It's been a while, hasn't it? Sometimes, I struggle to prioritize writing blog posts. I'm still working out where they fit into my schedule. But let's dive into the photos because first up we have my sister's wedding! She's been married a whole month now!

It was raining, so we didn't get a bluebonnet picture this year, but we were still happy. 

In April, we went to the zoo with my parents-in-love, Mom, and youngest sister. It was a whole lot of fun.

Scott and I went to a State Park for a hike in April also

It felt good after a month of not doing much hiking.

May started off with celebrations of my Mom's birthday. 

We visited Dallas and the ICR Discovery Center for her celebration

I enjoyed returning to this amazing creation after our visit last year.

Life has been so full of late: full of joy and hundreds of wonderful little moments. These pictures just capture a few. 

 It was a good week. Here is a peek at it. 

Find it on: Goodreads | Kindle | Paperback | Audiobook

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Find it on: Goodreads | Kindle | Paperback | Audiobook

Age Appropriate For: 16 and up (romance and some mentions of pregnancy out of wed-lock)

Best for Ages: 16 and up

Description:  Focused on a career in medicine and not on romance, Willa Duvall is thrown slightly off course during the summer of 1865 when she discovers a never-opened love letter in a crack of her old writing desk. Compelled to find the passionate soul who penned it and the person who never received it, she takes a job as a nurse at the seaside estate of Crestwicke Manor.

Everyone at Crestwicke has feelings--mostly negative ones--about the man who wrote the letter, but he seems to have disappeared. With plenty of enticing clues but few answers, Willa's search becomes even more complicated when she misplaces the letter and it passes from person to person in the house, each finding a thrilling or disheartening message in its words.

Laced with mysteries large and small, this romantic Victorian-era tale of love lost, love deferred, and love found is sure to delight.

Politano has become a favorite author. Her books are so beautifully written, that you almost feel they are worthy of being memorized. They also have so much depth to them that they make you feel you’ve been on a spiritual journey yourself. The Love Note is no exception.

I love how there is always a bit of a mystery to be solved in each of Politano’s books, in this one, the whole story revolves around who wrote a love note. As you go on a journey with Willa, you get to piece together a long-ago love story, as well as see how the love note affects others as it changes hands. I adored getting to see how the words impacted each person.

I also just soaked up how as the story unfolded, you also got to see Willa learn more about different aspects of love, both in the romantic sense as well as platonic love for others, and God’s love.

As always, I really appreciate the historical details and perspective that Politano brings. Willa wants to be a doctor and help others in a time when the doors to medical school were closed to women. I loved that the author shows how hard that would have been, without giving us a screaming feminist who yells about the injustice to women the whole book. Instead, she gave us something even more powerful: a brilliant, deeply caring woman whom it saddens you to see blocked from a profession she would have excelled at.

One of the other things I love is the realism. There are some characters in the story that don’t learn their lesson by the end of the book. Not everything works out how I would have planned it. Yet, there are some amazingly beautiful moments of grace, forgiveness, and love that brought me near tears. I just wanted the story to keep going.

I wasn’t sure at first how to feel about the ending. At first, I was a little frustrated by it, but then I realized it really fit the characters very well. I ended up feeling very stratified and loving it, even if I would have thought of writing it differently.

I highly recommend this book to those who love historical fiction, beautifully written books, and family mysteries. 

A little over a year ago, I noticed my newsletter was losing readers fast. I wanted to find out why and do better. So I took a survey. The number one reason people weren't liking my newsletter at the time was  they felt they were getting information that was already on the blog or social media. They wanted original content. This led me to radically change my newsletter as well as examine all my social media outlets.

I made the switch. I created original content for Instagram, Facebook, and my newsletter. My blog suffered and became little used (even though it is one of my favorite outlets). I spent time creating fun graphics for Instagram, spent more time making my newsletter original, and creating unique Facebook posts. 

It worked. People were loving it and engaged. 

And I burned out. 

I wasn't prepared to make that radical change. I quickly became exhausted trying to learn what people wanted in each space and creating that kind of content. I wanted to give my readers what they wanted. I really did, but within two months, I had gone silent across all my social media accounts because I had burned out. 

I learned some valuable lessons that I wanted to share with you. 

No matter what I'm doing as a creative, I need to make sure I never lose sight of my passion. This may be basic, but I was spending so much time creating content for social media, that I lost writing. Yes, there are still days (like today) I spend most of my time on blog posts and social media content creation. But I want to make sure that I'm spending more time on the reason for those posts - my writing. 

One of the things that caused my burnout was my inability to make cute little videos that are so popular right now.  I learned that while it's good to try new things, it's also okay to admit it's not for me. I will never be a TikTok star or make viral Instagram Reels. I'm just not good in front of a camera. I'm a writer, not a performer. That's okay. Trying to be something I wasn't burned me out quickly. I want to keep learning new skills and new ways to connect with my readers. However, I don't have to do things I'm bad at.

I'm very big on pushing myself to work when I don't feel like it. I have to be. If I didn't, I would write one day a week, edit a chapter once a month, and make zero progress. But sometimes, I push myself at the wrong times. I've learned that just as important as pushing myself to keep creating is using my creative rhythms to the best advantage. This means that on days like today, I write blog posts and create social media content because I was inspired to do so. The rest of this week, I'm working on editing and writing.

From my readers, I learned I needed to make original content for each outlet. But just as important, I learned the content I create always needs to be what I'm passionate about. I'll never be passionate about creating short videos for entertainment purposes. I don't even watch much of that kind of content. I'm passionate about writing, books, my family, and mentoring young women. I need to keep focused on those things.

What are some lessons you've learned from times of creative burnout?

My mom is a very wise woman. She has told me from the time I was little that relationships are never stagnant. They are either growing or dying. The longer I live, the more I realize she's right. There is sadly almost never any middle ground when it comes to relationships. You grow together or you grow apart.

One of the only sad parts of getting married was the relationship loss. One of my dearest and closest friendships didn't make the transition from my single life into my married life. It's easy to think I could tell you why that is, but I only see one side of the story. What I can tell you is that it isn't an easy time for relationships. Even within my family (who were all really amazing and stayed my dear friends) there was an adjustment period.

Now that I've been on both sides of the equation, I feel like I have a better perspective. Do married people forget their single friends? Do single people not want to be around married people? Have they just forgotten you in the transition? While each situation is different here are some things that are almost always true.

For Singles:

~ Remember, you are a valuable friend. Sometimes it's easy to assume that because someone is getting married you mean less to them. At least for me, my friendship with others meant almost more to me after I got married. You are still wanted and needed.

~ Assume your married friends will be pretty quiet for a bit, especially if they lived with their parents and siblings before they married. The first three months, while wonderful, is full of adjustments.

~ Give your friend the gift of understanding priorities have changed. Just because you aren't as high on the proverbial list, doesn't mean you aren't on the list.

~ Don't be afraid of reaching out. Just because they have a lot going on, doesn't mean that you will be a bother. 

~ Don't fall for the lie that they don't understand you anymore. Yes, marriage changes the priorities and perspectives of people, but that doesn't me they forget what it's like to be single. 

~ It is okay to say you aren't comfortable with a topic of conversation. My sister had a couple of friends who started sharing details of their new lives she was uncomfortable with. It was not only wise for her, but for her friends to tell them the truth.

~ Take time to examine your own heart before accusing. As sinful humans, we can quickly assume the worst motivations of others and justify our actions. Sadly, I've seen jealousy, envy, and assumptions drive wedges between friends, oftentimes without people realizing that was the route cause.

For Engaged Ladies or Newlyweds:

~ Let your single friends know they are a priority by communicating not only that fact, but what they can expect from you in the next few months. Remember it's okay to take time to find your new normal and time to focus on your spouse, don't let others make you feel guilty for that.

~ Set a time for yourself to enjoy you spouse and find a new rhythm. After that time, make it a priority to reach back out to your friends, starting with your single friends.

~ Don't be afraid to remind a single friend who seems upset by the new normal about your changing priorities. 

~ If a single friend doesn't respond right away, give it some time and try again. Sometimes, they need some space to adjust, but also to know that you aren't going to give up right away.

~ Make sure you ask your single friend about their life. Sometimes, as a newlywed, we can talk a lot about our new and exciting lives. You can even tell your friend "If I talk too much about my husband, just let me know."

For both, remember the following:

~ Give grace to each other.

~ Don't assume you know the motivations of others.

~ If there is an offense, discuss it ASAP, don't let it fester and destroy the friendship.

~ Remind yourself of how amazing your friend is.

I'm so excited about this collection! Easter is my favorite holiday and I've wanted to do this collection since the first A Very Bookish collection. 

Find it on: Goodreads | Kindle | Paperback | 

Age Appropriate For: 18 and up (frank discussions about sex, masturbation, and struggle for purity).

Best for Ages: 18 and up

Description: Tired of feeling sorry for yourself? Sick of answering the same old questions about why you still haven’t found your perfect match?

Despite what many people think, singleness is not a disease. It’s not the lesser option. Singleness is God’s gift to you today.

In Thrive, Lina AbuJamra – who has been single for over 40 years - will show you how you can make a difference with your life right now instead of sitting around waiting for something to happen to you. If you’re ready to figure out what God has to say about singleness instead of relying on your own feelings and conclusions, this book is for you.

Isn’t it time you get excited about your life in Christ and quit falling back into the same old pattern of thinking? Freedom. Joy. Abundance. Hope. All these are yours the moment you embrace all that God has for you right here right now.

Go ahead. It’s okay to smile. Life as a single Christian is good.

I wish I had found this book as a single. Well, I did. A friend recommended it and it was at the top of my to-read list when my best friend declared his love. However, I still really enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it to all my single friends.

I love Abujamra’s tone in this book. It is both friendly and humble, but also uncompromising and frank. She never sugar-coats anything and doesn’t hesitate to give the readers a kick where they need it most. Yet, she balances all that by being vulnerable and honest about her own shortcomings and sins. Her openness and honesty really gave this book a special perspective.

The format of this book was great. Her goal is to help you thrive as a single Christian. She shares five attitudes to embrace and four obstacles to overcome. She ends with the secret sauce that makes it all work (her words). And then she shares about single Christians who have thrived for Jesus. This format worked so well and made it easy to keep reading.

Some of her discussion on sex, and especially masturbation, wasn’t necessarily a comfortable read and some who aren’t struggling might skip those parts if they wish. However, I think her insights as both someone who has struggled and as a doctor will be helpful to many singles. She was frank, honest, and uncompromising without being crude or giving needless detail.

I especially apricated her discussion of about the church. God really convicted me on my attitude toward the church during my single years and it was encouraging to have someone both acknowledge that it isn’t easy to be a single in the church, but firmly and with humility say we need to stop using that as an excuse not to participate in church life. Her thoughts on the topic were both steeped in scripture and practical advice.

Overall, this book rocketed my top three books I recommend to singles (the other two being Kingdom Single and Living Whole Without a Better Half). I highly recommend it for singles seeking to thrive, married people wanting to relate well to singles, and pastors who might be looking for excellent resources for their single church members.