Christ, Culture and Everything In Between

 You are the first one to figure out the obvious: Do not chase the cat. The cat is befriendable. Get the cat to trust you, to genuinely enjoy your company, and you can hang out with the cat. You may eventually be allowed to touch the cat. The cat will freely let you take the key.

We’re getting closer to my YA christian fantasy novel Ascendant’s publishing date and so its time to send out ARCs!

ARC (or Advance Reader/Review Copies) are a pre-release version of the book sent out before the official publication date to gather interest and reviews leading up to the novel’s actual release. In exchange for a free copy of the book, you, the reader must provide a review on your social media platforms. A large following doesn’t guarantee a place on the ARC list so if you only have a few followers don’t count yourself out! There has been some delays with the cover so there isn’t going to be any hard copies of Ascendant but I will email everyone who makes the list a PDF version.  

If you make the cut I’ll send you an email and give you more details. The final date for responses will be May 7th!

Reblogs and signal boosts are super appreciated!  <3

https://forms.gle/ZCnsAcX7D7SP36u1A

[Ascendant is my upcoming christian fantasy novel about Guardian angels. My WIP page for desktop users is Here you can read the first chapter Here

and the post for mobile users is Here and you can read the first chapter on Wattpad Here Summary:

For hundreds of years, war has raged across the realm of Guardian Angels. White-Wing against Black-Wing. Grace is the Saboteur, daughter of the White-Wing Spy Master, destined to end the war once and for all. But all of that is snatched away when she is captured by the Black-Wings. Trapped in their secret city, Grace finds herself questioning everything she’s ever been told. About her enemies, and about herself. ] Tag List: @wingedcatwblr @angelwriteblr  @elaynabwriting

@nightskywriter @panticwritten

@ill-write-when-im-dead @ceejay-silvertongue

@emberris @itwasanalaskanbookworm @ragethegemini @boothewriter

@hazeywrites @chargeofastar @kainablue @mezvii @inexorableblob

@quilloftheclouds @thescribesloft

If you’d like to be added or removed from the list just shoot me a note

Find me on:

DeviantArt:   https://www.deviantart.com/somanypuns

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/authorkimberlygrey/

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/AuthorKimberlyGrey

I got a sneak, sneak peek and I am really excited for this story and am planning to purchase several physical copies to give as presents, both for youngins and not.

At its heart, this story is about overcoming trauma to find yourself and your purpose (in a supernatural/divine setting - there are wings!)

She digs deep into the heart of the church and pulls out this - that we are all followers of Christ; that the church as messy broken and varied as it is, is a portal to The Kingdom; that the more diverse the church is, the more it thrives. She speaks freely of her own pain and wrestling, she invites you into her heart and shares it with words woven as tightly and gorgeously as a tapestry.

She ends the book with this invitation:

Even here, in the dark, God is busy making all things new. So show up. Open every door. At the risk of looking like a fool buried with his feet facing the East or like a mockingbird singing stubbornly at the night, anticipate resurrection. It’s either just around the bend or a million miles away. Or perhaps it’s somewhere in between. Let’s find out together.

If you can’t say “I’m beautiful,” begin by shutting down the “I’m ugly” thoughts and saying “I’m a person.”

If you can’t say “I’m valuable” begun by shutting down the “I’m worthless” thoughts and say “all people deserve basic respect, and I’m a person.”

Social support is not the same as merely being in the presence of others. The critical issue is reciprocity: being truly heard and seen by the people around us, feeling that we are held in someone else’s mind and heart. For our physiology to calm down, heal, and grow we need a visceral feeling of safety. “

It wasn’t those original studies, however, that really got people excited about the marshmallow test. It was a discovery that came decades later. While most children failed to wait for the second marshmallow, those who did went on in life to achieve great things. Kids who waited for the second marshmallow grew up to score better on their SATs and have more friends. They had less body fat, and lower risks of both substance abuse and incarceration. They had better lives.

This work has been popularly interpreted to mean that self-control is the driving force behind all of these wonderful outcomes—the “engine of success” to use Mischel’s own words. The kind of kid who can resist the impulse to grab the first marshmallow could grow up to be the kind of teenager who resisted the impulse to flip on the TV in lieu of studying for their exams. It is an especially alluring tale because it makes the answer to really complex problems seem suspiciously simple. Teach children self-control, and everything wonderful in life will follow.

When I first heard about the marshmallow test, I was working with children in a homeless shelter and my heart sank. I knew that the children with whom I worked would fail abysmally. These children had habits of breaking toys, pouring entire containers of glue and paint onto their papers, and devouring sweets as rapidly as their throats could manage. Like Mischel and his colleagues, these children’s caseworkers observed these behaviors as maladaptive. And so did I, I am now embarrassed to admit.

Nobody said you had to stop using the day to give thanks, spend time with family, and stuff your face. We only ask that you acknowledge the true meaning of the holiday and those of us who have to face a different truth. We only ask that you acknowledge respect us and our truth and sufffering.

But if you are holding to Thanksgiving as family time or a chance to remember what you are grateful for or even just a rest from labor if you get that... there is a way (I believe) to do that without perpetuating Thanksgiving mythologies or pretending the injustices against native communities are isolated to the past.

To those looking forward to a turkey dinner today: Here's wishing you a Mindful Thanksgiving

For everyone bringing awareness to the National Day of Mourning, I hope you receive an extra measure of strength and resilience.

A First Nations woman working to revive a threatened language in her traditional territory of northern British Columbia says she’s being forced to leave the country on Canada Day.

Mique'l Dangeli belongs to the Tsimshian First Nation, whose territory straddles the border between Alaska and British Columbia. She says Canada won’t recognize her right to live and work in B.C. because she was born on the American side on Annette Island Indian Reserve.

Her visa expires July 1, she said.

“For me, what I consider home is my home community and my people’s traditional territory, which is northern B.C.,” she said. “We’re not immigrants to our people’s traditional territory.”