Celebrate Good Times – and Take a Nap!

Hello long time friends, and new friends (it’s great to see some new faces around the blog). Welcome!

I have some fantastic news to share. My dad is done with radiation and chemo! Cue the confetti and the dance music. His last chemo session was exactly a week ago. The nurses decorated his chemo room and sent him home with balloons, a card, and gifts. They’re just the best! I teared up reading the card because it was clear that God has answered your prayers. Not just in allowing Dad to get through treatments, but the impact he had on the staff who took such good care of him. There is still more to this cancer journey for our family, but we’re rejoicing that this phase is DONE! Thank you for rejoicing with us. 

Personally, I feel like I need to sleep for about a month. (I know, I told my newsletter subscribers two weeks, but nope. I’ve decided a need a good month!) I’m not going to lie, this has been an exhausting journey for all of us. God has been so faithful though, and He’s allowed me to feel fairly well through all of this so that I can help out and take my turn at caregiving instead of being the one cared for. I think I need a mini-vacation! 

So what’s next? I’m going to be on the radio! I had the opportunity to speak with Theresa Rowe for her Shaped by Faith radio program. We had such a wonderful conversation and I pray it will bless those who listen. My interview will air today, tomorrow, and Sunday at 8:00AM CST. (It’s the same program, airing multiple times.) If you want to listen, you can Tune in LIVE on 99.1FM, WOMI Owensboro 1490 AM, or WGBF Evansville 1280 AM. You can also listen live online by clicking here. Theresa and I will be talking about my favorite childhood books (find out what author came to my summer camp to visit me), chronic illness, how I found joy in my journey (and how you can too), and my upcoming picture book Howie’s Broken Hee-Haw. I hope you’ll listen in and be encouraged!

Do you want to know a secret? So often I have no idea what I’m doing! I know other writers would say the same. We work for years to get our words published and one day they are. Suddenly we’re published authors. People think we know things and that we’re instantly comfortable being interviewed and speaking in front of groups and marketing our words to the world. But that’s not how it works. I have no idea what I’m doing! Oh sure, I have guidelines for what I should do, but how do I actually do it? So much of the author’s life is trial by fire. You take that next step forward and learn as you go. The more you do something, the better you get. I’m happy to say this interview is my best one yet and I look forward to improving with practice as God gives me opportunities.

I want to encourage you that if there is something you want to do, but you feel intimidated or nervous because you don’t know what you’re doing, do it anyway! Ask for help and guidance from those who have come before you (SO many thanks to those in the writing community who have helped me on this journey. You’re all incredible!) and know that it’s okay to be a beginner. The more you do things, the easier they will get and the better you will become at them. We all start somewhere and there’s no shame in being a newbie. Find those who are just starting out too and learn together. We don’t have to do life on our own. God made us for community! And the best part? When we step out in faith, God will be with us every step of the way.

Is there something new you’d like to try? Drop me a comment and let me cheer you on!

Until next time,

Josie

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” -Isaiah 43:1-3, NLT