Huge Pecan!

I’ve been sharing for over a year now about pecans. If you’ve read my blogs, you know that I am referring to blessings. God blesses me all the time. I say that I have to have my “pecan vision” on in order to see them. Well, just like you, some blessings are bigger than others.

For the last six or seven years of my life, God has called me to use a talent that I knew that I had, but it was dormant. (Remember the volcano blog!) I knew I had been told by a teacher at a young age that I was an excellent writer. I’ve also known that I had strong public speaking skills. These were bestowed upon me, but I didn’t know how to use them. Let me be completely honest and say I never thought about them at all. I’m not even sure I knew they were there. Yes, I had been given the opportunity to speak over the years, but I never associated those opportunities with God. I thought I was replying to a human by saying yes. It never occurred that the good Lord above was and will use this as a way to carve a new path for me. Oh how he lines things up for us!

About seven years ago, I started to hear his whispers that I was supposed to write. I thought it was my love letters to God. I never once thought that he meant on a regular basis. As I started writing, I would write for others. I would share them with the person that I wrote the piece for. I always associated that with my grandmother. She did the same thing. I thought I was following in her footsteps. God was and is calling me, but I never truly understood.

I’ve told a few people about this “HUGE PECAN,” but my readers and followers haven’t heard yet. So here it is: I’ve been published in a nationally known book! One of my short stories is being published in a Chicken Soup for the Soul: Navigating Elder Care and Dementia.

I’ve been telling y’all that God kept telling me to “Get Out of the Boat, Peter!” I knew God meant with my writing, so I was taking baby steps. I joined an online writing group and participated in their weekly lessons. I went to a conference. I built my background knowledge. Yes, I was writing while I did these things. I actually wrote a novel. My interpretation of God’s message was that I was to get this novel published. I still think that is following the path that God wants, but I learned so much in these online writing groups that I realized that I needed to start small. I needed to build up to it.

That’s why I started this blog. I wanted to reach people that might need a little inspiration. I’ve even expanded myself recently to Instagram. I’m learning a new program that helps me post things in a more professional way. All the while, I kept hearing God say, “Get out of the boat, Peter!” I’m a real good "but God" person. I mean I say “but God I’m building my background knowledge right now. I hear you and I will step out of the boat when I see dry land.” This time, I just went for it.

In January, I decided that you can’t keep writing all this stuff and keep it hidden away. Especially if God wants you to publish it. I googled Chicken Soup for the Soul submissions and saw what they were taking. I sat down and produced what I thought would be my first rejection. That’s what I intended- not what God intended. I finally got out of the boat!

Little did I know that the story I wrote about my grandfather and when I was living with him would actually be accepted! The first email I received from Chicken Soup was that I had made it through first cuts and that my story would likely be published. I lay down on my sofa and cried and kicked my legs up and sobbed. I was overjoyed! I’m sure God got a good chuckle out of that. I was truly astounded. Here I had proof that I was enough. That I have been hearing God’s whispers correctly. I wasn’t even published yet, but knowing that I had made it through the first round of cuts was something for me. I just praised Jesus at that moment. Now, I still have two more pieces that I submitted that day and maybe they will notify me sometime this summer if I make it through the cut again. Don’t you know that one of the pieces I submitted was for a book on Blessings! I told my story of how I have become The Pecan Seeker.

So for now, here is what you can do to help me on this journey:

1. Follow me on social media. Right now I have a Facebook page and Instagram. Links can be found on this site. QR code for Instagram and a link for FB.

2. Share me with others- if you think someone you know might enjoy my posts, tell them about me. If you have a women’s group at church and you think others might like reading my posts, invite them to my site.

3. Buy the new book that comes out June 22, 2021- it will be available at most retailers like Barnes and Noble, Books-a- Million, Amazon. You should check with small bookstores first though! I know they keep us writers in business!

4. Keep watching my social media for more updates on when I get my first copies of this book! I’m hoping to go live for the first time when I open the box that they send me!

5. Pray for me. Keep asking God to show me my pecans all along the way!

Thank you for letting me be a part of your life! Readers are the best!