Waiting for the perfect picture, losing the moment
This week I am still thinking about the ocean! Rob and I are both scuba divers and we took our oldest daughter diving in Indonesia in celebration of her graduation from high school. We traveled close to three days to arrive at our destination directly opposite to North Carolina on the globe. We were ready to go as we watched everyone around us prepping all their camera gear and continuing to prepare for the dive. We saw all of it! Walking sharks, not one, but many pygmy seahorses. It was amazing. God reminds us that “whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap” (Ecclesiastes 11:4, NIV). Fretting and worrying about what may be coming or focusing on the picture you plan to share with others causes us to miss on living in the moment.
A Time for War and A Time for Peace
I get to serve our country as a soldier. These past few days, I have had the opportunity to spend time with many of my fellow soldiers as they both prepare to and serve our fellow citizens. I am so proud of them and their dedication to the mission. To define them as selfless seems an understatement as time and again they leave all that they love behind, all of their possessions, in order to serve in parts unknown. They range in ages from recent graduates from high school, to those that have served over 40 years. They come from all walks of life, some from multiple generations of military service to others that answered the call for the first time in their families. Their reason for joining varies greatly among them, but those differences fade away as they become the close knit units that can defeat any enemy in any place of conflict. They are our sons and daughters, our fathers and mothers, our brothers and sisters, and they are our warriors.
Two are better than one
I have been working on my upcoming book proposal since I have a pitch to a publisher in November. This will be my first time pitching to a publisher and my first time working on a book versus short stories for collections. As I have been working through all the aspects of the proposal and how to best tell the story, one chapter in particular keeps bringing me back to Ecclesiastes.