Do you have a vision?

What are you passionate about? What are you good at? How could you make a profit at it?

Sometimes our dreams require a blind jeté into the unknown. A leap of faith. And those are so scary!

Alyssa Avant encourages moms in her new book FaithLeaps: The Christian Mom’s Guide to Passion, Purpose, and Profits.

Cuz I don’t know about you…but I sometimes feel guilty about pursuing profits for my dreams, my writing, my blog, even my new business of editing, book promotion, and VA work. I know I undersell myself. I doubt. I offer too much of myself for too little. I think that’s the enemy telling us that we’re not worth it or we’re selfish to want honest pay for honest work. We internalize that our place is in the home, taking care of babies and dinner and laundry. Perhaps even homeschooling our children. We shouldn’t have time for our own work. But those are lies!

Alyssa addresses these fears in her book so eloquently and edifies moms, encouraging us to move forward and seek God’s will. Many of us can make time for a business on the side of parenting and housework.

It doesn’t have to be a traditional job. For most of us, a full time daytime job is not a viable option, especially if we homeschool or have small children. I know many moms who have successful home businesses that they juggle while they care for their families, homeschool their children, support their husband’s career and/or ministry.

It’s all about priorities.

Mothers who work at home cannot compartmentalize their lives. Our lives are one big puzzle and all of the puzzle pieces must fit together. If not, the picture of life is distorted and has little to no value. We must give appropriate attention to God, our spouse, children, ourselves, our homes and our businesses. Most people struggle as one area demands more attention than the others.

Where do you struggle with priorities? Do you give “appropriate attention” to all areas of your life or is it off-kilter?

Alyssa offers some great free quizzes to determine interests and spiritual gifts. She discusses the differences between these and talents.

Spiritual gifts are given to us by God for work in His Kingdom. These gifts we receive at the time of our salvation. Talents, though given to us by God, will not necessarily be used for God…A skill is something that we can practice or learn.

What are your interests, gifts, skills, talents? My spiritual gifts are teaching, prophecy, and exhortation.

I am very excited to be part of Alyssa’s launch team and I really feel this book could help so many moms who struggle with doubt and the lies of the enemy. Fulfill your dreams, girl! Find your purpose within God’s will and seek after it. You will be blessed and in turn, bless others.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this eBook in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

The book of Acts is where our faith begins. The apostle Paul brings the Truth to the Gentiles. Without Paul’s great mission work, would we even know of Jesus?

Join me as we delve into Paul’s world at Ephesus in So Shines the Night, the newest Biblical fiction novel from Tracy Higley.

I am proud to be a member of Tracy’s Caravan, a group of readers, bloggers, lovers of words and Biblical history…

History truly comes alive within these pages.

Freedom has been a theme in my spiritual journey lately. Why shouldn’t God speak to me through a novel too?

This novel is frightening. It shows a very scary world of pure evil – demon possession, sorcerers, spells and hallucinogens to “expand” the mind and open up souls to the enemy. It shows the very real battle of spiritual forces in Ephesus during the time of Paul.

The story is well-wrought and balances the spiritual journeys of the main characters, Daria and Lucas, with their inevitable, but tasteful, love interest. The many mysteries and plot twists add excitement and fun to a very dark topic. The protagonists are believable and lovable and I am immediately sympathetic for them, cheering them on in my heart. The villains are portrayed well and there is little sympathy for them. I can cast actors to play all of them in my head! The flashback frame sets the scene for a powerful lesson in seeking security only in Christ and watching for His return, but never being idle.

I think many of us turn a blind eye to a very real evil that fights for power over all of us. Many of us struggle with strongholds over our spirits and live our lives in bondage without ever truly breaking free and experiencing the completeness of Christ’s love.

We must wake up and fight as God’s army – against the powers of darkness.

I pray that the message of this novel will help many to seek freedom in Christ.

Interview with the author.
I love this about Tracy: she interacts with her fans and we call her friend. She makes time for us. These are my silly questions to her and she answered them! Tracy asked her Caravan to send her our questions and she put a file together with all her answers for us. I included 2 other really good ones from the list. I hope these bless you, readers and writers!

1. How do you start writing a new novel? Do you make an outline, use a gazillion different colored Post-It notes on a big wall grid, just sit at the computer and knock it out, or what?

I am definitely an outliner and a plotter, but most of what I put together is on the computer. For the past few books I’ve been using a program called Scrivener, which I really like. I have notes in my personal “template” file that pertain to all stories – to the structure behind them – and I look them over as I plot through the scenes. For every scene I create a brainstorming worksheet before I write it – something that gives me the high-level look at what’s going to happen in the scene, and contains some of the sensory details I’ve imagined. I print this out and have it next to me as a I write the scene.

2. What advice to you have for someone who wants to write “The Great American novel’ and struggles to even get started? I know that’s broad…

Like any huge, overwhelming project, the best advice is just to start. See what kind of writer you are by getting started. Does an outline and a plot make you feel stunted? Do you fear the blank page and need to think it through first? There are tons of writing helps out there no matter what kind of writer you are. Find some, read and digest them, and then come back and keep writing.

3. What advice do you have for writers launching their first book?

Find your people. It’s tough, but there are folks out there who are very much like you and will love to read what you write. So the first step is truly understanding yourself and your special brand of writing. The second step is to make sure your books, your website, etc all match up to that special brand. And then start spreading the word to find those like-minded people who will be your best fans.

4. Who is your greatest inspiration – as a writer, mom, Christian?…any and all of those criteria.

As a writer, I’m inspired by C.S. Lewis (of course), but also by Stephen Lawhead and Frederick Buechner, both of whom have the ability to pick the reader up and carry them somewhere else. As a mom, it is the awesome friends I have, whose daily interactions with their children I am privileged to witness, that inspire me most. And as a Christian? The lives of those who live big and adventurous for the kingdom – willing to love and risk because they are secure in Christ.

5. What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?

Keep writing. If you haven’t finished anything, keep writing. If you’ve finished something and are trying to submit and sell it somewhere, don’t wait for an answer, keep writing. If you’ve gotten some interest and it’s moving through the process, keep writing. The publishing industry can move very slowly, and the best way to be ready for your “big break” is to keep improving through practice, practice, practice.

Tracy L. Higley started her first novel at the age of eight and has been hooked on writing ever since. She has authored nine novels, including Garden of Madness and Isle of Shadows. Tracy is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Ancient History and has traveled through Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Italy, researching her novels and falling into adventures. See her travel journals and more at TracyHigley.com.