Lions and Butterflies

Lions.

What do lions mean to you? What is significant about them? Why are they so majestic? 

Look at the picture below. Study it. How does it make you feel?

Lions are a significant part of an encouraging note for me. Ever since I fell in love with the series, The Chronicles of Narnia, written by C.S. Lewis, I have grown to love lions to the point they are now my favorite animal. I see them as a strong force against the onslaught of harsh reality and the turmoil of life. They signify the ability to step up, raise their head proud, and stand firm against the tidal wave   of fear, sadness, anxiety, depression, brokenness, overwhelm, and more.

If I could, I would paint a huge lions head on the wall of my bedroom, a huge symbol to live every day in courage, strength, and standing firm in what I believe and strong against the forces seeking to pull me down from success.

Lions = Courage and Strength

Butterflies.

What do they mean to you? Do they signify anything special? What do you think of when you see a butterfly?

Butterflies are also another significant, meaningful, and special animal for me. Since the loss of my first nephew, almost seven years ago, butterflies became a real part of life for me.

Butterflies, because of their singularly majestic but fragile bodies and wings, remind me of the fragile beauty of LIFE. Yes, life. Life is precious. It is a gift that we so often throw away because we cannot see the full picture. We often become caught in the snares of trying to live for success, trying to know and understand the universe, seeking to fully rise to our heights potential without any help, wanting to have everything when we already have enough and so much more.

We take advantage of what the Lord has provided us with. We think life is expendable. Something we can do away with in a blink of an eye, without any thought, discarding it in the trash like it's no big deal. When actually, life is so much more precious. It's a treasure, a gift, the most prized possession we could ever have.

Life, like a butterfly is fragile, majestic, gorgeous, something to cradle in your hands in awe instead of squashing it under your foot. Your life is too important to let it go. Hold onto it tightly, with every ounce of strength you have. Don't throw it away just because you don't think your life is worth living. You are so precious. You are loved. Your LIFE is important! Your LIFE is a GIFT.

Butterflies = Life. Fragile, majestic LIFE.

Motivational/Encouraging Song Lyrics

I've been so busy lately during the week. I don't have time to write, edit, or work on other book ideas, because I'm so exhausted after getting home from work, working out, eating, dinner, etc. My respect for working moms has definitely risen this year. I don't know how they do everything and spend time with their children at night. ....

Anyway... as I sit in my new chair I received for my upcoming Birthday thinking about my book, editing, agents, what I will do if I don't get a response, etc., etc., etc. and a song I was playing earlier came to my mind. Something that was said in the song, "Compare where you are to where you want to be, and you'll get nowhere."

I spend so much time worrying and stressing about my stories, my books, what's going to be my next steps, what is life going to bring me, wishing I was already done editing my book and had it published, wishing I was already working on my next novel or series.

But this song by Sara Bariellas called Uncharted really hit the nail on the head for me tonight. The song gave me the encouragement I need to keep pushing on even when the path is uncharted and scary at first glance, terrifying to trek through, but such a huge accomplishment after it's all said and done. I can't wait for that feeling of satisfaction and success.

Here's the song for encouragement for anyone else struggling to see the light at the end of the long tunnel.

"Uncharted"   http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/sarabareilles/uncharted.html

No words, My tears won't make any room for more,
And it don't hurt like anything I've ever felt before,
this is no broken heart,
No familiar scars,
This territory goes uncharted...

Just me, in a room sunk down in a house in a town, and I
Don't breathe, no I never meant to let it get away from me
Now, I've too much to hold, everybody has to get their hands on gold,
And I want uncharted.
Stuck under the ceiling I made, I can't help but feeling...

I'm going down,
Follow if you want, I won't just hang around,
Like you'll show me where to go,
I'm already out of foolproof ideas, so don't ask me how
To get started, it's all uncharted...

La la la-a-a-a.
Oh-h-h.

Each day, countin' up the minutes, till I get alone, 'cause I can't stay
In the middle of it all, it's nobody's fault, but I'm
So low, never knew how much I didn't know,
Oh, everything is uncharted.
I know I'm getting nowhere, when I only sit and stare like...

I'm going down,
Follow if you want, I won't just hang around,
Like you'll show me where to go,
I'm already out of foolproof ideas, so don't ask me how
To get started, it's all uncharted.

Jump start my kaleidoscope heart,
Love to watch the colors fade,
They may not make sense,
But they sure as hell made me.

I won't go as a passenger, no
Waiting for the road to be laid
Though I may be going down,
I'm taking flame over burning out

Compare where you are to where you want to be, and you'll get nowhere

I'm going down,
Follow if you want, I won't just hang around,
Like you'll show me where to go,
I'm already out of foolproof ideas, so don't ask me how
To get started.
Oh-h
I'm going down,
Follow if you want, I won't just hang around,
Like you'll show me where to go,
I'm already out, foolproof idea, so don't ask me how
To get started, it's all uncharted...

"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new." Socrates

"All our dreams come true, if we have the COURAGE to pursue them." Walt Disney

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you may go." Joshua 1:9

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face...." Eleanor Roosevelt

"You are CAPABLE of more than you know." Unknown

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." Winston Churchill

"Being courageous doesn't mean that you aren't afraid. Being courageous means that you have the inner strength to embrace being afraid and still move forward." Unknown

"Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway." John Wayne

"It's okay to be scared. Being scared means you're about to do something really, really brave." Unknown

"You can never cross the Ocean unless you have the Courage to lose sight of the shore."

"But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength." 2 Timothy 4:17

I leave you all now with the words from C.S. Lewis: Courage, dear hearts

J.C. Hart

Waiting... Sometimes Patience is Hard Work

I contacted an agent a little over a month ago, and have been sitting, waiting for a reply back. For a few weeks after sending out the proposal, I found I couldn't even look back at my book. I didn't write at all and then tried working on my next novel, but found I kept hitting roadblocks, so I put it aside and started back up on my book series. The very first book series which came to me as a senior in College, but not even that appeased my anxiety. With the encouragement of family, I was able to get back to editing my novel for the fourth time since I've completed it. But it's all just a cover for how anxious and worried I am about not hearing back from the agent yet.

I know what everyone says about agents, how they are hard to find, especially now. Some people have to search for months and years on end before an agent will pick them up. Fear and anxiety of not hearing back constantly plagues me. Did they not like what I wrote? Was it not good enough? Was it not something they are looking for? Is there something I could do to change it just enough to get them to like it? Of course with that question comes my side of no, I wrote what I wrote. I am NOT changing it. Maybe some slight changes here and there, but I refuse to majorly change the story. But no matter what, the questions over not receiving a response yet still bothers me. I want to hear back. I want to know what they think, even if it is a "no." I'm getting tired of the suspense.

A verse that constantly plays in my mind, again and again as a form of encouragement and a push to keep going, trusting, and relying on God.

Psalm 27: 14 - "Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord."
Psalm 37: 7 - "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him...."
Psalm 46: 1 - "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
Isaiah 41: 10 - "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Isaiah 40: 30-31 - "Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

If you are writing or not writing, going through trials or struggling, perhaps the verses will give you courage to keep pushing on, trudging through the thick mud trying to stop you from plodding on.

Many Blessings,

J.C. Hart