Understanding Color in Photography | Book Review

Since photography is one of my hobbies, I like to grab up photography books as they come up for review. I have found Bryan Peterson to be a helpful photographer author, so when I saw this book coming up, I grabbed the opportunity!

This was the easiest to read of Bryan Peterson's books that I've read so far--possibly because it is relevant to any photographer (whereas other books, like his flash book, requires a little more advanced knowledge of equipment knowledge). It is easy to read, also, because there are so many images--which, for a photographer and visual learner, is a fantastic thing. I also found this to be helpful for me as a graphics designer. My favorite section was when Peterson and Schellenberg took each color of the color wheel and gave examples of photographing that color--as well as some handy tips on how to get the most vibrant color. Now I'm ready to go out and shoot some colors!

Quick disclaimer: there was one page of nude photography, so conservative photographers, be forewarned.

*I received this book from Blogging for Books and happily provided my honest review.*

What to Write? | WordQuill Article

I'm on WordQuill again today with an article that is really near and dear to me: what to write next?

As I wrote the article... a lot of serious questions came to mind.

Read the entire article here.

Where Dandelions Grow | First Line Friday

Today, I'm happy to feature a release by an Indie author. It was a cute story, an easy, short read.

What first line do you have for this week?

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Be sure to hop along to all of these other blogs and see what First Lines they have to share!

Please note that I may not fully endorse all of the books that these bloggers read or the content in these blogs.

Sarah - All The Book Blog Names are Taken

Bree - Bibliophile Reviews

Rachel - Bookworm Mama

Heather - Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Beth - Faithfully Bookish

Katie - Fiction Aficionado

Andi - Radiant Light

Carrie - Reading is my Super Power

Robin - Robin's Nest

Sydney - Singing Librarian Books

Kathleen - Kathleen Denly

Jessica – A Baker’s Perspective

Trisha – Joy of Reading

Jeanette – CJane Read

CJ –Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly – Molly’s Caffeinated Reads

Rebecca – It’s Storytime with Van Danniker!

Iola – Iola Golton

Nicole – Christian Fiction Girl

Anna – Cross Romance

Alicia - A Brighter Destiny

My Review

I fell in love with Swallow Ridge--first by its name, and second, by its people. It was a sweet town, which fit right along with the sweet story of cousins being reunited. I would hand this book over to any child with good conscience, seeing as there is no romance, suggested scenes, or questionable content. The Christianity in this was slightly confusing. From what it appeared, Destiny was not a Christian, did not accept Christ, yet was able to "take the high road" and make changes apart from Christ (I could have missed something, but this is what my impressions were). When it came to the cousins and "Grams," they had a solid faith and gave credit to God for their ability to live differently. Also, the church service... it was more of an inspirational, "do better" speech than a sermon (there were great points, just no Scripture and very little mention of God besides "putting God first"). It was definitely a Christian book, just some things weren't quite clear to me. This author is showing promise in her writing and I look forward to seeing how she grows in this talent. *The author gave me a free copy of this book and I happily gave my honest review* If you want to connect with the author... Find her blog, Amazon, Goodreads Interview with Lydia Me: Did the idea for Where Dandelions Grow come as a punching idea of, "Hey, I'm a story you need to write, and here's what I'm about" or more of a subtle suggestion? Lydia: The idea of writing a book about cousins was very much of "punching idea" complete with names that wouldn't let me go. Kamryn, Lexie, Destiny, and Teal swam around in my mind nonstop until the rest of the story eventually followed.   Me:  What was your favorite part of writing Where Dandelions Grow? Lydia: Having a story all about the bonds cousins have thrilled me because I really love my cousins. In addition to that, Where Dandelions Grow was my first young adult book, and I so0on discovered that it's my favorite genre to write.  Me: If you could sit across the table from any author and pick their brain about any subject in the world, who would it be, and what is the subject you'd most like to discuss? Lydia: Ohh! Goodness, this is such a good question! I'd have a hard time picking between Brother Andrew and Patrica St. John. Since Miss Patrica is no longer alive though, I'll go with Brother Andrew. He wrote the book "God's Smuggler" (among other books), which talks about his life as a follower of God and a smuggler of Bibles behind the Iron Curtin. Sitting down and asking him for more stories about his life and how he's seen God work would be utterly amazing.

Guess what!!

Last week was busy...as in not-home-all-week busy. But, at the same time, God allowed me to get some random writing time in. Then yesterday: my first day home in a week and I was seriously dragging. However...I wrote two very exciting words yesterday.

That's right. Amidst a crazy busy schedule for the past two months, God has allowed me to make small steps of progress and I have reached the end of draft two for Nat's story! This draft has finished with 74,308 words. I still need to do a final read-through and some tweaking (particularly toward the end) but it's almost ready to hand out to beta-readers! I'm super excited and grateful to the Lord for this progress!! I honestly had begun to think that it would be December before I'd see these two words, but God is good.

What progress are you celebrating this week?

Scripture Graphics #58

No matter who we are, we are always responsible for how we keep God’s Word.

 Two anchors of Christianity that many people debate today: God’s presence and His truth. Where do we stand on the issue? Can we, as the Psalmist, state this with assurance?

Waiting for the Lord—in anything, at any stage—should never be hopeless desperation. Our waiting should be coupled with a calm, assured hope in His Word—for He is faithful that promised.

What one verse encourages you in a waiting time?

Coming Soon: Five Fall Favorites!!

Calling all book lovers! In just a few days, we'll be exploring a ton of favorite books throughout several different blogs! :) I spent yesterday putting together my posts and finding my favorite books (or... some of my, "I really like these and think others will too" as it's hard to have actual favorites) and I'm looking forward to a fun week!

So, mark your calendars and get ready to join us for a bunch of fun, freebies, and giveaways!

The Christmas Blessing | First Line Friday

Merry Christmas in September! Seriously, for me, it's not too early to be pulling out the Christmas stuff. ;) I haven't read many Christmas books, so this was a new thing for me. Overall... well, just read my review to see my full thoughts!

What's your favorite Christmas book?

Do you have a first line for today?

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Be sure to hop along to all of these other blogs and see what First Lines they have to share!

Please note that I may not fully endorse all of the books that these bloggers read or the content in these blogs.

Sarah - All The Book Blog Names are Taken

Bree - Bibliophile Reviews

Rachel - Bookworm Mama

Heather - Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Beth - Faithfully Bookish

Katie - Fiction Aficionado

Andi - Radiant Light

Carrie - Reading is my Super Power

Robin - Robin's Nest

Sydney - Singing Librarian Books

Kathleen - Kathleen Denly

Jessica – A Baker’s Perspective

Trisha – Joy of Reading

Jeanette – CJane Read

CJ –Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly – Molly’s Caffeinated Reads

Rebecca – It’s Storytime with Van Danniker!

Iola – Iola Golton

Nicole – Christian Fiction Girl

Anna – Cross Romance

Alicia - A Brighter Destiny

My Review

If you want a feel-good, happily-ever-after story with a Christmas flavor, this fits the bill perfectly. Amelia's story is a gutter-to-glory story of a girl whose life is shrouded by clouds of darkness. The one element in this story that I would have preferred to be dealt with a little better was the fact that Amelia and James had a baby out of wedlock. It's mentioned that it was a mistake, but "they were going to get married anyway" and I just don't agree with that thought. According to the Bible, there are no exceptions to "the bed undefiled is honorable." So the fact that this story was about a single mom whose baby was born out of wedlock kind of put a damper on my enjoyment of it. Though I will say, though that was the element of the story, it was not at all detailed and spelled out. Just mentioned; I can appreciate that. There were mentions of God's will, praying to God, following God, and Him having the perfect plan. It did still feel like the spiritual aspect was a little weak. I realize there is only so much one can put into a novella, but for me it was lacking. The romance was very little in this book. It is more mentioned that things happened than detailing of emotions. So in essence, this wasn't really a romance book. I greatly liked the doctor. He was just full of kindness and goodness and the perfect father figure. Amelia was a sweet girl too. She just didn't make all of the best choices. Like I said, if you want just a sweet, short read, this is a good book for that. But I kind of can't overlook how the aspect of a baby from wedlock was kind of brushed over. *I received this book from Revell and happily provided my honest review*

Oh, How I Love Jesus | Violin, Piano Duet

I have enjoyed teaching violin the last couple of years. Before we moved, I had about four violin students. But at the time being, I have thirteen violin students (one video student in Nigeria!). One of my favorite things to do is to arrange hymns for them to play in church. I love that most of my students strongly desire to share their music for God's glory. 

Here is one that I recently arranged for a student to play (recorded by myself).

Sheet music available at WAJN

If a Picture's Worth 1,000 Words...

Well, then, I shall fill this post of pictures. ;) Because last week was not one of the word-heavy type. Now, before I complain too loudly, the Lord blessed me with an excellent start of the week. Last Monday, I loaded myself up and trekked out under the magnolia tree to do some writing.

In the nice, cool, quietness of Monday, I was able to add about 2,000 words to Nat.

I had to pull out my 18th Missouri book to get some details straight before I progressed in the story. Thanks to all who prayed last week. The ending is looking a little clearer. What do you think... cliff-hanger or sorts?? Not like a huge one, but... just a wee one? Do you like cliff-hangers for the end of a book?

Oh, oh, oh!!! Guess what I got in???

Yeah, no... it's not going to be for me. ;) Doesn't quite fit. But! I'm working on getting things moving for a cover picture!! I can't believe I'm actually thinking about this aspect of my book!

And one last thing: I'm really considering changing the series titles. You see, I have "Orphan Journeys" as the title under which I published "Journey to Love." I have that convenient "Orphan Journeys novellas" and had considered that Nat's story would be the first of the novel series. However, as it's looking now, it looks like Nat (or people associated with him) will have a trilogy. And then I'll have a completely different, disconnected series of individual novellas. Yeah. Just a little confusing. So... I'm considering changing the series title. Which, in turn, will mean that I'm changing the title from Journey of Choice to... well, that will have to wait. After all, I just have ideas. Nothing concrete yet. I'd really appreciate your honest thoughts on the series title change. Do you think it would be a world less confusing to have two different series entirely, even though they're both about orphans?

Scripture Graphics #57

This is a daily commitment I need to make. Today…do I choose to delight in His Word, or does something temporal steal my delight? Today…do I choose to remember His Word, or do I do my devotions to get it checked off my list and then forget everything I’ve read?

We all face those days when our soul is heavy—but do we solve it with a temporal “band-aid” or ignore it and try to live through it? There is amazing help in God’s Word, yet so often that is the last place we go to for help and strength.

Is this true for me? Do I value God’s Word as much as money? We say, “If we only had $$$” but do we ever say, “If I only apply God’s Word more?” We put effort into saving up for things, but does our effort to hide God’s Word in our heart at all compare?

If we don’t keep God’s testimonies, it’s the same as saying, “Your words really don’t mean much to me.”

What is your favorite verse in Psalm 119?

Roses for Mama | First Line Fridays

In doing the #septembercoverlove on Instagram this month, I used Roses for Mama as one of the covers, and in doing so, remembered how very much I loved it the first time I read it. So, I decided to re-read it. It is one of those lovely Christian classics! Have you read it? What do you consider as one of the best Christian classics?

Be sure to hop along to all of these other blogs and see what First Lines they have to share!

Please note that I may not fully endorse all of the books that these bloggers read or the content in these blogs.

Sarah - All The Book Blog Names are Taken

Bree - Bibliophile Reviews

Rachel - Bookworm Mama

Heather - Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Beth - Faithfully Bookish

Katie - Fiction Aficionado

Andi - Radiant Light

Carrie - Reading is my Super Power

Robin - Robin's Nest

Sydney - Singing Librarian Books

Kathleen - Kathleen Denly

Jessica – A Baker’s Perspective

Trisha – Joy of Reading

Jeanette – CJane Read

CJ –Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly – Molly’s Caffeinated Reads

Rebecca – It’s Storytime with Van Danniker!

Iola – Iola Golton

Nicole – Christian Fiction Girl

Anna – Cross Romance

Alicia - A Brighter Destiny

Just as I Am | Two Piano Solos

Last week, I wanted to arrange "Just as I Am" for a student. So, I compiled a couple of verses and went to save... "This file already exists." Oh wait! I already *had* an arrangement of the song! However, it was a slightly higher level. ;) But, since it was in the archives, I brushed it up a little and decided to give you two variations of the favorite invitation hymn--two different levels.

Sheet music available at WAJN

And then the slightly more advanced version:

Sheet music available at WAJN

I Want to be Writing...

This has been my thought almost every day the last week. Truth be told, I've only had one day in which I even had time to write, between company for four days, teaching two days, a homeschool craft day at our house, and a bridal shower at our house (yep, all in a week's time). So this post will be short, and not much of an update. 

In that time I was able to write, though, the Lord allowed me to finish editing the chapter I spliced in from rough draft, and I was able to get some brain-work done toward the ending (is it just me, or is half the battle figuring out in the brain what one must do?). I'm really praying that next week, Lord willing, I'll be able to sit down and do some active writing.

As a side-note, on Instagram, I'm doing a "book cover" challenge (even if you're not on Instagram, my account is public, so you can still see what covers I've had so far this month). One of the days, the word was "soldier." Oh that got me all excited!! I pulled out just a few of my Civil War books because I couldn't settle on just one cover. ;)

I haven't read all of these yet (actually, I've read most of the non-fiction, but none of the fiction). My CW collection is currently my biggest era on my bookshelf. What about you? What era do you have the most books on (fiction or non-fiction)?

Just because this week was another not-so-great writing week for me (which, so far, this week looks better!), doesn't mean you all were in the same boat. So comment and share! What were you able to work on in the past week? Any major breakthroughs in your writing?

Before I sign off, a quote from Journey of Choice WIP:

Quick question: how many of you know the gist of what Journey of Choice is about? I keep talking about it, but have I shared enough to where you know the general "back cover blurb" idea? I'm considering sharing that soon!

Scripture Graphics #56

In Israel’s eyes, Egypt’s animosity was a terrible thing. Yet, it was orchestrated by God to ultimately bring freedom to His people. What may appear to be bad just may be something that God, in His wisdom, has allowed for our ultimate good.

No matter what we’re going through, He is good, His mercy endures forever. This is cause enough for us to give thanks in any circumstance.

This verse got me to thinking: how is making His wonderful works remembered an act of graciousness and compassion? One way I’ve thought about is that having a record of God’s faithfulness in the past gives us hope for what lies ahead—for we are serving the God Who never changes!

Bringing Maggie Home | First Line Fridays

Today's book...

*happy sigh*

*like really happy sigh*

I have liked every book that I've read by Kim Vogel Sawyer and this one was no different. I wasn't sure that I would like it, seeing as I'd only read her historical fiction, and this one is modern. That, and THEN it flips back and forth from present-day to past...and I'm not a huge fan of backstory. But this book...It was so beautifully written! I really like it. I really do. I'm so keeping this book on my shelf!!

Oh yeah.

First line.

Sorry guys. I had to endorse it first. ;)

The first line isn't one of those "gripping" and "what happens next" lines, but this story... yeah... you just need to read it. ;) It's super sweet and etc. (I have a review at the end of the post)

Do you like back-story? Books that flip from present-day to past?

~*~*~

Be sure to hop along to all of these other blogs and see what First Lines they have to share!

Please note that I may not fully endorse all of the books that these bloggers read or the content in these blogs.

Sarah - All The Book Blog Names are Taken

Bree - Bibliophile Reviews

Rachel - Bookworm Mama

Heather - Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Beth - Faithfully Bookish

Katie - Fiction Aficionado

Andi - Radiant Light

Carrie - Reading is my Super Power

Robin - Robin's Nest

Sydney - Singing Librarian Books

Kathleen - Kathleen Denly

Jessica – A Baker’s Perspective

Trisha – Joy of Reading

Jeanette – CJane Read

CJ –Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly – Molly’s Caffeinated Reads

Rebecca – It’s Storytime with Van Danniker!

Iola – Iola Golton

Nicole – Christian Fiction Girl

Anna – Cross Romance
Alicia - A Brighter Destiny

My Review

A hint of mystery. A hint of intrigue. A hint of bitterness. A hint of romance. This seemed to be the perfect balance of all of that. What is best is that there was way more than a hint of faith and Christianity. From the first few chapters, characters with strong faith in God crossed the pages. It was truly a blessing to have it unashamedly crossing the pages. Sean. Hazel. Oh my, those characters were amazing! There was no doubt about how they viewed God and the Bible.

Now for the actual story. The whole relationship between Hazel, her daughter, and granddaughter, was amazingly real and a study of human nature and how one’s past, left unresolved, will affect their decisions—even when they do not realize it.

As I mentioned, the faith content was five-star. The Gospel was clearly presented, living by the Spirit clearly shown—yet there were also portions that were true such as a church being judgmental and turning people away from the church. So many things were covered in this book and were Biblically sound.

The romance was truly just a hint, and not at all emotionally driven. There was one scene of past events that I wouldn’t recommend younger readers reading (one of the characters had gotten pregnant out of wedlock and it highlights that a little yet doesn’t become explicit).

In conclusion, I enjoyed this read and happily place another Kim Vogel Sawyer book on my shelf.

*I received this book from Blogging for Books and happily provided my honest review*

When We Don't Know What to Pray

I was recently talking with a friend about prayer, how God answers prayer, and how we should pray. A few days later, I was reading through Ephesians 1 and found yet again the beautiful prayer that Paul prayed for the believers at Ephesus.

Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, (Ephesians 1:15-20)

In this prayer, is a beautiful example of how we can grow—and what we can access by prayer.

• The spirit of wisdom
• Revelation in the knowledge of God
• The eyes of understanding enlightened
• Knowledge of the hope of His calling
• Knowledge of the riches of His glory
• Knowledge of the inheritance of His saints
• What is the exceeding greatness of His power to believers (which is compared to His power in raising Christ from the dead!)

Knowing that we have access to ALL of this should great affect how we pray!

As I reflected on this, I then thought about how I pray for others. Sometimes, I just don't know what to pray--there may be times when I sense a need in their lives (which, by the way, we should pray just as fervently for those whose lives look "put together" as those who seem to be falling apart--Paul often prayed that the churches would continue in what they believed), but other times, I want to pray, but may not know how.

Ephesians 1 and 3 and Philippians 1 all have passages of Paul's prayers for others. This gives me a good idea of how to pray Biblically for someone else. I started making a list from the prayer passages in the New Testament:

I plan on adding to this list as I come across other passages that demonstrate ways for us to pray for others.

Do you have a specific passage you've used before to pray for others?

What verse has God used in your life recently about prayer?

Standing on the Promises | Music Video

A few years ago, I began arranging an advanced piano solo. It actually began when my family and I were singing at a church. Before service, I was playing around on the church piano just for fun. It's interesting, but sometimes playing on a different piano will inspire different ideas. As I played, I threw in a descending scale-type progression where I went down, retraced a note up then went down further, etc. It was a keeper-idea, and before long, the Lord allowed me to piece it together with "Standing on the Promises" (you'll hear that progression throughout the arrangement). 

However, after about halfway into the song, I hit a brick wall. I put the piece down for about nine months (in that time, we actually moved states--so yeah, a lot went on between measure one and the final bar line in this piece!). I loved the beginning and it was such fun to play, but I didn't have an ending. As I thought about it, I'd pray for ideas, pull it out, toy with it, and let it set again. Finally, there was a breakthrough and God gave me just the ideas I needed to finish the arrangement.

Now, about two years later, I've finally gotten around to recording it to share with you all!

The sheet music for this is available at WAJN (but I'll give warning, it is advanced--there are a lot of notes in the ten pages!).

Visual Progress!

This past week in writing was very similar to the week before in that I didn't have a ton of writing time. However, in what time I did have, the Lord answered some prayers and allowed me to piece together some parts from the rough draft into this one, and look at the goal I just reached!

Yep. Journey of Choice is currently a 60,000 word novel. But the story isn't finished yet! Which means I may be pushing 70-80,000 words (for the record, 60k is the longest piece I've ever written; the current longest published piece I have is "Journey to Love" which is around 25,700 words--historical fiction must be easier to add those words to than imagined fiction ;) ). 

I still covet your prayers. I'm finding it challenging to piece together Nat's story with the historical timeline of the Civil War. I know how I want the story to end, but with the events of the war, it means that I either have to skip years or end mid-war. I don't know what is the best answer for that, so I'd appreciate prayers!

For fun, I totaled up my August word count. I have 6,485 on my calculator, but I think I forgot to journal a couple of days--plus, I did a lot of editing, so more than 6,000 words were added to the draft in August, just in editing form, not in new-word form.

This week, I had to look up an original newspaper for reference. Library of Congress is becoming one of my favorite go-to sources for original documents. You have to dig some, but they're there and they're free!

Anyway, back to my paper, I finally found the month I needed and scrolled in to read.

Uh... I don't speak German (though I am toying with a story idea in which the characters speak a mix of German/English)!! So the search began again. This time, I found something in my language. ;)

Since I mainly write in the afternoons, I've taken to having coffee while writing. I'm actually not an obsessive coffee-drinker and must-have-that-caffeine person (because... caffeine really messes with my system [an odd family trait], so I drink primarily decaf), but I do like the flavor and having something less sugary to "snack" on while I write.

I'm currently trying out some new International Delights creamer flavors. This week was white chocolate mocha (which, wasn't super impressive to me, though it's decent).

Now, for some chatting! 

For Writers

- How many words did you write in August?

- Did you reach any significant goals?

- What is the longest piece you've ever written? (if it's published, feel free to share links so I can hop by and ooh over your cover and all)

- What is your favorite writing tool?

For Everyone

- Are you a coffee drinker?

- Do you like International Delights creamers? If so, what is your favorite?

- What goal did you have for August (any project)? Did you reach it?