Crossing The Deep

Be sure to enter into the giveaway for a Show Offs Art canvas or gift certificate!  Click HERE!

Today I am so excited to welcome Kelly from Kelly Martin Stories/Oh That Mom Again!  Kelly is a dear bloggy friend who encourages me and has written fiction short stories for the Woman to Woman Magazine.  I am beyond thrilled for Kelly as her very first fiction story just came out yesterday!  I am also thrilled because her book is a young adult book!  My fourteen year old daughter takes after me in that she is a book worm.  It is so hard to find clean, uplifting things for her to read.  We downloaded Kelly's book yesterday and my daughter is loving it!  Be sure to read all the way to the end for a chance to enter Kelly's giveaway!  Please help me welcome Kelly...

JUGGLING LIFE… 

 WITH 3 KIDS, A OUT-OF-THE-HOUSE JOB, 

OH YEAH, and that WRITING THING.

Now days, it’s hard to find time to do anything. We are running here and there, trying to work in a deadline. I get annoyed with myself when I have to tell (loudly at times) my kids, “Come on. Hurry up. We've gotta go!” But it seems like it’s something I do all the time. Sigh.

So, in this crazy, fast-paced world, how do you find the time to do something you (as a mother, as a woman) want to do? There has to be a balance between what you are (a wife and mother) and what you *are* (a woman with dreams). Folks, you only live once… don’t put something off for ‘later’ because later might not come. (sorry to be blunt).

I've always wanted to write a book. I've been in the fan-fiction scene for years (yeap… I admit it), but I always wanted to write something completely unique: a world and characters totally made up by me. I never thought I could, though. I have three kids (my oldest is seven now). I’m a teacher so I’m away from home during the day. I have a husband. I have a house to clean. I have… I have… I have… But… But… But…

BUT…

Last year, I decided it was time to do something I wanted to do: something I was ‘called’ to do. Writing was something I enjoyed, and I felt strongly about using writing fiction to reach people about God. A friend of mine told me about Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month: www.nanowrimo.com). I thought, “Why not?” So I did… I wrote 50,000 words in a month. Then it took forever to edit the thing,  lol.

The point of this is a lot of times as mothers and as wives, we forget that we are also women with dreams, hopes, and maybe even a different calling from God. God has called me to be a writer. I know He has. As women, we definitely have a calling with our kids, husband, and house. But don’t give up on something else God has told you to do because you don’t think you have the time. He has called you to do whatever it is for a reason. God has a specific person(s) in mind to read my books that will hopefully change their lives.

If you feel God is leading you in a certain direction (maybe music, writing, blogging, care giving for a sick family, etc.), pray about it to make sure and then do it. I promise you, if God wants you to do it, He will find you the time. Good luck on your exciting journey!

About Crossing The Deep:

Sixteen year old Rachel Harker expects the church sponsored hiking trip in the Smoky Mountains to be short and painless. Four days later, injured and scared, Rachel prays to just make it home alive.

Asher Jenkins, fellow hiker and handsome skeptic who is only on the hike so he doesn’t have to go home and face his abusive ‘uncle’, finds Rachel in the woods and tries to get her back to Deep Creek Trail. A small hole hidden under the fall leaves causes her ankle to twist and forces Asher to leave her to get help. As night falls, he comes back, unable to find the right trail.

As hours stretch into days, an unexpected rainstorm bears down the mountain, flooding Deep Creek and cutting off their way home. Rachel puts all of her faith in God to save them. Asher thinks believing in God is a waste of time and does what he can to prove to Rachel that He doesn’t exist.

With their food gone and the temperature dropping, time is running out. Will Rachel be able to do what needs to be done to get home? And can Asher find faith when he needs it the most?

~Kelly Martin is a writer, blogger, mommy, teacher, wife, sleep deprived lady (not necessarily in that order). She writes young adult/Christian fiction. Her second book, SAINT SLOAN, is coming late winter 2013. For more information on her, please visit her blog at http://www.kellymartinstories.com/

To purchase Crossing The Deep click these links: Barnes and Noble, Astraea Press or Amazon.

To enter Kelly's giveaway for a $10 Amazon gift card and a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card, click HERE.

To follow Kelly, you can find her on Facebook, Twitter and at her blog. 

Sweet Blessings~

Linking with:

Living Well Wednesday

Works For Me Wednesday