bond which Lotus can't figure out. It isn't normal to bond with one's hated mirror-image. But how can Lotus kill a part of herself?

 

***

 

This, my dears, is the beginnings of a fabulously random novel idea which came to me around 2AM (don't ask why 2AM) the other morning whilst I was listening to thissssss. *points below*

 

Chase The Light | Two Steps from Hell

 

I demand that you listen to it. You absolutely must. Seriously, just listen okay? And ideally, you listen while reading that synopsis up there, just so's you get a small picture of what my inspiration was while writing it.

 

This stuff is just freaking. uber. amazing.

 

Of course, whenever is TSFH not??!?!

 

Anywaysss yeah.

 

So my imagination was soaring, searching for a way to manifest something epic to correspond with this music. I don't know about y'all but when I listen to epic orchestral music it makes me want to go do big, epic things. Like, transport myself into one of my book worlds, fly one of my griffins, and overthrow all the other-dimension evil dictators. That, or run a marathon. Or save somebody's life. Or something.  

After listening to it on repeat several dozen times, Self Destruct popped into my head out of thin air. (The title itself actually came the next day.)  Like, literally, my mind was a messy soup of discombobulating thought processes one moment, and the next minute, voila, look what we have here....

 

Music is so powerful. Who needs drugs and junk like that when you have brilliant music to listen to?

"My death is inevitable. At the end of the day, there's just one thing I can count on.

I will die, sooner or later. In some way, part of me will be gone. The question is not if I survive - but which side of me will remain? What if that creature out there - my mirror self who I've shared so many memories with - overtakes me? What if she wins? What would the world be like without the good version of me?"

 

// random snippet I threw together for a GTW Facebook post //

 

"Dare I admit she's as evil as they say? Dare I admit that this horrific monster is actually a part of me?"

 

***

 

Like a lot of other poor writerly souls, I have a, shall we say, 'slight' Pinterest addiction and a thing for making boards for all my current books/story ideas.

 

Therefore, I instantly whipped up a nifty little board for Self Destruct. More pins to come. (That's a fact Jack!)

 

Follow Leah Kathryn's board Self Destruct on Pinterest.

 

What do you peeps think? Is this a weird idea or does it actually have potential to be something epic? I'm not sure myself at this time, but I must admit I'm pretty darn excited to see what happens with it. There are soooo many different Biblical analogies I'm eager to employ. Oh yes, and did I mention crazy plot twists and surprise endings? Hehe. Of course. I thrive on those.  

 

Before I depart, I wanted to share another song I found that is also super chill. It reminds me of the whole dreams-based premise of If Dante Had Wings. (another book-in-the-making of mine, in case you didn't know) Anything that reminds me of one of my novel projects instantly makes me happy. ^_^ So, give it a listen. You're welcome, in advance.

 

 

Days Turn Into Nights | Delerium (Seven Lions Remix)

 

***

 Hope y'all are having a very blessed week! Take time to enjoy the little things in every day, and always bloom where you're planted! ♪

 

In Which She Writes Relationship Advice...

 

Relationship advice?

 

I feel kinda silly on one hand. I mean, it's not like I've had years of experience knowing what exactly to do with the opposite gender. I'm a single girl who just turned eighteen a few months ago. What could I possibly know about the topic, a naïve thing like me?

 

Guess what. I'm not writing relationship advice. I try to dabble more in just plain ol' common sense, and more importantly align everything with Scripture. If you click HERE you'll found out what this whole thing is even about.

 

 I wrote a post for APOC entitled "The Foolproof Guide on How to Treat Guys" 1. It took several hours out of my sleep last night, and 2., I think it's safe to say it has some valid points, so I wanted to share it with y'all on here. Notice that this is a 'girls only' kind of post, so, sorry you male readers - go find something else to do.

 

In other news, I've been working up a storm on Radicals and last Friday held the second audition for the project. God provided somebody to play Griffin and Sam for the promotional material! (Remember, you can follow the progress of it all on the production blog here.) Anyway, so then yesterday I started doing rough sketches of wardrobe concepts for each character. An hour or two on Pinterest may or may not have helped inspire some of the looks...hehe. I love Pinterest for costume design ideas! Even though it did suck a little more time away than I anticipated - looking up slightly-futuristic clothing turned out to be somewhat addicting. Here are my favorites of what I came up with for the main characters.

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you're having a blessed week!