Etched on My Heart

You know when one of your dreams comes true, and you feel light and a little disoriented and really excited? Well. That's how this girl is feeling.
I wanted to publish a book before I graduated high school. Granted, I wanted it to be a story. A fictional book. A novel. But poetry works, too. Because poetry can be its own story in a few (or many) stanzas, and sometimes poems are even better than stories.
It's one achieved dream in a much bigger dream—this thing I call my life that has a mix of God and beauty and people. I want to be a writer. An author. A lover of words. Whatever you want to call it. Some people think it's crazy and others think it's absolutely brilliant. Some people get it and see that this is where my talent is, this is what God has sat me down and asked me to do—even if just for now.
And yeah. This is terrifying. I remember the first time I posted a piece of my writing on my blog. I wanted to hide for the rest of my life. Now it's no big deal. But this—well. This costs five dollars and contains bits and pieces of my heart, and I'm terrified to hit "Publish" and let people know that I've actually done this.
But I'll hit it, because if I'm going to be who God wants me to be, I'm going to have to be brave.
So. Here you go: dream one of a gazillion is published.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

iBookstore

Kobo

Lulu

It's on sale for $3.99 on Amazon. Just saying. (Oh. And yeah. It's just as an ebook. For now.) 

Rebekah

Awesome stuff is happening right now. [Society6]

Basically, I'm here with the news that Society6 is having a Thanksgiving sale! There's free worldwide shipping and 15% off of everything! You just have to use the code GIVETHANKS at checkout. And remember—this is only good until November 27, 11:59 PM PST.

For those of you who are new here, I have a Society6 store where I sell my photography/art. (So does the lovely Tane, by the way. Right here.)

So basically, you should go buy stuff. Like this mug. Seriously, what writer wouldn't want it?

Check it out right here.

Or you could get it as a tank top. But there are plenty of other options too.

It's awesome, isn't it?

If you aren't a writer, don't be discouraged! Here's an artist mug. (There's also a dancer one.)

Like it? Buy it.

Oh, and here's one of my favorite products. Isn't it awesome? (I really really really want this. :P)

It's called "Resting Birds."

I also really like this mug. And I have it! It was supposed to be a Christmas present, but I've used it many times . . . :P

"Be" (Creative title, right?)

And here's another favorite: my clouds one!

This pillow has been selling lately. It makes my heart happy. I also sold a duvet cover. :)

And on Friday, this is happening:

Alllll right. Geez. I'm done bugging you guys about my store. For now. ;)

Have a lovely Thanksgiving!

Rebekah

an excerpt [12]

   When we joined the group around the fire, I was greeted with smiles and hugs and it felt normal—except better. Justin had his guitar, which put me at ease. I dug my toes into the sand, listening to his music mix with the waves lazily rolling onto the beach.

   There was something about those people. My people. They loved me, and they knew when I needed support even though not everyone agreed with what I believed. That’s what good friends do. They don’t judge.

   They love.

   I looked at the beautiful faces of my friends, yellow in the light of the fading sun and the fire. Those faces were my faces. Their names were etched on my heart, and mine was on theirs. They had left an imprint in me, soft in some places, hard in others.

   And I’d done the same to them.

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Rebekah

to write love on her arms

Last night, I went to a local college and got to see some of the people behind To Write Love on Her Arms speak and tell their stories (and, of course, hers).
Hearing Eric sing and Jamie speak watered the ever-growing sapling that I call my heart. Their words gently reminded me that even when life hurts, love is still out there.
It's in my favorite faces. It's in becoming someone's favorite face. It's pressing on even when your friends stab you and kick you and leave you barely able to move, quivering on the floor, bleeding out. It's loving the broken, even when you are broken. It's throwing yourself into God's arms. It's following your dreams, even though everyone else thinks you're crazy, because that's what God has told you to do. It's seeing beautiful in the everyday. It's living in community with other people—the ones who won't stab you and kick you and leave you. It's saying, "hey, how are you?" and getting a truthful answer back. It's walking, hand and hand, through the good parts of life and carrying each other through the bad parts.
It's remembering that your story is beautiful and worth living for because of love.

Rebekah

reaching out

So remember dear friend,
That while you continue to grow—
In whatever direction—
You’ll grow fastest by reaching out.

(The ending to a poem I wrote over the weekend. )

(Speaking of that, I'm getting really excited about my poetry book.)

Rebekah