Laurel Luehmann

It’s been over a year now since I started this blog! I thought it might be fun to celebrate by rounding up a few posts from the past year… so let’s do this!

Ranking is based on the number of times each post was viewed.:)

Top 5 posts

• Singin’ in the Rain
• Being a Christian: What Does that Look Like? – Guest Post (the fact that my brother’s guest post ranks 2nd on my blog cracks me up… or should I be crying?)
• The Unexpected Journey of a Letter
• Writing/Life Update (evidently nosy people like to know what’s going on in other nosy people’s lives…)
• A Dream Coming True (my first post on this blog!)

Top 5 poetry/flash fiction posts

• Once Again – a poem
• Remember – a poem
• Stop Hiding – flash fiction
• Generations – a poem
• In Love – a poem

5 of my favorite posts

• When Life Doesn’t Make Sense
• Intentionality
• Assorted Bits of Thoughts, Humor, and Inspiration
• The Valentine’s Day Post
• Why I Read God’s Word on a Daily Basis

5 of my favorite poetry/flash fiction posts

• Eternity’s Wake – flash fiction
• They’re Watching – a poem
• A Glimpse of Sky – flash fiction
• Alone – flash fiction
• Once Again – a poem

Thank you so much for sticking with me and reading my thoughts throughout this past year! It blesses me so much.:) I’m excited to see what this next year holds for this blog and my writing!

When I began edits on my novel a couple months ago, I started at chapter one, pen in hand, ready to take notes about what needed to be changed/eliminated/polished.

Not even halfway through the book I was nauseated, with pages and pages of my failures spread before me. I saw my story as worthless. Unredeemable. Messed up. Embarrassing.

I gave up.

Thankfully my family and friends wouldn’t stop asking me about it… so I slightly grudgingly promised to clean it up enough so I could let them read it without me cringing and regretting my existence for every second afterwards. (Dramatic? Perhaps.)

I started edits again last week, this time with a different approach. Before coming in with the dynamite, I decided to first look through my story and note all the things I loved about it…

And suddenly I remembered how much I love the characters in my story. How certain scenes make me so happy that I come back over and over to read them again. How the dialogue makes me laugh.. How little details like descriptions, random sentences, and tiny references to things in my own life bring a smile to my face.

Somehow, I’m now excited to keep working on this book.

It’s the same story. Just a different outlook.

Sometimes life is overwhelming, and I see my life story as worthless. Unredeemable. Messed up. Embarrassing.

I want to give up.

But when I look at my life story and look for bits of beauty and purpose…

I remember how much I love the people in my life. How certain moments of my life make me so happy that I come back over and over to think about them again. How conversations make me laugh or stop to think. How little details like sunrises, cozy hugs, and reminders of God’s purpose and love for me bring a smile to my face.

Then somehow, I become excited to keep living this life.

It’s the same story. Just a different outlook.

It’s my choice. I can look for the trials, the pain, the flaws in my life and become nauseated. Or I can look for the beauty that laces each day of this life and keep walking with purpose.

I choose the latter.

Hello, friends!

This July was incredible! It wasn’t all sunshine and roses… but I feel like it was so full of raw, beautiful life. I’ve really enjoyed looking back over the month, reviewing all the excitement that made it so beautifully messy and memorable. Here’s some of it!

Highlights of the month

• Working in the malt wagon at the county fair for the first time
• Trying to master the art of making waffle bowls
• Turning 19
• Running errands with sisters
• Playing several competitive games of cornhole with my siblings
• Singing a cappella with my family in an empty gym
• Meeting my goal of writing 20k words for my current WIP (work in progress)
• Chasing fireflies
• Having a super fun and helpful interview with Victoria from Glory Writers
• Listening to Sidewalk Prophets’ latest CD over… and over… and over…
• Raking hay
• Being reminded of the fact that I’m crazy blessed in the friend department
• Processing… lots… of sweet corn

What I’ve been reading

Before We Were Yours – Lisa Wingate

“I shush my mind, because your mind can ruin you if you let it.”

This book was sweet and enjoyable… in a heart-wrenching sort of way. I loved watching the two plot lines pull together… sometimes I can predict the ending of a book, but I really enjoyed how this one surprised me!

Why Memorable Writers Need to Experience Real Adventures – Christopher Babcock

“Adventure is a muscle you exercise whenever you embrace the unfamiliar over the mundane. The point is to avoid slipping into complacency and letting it become flabby. That requires commitment.”

Oof, this article was so good. It reminded me that I need to just get out and live! This would be a good read, even if you aren’t a writer.

Devotedly – Valerie Elliot Shepard

“I want to walk humbly and quietly with my Master, sensitive only to His wishes, not fluttering and eager with my own.” – Elisabeth Elliot

Yes, I’m still reading this one. I’ll finish it one of these days…:) It’s still so good!

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Arthur Conan Doyle

“Life itself… is always far more daring than any effort of the imagination.”

Aagh, these are so much fun!

Journal Snippets

Odd how when there’s so much flowing through your heart and life that begs recording, the journal entries wane.

John 11:5-6… this fascinates me. Jesus loved them, so… He tarried. (Take that, oh anxious soul.) The beautiful, heart-wrenching drama of the story of Lazarus sinks into deep tragedy, then suddenly at the end swells into victory, leaving the audience in awe of this homeless man – Son of God. Jesus waited. He let hearts be broken so that His power might shine through in greater intensity. He took decaying hopes and brought them back to life, and life more abundant.

Let me rejoice at the beauty… but let me not cling to it.

Cleanse my heart, Lord… draw me nearer and nearer to You until You truly are enough for me. Let me rest peacefully in Your will while working hard.

Acts 3 – I never cease to wonder at how “they lifted him… and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.” The strength was given after the start of what was humanly impossible.

What made this July stand out to you? I’d love to hear in the comments!