Blog Posts

Who Will Love Me For Me? (A Personal Letter About the Gift of Rejection)

4/24/2019

Life gives us truckloads of opportunity to experience rejection, doesn’t it?

Some of us get more “opportunity” than others.

I’ve come to realize I’m one of the lucky buggers who gets a bigger helping of it than some. From my early childhood yearnings for mommy and daddy to love me more, to best friends inexplicably drifting away or outright stabbing me in the back, to being disowned by family, I’ve had a wide range of experience with being rejected; feeling unloved.

Being rejected, especially by those close to us, is one of the most devastating, soul-crushing experiences we can ever know. A need for belonging is innate in each of us – once our need for food, air, and safety is satisfied, the very next basic human need is for love and acceptance.[1]

Our need for love and acceptance is built into our DNA.
Being loved (or unloved) changes us.

It actually changes who we are; how we see God, the world, and everyone in it. It even affects our sense of hope for the future and our will to live. [2] It’s like we’re somehow defined by love – like love is our identity. When there’s a lack of it, it messes with who we are.

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When Fear Stalks You: Lessons from Bear Survival about How to Handle Fear

3/12/2019

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As someone who has experienced years of anxiety, I am deeply grateful to tell you such fear is not a death sentence or a permanent state of being.
Victory can be had,I learned.

Fear Asks Permission

Did you know fear isn’t more powerful than us? Like a strong bear, it may have the ability to maul and consume us, but it doesn’t come out of nowhere and overtake us. It first needs a reason. An invitation. Permission.

In writing my short thriller, The Cabin, about a writer who seeks out solitude and inspiration in an isolated cabin and has a Cujo-type of bear encounter, I researched bear behavior. What I came across was compelling, especially considering the bear in this thriller seems like Fear personified the more I write him. Check out this advice to hikers when coming upon a bear who is not aggressive, but is advancing on the hiker nonetheless.

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The Encouraged Leader

3/1/2019

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"I've given and helped others for so long, but now I need help, and where is everyone??"
This is a question I've heard from the hearts of friends who are leaders.
It's a question I've found in my own heart from time to time.

When a person spends their time and energy pouring themselves into others, lifting others up when they're down, building up and encouraging others, and watching and listening for those kinds of needs around them, it's fulfilling and rewarding.

But... what happens when the leader is the one who needs encouragement?
How and where do we find that encouragement we so readily give?

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Feeling Invisible? Writing in Obscurity? You May Just Be Doing It Right!

1/23/2019

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Ever notice how the dreams you have and the goals you set are big, and the results you get seem so very small?

I have a problem with this. I'm a major optimist and love to dream and have all kinds of big, shiny ideas.

Optimism is wonderful, and even necessary. We need optimism to even have dreams. Here's the problem.

I get super frustrated when I see the enormous difference between the size of my dreams and the size of my results.

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Encouragement for the Daunted [And a Tip for Memoir Writing]

9/5/2018

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"Recently I was chatting with a woman who has wanted to write her memoir. For years she's wanted to. For years, I've heard her tell interesting stories that I agree, should be recorded. And for years, she's put it off. As I explored her reasons for being stalled, I discovered several. One of them was this idea that to write a memoir required deciding to sit down and plod through almost without stopping until it was done. In her mind, it was a giant undertaking, so she put it off until 'one day' when she 'had time' for that kind of dedicated time investment.

But 'one day' is a day that never comes.

Never." ...

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Book Launch Basics from Best Seller Tracy Krauss

6/22/2018

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My latest book, THREE STRAND CORD, made it into the top 100 books in three categories on Amazon.ca, holding steady in ‘hot new releases’ in Christian fiction for several days after the launch.

This isn’t my first book launch and it isn’t the first time I’ve seen this kind of result. However, I have learned a few things over the years about what seems to work and what takes a lot of effort with little reward. Of course, the book industry is always changing and so must our strategies when it comes to launching a new book.

Here is a breakdown about has worked for me.

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10 Ways to 10x your Book Launch

6/22/2018

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Writing a book typically takes longer than expected. What begins as a bright shiny idea must be pulled out of one’s soul, penned or typed onto paper and then edited and edited some more.

Once a book is ready for publication, whether traditional or self-published, the author is exhausted and just wants to get the book out there.

Before you eagerly hit publish, here are 10 steps to 10x your book launch results.

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The Last Time I Saw My Friend

4/12/2018

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I buzzed Liz’s apartment. The phone went straight to answering machine.
That was odd. It had only been four hours since we’d arranged for me to pick her up for her appointment.

I dialed again. No answer.

In the last weeks she’d grown more exhausted by the day. The last few days she was too weak to even walk, so a neighbor lady in her building kindly lent her a wheelchair. The last few days, I was honored to bring her to multiple emergency appointments.

I checked my phone for a ‘sorry, I’m running late’ text. Maybe she couldn’t wait for me and went to the hospital with someone else.

No texts awaited.

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Broken Ice Reflects the Light

3/20/2018

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The freeze and thaw of March had heaved roads into soft mounds and then hardened them into ramps that, if we hit them at just the right speed, would send us airborne for a moment, our stomachs sinking and soaring all at once.

One particularly crisp morning, the hay fields that had filled with water like lakes, and the ditches that had brimmed with runoff, were suddenly all frozen solid again, covering the countryside like a hundred free-range ice rinks. With the freeze and thaw and freeze of spring though, mini ruptures speckled the otherwise smooth landscape, making it look more like an icy, pockmarked moon.

As I drove by, sun glinted off of the ice, but not the way I expected.

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How to Market Your Book with Speaking Engagements [VIDEO]

2/5/2018

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Last year, I spoke for 15 minutes to a tiny group of women, and I even had to pay to be there. I was hoping to be lucky enough to sell a book.
Maybe I would, but I wasn't that optimistic.

My mentality going in then, was not focused on sales. Instead, I focused on encouraging the women I'd be speaking to.
My mission was to connect with their hearts in my 15 short minutes, and breathe life into their current struggle, whatever it was, by sharing the life I'd found in my own struggle.

I prepared, as I do with any speaking engagement, carefully planning what I'd say, rehearsing it so I wouldn't bumble over my words, and deliver a smooth, hopefully powerful story that encourages others somehow.

I was one of three presenters that evening. When all the speakers had taken their turns, the group of women (a third of whom were speakers themselves) were released to coffee and snacks.

What happened next surprised me.

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Forward>>

Who Will Love Me For Me? (A Personal Letter About the Gift of Rejection)

When Fear Stalks You: Lessons from Bear Survival about How to Handle Fear

The Encouraged Leader

Feeling Invisible? Writing in Obscurity? You May Just Be Doing It Right!

Encouragement for the Daunted [And a Tip for Memoir Writing]

Book Launch Basics from Best Seller Tracy Krauss

10 Ways to 10x your Book Launch

The Last Time I Saw My Friend

Broken Ice Reflects the Light

How to Market Your Book with Speaking Engagements [VIDEO]

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