Summer.

Ahhh. It's good to be back. 

I got back from church camp just about a week ago. 

It was an absolutely fantastic week of worshipping God alongside some of my very favorite people. 

This is my dearest friend, Courtney, whom I've grown super close to over the last five months. And now she's going off to college and that makes me sad. BUT she has a heart for Ukraine and I have a heart for Uganda so a picture was a must. 

This was the last night out on the pier when we took a moment to stop and sing and play by the ocean and simply be in awe of all He had done in and among us that week. 

While I was sick a good majority of the week, I had to rely on God in those moments of weakness and that taught me more than I would have gotten otherwise. 

This time last year I was in Uganda and oh how I wish I was there, but how thankful I am for all that He is doing here. 

Last week was VBS. Our church hosted three different locations and it was by far the best VBS I've ever been a part of. 

Also last week my mother made me take a mandatory break from my computer and writing in general to give my brain a serious break. 

Yes, it was slightly torturous, but it was helpful. My brain felt calm...or at least I think that's what calm feels like :)

And while we're on the book front- 

I'm in the final stages of cover design and formatting and it's SO exciting. 

I got the invitations for my book publishing party in the mail the other day and spent a solid hour addressing and stamping and licking envelopes (which left my mouth feeling disgusting.) 

This is all coming together so well and I'm beyond thankful that God has allowed me to be part of such an amazing journey. 

Oh, this has nothing to do with anything BUT my favorite author, Jenny B. Jones, is writing a new book. I get her newsletter and when I opened my email and saw that she was coming out of a three year break from writing and publishing a new book this fall, I may have clapped and squealed. Fangirling at it's best, my friends. 

Anyway. 

That's my life as of right now. 

Continuing to work on completely trusting Him to write my story each and every day. Surrender is hard and I'm finding that to be true each day. 

But my God is good and He is powerful so I know that He has the best in store for my life. 

That alone is a glorious thought and I'm so excited to see what the rest of the summer holds. 

~Bailey

P.S. I do apologize that this was probably a useless post but I figured I needed to update and this was all that my brain was coming up with this morning! 

Still Running.

Tuesday, July 10th, 2014 at 10:12pm.

That was a momentous moment right there(I apologize for the lack of creativity in that phrase...my brain is FRIED).

God has been evident in these last couple weeks as I have worked harder than ever to get this book done.

I've been in front of the computer for hours on end, changing words and phrases and writing new paragraphs.

Tonight I finished going through the LAST FOUR CHAPTERS of my dearest book.

I've still got a read through and a cleaning up process (whatever that means...I'm just trusting Mrs. Editor) to do. But August is so realistic.

I'm floating right now.

I'm exstatic. Couldn't be more excited to see my little book in print.

Side note: it's not so little anymore. Pre-edit word count: 41,000. Post-edit word count: 56,175.

There's nothing more exciting than watching the word count climb at the bottom of the screen.

Anyway.

Thank you for your prayers and your encouraging words.

I'm still running strong and won't stop till I have a copy in my hands.

Now, excuse me while I go have eat a Strawberry Edy's Pop in celebration of this momentous night.

~Bailey

Run with Endurance.

To those of you who have been faithful to my blog over the last couple months, you probably remember this post: A Beautiful Delay. 

At that point I had just begun the editing process with my sweet editor friend.

Now, here we are five(ish) months later.

I would love to be writing this to say that I am almost done- that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. But no. Oh the light seems so far off.

Much to my own dismay, I'm only about half way through. My goal for the end of July seems to be slipping out of my grasp but I constantly remind myself that my God is bigger. He is stronger!

While I'm struggling to accept that His timing might not be my own, I know His plan will be perfect and it will play out more beautifully than you or I could ever imagine.

I have to tell you this. I sat down to rant and complain about how stinkin' long this is taking and how frustrated I am that I'm not done yet...

But God doesn't let me keep that mindset for long.

While I want to complain and be frustrated, He keeps reminding me that this is for His glory and not mine...for His honor and praise and not my own.

So I'm praying that I will be accepting to whatever He is doing and that in these next few months things will go faster than they have so far so I can still meet my August date.

Thank you for hanging in there. So many of you have asked and said you can't wait to read it- trust me, I can't wait for you to read it either!

Hebrews 12:1-2
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

I'm running friends, running with endurance to this goal He has set before me.

~Bailey

And on a very exciting side note: {as if editing one book wasn't enough} I finished the roughest draft of the sequel to "For I Know the Plans" about two weeks ago. As of now it is titled, "With All of Your Heart," continuing on with the verses in Jeremiah 29:11-13. I'm in love with both of these stories and their characters. My dear friends, I cannot wait for you to read them!!

I'm also working on a story about a girl with cancer...here's a little blip about it:

This is the story of Audrey Jordyn. The story of how she learned to live. The story of how she learned to love. The story of how she learned to give up fear and instead trust Him...even in the face of death.

While it's different from what I normally write, I'm absolutely loving this new writing adventure. I don't plan to make it a full novel, maybe just a novella. I'm just planning on writing until I'm finished and seeing where that leaves me! *Plot credit for this book goes to my best friend, Emily Grace.*

The Giver Series: Book Review

Jonas- The Receiver of Memories. He has the capability to see beyond. He's only twelve. Yet he, unlike all others, has feelings. He knows love.

Kira- The Weaver. She can weave and embroider with her eyes closed, her hands moving without controlling them. Fifteen years old and orphaned, her gift brings more than she would ever imagine.

Matty- The Healer. He's a young boy with a passion for life, for animals, for people.

Claire- The Birthmother. The girl who has never known love until one day, she gives birth to a son who was taken abruptly from her.

These four characters in The Giver series sculpt the plot and make their place in your life- permanantly.

I just finished the last book in this series.

The first book in this series is The Giver. It's a captivating story about a village where people don't feel.



They are told who to marry. They are told what job they will take. Their lives are meaningless- lived day by day under the commands of the Chief Elder. Things are the same day after day. No surprises, no interruptions.

That is, until Jonas's Ceremony of Twelve. He is not assigned- he is selected. Selected to be the Receiver of Memories- a task not even he was aware existed.

The second book is Gathering Blue. 



Kira lives in a village of cruelty- a cruelty no one is aware of until they are deep in the middle of it.

Her gift of embroidery and weaving lead her to a place she would haven't dreamed of. There she meets Thomas, the carver, and together they discover what their village has been hiding from all of them.

It's something that Kira decides she's going to change.

The third book is Messenger. 



Matty is living with the Seer, the man who is blind but able to see in a way others are not.

They live in The Village, a village that welcomes those who are injured and hurt- those who are not welcomed in their own communities.

But one day, things begin to change. Leader finds himself in the face of a decision- one, in the end, made by the people. They want to shut the village to newcomers.

But Matty and the Seer can't do that. There's someone who must be rescued. And that could change everything- for all of them.

The final book to this series is Son. 



Claire was designated as Birthmother at her Ceremony of Twelve.

It's not what she thought- not what any of them thought. It's real pain. 

It's knowing love and pain and loss.

When her son is taken from her, her son that she has fallen in love with, she knows that she must find him.

Whatever the cost- she must find her Son.

I flew through these books. They aren't the type of books that I normally read.

But they were absolutely exceptional.

I LOVED this series.

And I think you will, too.

It's so fascinating and thought provoking.

They were great for an early summer read.

I highly suggest this quartet of books by Lois Lowry.

Read these books- you'll go places and find yourself in thought for days.

~Bailey

P.S. They're making a movie of The Giver and while it looks completely different from the book, I'm definitely going to go see it. It's one of the reasons I had to read the book- because I can't see a movie without reading the book. Nevertheless, I'm excited for the movie to come out!