Journey of a Thousand Miles

I am pretty excited for my goals for 2017. This was a long, arduous year, but I got through it, and I think next year will be ten times better. I just wanted to share some of my goals for next year (I have a lot). Finish "The Clockmaker's Quest" - This is the book I've been writing since 2007. This year I focused on plotting, and I am not finished, but I hope to finish the first draft next year. Then I will submit to an editor, a critique group, and start finding an agent.  Finish recording and release my 2nd album! - I have already finished writing songs for the album, submitted them to my producer, and I hope to go back to Nashville in January to finish recording. I hope to release sometime in the Spring, then go on tour in the summer.  Get a synch license - I have been researching different ways to make money as an indie artist, and synch licensing is the way to go. Basically, that means getting your songs into TV/film/commercials. They pay big bucks for the...

It's about that time again... to reflect on the past year and plan for the next. My Resolution for 2011 was more of a theme to " get back on the road again " to my goals and dreams and fully heal from past harmful relationships. I spent the beginning of this year in Recovery , going through the 12 steps a little less gracefully than I should have probably, but nevertheless, I have let go of a lot of baggage that was damaging any hope for a healthy relationship. Some of you may wonder why I went to Recovery in the first place. There was a myriad of reasons, but my sole purpose was that I didn't want to take any junk from my past relationships into my future marriage. I knew that marriage wasn't going to fix my problems, and if I wanted to have a good relationship with my future husband, then I first needed a good relationship with myself and, more importantly, with God. When I first went into Recovery, I realized a lot of my problems stemmed from false beliefs abo...

One of the resolutions on my long list this year is to take my time. I never realized how much time I wasted on pointless activities until I tried to sit down and do the meaningful activities, and I got restless. I have a hard time focusing on the things I really want to do because I get overwhelmed. And what do I do when I get overwhelmed? I do what's easy: procrastinate. Get on facebook. Check my email for the umpteenth time. It's tireless, and it gets me nowhere to reaching my goals. For the past 4 days, I've been sick and stuck in my apartment. I'm a person who gets cabin fever very easily, so this was hard for me. For hours, I would read books, get on the Internet, sleep, then start all over. After the 3rd day, I got sick of the internet and the same self-help books and decided I needed to change something. I felt like I was wasting my time and not getting anywhere towards my goals this year. How often do I sit down and try to write a song on guitar, or learn to pl...

How are your resolutions coming along so far? I've been doing a good job of focusing on my goals this year of getting into grad school. I have a very disciplined list of what I should spend time on this year, and what I shouldn't spend time on this year. One thing I would like to spend less time on this year is FACEBOOK. It is the bane of my existence. I can't believe how much time can pass on there without me even realizing it. It's like, I go on just to check ONE THING, and then all of a sudden, I'm checking out pictures of a person I hardly even know. It is such a sickness. So I have decided to have a specific destination when I get on the computer so I don't end up spending hours on facebook. Lately, when I get on the computer, I am looking up schools to study abroad at. I am hoping to apply to the Rotary scholarship , which would allow me to study abroad for a year, while doing community service in my chosen country. Just one of the many goals on my list th...

Happy New Year everybody!!! I hope you are all ready to maintain your resolutions this year because I know I am. I have a heavy plate to fill, so there's no time to waste in past regrets and what not. I have a desk calendar that has daily prayers for emotional wholeness, and January 1st really touched on something that I struggle with and want to overcome this year, and I will share with you what it said: God's purpose for our lives is to make us whole- which is the way He created us to be- and then to work through us for His glory as we surrender our lives to Him. Emotional wholeness means living without negative emotions and having peace about who you are and where your life is headed. When we pray to God, we are spending time in His presence. And in His presence is where we find healing from the pain of our past. Prayer draws us closer to God, where we can get a vision for our future and better understand our purpose. The theme that sticks out to me here is wholeness, and th...

In light of my New Years Resolution to get back on the road again, I think my first and foremost necessary goal for 2011 is to put God first. It baffles me how many times I forget to do this when the going gets tough. I tend to seek help from others and even myself, searching for any kind of good advice or words of wisdom from the sages, rather than go to the Ultimate Wise One who has the only true words that will satisfy me and lead me in the right direction. Lately, I've been confused and hopeless on the direction of my career. My financial situation in Austin has been quite a struggle, and it seems I just can't get both feet on the ground. I have interviewed for two jobs that I really wanted, and both have turned out unavailable to me. This also happened when I first graduated college, and I ended up getting to travel through Europe and found a job when I got back, so I've learned to trust God in these instances. But sometimes, my faith isn't so strong. Like today. T...

As we approach the end of 2010, I like to reflect on the changes made in the past year and talk about my resolution for next year. My resolution for this past year was more of a list rather, and here it is in all it's entirety: apply to grad school take control of my life think more positively live for God's purpose and not my own define myself by how God views me and not how others view me don't take things so personally trust God more be happier forgive more be easier to get along with I have to say, I think I did a good job of accomplishing most of my goals on this list. I didn't accomplish #1, but that's what 2011 will be dedicated to. And for #2, I allowed God to take control of my life, rather than trying to control it myself. But #3-10, I feel I accomplished, and that is a good feeling. So now on to 2011... I want 2011 to be dedicated to getting back on the road again... on the road to my dreams, goals, and ultimately, to myself. In 2005, I took a long detour...

So we're coming up to the end of 2009, and it has been a very long, difficult year for me. I finally made the move out of my parents' house, thinking it would fix alot of my problems, only to find that I took my problems with me to Austin and had alot to work on. I do have to say, I am glad I moved to Austin because it allowed me to face the issues that I was avoiding or didn't know were mine. God has humbled me and redeemed me through the hardships I have had to face here: loneliness, financial strife, being away from family, change, unfulfilled dreams, etc. God has also answered a few prayers while I have lived here. I started working on my relational issues, and God rewarded me by giving me someone to date. I have put myself back on the market again, and I am learning alot by being in relationship with someone. It has allowed me to face my fears and also to heal my broken heart. I still have alot to learn. So as we come up to the new year, there is alot I resolve to ...

So I get really tired of whining on this thing, and I get tired of whining altogether. I have learned alot about myself out here in Austin, and I have really had to come face-to-face with alot of my behavior traits that keep me from enjoying the good things in life. I'm really grateful that I can face these things so I can work on them and be rid of them. Yes, I have struggled out here, but through pain, God brings redemption. And I think God is polishing me up and scrubbing away those negative qualities so I can become a better, stronger person and continue on my way to going after my dreams. Even though things haven't panned out exactly as I hoped here in Austin, they're paving a better way for a better life, and I can't complain about that. I read a verse yesterday in Matthew that said something like, "Why worry if it cannot add any days to your life?" and it really hit me bc I worry about alot of stuff all the time. Worrying about being single isn't go...

It is late at night, and I don't have to work tomorrow, so I thought I'd take some time to get my thoughts out. I've been pondering my life lately, and sifting out what's working and not working. I think I've become comfortable where I'm at, which can be both good and bad. I've met new people in my old hometown, and I enjoy my job, even though it's not what I want to do for the rest of my life. But I'm cozy. I'm happy. No conflict. The only conflict I have is that I don't feel like I'm really "doing" anything with my life, and by that, I mean... I could be doing so much more with my life. Like, what am I doing for the world? Everything I do is for myself and not for others, and I'd like a little altruism in my life. I need more purpose, more vision... more accomplishment. I honestly thought I would have accomplished alot more in my life by this age. I hardly feel successful. I do have a direction, but I feel lik...