Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits... - Psalm 1033
Every New Year's Eve for as long as I can remember, I've felt a sad. It's not that I don't look forward to the future, but while everyone else is running around starting resolutions and having parties, I can not seem to get my mind off the year that's passed.
So it's only fitting that my blog post day happened to fall on New Year's Eve! And while I do think there's something to be said about intentionally preparing yourself for what God has for you in the future, I also think there's something to be said about intentionally remembering what God has already done.
I love Psalm 103 because it's just that-- an intentional reflection on all God has done. A call to bless the Lord with all we are and remember his benefits. So let's do that together!
Here at the Alley this year, we've celebrated two new Alley kittens, two Alleycats published (Amy's novel When Fall Fades and Pepper's novel The Thorn Bearer), a new Cat in the beautiful Cara Putman, an Alleycat retreat in my own backyard, a new blog design, encouraging contest and editor feedback, and ever-deepening relationships with you, our Alleypals.
What benefits have you received this year? What struggles have you learned from, writing or otherwise?
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Ashley Clark writes romance with southern grace. She's dreamed of being a writer ever since the thumbprint-cookie-days of library story hour. Ashley has an M.A. in English and enjoys teaching literature courses at her local university. She's an active member of ACFW and runs their newcomer's loop. When she's not writing, Ashley's usually busy rescuing stray animals and finding charming new towns. You can find Ashley on her personal blog, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. She is represented by Karen Solem.
2 comments:
Thank you, Ashley. It has been a really good year for me in terms of writing. I won my category in two contests, the Lone Star and TARA, and semi-finaled in the Genesis. This is the best I've ever done and I was thrilled. But it was equally thrilling to see my crit partner publish her first novel (Sheryl Marcoux, "Cowboy In the Moonlight," Pelican/White Rose). I was excited for her. We have been writing together for 20 years. My struggles are the same as everyone else's, watching the publishing landscape change even as we speak. But God is in it and He will get His word out.
Thanks for all you do as Alleycats.
Kathy Bailey
Yeah, Ash!!
I'm so glad you listed God's blessings on the Alley.
I'm sure our Alley Pals have had tons of blessings, too!
God is so good.
Great post!
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