Hello, friends! It’s been quite some time, but life has continued on. I hope you’ll grab your favorite beverage of choice and settle in for a while as we catch up!

I last posted in January. With the start of a new year came a word. REFRESHMENT. After a difficult 2024, I was in great need of refreshment and renewal, of rest and recovery.

2025 has been anything but refreshing.

Life has been chaotic. Instead of my heart surgery getting me to a healthier place as I thought it would, my health has been worse than it ever has been. In February, I had a huge health scare that radically pushed my healing back and thrust me into a fight with depression. Every day seems to come with new challenges, new stress, more discouragement and exhaustion. Dreams have had to fade away. And hope has felt so far out of reach.

But it isn’t. It never is.

God’s hope is a living, eternal thing that defies the darkness, that does not waver in the storms, that does not break when it bends, that looks in the face of every awful, discouraging, exhausting, stressful thing, everything that common sense claims will and should break us, and, beyond all human reason, it fills all our cracked pieces with light.

As each day comes with a fatigue that consumes me, keeping me in constant survival mode, as I try to drag my exhausted body out of bed each morning just to face days full of stress and tiredness, I often wonder why refreshment is a word I felt led to seek this year. And each day, God reminds me of that why.

It is not my outer life that is promised refreshment. It is finding refreshment and renewal and rest within, in God, in the midst of the storms.

Life does not promise peace. There will always be storms and stress, exhaustion and discouragement, loss and heartache. Some things we cannot change, but we can change how we face them. We can let the storms batter and bruise us, or hold strong to the peace that passeth all understanding. To embrace that unwavering, defiant hope in the midst of storms and find peace in our souls.

2025 has been anything but a refreshing year, and that is WHY I need this word so desperately. Because 2025 is a year when I need to seek refreshment lest I drown. To not sink into the discouragement and hardships, but to learn to trust, to stay calm, to be a refreshment to others and let loved ones in to refresh me.

To hold on to that blazing, blessed, infinite hope and know, even as the winds rage and the rain batters and the darkness surrounds, its light does not go out.

I am still learning. I am still growing. I fail time and time again and let the waters try to drown me. 2025 has not been an easy year, but it has been a year of stretching and knowing that even as my strength wanes, God’s never ceases.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

That is the promise I cling to with each and every difficult day, and though circumstances have not changed, I have and continue to.

Writing & Dreaming

As the fatigue has continued, I’ve had to find new rhythms, ones that are, quite frankly, frustrating. Sometimes something as simple as writing an email wipes me out for the day. The task load I used to accomplish within a day may take a week now. I’ve had to completely readjust how I approach my goals and let go of many of them (like, say, blogging regularly).

But there is growth and fresh mercies in every difficulty.

All throughout the year, I’ve been learning how to accomplish things in small but consistent habits, something my “do everything at once”, “all or nothing” self has not always been proficient in, but in which I am now finding immense value.

For a while, I feared my writing dreams would have to be given up or put on hold for an unforeseen amount of time. If something as small as writing out an IG caption could drain me of almost all a single day’s energy, how could I possibly write books?

But I can’t NOT write. This is a passion firmly rooted in my heart. It is a privilege and honor and joy, and I couldn’t let circumstances snatch it away from me.

As June rolled around, so did Summer FicFrenzy. Despite the exhaustion, that itch to let loose my imagination and put words to page grabbed hold of me. I hadn’t really written seriously since the end of January, and how I missed it. So with a lot of prayer, I made a goal of writing just 500 words a day, taking Sundays off. Surely I could do that.

On June 16th, I wrote the first words of a new story.

On August 25th, I wrote the final words.

2 months, 9 days, and 53,500 words later, I had a novel. And I didn’t spend hours upon hours on it every day, I didn’t push myself past the breaking point, I didn’t let my All or Nothing mentality get in the way of taking time for much-needed rest each day. Instead, I showed up for about an hour each day and did what I could. Some days were hard. Some days I could barely scrape out those 500 words. Other days offered a blessed burst of motivation that saw me writing far more than the allotted 500. As each day came, this story of mine grew, and I made it to the end.

As thrilling as it was to have a whole first draft accomplished, it was so much more than that. It proved to me that I don’t have to quit, I don’t have to let go of every dream, I just have to readjust to the needs of this season. And that was HUGE.

That was unfailing hope, carrying me up in its glorious embrace.

And I am ready to keep writing. I am ready to keep dreaming. I am ready to keep hoping.

Where to Find Me & What’s Coming

I am still adjusting to taking things quieter and giving myself grace, but I do have some projects in the works, places you can find me, and exciting things coming up.

• WEBSITE: If you poke around here, you may notice things look a little different as I’ve been freshening up my website. I still have more to do, but I’m pleased with what I’ve been able to accomplish.

• INSTAGRAM: I post every Tuesday on Instagram, where you can find me fangirling about my latest reads, giving occasional writing updates, talking all things bookish and writing, and sharing heart-to-hearts on this journey of mine.

• NEWSLETTER: The best place to keep up with me is my newsletter. I send out one every first Thursday of the month, where I share what’s been going on with life, give sneak peeks at my current writing projects, do a roundup of books, TV shows, and movies I’ve been enjoying, and offer encouragement for creatives in this difficult, tiring, beautiful life off the beaten path. (There are also very frequently pictures of my beloved kitties.)

• KNOW THE NOVEL: We are nearing the writing season, which means the Know the Novel blog series is RETURNING! If you’re new here, Know the Novel is a blog tag series I host that runs for the last three months of the year. For each month, I post ten questions that you can take to answer on your own blog (or social media or newsletter!). October’s questions focus on introducing your WIP, November’s focus on sharing how the writing is going, and December is all about how the writing went and what’s next. It’s one of my favorite things I do here on the blog, and I absolutely intend to keep it going this year. Part 1 goes up at the beginning of October, so stay tuned!

Speaking of writing season…

FALL FICFRENZY

The big fall event of the Fiction Frenzy Writing Challenge is coming in just a little over a month!

What Is FicFrenzy?

FicFrenzy is a Discord group where we host seasonal writing challenges. Each challenge invites participants to set their own goal—the point is to be inspired, motivated, and have a community cheering you on.

Though the actual writing events are hosted seasonally, the Discord group itself is open year-round. We are a fun, family-friendly (if not delightfully unhinged) group, and always thrilled to have more join our ranks! So whether you want to join the challenges or are simply looking for a fun, supportive writing community, this is the place!

If you’re needing an alternative to NaNoWriMo this year, FicFrenzy has you covered! And like Camp NaNo, we take a much more casual, bring-your-own-goal approach. Because of that, FicFrenzy also pairs well with any other writing challenges you may be participating in this fall.

Fall’s FicFrenzy Runs From…

🍂 OCTOBER 15 – NOVEMBER 15 🍂

And all writers are welcome!

Ready to Join?

For all the details and quick, easy instructions on how to hop aboard, just tap the button below! 👇

Even in the hardships, life goes on. With each day, I’m learning more and more how to adjust to this season and keep moving forward. Maybe it’s slow, often it’s frustrating, but there is growth and grace and renewal in it all.

And how I have been blessed by the support and care and love of friends and family. Each and every one of you is a refreshing breath for my tired soul; I cannot thank you enough for being here.

Keep stepping forward, friends. Keep moving onward. Keep dreaming and hoping. The world may be dark, but there is a Light that never goes out. 💛

How has 2025 treated you so far? Are there any specific ways I could be lifting you up in prayer? Do you plan on joining in on Know the Novel? Are you participating in any writing events this fall? I have missed you all! Let’s catch up in the comments!