Where did November go?  Seems it just got here and now it's gone! Well, enough of that. Let's get into this post, shall we?

Whew! Where to begin! We started the month the way we ended last month, at the Ambassador Baptist College Missions Conference. Such a wonderful blessing!

We also were blessed to aide in a two week long revival at a Preacher friend's church in Liberty, N.C. My dad preached, we sang, and we got to see God move! It was extended twice! What a tremendous blessing!

For thanksgiving, we were able to attend a special service, sharing God's blessings and singing His praises! God is so good!

I know there were more meetings, but to be honest, my brain is tired and I don't have the calendar in front of me! #authorbrain!

The big event this month was getting to see all my siblings for Thanksgiving! Both my sisters and their families came in and we all got to celebrate together!

We've also started the Country Christmas Train ride at the Denton Farm Park! Come and see us! We're working at the Reid Plantation, giving tours and such :)

Oh! And just the other night, we got to go to a Drive-thru Nativity! It was so pretty, y'all! Very powerful!

Y'all. It happened! My Very first year of Nanowrimo and...

That's right! I won! I feel kinda dazed...all that writing and I'm still not finished with my story!

But that being said, I am officially moving forward with A Song of Home and am currently half way through October! YAY!

I read five books last month! Looking forward to some other lovelies I collected over November!

1. Secret of Shadow Ranch (Nancy Drew #5) by Carolyn Keene  4 Stars
The mystery was satisfying, but there were several comments about boys that I did particularly care for. And a "historical" figure mentioned fell in love with an outlaw...yeah, not my favorite. Also, we are introduced to three characters we've never heard of, but the book is written as though we should know who they are! Umm...what?

2. Time to Share (Patchwork Mysteries #2)   5 Stars
This was another grandma detective mystery, with a Civil War twist, and I really enjoyed it. There was something in it that I didn't care for, but at the moment it escapes me...I forgot to take notes on this one. Overall, it was a cute read!

3. The Red Gate Farm (Nancy Drew #6) Carolyn Keene   3 Stars
Mentions a "cult" that is a cover up for counterfeiters, girls save the day, but put themselves in grave danger in the process...not one of the better books. Not totally bad either, just not for me ;)

4. Even in the Grey by Laura Guenot   5 Stars
Y'all! This story was so sweet! I loved it so much! I "met" Laura through the blog and have really enjoyed getting to know her better over the last few months. I purchased the ebook last week and I loved it! Am I fangirling? Yes, I'm fangirling! There was a mention of hand-holding (and y'all know I'm not a romance reader) but that was a minor thing :) The message of forgiveness, the train, the WWII-ness of the story, crayons (I LOVE CRAYONS!), soldiers, snow! AHHHH! This whole thing was so beautiful! It did progress a little fast, emotionally, but, as stated, it is a short story and the pace doesn't take away from the set at all! It's just so...oh, just go buy it!

5. Heritage of Praise by Rebekah Morris   5 Stars
Another beautiful story! It hit me very hard, because we had just lost a dear elder lady in our circle of friends, just before Thanksgiving and we miss her so much. This story is about the Heritage left to us by those who have passed on. Miss Morris did a lovely job weaving this story and I love it so much! (And I love run on sentences apparently!) Again, get this book!

Well, here were last month's goals...

1. Post a Blog every week   Check!
2. Write November and Most of December's posts before December 1st! Haha...no that didn't happen. Why do I even set this goal for myself? Lol!
3. Work on Revisions on A Song of Home (Maybe hit August or September on my book calendar?)    CHECK! I surpassed this! I'm in October!!!!
4. Read 5 Books   Check!
5. Work on Special Project   Nope, not this month.
6. Re-read The Land of Cotton and Our Heritage to Save   Nope to that one too. Next month?
7. Win Nanowrimo?   YES!

Let's see how much I can get done in December.

1. Get to November with my A Song of Home Revisions
2. Post a blog every week (Plus participate in something super fun...more on that Dec. 14th!)
3. Read at least 5 books! (The Land of Cotton being one of them!)
4. Make Peppermint/Chocolate cookies with my younger siblings. (These are so good, y'all!)
5. Finish gift wrapping.
6. Read some Christmas stories to my siblings (And myself!)
7. Take time to reflect on the Reason for the Season. No need to get too caught up in the commercialism!
8. Do a Christmas craft with the little ones.

Throwing in some non writing goals!

Alrighty! Here are your Story Prompts!

And here are your story prompts...

That's all for now! Have a Merry Christmas and happy December!

Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

Happy November, everyone! It is wonderful to see another fruitful month come to a close, with a bright and shiny new one just waiting to be discovered and filled with memories! I don’t know about you, but I am loving the cooler weather! I’ve switched over my clothes and love getting to wear all my warm sweaters!

Anyway, this past month was invigorating! I can’t wait to share it all with you…so I won’t any longer!

Wow! It was jam-packed with FBN ministry! We kicked off the month in Murfreesboro, Tenn. at the Southwide Independent Baptist Fellowship Oct. 8th – 11th. Besides getting information out to the people, we were extremely blessed with the preaching. Every sermon was spot on and I can honestly say my heart was stirred like never before. What a blessing to know that we serve the God of the Impossible!

The following week (Oct. 14th-21st) we were at our home base in Newport, N.C. for our FBN Share-a-thon. God blessed exceeding and abundantly and in addition to our radio’s financial needs, God moved in the hearts of our listeners to donate $25,000 to help flood victims! Our pastor plans to use the money to help elderly couples who need repairs done to their homes. What a blessing and opportunity for witnessing!

We had one down week, catching up on home projects. Then, Dad and I were off to the Ambassador Baptist College Missions Conference! I look forward to this meeting every year. It’s close enough for us to drive home every afternoon and the sermons and testimonies are truly inspiring! May more servants be sent into the field!

Considering all the travel we’ve done, my life has remained relatively calm. At a friend’s wedding, I caught the bridal bouquet, something I have been trying to do since I was six or seven-years-old!

I was also privileged to get the opportunity to speak one on one with three aspiring authors and (hopefully) give them some coherent advise 😉 Sometimes, even though I work with words all the time, I feel like I can’t express my thoughts through speech very well.

Well, I am almost out of June in my book, but that being said, I had a lot of things happening in the month of June. I will not lie and say that I’ve gotten a ton of writing done, but I am very pleased with how much I was able to get in. I feel like the story is starting to take shape. With all the traveling, there hasn’t been much time to write, but I’m grateful for what I got in!

Also, today is the 1st day of National Novel Writing Month! I’m going to try my best to get 50,000 words in this month, whether in a new project as a break of sorts, or in my WIP. Either way, I am making a conscious attempt to write more this month!

While my list isn’t huge this month, I enjoyed the books I read!

1. The Hardy Boys Book #1: The Tower Treasure by Franklin DixonYes, I know I read this last month, but I reread this one out loud to my siblings, so yes, it counts 😉

2. Wounded Tiger by T. Bennet Martin            4.5 StarsWow. Probably the best book I’ve read about World War Two in the Pacific! It didn’t get a five star review because there were a few words I would have marked out, references to alcohol (and it wasn’t treated as if drinking was wrong, more like a matter of fact), and a situation in the story that, although true, was not something I cared to know about. This is the story of Mitso Fuchida and Jacob DeShazer. And what a story it was! It was over 400 pages long and I thoroughly enjoyed getting a peek into both sides of the war. Of course, I fully support the United States in WWII, I found that seeing both sides answered a lot of questions that had nagged at me for quite some time. I recommend this to adults and mature teenagers. The book, while a nonfiction, was written in a novel style, which made it so easy to follow!

3. Patchwork Puzzles Book #1: Family Patterns   3.5 StarsA mystery series of a grandma detective who has a passion for old quilts and bolts of material? Oh, yes, that sounds lovely! And this opening book did not disappoint! I would have given it a higher rating, but there were two or three references to boyfriends (one of those boyfriends being a con-artist/blackmailer. Didn’t like that part of the story at all!), and the main story line, while it didn’t end up being what I was afraid it was going to be, seemed to have an undercurrent of insinuation. That being said, I found the general atmosphere of the story endearing and enjoyable. Recommended for older teens/adults. (I’m reading book two and so far, it’s much better!)

4. Nancy Drew Mystery #3: The Bungalow Mystery by Carolyn Keene        4 Stars Of all the books in this series, this one was the one I had heard the most about, so I highly anticipated it! While I didn’t care for *Spoiler (Highlight to view)* the scene where Nancy snoops off in the woods on her own and gets herself tied up in a cellar *end of spoiler* the general topic was nice, seeing how Nancy and her cast of cohorts did their best to help a worried orphan and how Nancy helped her father with a case was very neat!  Again, there was a reference to a young man Nancy was supposed to go to a social with, but thankfully, everything was kept clean. He pretty much was written like a friend of the family. Still, you know me, I don’t care for boyfriend/girlfriend stuff.
 
5. Nancy Drew Book #4: The Secret of Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene           3.5 Stars
Of all the books I’ve read in this series, I probably disliked this one the most. I didn’t like the frequent reference to Nancy going diving (clothing to do this very form-fitting and unladylike) and there were two references to a young man liking her. Again, everything concerning the fellow was kept clean, but I just didn’t care for it. And again, Nancy’s curiosity gets her nearly drowned! Maybe I’m picky, but I didn’t really care much for this book 😊

Let's see how I did...*Cringe*

1.Post a Blog every week     Check!
2.Write October and November posts before November 1st!     I'll give myself half a point for this one. I got October's done...but November's are still in the works, lol!
3. Finish Revisions on A Song of Home   Haha...didn't happen.
4. Read 5 Books    Check!
5. Work on Special Project    I'm pretty sure I did...yes I did, I remember now, lol! So, Check!
6. Re-read The Land of Cotton and Our Heritage to Save   Yeah...that didn't happen either ;( But they are on my November TBR List :)

My Goals for this Month are...

1.Post a Blog every week
2.Write November and Most of December's posts before December 1st!
3. Work on Revisions on A Song of Home (Maybe hit August or September on my book calendar?)
4. Read 5 Books
5. Work on Special Project
6. Re-read The Land of Cotton and Our Heritage to Save
7. Win Nanowrimo?

I also would like to note, these are my writing and reading goals. I have other personal goals I set each month that are not writing related, so this is not all consuming, lol! I do have a life outside of Writing and Reading :)

And before I forget, here are your monthly Writing Prompts!

Well, happy November! Until next time,
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

Happy Friday, everyone! I’m back from the Southwide Independent Baptist Fellowship and let me tell you, it was amazing! God is so good, and the services were so encouraging. Plus, we were able to give out information about FBN and sell some of my books!

Today I am returning to my series on Soldier Life. In case your new, the Soldier Life series (click here for last post) is a series currently dealing with the American War Between the States. The purpose of this series is to help out fellow writers and researchers, helping them avoid the hunt and peck method for information that I experienced 😊 I do occasionally recommend some books on the topics I cover, but I generally try to give basic info on the topic, along with some not so well know information. Today, we’re talking about Chaplains.

What is a Chaplain? A chaplain is a preacher, for the army 😉 Their job was to minister to the soldiers the same way a pastor would. Let’s check out some of those jobs.

Preaching. Obviously as a man of God, it was the job of the Chaplain to preach the word of God to the soldiers. Many units canceled unnecessary duties on Sundays to support the church services. In the Confederate Army starting in 1862, revival broke out in camp. With this came daily services in many places and an increased soulwinning effort. This lasted until the war ended and was the last great revival our Nation has seen.

Counseling. During war, many men take time to look at their lives, seeing things that need to change. The chaplain was often the one they turned to with spiritual questions.

Ministering to the wounded and dying. We all know that scene in a film were the preacher is called in to pray with the dying man, usually using the Lord’s Prayer or Psalm 23 to comfort. That’s not far from the truth. While they may not have only used those portions of scripture, the scene was seen frequently during the war. Also, Chaplains hovered near the surgery tents to pray with the men before losing a limb or undergoing operations.

Singing. There were no song leaders hired in the army😆 While some of the men in camp could serve in this capacity, it often fell to the chaplain to lead the singing in camp services.

The Shoulder to Lean on. While a comrade in arms, a family member or even the doctor often filled this role, the chaplain was more times than not the man to turn to when you were struggling mentally, spiritually, physically and emotionally.

Librarian. Not literally, but if you needed something to read, find your chaplain 😉 They collected donations from citizens to provide reading material for the troops: Books, Bibles, Newspapers, Tracts, whatever you could think of.

A Few Books You Should Check Out:

Christ in the Camp by J. William Jones (Robert E. Lee’s personal Chaplain). This book focuses on the Religion in the army, not on the causes of the war, though it briefly touches on this. No matter who you think was right in the War Between the States, you should read this book!

Chaplains in Gray by Charles Pitt. Another good one! This book is shorter than the first book, but every bit as informative!

Hope this helps you in your pursuit of knowledge 😊
Have a Blessed Day!
Ryana Lynn

*Emoji art supplied by Emoji One

Where did September go? It’s hard to believe October is already here! We have so many fun meetings coming up this month and I can’t wait to tell you about them! October is one of my favorite months 😊 In fact, Autumn (if you didn’t already know this😉) is my favorite season! And yes, I know season aren’t supposed to be capitalized…but I tend to do it anyway 😅 So…let’s dive into today’s wrap-up, shall we?

We were able to visit many churches this month, but instead of focusing on this, I want to share with you an urgent prayer request.

It’s no secret to any of you that the North Carolina coast was greatly devastated by Hurricane Florence. Our church, Grace Baptist Church, is located in Newport, N.C. It is also the home of FBN Radio, the ministry we represent. 🎼 Thanks to the recent storm, most of the homes of our staff (which are located on campus) suffered heavy flood damage. Our station was off the air for several days and our church sustained some damage as well. You can see photos of the flooding at www.helpfbn.com. I encourage you to take a look at the site and pray for our staff and station. We need it desperately!🎙

Well…Flory took up a lot of thought for us this month, lol!💨 But something I did this month that was so much fun was taking part in my very first Read-a-thon! 📚There were five of us girls in the group and we had a blast, challenging ourselves with a three day reading goal (during the hurricane, perfect timing!) My goal was three books and I hit it! Very happy with that I might add 😆

Also, my family has recently started going to our local library again! It’s been a long time since we actually borrowed books from there! Now, I’m getting to check out some books I’ve been interested in reading, but not sure if I wanted to buy them yet or not. I may or may not have checked out 12 things at one time…😇

Another fun library related thing…Denton Public Library once again hosted me as their “Author of the Month,” for the 4th time in three years! They told me from the start to let them know any time I published a book, so I’ve taken them up on it! The event was amazing and I actually got to see my books on the shelf! So Exciting! It's starting to feel real, lol!

Not a whole lot of news to report here…I’ve made it to June! Yay! I’m praying that I’ll get a lot of work done this month, but I’m not going to stress it. I’m going to do what I can and be thankful I got that much done 😊

*Looks over this month’s list of books with a happy sigh* I got so much reading done this month, for myself and for my siblings! They’ve all taken a liking to Nancy Drew of late, so that has been the library series of choice! (Please note, while we love these books, there are still things here and there that we change when we read them out loud 😊) Let’s see what I read this month…

1. Plymouth Pioneers by Collen Reece                  4 Stars
2. The Stolen Sapphire by Sarah M. Buckley         4Stars
3. Missionaries from Around the World by…I can’t remember      3 Stars (Mostly, it was good, but they referred to women as preachers, so that lowered my rating!
4. Tales from Maple Ridge #2 by Grace Gilmore   4 Stars
5. Tales from Maple Ridge #3 by Grace Gilmore    4 Stars
6. Nancy Drew #2-The Hidden Staircase by Caroline Keene     5 Stars (Note: This book talks about a “haunted house” and a “ghost” that an elderly lady is afraid of. The mystery involves Nancy proving to her that it’s not a ghost and that her house is not haunted. While it doesn’t come right out and say ghosts aren’t real, that’s the general feeling Nancy gives off in the story. Because of this and one other storyline, I recommend someone older reading it first, then even reading it aloud if younger children are interested. That way, you can explain/omit things that might frighten them otherwise 😉 )
7. Traitor in Williamsburg by Elizabeth Jones       5 Stars          (Note: This is an American Girl Mystery and while it’s clean and I enjoyed it, I do think younger readers should be warned not to follow Felicity’s example in all of her actions. She should have turned to the adults! While her motives were good, her course of action
8. Lillian Trasher by Janet and Geoff Benge         5 Stars
9. Hardy Boys- Tower Treasure by Franklin Dixon         4.5 Stars       (Note: Three references to girlfriends, though no touching, kissing is mentioned. We would have preferred no girlfriend/boyfriend scenarios, but it was clean. A little more action than Nancy Drew {It’s for boys 😉| so probably needs an older sibling to proof it before younger readers read it 😊)

I read two other books I chose not to name. They were research-related and borrowed, but due to some content, I don’t want to mention them by title. Not exactly pleased with the outcome.

Lets see how I did on last months goals…
1. Post a Blog every week  Check!
2. Write October’s posts ahead of time (It’s gonna be busy!)  Ohhh…fail ☹
3. Finish revisions on A Song of Home   Nope, didn’t get this one either. Create well ran dry, but I’m raring to go now!
4. Read 5 books       Check!
5. Work on a special project   Haha! Check!
Bonus! Read 5 more books 😉  Check!
 
For this month my goals are…
1.Post a Blog every week
2.Write October and November posts before November 1st!
3. Finish Revisions on A Song of Home
4. Read 5 Books
5. Work on Special Project
6. Re-read The Land of Cotton and Our Heritage to Save
 
Well, that’s it for now! Have a blessed day in the Lord! (Psst! Like what you’re reading? Subscribe to my blog and get an update every time a post goes live!)
Until Next Time,
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22
*Emoji art supplied by Emoji One

Edit! Just realized I forgot the Prompts! Here they are!

It's about time I do another book review and this is one of my very Favorites! I first read this book when a friend loaned it to me and oh! I've read it...maybe three times so far? I don't often have time to reread a book, so...yeah, this is a good one!

Book Review//Iron Scouts of Confederacy by Lee McGiffin
(A gift from my parents following a trip to the homeschool book fair 2016)

My Review
This is a gem! I absolutely love this book! It’s probably my favorite Civil War book ever! And the best part is that it’s a novelization of a true story! The book follows the war years of young Ben Fane, a boy who is self-conscious about his short stature, but in the Confederate Army, he finds his height isn’t a curse! Along with his brother Gant and good friend Shelby Harris from Texas, Ben does his part to make a difference! We also meet many interesting Southern heroes, among them, Major John Mosby, Gen. Wade Hampton and Major Heroes Von Borcke. Through the many adventures (and misadventures!) of the Iron Scouts, their faith in God is tested and strengthened.

Genre-Historical/Civil War

Historical Accuracy – Five stars here! I’m not an expert on the War Between the States, but I have researched this era quite a bit, and I found nothing amiss in McGiffin’s text.

Content – Amazing! Very descriptive and interesting. The Author is very good at keeping your attention. No romance, but I do think there were a couple of words I marked out in my copy, but I can’t remember so it must not have been anything major 😊 I do recommend a parent reading it before little ones since it is a war book and you are the best judge of what may be upsetting to them.

Favorite Scene – The scene where Ben and Heroes Von Borcke have to hide from the yankees in a widow’s house. Very entertaining 😉

Overall – Like I said, this is one of my all-time favorites. If you are studying the War Between the States, you need this in your library. Great for Homeschoolers too! In fact, I originally heard about it in a Homeschool catalog, and a friend had it in her history and let me borrow it. After reading it, I knew I needed to get my own copy! It is available through Amazon, Rainbow Resources, and Christian Liberty Press.

Something to think about: Do you reread books? What is your favorite book to reread? If you have a blog, write a post about your reread favorite! If you don't have one, tell a friend!

No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
2 Timothy 2:4
(King James Bible)

Have a Lovely Day!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22