Abby Elissa's Writings

First off, I'm sorry I didn't get a post out last week! It's been a crazy few weeks - or, rather, months. And it's not gonna get any better. I'm finishing up high school in the next two weeks, leaving for college in a few months, trying to balance a sometimes-frustrating job, and working to get Like a Warrior  ready to go into the world. (a few months later than intended, sadly. But I want to do this right, so I'm willing to wait a little longer) And, so, for right now, I'm going to have to step back from blogging. This isn't permanent. This is just me trying to focus on my priorities and do what God wants me to do. Goodbye for now, y'all. Without worrying about publishing posts myself, hopefully I can be more active with reading and commenting on other blogs. And, if all goes as planned, I'll be back later ready to go full-steam-ahead with launch plans for LAW. Thank everyone one of you so much - for reading, commenting, encouraging me. I love y

Well, I've been busy and distracted lately and forgot to write a blog post earlier. *hides* But - here I am now! Mind if I ramble for a bit? Thanks. Let me warn you - this post may seem . . . different. And I have a reason for that. See, I know I haven't been very . . . honest with y'all. I tried to make my blogging style what was expected and normal. But I'm not expected or normal. And so I'm going to try to be more honest. Maybe that means stating things bluntly. Maybe that means not getting excited like I "should." Maybe that means being sporadic or over-organized. But I'm trying to be me, not who I thought I should be. (And, heads up, that means I probably won't be using exclamation marks or emojis like I used to . . . I can explain that later. But call it an INTJ thing.) As several of you probably know, the email delivery service on Blogger will be discontinuing - I haven't looked into it yet and don't know how big of a deal it is. But

 Hello, y'all! Thank each and every one of you for your part in making this 7 Days of Hope Blog Tour so amazing. <3 Y'all are awesome. Now, it's time to reveal the winners of the giveaway! First pick goes to . . . * * * * * * * * * * * Abigail Harris!!!! Congratulations, Abi!! We'll be emailing you soon! Second place goes to . . . * * * * * * * * * * * Sarah!!  We'll be getting in touch with you soon, as well! Congratulations!!

Welcome to one of the last stops on the 7 Days of Hope Blog Tour! I hope you've enjoyed this tour and that it's been an encouragement to you. <3  Hebrews 10:23 (NLT) says, "Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise." When I was trying to find a verse and a translation to use for today, I came across something interesting - some versions used the word "hope" here, as the NLT does. And some didn't. So, curious, I traced it back to the Greek using the built-in Strong's Concordance in one of my Bible apps. The word used here for "hope" is "elpis" (pronounced, "elle-PEACE"). It doesn't mean just, plainly, "hope" or "faith," as it's translated. One definition is, more directly, "hope." But the word, in two of three definitions and by its root word, means "expectation." Oddly enough, the word itself doesn't even s

 We're nearly finished with this blog tour - can you believe it? Click the images below to read the beautiful posts Tara and Chelsea wrote for us today!

 Today, we have Anna Grace and Lauren Compton as our wonderful hosts! Click the images below to read their posts!

Click on the images below to read the wonderful posts Brooklyn and Abigail have written today!

 Click on the images to read today's wonderful posts!

 Click on the images below to read Day 2's posts! <3

 The 7 Days of Hope Blog Tour starts today!!! This year, we had enough bloggers to schedule two posts every day! The images below are hyperlinked to each post!

 Hello, people! Well, if you're following a lot of the blogosphere, you may have already been spammed by info about The King's Daughters' Writing Camp. Allow me to add to that spam, and give a different view of it. :D Quick facts: It's already open! But it doesn't officially start (with goals) until April 1st. So there's plenty of time (three days is plenty of time :P) for you to still sign up.  Now, I've done both Camp NaNoWriMo and KDWC. And I like KDWC a lot better. It doesn't have the cool stats tracking page like NaNo does, but that's the biggest downside. And we have a cool spreadsheet to make up for it. (Which I still need to tweak my copy of, because I always like to make things more complex.) Aside from that, though - KDWC is so much better than NaNo. It's completely different, so comparing the two isn't even the best way to go about things. KDWC is hosted on Slack, a free workspace platform that gives you the ability to make all kin

 Hi, y'all! I'm back for a special announcement today: SawyerMarie and I are hosting the 7 Days of Hope Blog Tour again! You might remember about this tour from when we did it last year. Then, it was spur of the moment. This time, we've been planning it for a while, and we're giving ourselves and everyone else some extra time to get ready. And we're doing things a little differently (but in a good way). For one thing, we're adding an exciting giveaway with two winners! If you'd like to host a day, you can sign up here ! We might not be able to accept all applications (due to the space we have available), but we'll sort through and consider all responses. If you don't have a blog (or just don't want to host a day), but still want to share about this blog tour, you can fill out this form ! After you do, we'll send you a media kit with images ready to share on your blog, Instagram, etc. I'm so excited for this blog tour, and I hope you'

 Hi, y'all! With everything going on in my life lately, I've prayed about it and decided that a (very short) blogging break is something I need to do. I'm planning to be back in a little over two weeks, on March 29th. Until then, though, I won't be posting much if any and I might not be very active on commenting on others' blogs. When I come back, I'll have some exciting news! In the meantime, I have started an Instagram account! I'll plan to be more active there, since it takes less time than blogging. You can find me here:  https://www.instagram.com/a_thousand_words_431/ . Thank you all so much for your support, and I'll see you again soon! Love, Abby Elissa

Well, here I am with the music post that I'd mentioned! These are songs that have helped me through tough times. I usually don't "keep" songs like this for more than a few months, just because circumstances change, and thus what I look for in a "survival song" changes. So I've developed quite a collection over this years, and this isn't a full list. :D (Now, don't think that this, by any means, represents my full spectrum of unique musical tastes. But this is a little sampling. XD Proceed with caution. All songs are perfectly clean and nearly all could be classified as Christian. But that leaves a lot of room for my love of multiple genres. XD) All This Time - Britt Nicole I don't even know how old I was when I fell in love with this song. I also don't know why I fell in love with it. XD But it's beautiful, and I still listen to it once in a while today. <3 All this time, from the first tear cry, To today's sunrise, and every s

Is it just me, or did February slip right by us? Like - shouldn't it still be January? 🤨 Anyway, I did get a lot of stuff done in February, short as it seemed. Started back my old routine of getting up before 6am to go sit on the porch and drink my cup of coffee. Did my first "rant-y" blog post. Had an amazing guest post by author Kellyn Roth. Got to do an interview with my friend Ellen Senechal - and she even shared an excerpt from her devotional! Made good progress on finding a routine for life, now that I'm balancing college, work, writing, and my personal life. Pushed harder on running, and got my fastest time in a while. Had an amazing surprise Barnes & Noble trip (supposedly me, my mama, and my sister were going clothes shopping - but the bookstore was only a few doors down from the clothes store, so I left them to clothes shop while I hunted for book bargains 😆). Discovered a new classic author that I already love - Agatha Christie. 🤩 (Not that Hercule P

Welcome to part two of the Indie Author Spotlight! Today, I'll be reviewing Ellen Senechal's 30-day devotional, The Whispers God Gives . Genre:  Tween/Teen Devotional Length:  79 pages  Back-Cover Blurb:  Hear God whisper as you read! Have you ever found yourself questioning God’s will for your life? Are you battling things nobody else seems to relate to? What about bitterness after losing a friend? Perhaps you’ve scoured the Internet and came up dry because you couldn’t find anything that spoke directly to your teen or pre-teen heart. If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, this book is for you. In The Whispers God Gives, teenaged author Ellen Senechal speaks from her heart and from God’s Word. She longs to share what she couldn’t find no matter how hard she looked – a clean, wholesome Christian devotional that’s short, sweet, and to the point. A book centered around strengthening your relationship with God your Savior, Counselor, and Friend in thirty days. Let God’s

Time for another cover reveal!! Today, take a look at the beautiful cover for Kellyn Roth's new book, At Her Fingertips , which releases July 17th! She’s willing to do anything to follow her plan. Debutante Alice Knight is ready for her first social season in London. She’s determined to impress society and her mother with an affluent match, at last escaping her past and embracing a future of her own making. Peter Strauss, an American reporter visiting England, isn’t exactly what Alice had in mind. However, his friendship proves invaluable as Alice faces the challenges of her debut. Almost immediately, she attracts the attention of a well-born gentleman—perfect save for the simple fact that he’s not a Christian. The life she longs for is finally at her fingertips, but between her own heart and the convictions of her faith, she isn’t sure she ought to grasp it. About the Author Kellyn Roth is a Christian historical women’s fiction & romance author from North-Eastern Oregon who ha

Welcome to another Indie Author Spotlight! Today, we'll have a Q&A with my blogger friend Ellen Senechal, followed by an excerpt from her devotional. About the Author Ellen is the author of  The Whispers God Gives , a beautiful 30-day devotional for tween and teen girls! Here's her official author bio. :D Ellen Senechal is a teenaged extrovert who enjoys writing, reading, cuddling with babies, spending time outdoors, and eating tacos. She is a big sister in a family of eleven and a follower of Jesus. To say Ellen is slightly obsessed with music is an understatement. You'll rarely find her writing or reading without something or other playing on the radio. Pink and green are her favorite colors, new books are her weakness, and JESUS IS HER JOY. <3 You can connect with Ellen on her blog, Ellen's Musings . Now, ready for a Q&A? Q&A What first inspired you to start writing? Oh, my. I’m not sure if there was any one thing that inspired me. I’ve loved to write

Welcome back for another tag!! Tags are so fun, aren't they? :D Rule One: Thank the blogger who tagged you & provide a link to their post. So, uh, Katja stole this post from someone who stole this post from someone who stole this post. So I'm just keeping the tradition going! :D But you can read Katja's post here. Thanks, girl! Rule Two: Answer the inquires, including any ones added by means of rule six. Rule Three: Always use your own characters. No exception, unless you don’t actually have sibling characters (in which case you need to go write up some) or you don’t write (in which case you need to start ASAP). Rule Four: Tag three other bloggers. Rule Five: If you happen to have any siblings who blog, they are automatically tagged & cannot count towards your three. Rule Six: Add one question or prompt to the list of questions the person before you answered relating to siblings &/or characters. Answer the question, and provide a list of all the questions of