Category: April Blogging Challenge
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The April Blogging Challenge is Back! (Also: I played a prank on my coworkers)
This year, we’re bringing the April Blogging Challenge back. The April Blogging Challenge is an annual event where me, mom, and whatever other sisters we can rope in blog for most of the days in April. Every year the rules are a little different depending on what we feel we can handle. This year, I’ll…
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Update on My Book: Title, Release Date, Etc
Well well well. I filmed and edited a video to post today, but sometimes it takes ages to upload YouTube videos. And today is one of those days. It’s been uploading all afternoon and evening, and it’s only at 23%. So for my last April Blogging Challenge post, I’ll cover another topic. On my last…
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Five Actual Romantic Lessons from the Life of Ruth
Note: This piece was originally published on my Patreon last May. To celebrate my 1 year anniversary on the platform, I decided to dig into the archives and share one of my posts on my regular blog. … Confession: I missed out on a lot of Christian Purity Culture because I found it so mind-numbingly…
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Rambling Quarantine Thoughts
Thought 1: Nutria Our house sits at an intersection, and our yard is full of wide open spaces. If I spend time outdoors on these beautiful spring days I feel very looked at. So I’ve taken to hanging out down by the creek, where bushy trees screen me from the rest of the world, although I…
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Stay Gold, Jenny
Dear Jenny, Today is April 21, and you are now 21. Your golden birthday. I remember looking at you when you were a small child, and thinking about the cold hard truth that you might grow up some day. I hated that thought. You were so adorable, with your red curls and happy giggles. I…
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Why Guys Should Stop Talking to a Girl’s Dad Before They Ask the Girl Out
Somewhere in our Mennonite history, perhaps overly-influenced by Bill Gothard (who was neither Mennonite nor Godly), we adopted a system in which men, when they wish to pursue a relationship with a woman, are expected to speak to her father before they even let her know that they like her. I think 2020 is a…
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Video: Turning an Ugly Sweatshirt into a Cute Skirt
Hey everybody! Today I have a fun video for you. As a writer, I’m always in the market for cute and comfy clothing, so I impulsively bought this pink beaded sweatshirt when it was advertised to me on Facebook. And. Um. It wasn’t really cute. And it was huge. So I decided to turn it…
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Easter
It was 6:00 am, and my room was faintly lit with the promise of dawn. It’s been years since I’ve been to a sunrise service, but there was no getting out of this one. In this era of coronavirus, I feel obligated to snatch up every special opportunity that wanders past me, no matter how…
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Giveaway Winner, Podcast Episode, and Mini Life Update
Welcome to April 9! Or, unless you’re up late-ish and on the West Coast, April 10. Not that it matters. Let’s get to what you really came here to see. On Friday I said that I was giving away a copy of Deborah Miller’s book Daughter: A Girl-to-Girl Conversation About What it Means to be…
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The Best Writing Advice I Ever Received
In interviews, authors are often asked to give writing advice. And they always say the same thing. “Read a lot and write a lot.” I always feel frustrated by that answer. I mean yes, to be good at something you have to practice doing that thing. But that’s not real advice. But every once in…
The Girl in the Red Rubber Boots 