Morgan Elizabeth Huneke

Monday, August 3, 2015

I Come in Simplicity

I come in simplicity
Longing for purity
To worship You
In spirit and truth
Only You

Lord strip it all away
'Til only You remain
I'm coming back
To my first love
Only You

You're the reason I sing
The reason I sing
Yes my heart will sing
How I love You
And forever I'll sing
Forever I'll sing
Yes my heart will sing
How I love You

We sang this song in church Sunday. In worship team practice, I played it thinking about the notes. Again, when we sang during the service, I paid little attention to the lyrics. But during prayer time, several people mentioned this song, and it really finally meant something to me.

I get so distracted by life. I get so distracted by what book I'm reading or writing, what plans I have for the week, what worries I have. But that doesn't matter. God is what matters. Lord, strip it all away 'til only You remain. I need to get back to my first love, only You. We all wander. It's like in "Come Thou Fount:" "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love."

It's not that I don't read the Bible. I do, every day. It's not that I don't pray. I do, all the time. But I still get distracted. I still don't live like I should. I'm doing a really bad job articulating the thoughts that were so clear in my heart during prayer time at church. It's that, well, I do these outward things. My heart is sometimes in it, sometimes not. And even when it is, it isn't in it enough.

It's a heart thing. Christians as a whole tend to do the outward visible things, but be lacking when it comes to the heart. Which is evidenced by something else brought up at church: some churches polled unbelievers to see what would get them in the door (lots of flashy technology and no convicting sermons) and then did it. It's a disturbing trend. The Church is falling away from her first love.

I come with my broken song
To You the Perfect One
To worship You
In spirit and truth
Only You

Give me a childlike heart
Lead me to where You are
Cause I'm coming back
To my first love
Only You

You're the reason I sing
The reason I sing
Yes my heart will sing
How I love You
And forever I'll sing
Forever I'll sing
Yes my heart will sing
How I love You

And I wanted to share something else brought up in the communion message, the sermon, and testimonies afterward, something which I've been learning personally as well, and it appears others have too, as even a friend posted on a similar subject recently: Faith and trust.

It's so easy to say "I trust that God has everything under control." But do we really? We worry. At least, I know I do. Even if we do truly believe that God has a plan and He knows what He's doing, we still want to know how and why. God will work this out, but how? God has a reason for this. Why?

Let me share a little of my personal struggle with trust. I moved about two months ago. I'd felt we needed to move for awhile, so, while I didn't want the change, I knew it needed to happen. But that didn't stop the uncertainty. We still don't really know why we moved. There has to be a reason God wants us here instead of our old home, but what is that reason? We're working hard to finish our basement. Yes, we need some of that space for living, but there's more than we had before, with a better setup, so what are we supposed to use it for? What does God want us to do now? Will I be able to get a lot of music students? What if I can't? What do I do then? What's supposed to happen with my books? How do I use that gift of writing properly for God? How do I get more sewing jobs? But how do I do that while waiting for my sewing room to be finished? Am I even supposed to get more sewing jobs? Will I find a family to babysit for? Is it ever going to be actually possible for me (and some friends) to make our favorite daydream of making a movie into a reality? Is that something I actually should pursue, or just relegate to daydreaming? And when will I get married? I know I'm not ready now, and I'm not ready to be ready for that for at least a few more years, but when will it be? Will it ever be? I want to know. I want to be able to have my whole life planned out.

God knows. He knows the answer to every single one of these questions. I'm always gonna have 'em. And if not these specifically, then others. But I don't need to worry about them. God gives us tasks for now. He has a plan for how it all works together, and it will work together, because He is orchestrating it. I just have to have faith and do the task He sets before me for now. Right now, that's finishing our basement. Why? God will show us when it's time. I'm also preparing The Crossways for publication. That's my task now. God knows what will come next, and as much as I want to know what and how and why, that's God's job, not mine.

Part of the communion message focused on having a childlike faith. Give me a childlike heart. As children, we trust our parents to take care of us. We have faith that everything will turn out alright. But as things go wrong, as people let us down, we learn not to trust. And that affects our trusting God. Because even though God is the only One we can always trust, we've already learned not to. We need to have that childlike faith again. That trust that God is in control over everything. Oh, it's hard. It's more than hard. But that doesn't mean don't do it. That doesn't mean give up. Trust God in everything.

Come to God in simplicity, longing for purity, bring our broken song, receive a childlike heart. I'm coming back to my first love, only You.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

The End of Camp NaNo

I know Camp doesn't technically end until tomorrow, but that doesn't matter to me. I won today! I'm so ridiculously excited. My first NaNo! And I'm done with the book! This book that has been waiting around inside my mind for almost two years is finally down on paper!

I love this book so much. You probably already know that. It's just so different and unique. And my characters. I already knew I liked them. But with that climax. Wow. I love these characters SOOO much. They're just so real now. I know them so well, and yet they, particularly Luke, surprise me so much. I don't think I've shared pictures of my "casting" choices off my Pinterest board on here yet, so here they are.

Cassie Owen

Garen Owen

Luke Winston

(I tried to put them all next to each other, but they won't exactly fit. Anyway.)

They've been on such a journey. And so have I. They have caused me to think deeply about what Christianity is, from the perspective of someone who hasn't a clue. They caused me to see ordinary things for the first time. They caused me to wonder over the simple mysteries of Creation. They caused me to search what it means personally to stand up for one's faith and how hard it is to withstand emotional torture. And it isn't over yet.

Through NaNo, I learned that life is always crazy. I've been learning that slowly this whole year, but I think I finally get it. Life isn't really going to slow down. So what if I have to be busy every spare minute to get everything done? I can still make time for down time if I really want to. I wrote 28,771 words (somehow the NaNo validator came out as 28,773), helped to do A LOT of framing and drywall hanging in the basement, wrote a blog series, explored a crazy idea with some friends, wrote several reviews, kept up with violin...It was a crazy month. But it was worth it. Hopefully August won't be as crazy, but if it is, that's okay.

During NaNo, I wrote a total of 28,771 words. That's essentially writing Across the Stars in a month. And since I started NaNo with half the book written, the total wordcount comes to 60,296. My longest book by far. I...don't think I can think of any other kinds of stats like my friend did last year, but I can tell you my writing places.

My desk

My bed

The kitchen table

The front porch

A local radio station

My mom's car

Our minivan in the church parking lot

Church (it was before, I swear)

The library

I can't remember if I wrote at the dining room table and the back porch before or during NaNo

So, it's done. And this is probably one of the most rambly posts I've written. But if you've survived this long, you get to hear this: I have an important announcement regarding The Crossways coming next week! Stay tuned!

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Camp NaNo 2015 Week 4 Update

"Almost there. Almost there."

In which an often used (by me) quote finally fits NaNo. Three days left to write! I have only 2,220 words left! I am so going to do this! Like every week, I got behind on the weekend. Now I'm 490 words ahead and so on track to finish. Actually, I think I'll be exceeding my goal by about 500 words, since my NaNo goal is about that much under my estimate for the book. And, well, if it isn't until Saturday that I get in that last 500, I'll still be finishing the book, and I'll still be winning NaNo. Before I get to the material discovered this week, here's my stats:

And this week's story material. I said last week it was about to get really exciting. Oh, boy, has it! I wasn't really sure what was going to happen in the climax, I had a vague idea, but it was very vague. I've figured it out now. And, man, if it wasn't spoilers, I would so love to tell you all about it. Let's just say I read the enchantment scene from The Silver Chair, the part with The Man With the Red Eyes from A Wrinkle In Time, and the war memory from The Giver, and reflected on Cell 25 from The Prisoner of Cell 25 as story research. So yes, I had a good reason for some of the books in this post.

It's going to be great. And my sister has even sat beside me waiting for me to stop writing and hand the notebook over for her to read. :D

And now you probably want an excerpt. Or if you don't, I'm going to give it to you anyway and confuse you by making it one that really seems like it fits in a different book.

The noise was unbearable. The loud, horrific booming, like thunder, only more terrifying. A horrid stench filled the air. In the thick smoke all around, men carrying long, dangerous looking machines sent fire and smoke away from themselves. Dirt and blood covered everything. A shout barely echoed through the chaos.

"Timothy!" Only that voice did not belong to a man.

A woman, her face smeared with soot and dirt, tear tracks down her cheeks, pushed through. "Timothy!" It was she who had been shouting.

"Else, you have to get out of here. You'll be killed."

Three more days and I'm done! I'll give you a full report next week.

Monday, July 27, 2015

Building Our Wall Part 5: Affecting Change

Part 1: The Wall of Jerusalem
Part 2: Defending the Wall

Part 3: The Importance of Unity

Part 4: Finding Our Vision

What do we do now? That is always the question I have. I know these important things about America and whatnot, but what can I actually, physically do about it? Fortunately, I have been given some answers.

I have taken and volunteered with a class called Foundations of Freedom Generation (FFG) run by Rep. Barry Loudermilk's children. The final class is all about affecting change. I took extensive notes during the class I attended as a student, and it is these notes I draw upon for this post. There are basically three jobs involved in building our wall: Leaders, Builders, and Warriors. We can identify with more than one of these. Sometimes our builders have to become warriors. But there are duties for each.

Leaders: Those who recruit and organize builders and warriors and initiate action when needed.

We are fighting a spiritual battle, which means prayer is of utmost importance. Our leaders must pray. They must watch, be on the lookout for those battles needing fighting, so they can initiate action when necessary. But they must understand what we are rebuilding. We cannot rebuild without understanding what we rebuild. They must understand that rebuilding starts in the family. Just as each family built the wall of Jerusalem as a family, the part that affected them, we must rebuild the family so that the family can rebuild America's wall. The family is the most basic unit of government. It has to stand, or the rest of government will not. And leaders must be driven by a purpose greater than fear or anger. Those things pass away. But a true purpose greater than the feelings of now will endure and actually affect change.

Builders: Those who create long term change, retake culture, and raise leaders.

The builders are the ones who do the legwork. We create the change. And again, the most important thing is prayer. It doesn't seem like it does a whole lot, I know I don't feel like I'm doing anything to save America unless I'm physically out there doing something, but prayer is doing more than any other thing. We can speak. Tell people about God, about what is wrong with America, what our vision is and what we can do about it. In a similar vein, we can write. Do just as I'm doing now. Blog about it. Write books about it. Write articles about it. Share what you know in a written form. We can volunteer. Volunteer with political campaigns, charity work, anywhere you can think of, really. People everywhere need to hear the Gospel. People everywhere need to hear the message of freedom. Listen. There's always more to learn. Host. We can host classes, and other things. My family has hosted a Constitution class in the past and hope to do it again. And join. By joining things like organizations and things as simple as email lists or Facebook pages, we are able to be alerted to what is going on in the world, able to be alerted to when it is time to take up our arms and become...

Warriors: Those who are ready for immediate action when freedom is attacked, who always have their weapons at the ready.

I'm sure you won't be surprised when I say our primary weapon is prayer. It should be our first resort when our freedom is attacked. Social media is also a weapon. The enemy certainly uses it against us. We can use it to fight back. Cell phones. We all have contact lists. We can call and text people telling them to take action, and call elected officials and tell them what to do when important issues come up, and tell our friends to do the same. A handshake can be a weapon, in getting to know elected officials and other important people. If they know you, they're more likely to listen to your opinion. Tennis shoes. I've worn those out using them as a weapon politically...going door to door for political candidates. In doing so, I've helped to get candidates into positions where they can fight for our freedom. Wallet. Giving money to candidates and organizations who fight for our freedom. And it doesn't even have to be a lot. Every little bit counts. And time. Time is a huge weapon. Giving your time to campaigns and rallies and such is a big way to make your voice heard in the fight to save America.

This is how we build and defend our wall. We do it in our own circles. We do it together. And together we can make a difference.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Camp NaNo 2015 Week 3 Update

And I'm just barely ahead. I caught up Thursday, got a little behind Friday and Saturday, had a decent day Sunday, a fantastic 2,193 word day Monday, and was distracted Tuesday by two friends and our crazy idea for a very awesome if we can pull it off project, so I'm just about 18 words ahead. But good progress. It's getting exciting, and it's just about to get REALLY exciting. I'm really looking forward to what will happen this week. Anyway, here's my stats:

Looks pretty good. And for an excerpt.

Down near the foot of the table was a familiar face. Garen.

Cassie's eyes locked with his. He kept his face solemn and controlled, but in his eyes she could see he was glad to see her. She too was glad to see him. His gaze sent a surge of confidence into her. Whatever the Council wanted from them, Garen was here and he would always support her, just as he had done back on Owen Base. She longed to talk to him, to tell him all she had learned, the answers to so many questions she had voiced to him alone, but she knew it would have to wait.

I've missed Garen. There have been a few small scenes with him scattered throughout, but this section has the most with him since basically the beginning. And next chapter is about Luke. I really love that guy. He's pretty awesome.

My sister has been kind of annoyed because of this:

She says I'm finally really becoming an evil author. As a reader, she doesn't like my driving her crazy in this way. I'm enjoying it. But in a little over a week, this book should be done and she'll be happy. Then I'll really have to get on the subject of choosing a real name for it...

Monday, July 20, 2015

Building Our Wall Part 4: Finding Our Vision

Part 1: The Wall of Jerusalem
Part 2: Defending the Wall

Part 3: The Importance of Unity

"You're having a vision. It's like a dream...with a point. Which is exactly what you've missed." --Veggie Tales, "An Easter Carol"

Sorry, I just couldn't resist. Because even though that is technically talking about a different sort of vision, it still fits perfectly. The sort of vision I'm talking about is a vision for what we want America to look like. The day after I heard the second person talk about Nehemiah and building our wall, I went to Congressman Loudermilk's town hall meeting where he talked largely about having a vision for America. It is something so many people do not have. We see all that is wrong with America. We want to fix those problems. But the problem is, we do not know where we are going.

Our vision for America is our dream of what it should be. Not just a far off, never will happen daydream. It is a dream with a point, a dream we will work to make happen. And that is the point we have missed. We don't just get in the car and drive, not usually, anyway. We decide where we want to go, and then come up with a route to get there. There may be many routes to that vision, some detours, some setbacks, but if we have a vision and we keep to that vision, we will be able to overcome those detours. If we just set out to fix America without knowing what we want it to look like, we will do no better than someone trying to build a house without a floorplan.

Via Pinterest

We have to have a strategy. It's like a road map. Say I want to get to Walt Disney World. I have my destination, my vision. I know what Disney World looks like. But I'm still not going to get in the car and drive. (I would just get in the car and ride if my dad was driving, since he's driven it multiple times, but that's beside the point.) I have to plan my route first. There may even be multiple routes, say if one route has an accident on it and all the traffic is stopped. I can still get to Disney World, but it might be a more roundabout way.

It is the same with America. Part of my vision for America is a country where there are no abortions. Would I like to outlaw all abortions entirely in one fell swoop? Absolutely. I pray for it to end entirely all the time. But outlawing it all at once is not the only route, and not even necessarily the route that is most likely to work. It might take small steps, a law that outlaws abortion after 20 weeks, then one that outlaws it after 15, then one that outlaws it after 10, and on and on until it is entirely illegal. And a large part of stopping abortion isn't even by law, but by changing the minds of the people. If everyone woke up to the atrocity it is, perhaps we won't even need special laws about abortion because murder laws would cover it.

This is where unity comes in. We attack the same issues from different angles, trying to move the end result toward that common vision we have for America. The elected officials are the primary workers on the part of the wall that involves changing the laws of this nation. But it is the people in the church and the schools and the media who are building the part of the wall that is changing the culture in this country. We work together in our different parts of the wall to use a united strategy to get to our common vision. Because united, working together to build our wall, we can get America to be that far off vision, that place where the government stays within the limitations of the Constitution, where people are allowed to live by their convictions, where the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is not infringed. It won't be perfect, sin will still taint this world until the end, but we can make it better and we can do it together. Doing it together, we can do something we cannot do apart.

Via Pinterest

I never really expected Finding Nemo to have a good analogy for this, but it does. Remember the part where Dori is stuck in the net with all the other fish? They are all swimming in random directions and the net continues to go up. They are flailing about with no direction, with no unity. Honestly, it is easy in that situation to have a common vision: to be free. But they were flailing, they had no strategy. However, Nemo knew what to do. He and Dori and Marlin told all the fish to swim down together. Their strategy was to swim down. But they had to do it together. At first, the net continued to rise. As they all worked together, in unity, they began slowly to take ground (or water) until the arm on the fishing boat holding the pulley snapped and released the net, allowing the fish to achieve their vision and swim free.

Together we must have a vision. Together we must have a strategy for attaining that vision. Together we must build that wall. Together we will accomplish what we set out to accomplish.

To be continued: Affecting Change

Friday, July 17, 2015

Half-Blood Review and Author Interview!

Half-Blood is here! I'm sure by now you know that I love Ilyon Chronicles. Half-Blood is no exception. It is Jace's story, hard to read because of all he went through, but that only makes it more powerful. I'll talk more about it in my review below. But first, here's the info about the book and an author interview! And don't forget to enter the giveaway!

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About the Book

The gasps and murmuring grew. Though some were hardly more than whispers, clear words reached Jace’s ears—dangerous, monster, animal, soulless. He tried to back away from their accusing eyes, but the collar pulled hard against his throat and held him in place.

For all his years as a slave, Jace has known nothing but the hatred people hold for his mixed blood—one half human, the other half the blood of a race considered monsters. Always, he is the outsider and quickly learns it is better to keep to himself. But, when his volatile ryrik blood leads him to do the unthinkable, he is thrown into a world of violence and bloodshed.

Forced to become a gladiator, Jace finds more and more of his heart dying as his master works to break down his will not to become the monster everyone believes he is. When a stranger interferes with his master’s harsh punishment, Jace’s world is upended yet again. But with it comes the possibility of hope that has long since died. Could the man possibly hold the key to escaping the hopeless darkness that is Jace’s life? Is there such a thing as life beyond the cruelty of slavery?

See where Jace’s story all began . . .

Interview
M: Hi, Jaye! Welcome to my blog! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

J: Hey! Well, I’m in my mid/late twenties, a country girl, hopeless romantic, and adore history and Christian fantasy. I was homeschooled K-12, so that gave me a do-it-yourself outlook that has really helped in writing and publishing. If I’m not writing or doing writing related things, I’m either filling orders for my Etsy jewelry shop, reading, going on outdoor adventures, watching movies and TV shows, or sewing a costume or historical outfit.

M: We’re here to talk about Half-Blood, the prequel to the amazing Ilyon Chronicles, a story about Jace’s past as a slave and gladiator. So, Jaye, what was the hardest part about writing Half-Blood?

J: Probably just trying to keep everything straight. I started writing it probably four or five times, going back in time further and further with each restart. It was supposed to be a short story that started just before he met Rayad, but it just kept growing until it spanned many years. So I had to make sure each event happened when and where it should. It was a bit complicated. Still, this was one of the easiest things I’ve written. Not because of the subject matter (which isn’t easy), but it just flowed really well. Even with all the restarts, I finished it in just a few weeks.

M: I'm glad you started it where you did. Six-year-old Jace is so cute. You’ve called Jace Your Precious before. :) When you first started Ilyon Chronicles, did you ever think he would become such a special character to you?

J: I always knew Jace was special, even from the beginning. I related to him so well. What I didn’t ever think about was how special he would be to readers. Of course, you always hope your readers will love your characters, but this is the first time I’ve written a character who has had so many fangirls. It’s so much fun. :)

M: Jace is definitely a special character. He deserves his fangirls. :) I try not to be too much of a fangirl, but I can identify with Jace's fangirls.

My Review

Jace. My sister jokingly says that Ilyon should be called the "Poor Jace Series" and nowhere is that more true than in Half-Blood. This is the story of Jace's past. Not where he comes from, that's in yet unpublished books, but Jace's recollected past. His growing up years. His years as a slave and a gladiator. The cruelty he received. How it shaped him into the Jace we all know and love.

We see him as a little boy trying to be kind, to stand up for defenseless animals, we watch him have his first struggle with his ryrik blood when standing up to a bully, we feel his brokenness as he goes through life friendless and alone, called a soulless monster, we cry over Jasper's treatment of him, we hold our breath as he goes into the arena. And then...

The end of the book overlaps the beginning of Resistance. And we see, more than ever, how much simple kindness means. How hard it is to accept after a lifetime full of nothing but cruelty and mistrust. How great a light it shines.

This book is a tough read. While not overly graphic, Jaye does not shy away from painting a picture of the true bleakness of Jace's previous existence. For it really is more of an existence than a life. But as horrible as it is, it only makes the good mean so, so much more.

Even though it is a prequel, I recommend reading at least Resistance prior to Half-Blood. But once you have entered Ilyon, pick up Half-Blood. More Jace is always good, and...it makes his story mean more than it possibly could have before.

Haven’t discovered the world of Ilyon yet? Find out more at the official Ilyon Chronicles website!

About the Author

Jaye L. Knight is an award-winning author, homeschool graduate, and shameless tea addict with a passion for Christian fantasy. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

You can connect with Jaye on her website, blog, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Etsy, and on her new fiction forum where you can interact with other readers of the series.

Giveaway

Share in the excitement of the release and enter to win a themed giveaway pack! Prizes include an autographed copy of Half-Blood, a blue feather bookmark hand crafted by Jaye, a bronze sword pendant, and a $5 Amazon gift card! (Giveaway is open to US residents only. Cannot be shipped internationally.)