Happy New Year!

Self-Worth: Make it a Movement

You are more than your grades.

You are more than a number on a scale.

You are more than your figure or physique.

You are more than the people that surround you.

You are more than your present circumstances.

You are more than your annual income or your material possessions.

You are more than your past.

You are more than your failures.

You are more than your successes.

You are more than what other people think of you.

You are more than what you think about yourself.

You are more.

Infinitely more.

And you are ALWAYS worth it.

#selfworth #makeitamovement

Book signing and Christmas Party

Sorry the post is so late, but I thought I would share a few pictures from our book signing and Christmas party. Thanks to all who have supported our latest anthology Hodgepodge: An Anthology by the Heartland Christian Writers!! <3 

My mom and I upon arriving at the party. :)

Some of the writers as we were signing the books...such a wonderful group of people!! <3

Our book!! If you haven't had the chance yet, check it out on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other major distributors. Also, feel free to check out L2L2 Publishing...the best publishing company in the world! :) <3 

Welcome to "The Divided States of America"

As I'm sure many of you know, Donald Trump won the presidency last night. It is a result that has left many people in shock, upset and angered. For many people, it's a declaration that America has officially screwed up and is now headed towards self-destruction. On the other hand, others are breathing a sigh of relief that we avoided the "greater evil" and rejoicing that Hillary did not win. Then there are people like me: you understand that America may have been doomed to have a not-so-great president from the start. Instead, you just chose which would be the lesser of the two evils, in your opinion.

But whichever side you're on, there is one thing you cannot deny. This election has divided America more than ever. It's separated the Democrat and Republican parties even more, and then caused splits within those two parties, not to mention the parties already outside of those two. 

As a result of this division, people are being more and more hateful. They are not even attempting to accept the results. Instead, they are pointing fingers at which of their neighbors voted for this candidate or flaunting in their family's faces that their candidate won and there isn't anything they can do to change that. Hated, blame, and more hatred. What's even more ironic is that people are extremely hateful in posts that accuse others of voting in a hateful president.

Umm...you are aware that you and our now future president are not the same person, right? 

The truth is, you may not agree with Donald Trump's policies. You may have an extreme dislike for the man and everything he believes in. But that does NOT give you a right to treat everyone that voted him in like crap. The same goes for everyone else that voted for Trump. Don't be a hateful gloater. Please, don't be that person.

Guys, you have to understand that our president does not define who we are as a people. Just because you beleive he's a hateful human being doesn't mean you have to become one. It's our job, our God-given duty as human beings to treat each other with decency and to love one another. Whether we agree with each other or not, you HAVE to love others. 

So STOP. 

Stop the demeaning remarks. Stop the accusations. STOP the hate.

The duty does not lie with our president to unite us as a nation. The responsibility lies with us, the citizens of the United States of America. It is our job to choose love, to pursue unity, and respect others, even when we don't agree.

Rise, America. It is high time to take our place in restoring our country, in making in great again. No matter which candidate had won, the only way things will change is when WE make the difference.

Book Cover Reveal!!

So, it's been a little over a month since we did the cover reveal for our upcoming anthology , but I completely forgot to share it with you guys!

So, here it is, the cover to the upcoming anthology, Hodgepodge: An Anthology by the Heartland Christian Writers...hope you love it! <3


BACK COVER:

Hodgepodge: An Anthology by the Heartland Christian Writers

A collection of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and prose, this book is truly what the title suggests: a hodgepodge of literary delight.

Heartland Christian Writers began in 2006 when Janet Hommel Mangas decided to lead a Bible study for writers based upon Marlene Bagnull’s book, Write His Answer. Joyce Long agreed to co-lead after the study ended, and this writing group has been going strong ever since. A place of refuge for writers from all walks of life, the Heartland Christian Writers’ group embraces writers at any level who wish to learn more of their craft and advance their skill.

L2L2 Publishing is pleased to bring you this anthology.

Happy Tuesday!

Of course I have tolerance...as long as you agree with me

Has anybody noticed that the tolerance movement is a little hypocritical lately? It seems as though you can't ever voice any of your opinions UNLESS you agree with that person. A lot of people have either gotten involved with ridiculous arguments or (if you are like me) have avoided voicing your opinions because you are afraid you'll make someone mad or offend someone.

This is absurd, in my opinion. I'm tired of walking on eggshells just because everyone cannot handle that someone actually disagrees with them about something. We live in a culture where topics that shouldn't even be sensitive are becoming too touchy to talk about. And those topics that are tough to discuss, no one knows how to approach their discussion because everyone gets too upset about it.

But what if there's a better way?

Maybe we can improve this culture of offense and move towards a place where everyone can simply agree to disagree. Instead of giving into the lie that we have to get offended, we can move on and not allow it to negatively impact the rest of our day (or week or life or whatever).

Instead of reacting negatively, why don't we agree to disagree and continue our relationship with that person as though there was no disagreement at all? Disagreements don't have to change the way we treat people. It doesn't have to determine who gets to be our friend or who we show the love of Christ to.

In the past year, there have been numerous people who believe completely different things than I do. People who don't hold the same beliefs as me on religion, abortion, homosexual marriage, presidential candidates, etc. At first I stayed away from them or stayed away from sensitive topics, but I am learning that it's okay to disagree. It's perfectly fine to hold your own opinions and beliefs, even if you are in the minority.

Tolerance is not agreeing with someone. It's disagreeing completely and still respecting and loving that person. It's not allowing yourself to caught up in the offense you may feel at someone else believing you're wrong. And overall, it's choosing LOVE over hate.

So next time you feel tempted to respond with anything less than kindness...remember, YOU can determine the way the discussion goes. YOU alone can turn hate into love.