A Few Summer Takeaways

AKA I am finally wrapping my head around what has happened over the summer and the fact that it's over... and I'm realizing that a lot has happened. And God is so good.

I actually first started writing this as a very unofficial achievement post on the Author Conservatory community since I recently graduated to drafting - woohoo! That's been a longggg time in coming, and I never really posted my takeaways from Realm Makers either, because honestly, I'd been putting off because it seemed impossible to wrap up the insanity of three days that felt like a whole lifetime into a few paragraphs.

But, I forced myself to sit down, and write it all out, because I had to post about graduating to drafting anyway. And, since I'm starting to think about starting my second year of Author in September, I've just been thinking about writing and the last few months... a lot.

Anway, all that to say, I wanted to just share a few things God taught me over the month I was on a hiatus from blogging.

Realm Makers Specific Takeaways

One of the biggest things God taught me was the importance of community - which I already shared a lot about in THIS post. Realm Makers was such a huge blessing on that front, teaching me how really, really important having people and friends in your life is.

When I sat down to try to talk about Realm Makers and thank the people I met there... I honestly… couldn’t. Like, I didn’t know what to say or how to sum it up or really if I could sit down and write it without dissolving into sobs.

There was so much I wanted to say and I felt like I never had the time to really do it justice and encapsulate such a joy-filled three days into words.

But then I started to think that really, that’s how it is with writing in general - we hold off on writing the big, deep stories because we’re afraid we won’t do them justice, we shy away from the deep topics and heavy topics because we’re afraid.

So my second takeaway is don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to write, don't be afraid to do the things you don't want to do, because, no matter God’s timing or His plan or His ways, He has a beautiful story for your life and has given you the words to say to shape and impact the stories of other people’s lives.

A few other specific conference takeaways:

Go out of your way to bless people’s socks off. The instructors at Author stress this so much for a reason! Even just a simple, “you look so beautiful in that dress” or “hey, just wanted to say how much your book meant to me” or “can I get you a coffee” can make someone’s day.

Even just smiling, which is one of the points in How To Win Friends And Influence People, and being genuinely interested in them is so powerful.

Be willing to follow God’s lead, and God’s plan. In other words, hold things with open hands, Let Him have control. Follow His lead. Don’t go in with expectations and plans and lists, but enjoy the people around you and be genuinely interested in them and trust God.

This goes back to what I say (a lot hehe) about living in the moment and loving the people God has placed around you in that moment. It's so important to value people, over lists and plans and schedules, and when you let God have control over your schedule and your plan, He can do so many cool, incredible things that you could never plan out yourself.

Trust God. Kind of a whole other point in and of itself but trust Him. Even when you don’t get the request you wanted, even when you can’t talk with the editor you wanted to, even when things don’t go your way He’s got a plan and when you trust Him you can have so much peace.

So… that’s just a little bit of how Realm Makers went for me. Nothing big and exciting happened. There weren’t really any big achievements… but I got to meet some of my favorite people ever, got to laugh and cry with them, and got to be a little part of other people’s stories and that is what matters.

And Then Takeaways From Finally Graduating To Drafting

This will be the third book I draft in my first year of Author, which might sound cool or impressive or whatever… but it really just says that I rushed. A lot. I rushed my first project, I rushed my second project, and I wanted to rush this project.

God was like um, no.

I started working on this project in… April. In other words, it’s been like five months, and that’s after only working on my second project for maybe two. I went into it thinking it would be a piece of cake and I’d be drafting by June. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

And God taught me a lot of humility, and a lot of patience. (Again haha sometimes, guys, God has to teach us the same thing over, and over, and over again. And that's okay.)

He taught me not to rush the project and to live a little. He taught me to wait on His timing and His plan and to actually be willing to put in the time and effort to make this story the best I could.

He taught me to trust Him - His plan for this story, His timing for this story, and His timing and plan for my life alongside the story.

So don’t rush. Just… don’t. I wish I had taken my first two projects slower. I wish I had rested a bit more. I wish I could go back and open up my clenched fists a little bit more and give God more control in those stories because this summer God pried my fingers open, and He forced me to rest. So don’t rush. Seriously.

Don't rush in life, or in relationships, or in writing, or in your schedules. Whether you're homeschooling your kids or working or whatever God has in your life right now, obviously, don't be lazy, but enjoy His timing.

Have some humility. I’m the kind of person who hates taking things slow, hates admitting that maybe what I’ve brought to the table isn’t perfect and other people can actually help me, but this story is SO much stronger and SO much… just better since my instructors have helped walk me through it and given me ideas and brainstormed with me and walked me through CLIMAXES (which I lowkey hated there for a hot second) and I’m so incredibly thankful.

Life is really, a lifetime of learning, and God has been teaching me this over and over and over again that I still have a lot to learn. And the perfectionist in me that wants everything to be perfect and always wants to being doing the absolute best hates admitting that.

But it's so important to realize we all still have more to learn - whether about God or about life - and when we soften our hearts and are open to teaching and critique we can grow so so much.

Trust God’s timing. I will say this again and again but God’s timing is the best timing. Always. No matter what.

And trusting His timing is hard because, again, we think we've got it covered, we think we've got it down, we think we have a plan and our plan is best and we're pretty much perfect. We are not, and even when it's hard and confusing and sometimes just plain old painful, His timing is perfect.

So remember that He’s got you - He’s got a plan for you and your life and your story and every single itsy-bitsy piece of the story that is your life. So trust Him.

And Finally, Just For Fun

Some of my favorite Realm Makers memories and snapshots in time.

• driving down with my mom and chatting with her in the car

• standing in the lobby and seeing people’s faces light up in recognition - and also shock at how tall I was XD which I thought was hilarious

• going on a scavenger hunt with one of my roommates, which is probably one of my favorite memories EVER - from getting Starbucks cups from strange strangers to getting to talk with Sara Ella it was… such a gift and a blessing

• talking with Sara Ella… and making her cry. It was a good cry and like I almost started crying but yeah - I got the award for the first person to make her cry at Realm Makers hehe

• getting to meet Noelle, Sara’s daughter, and talk with her

• laughing and talking and chatting with my roommates - and staying up way past my bedtime

• praying out in the pouring rain and wind on a balcony on the highest floor of our hotel

• getting my friend's famous (to me ;) character cookie mixes

• doing the book exchange

• dressing up for the Award's Dinner and seeing everyone else's incredible costumes

• eating lunch with Sara Ella and getting her coffee

• staying up way to late with one of my roommates pretty much every night - and on Saturday, laughing up the snack room with a bunch of people and S.D. Grimm

• eating lunch at Panera (St. Louis Bread Co) with my friend from New Zealand and her dad

• helping Cassandra Hamm and others take down the Lani Forbes table and put her books away and just see the incredible love and treasure that she was to so many people

• getting to meet and talk to Emily Bain Murphy and countless other authors who reminded me that this is a thing I can do, and authors are real people, and blessing people’s socks off and even sometimes just smiling at them can make someone’s day

And I would talk more about the project that graduated to drafting... but let's just say that for now, I am absolutely loving drafting it (and will definitely be talking about it... and maybe posting a snippet...? soon!)