New Year, New Thoughts & New Things

Welcome to a new year on the blog! I'm so excited to have you here whether you've been reading for a while now or this is your first time here. I'm going to use this post to introduce myself to you newbies (I use this term with affection) and then outline some things at the bottom of the post that you will all be able to look forward to in the New Year.

But first...what is this "Joy" I speak of? Well, glad you asked ;-) Joy is my word for the year. I was recently reading through 1 Thessalonians 3:9 where it says, "For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God." And it hit me. Joy. Am I giving joy to those around me?

It's not your typical "joy" verse about having joy and enjoying your own joy. It was more than that to me--joy that is seen by (and felt by) others. I asked myself, have I been joyful? Could others thank God for my joy? And I wasn't sure I could absolutely say yes to that.

So there you have it--my focus for the year. I'm actually really excited about it because I know that having joy that is firmly rooted in Christ doesn't mean I'm happy all the time. It means that I have confidence in whom my trust is in--the Lord. It means I find joy in all of my situations--good or bad. It means I value others above myself and consider their joy as greater than my own selfish desires. There' a lot there, but I'm looking forward to what I'll learn this year.

Thanks for the shirt mom!

Get to know...me!

Here's a list of "facts" about me as an introduction. I...

• am a writer (what? really?...yes!)
• am an only child
• love the snow
• grew up in a SMALL town
• love books (no surprise there)
• crave coffee...all day, e'ry day
• am a professional photographer
• love dogs and cats (like a lot)
• run 
• get creative with recipes (if I use them at all)
• love to craft (though I don't have that much time)
• play the flute, saxophone, guitar, viola (poorly), and piano (kind of)
• am slightly obsessed with Instagram
• really love sweatpants/sweatshirts of all kinds
• secretly (not so secretly) am working on a scifi/dystopian thriller :D
• love museums
• love Hallmark movies (especially the Christmas ones)
• think dark chocolate is the best thing ever (second to coffee)
• am inspired by being outdoors and basking (if I can use that word w/o sounding silly) in nature
• like large words...haha
• could live with rain and clouds 98% of the time and be happy

Photo by: Jannicka Matyte

Coming up this year...

I am so excited for what this New Year will have in store for it. I can't know everything that will happen, but I have a feeling that there will be some incredible things ahead.

If you love reading, are interested in writing and honing your craft, want to learn more about your favorite authors (or find new ones), or just like to follow along with the craziness that is, well...me, then you've come to the right place!

Just a few of the things I'm looking forward to...

• New {Writer Wednesday} post format and questions
• New authors to the blog for guest posts, interviews, and New Novel News posts
• More giveaways (because they are my favorite things to do)
• More adventures that I'll get to share with you all
• And these new topics for guest posts and my own content for this year:

Books Are My Adventure Travel Mug

January: New Year
February: Romance
March: Exploring genres
April: Social Media & Marketing
May: Dreams/Dreaming
June: Writing Craft Month
July: Freedom 
August: Writers Conferences
September: All Things Fall
October: NaNoWriM
November: Thankfulness
December: Spread The Christmas Joy (year 3)

There's one more surprise for February but, to find more about it you'll need to sign up to get my newsletter which will be going out next week. There'll also be a giveaway option in the newsletter so there's double incentive to sign up!
(Click here to learn more about my newsletter)

There you have it friends, not everything that you'll see in the New Year here, but definitely some of it. I am so looking forward to the journey 2016 will take us on and I can't wait to share it with you all.

Do you have a word for the year? Or maybe a new focus or revelation for 2016?  If so, I'd love for you to share in the comments below! Also, feel free to introduce yourself--I can't wait to spend this year with you all dear readers!