Never Give Up on Your Dreams!

Yes, my beautiful dear readers, that is the cover of my new devotional which is currently in production! There are no words to describe what I’m feeling right now.

There is so much I want to share with you in this blog. But let me begin by expressing how grateful I am for all the support on my social media pages from all of you! You have walked with me through this journey so I have never felt alone in the process.

My immediate family and I unfortunately spent the Christmas and New Year holidays sick with Covid. There were some really scary moments but God walked us through those times as He always does. But during that 2 month time period, I was able to go through both sets of edits for the book, as well as approving the interior layout and the cover layout.

I also got to do a professional photoshoot for the author photo that will go on the back cover. If you know me at all, you know how incredibly painful taking pictures is to me but I had a great photographer who put me at ease so it was really fun! We took pictures out and around Fountainbleau Park in Mandeville, LA so it was beautiful. There are moss covered oak trees and even a small stretch of sandy beach by Lake Pontchartrain.

So what you see pictured above is the cover art! I’m so proud of all that I was able to accomplish during such a challenging time but God made a way over and over again so that I could enjoy it.

Strangely enough, it took me hours to get the description of the devotional just right. I wanted to make sure that when one my readers picked up the book and scanned the back cover, they felt like they could relate to it all.

My goal is to have the books ready to do a book launch in both New Orleans and San Diego sometime in May, but I will also have the book available here on my blog’s website around the same time! I will give information on those dates soon!

Many people have asked me what are my plans going forward once the book is published so I started dreaming big again! I would LOVE to start a podcast for the devotional. It would give me the ability to expand on each day’s subject matter, talk about life, dreams, God, everything! I have always wanted this blog to be a way to expand my girl tribe and I think the podcast would be a great way to do that!

I admittedly have a hard time meeting and speaking with new people but once I zone in on someone that I connect with, I can talk for hours! So I think the podcast would be a great way for me to connect with all of you in a new way.

The other passion that I have is speaking engagements. I have been teaching and preaching for many years and I would love to see what opportunities will open up for me to do that more often. I love the idea of speaking to God’s daughters about how much He loves them and all that He has for them. I think God is already working on those opportunities as we speak.

Another update that I wanted to give, concerns our ministry dreams for our island, Utila. Bud and I have dreamed of owning land out there since we were very young but as adults, our dreams grew. We wanted to have a family home there as well. We loved the idea of having a home where we can connect Brooklyn and Audrey with their extended family and let them experience our island culture that, honestly, is like no other.

But the big audacious dream that Bud and I had was to do ministry in Utila that has not been done before and eventually offer online university classes to our young people. As God always does, I actually met a family during Christmas while visiting my brother in Dallas, that is exactly who I would need to have in my corner when we start that! Absolutely unbelievable how He works all things out!

Well this week, we broke ground in Utila on the piece of land that we purchased over the summer! It’s been overwhelming, in a great way, to see what God has done in such a sort amount of time. It continues to remind me that He has given us the dreams we have, He cares about those dreams even more than we do, He has gone before us to make a way and all we have to do is be patient, obedient and a good steward of His provision.

I will continue to give updates here and on my social platforms but I covet your prayers! Thank you for loving me so well and giving me the support that I need as I watch my dreams unfold!

Never give up on your dreams! They’re closer than you think possible!