Writing Spaces July 23, 2015

Hello dear ones! Believe it or not, I am still writing my trilogy The Truth Seeker’s Chronicles. I’m on the second book and hope to release all three at the same time. I’ve made it a priority to leave the house once a week and go write. Some of this time is taken up writing my blog as well. I found several nifty places to write. I’m excited to have found these, because it’s easy to be creative in the right atmosphere. Here are some spots in downtown Columbus, Ga.

Iron Bank Coffee~ Iron Bank is my favorite place to write. The classy coffee/snack shop is located inside an actual old bank. They have a large room upstairs that can be reserved. The two vaults on the main floor are decorated rustic chic and one has a couch to sit on. The prices are reasonable and the service wonderful. I also like to sit by the window and look out at the street. They also have live bands and special events like Trivia night.

Looking at the rain while sitting by the door

Upstairs ~ I can just imagine rich bankers standing around discussing business up here long long ago.

The Vaults

Freeze Frame Yogurt Shop~ I’m not as acquainted with Freeze Frame but I like it so far. It stays open later than Iron Bank. You can customize your yogurt and you pay by the ounce. It’s similar to Sweet Frog but it has the rustic feel of downtown.  They have local artwork on the brick walls. I found this very unique gummy frog to put on my yogurt. I didn’t eat it though. It was too cute. I was pleased with the service as well.

Picasso Pizza~  I like to eat outside of this pizzeria and hear different musicians play an acoustic set. One day I listened to these elderly chaps play the blues. Sometimes our contemporary music minister plays here. The pizza is delicious, and one slice is enough to fill me up. The only problem with writing outside during the Summer is the bugs. I think I’ll like it more in the fall.

There’s still so much of downtown to explore. I hope to share more with you soon. God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Mommy Confessions: The Beginning May 16, 2014

Hello dear ones! I just saw this awesome movie called Mom’s Night Out. It reminded me that all moms are loved by God and that we are enough. We all have our different ways of being a mother (stay at home, adoptive, working, single, homeschooling etc…). Still, God made us the mother (adoptive or natural) of our kids and no one else can be that for them.

I thought about a conversation I had with some mommy friends a year or so ago.  If you don’t know me, I’m a homeschooling mom and stay at home wife. I chose this life and I know God called me to it. This life works for my family and we quite enjoy it.  It’s not a perfect life but it’s good.  Anywho, so we have a homeschooling group and that’s where I get my social time. It’s nice to be able to talk with other mommies in a similar situation. We are not all the same though. That is a common misconception. Homeschooling moms are diverse just like any other group of moms.  So…back to the story.

Well, a new mom had come to the group and my friend and I were getting to know her. I don’t know about you but I’ve observed a few mommy rituals. When a new mom visits we have to feel her out. Does she have anything in common with me? Will she judge me? Will I judge her? Does she appear to have it altogether? Is she struggling? Where do I fit in, around her?  So we started talking about our values, our do’s and don’ts of parenting. A couple times we agreed. I’m a liberal conservative (yeah, I know) so I felt uncomfortable on some things. I was at that point where I was feeling like the weird mom. That’s when the confessions broke out.

“I confess. We eat Mcdonalds.”

And then the other moms starting confessing.

“I actually liked Twilight.”

“Sometimes my kids…”

And it went from there. We took a breath and let loose. The walls were down. We were no longer trying to be the perfect mom. We were no longer secretly judging each other’s choices. We were just moms, united by who we are. We laughed and we talked for an hour or two. It was beautiful.

I loved the movie Mom’s Night Out because it shows how moms judge each other and themselves, but it also shows how we can get past our judgements and just embrace one another. It’s such an encouraging movie.  Sometimes the “perfect” mom is really struggling and needs friends. Maybe she doesn’t have many friends because their insecurities keep them from hanging out with her.  Whether you have one kid or twenty, we are all moms and we all have struggles. It’s ridiculous to compare ourselves because our situations are unique. A mom juggling five kids isn’t any better than a mom of one kid. Just because someone isn’t the natural mother doesn’t mean she isn’t a mother.

I remember a time that I heard someone say that you never really know what it’s like to be a mom until you have more than one kid. It hurt because it’ll take a miracle for me to give birth to another child. I do have two almost adopted twins in Heaven. But as far as raising kids goes, I’ve  got one.  The Lord has seen fit to close my womb for now, whether that be secondary infertility or wat knot. My struggles are different but I’m still a mom.  The mother of three is just as much a mother as the mother of twenty. My mom has two daughters. My sister has a different dad and she came home twice a year. So my Mom knows what it’s like to raise one kid and also to raise two. She encouraged me that they both have challenges. They’re different, not better than the other.

We need to get over thinking that another mom is better or worse than us. I speak this to myself. Amber, just be human. Don’t be the worst mom or the super mom. Just be human and accept that other moms are human too. At the end of the day it is God who does the most parenting. I can’t keep an eye on my child every second but God can. He steps in and smoothes out the rough edges.  I can’t and shouldn’t be god to my child or to anyone. I can only be human and that’s enough. God knew I’d be human and that I’d be a human mom. It’s in His plan. So goodbye scarlet letter and goodbye glowing mommy cape. I don’t need either. I just need my God and he says I’m enough.

Here’s Mommy confession # 1 (it’s a picture)

Do you have any confessions? We can be human here. Just keep it clean please :).

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Mommy Confessions # 2: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2014/05/25/why-we-dont-spank-anymore-a-conservative-mothers-confession/

Hear the Writer Roar! Tuesday: Legalism, a Poem April 15, 2014

Hello dear ones! How are you? This poem I wrote today is based on an actual dream I had many years ago. It was more of a nightmare and last night during prayer the dream came to my mind and I now understand what I was dealing with. Hence, the inspiration for this poem. Please don’t copy but you can share this link. Thanks! God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Legalism

By Amber Dover

I met a demon named Legalism

once upon a dream,

He was fat and ugly

and  he laughed at me.

I rebuked him but he would not go away,

I didn’t know then

but my pride had allowed him to stay.

The plump fella levitated

and stared malevolently.

I choose to send him to the abyss,

because Christ has already set me free!

No longer will I feed him

with my works-based theology and lack of grace.

I’ll feast upon God’s love,

and spit the bones in his face.

And as the imp shrinks to nothing

in his fiery cell,

I’ll wave “goodbye” forever,

shouting “enjoy Hell!”

Mommy Guilt & Blog Envy: Focusing on YOUR God-given Abilities January 18, 2014

Hello dear ones! I wanted  to send out a short encouragement to moms. Thriving magazine (a Christian magazine for families) had a great article about Pinterest and Mommy Blog envy.It got me thinking. It’s easy in this world of Facebook and Pinterest, to compare ourselves to others. We envy what we believe to be the picture perfect family. We want OUR husbands to act like THOSE husbands. We want OUR children to behave like THOSE kids. We WISH our home looked like THOSE pictures. If only WE could cook like that or craft that way. Friend, don’t do it! Turn back now! Turn off the computer for a month if you need to. There is a much better way to live, I assure you!

Alexey Tyranov [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

One of my favorite verses is 1 Timothy 6:6

“But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (KJV)

                 Contentment is something our society desperately lacks. We’ve got godliness to an extent. There are some wonderful faith filled people out there. But contentment is really hard to find. Media and advertisers capitalize on envy. You see it in the ads. You see it on social media. Our society’s thirst for more…for better. This is old news. So what?

                   Allow me to put words in your mouth one sec please ;). So, Amber, you say, what do we do about this conundrum? Well, dear ones (in my super voice)… Okay…sorry. I’ll quit with that. Seriously, cultivating thankfulness and thanking God for what you DO have is the first step. Then ask the Lord what He wants you to do with what you have. I’m not saying, don’t push yourself or learn from others. Sometimes God asks us to change. What I AM saying, is please don’t trap yourself and your family by trying to be someone you’re not and were never made to be.

                  I am not against social media. You know I love Mommy blogs and Pinterest. Here’s a suggestion that has helped me and maybe it will help you. I like to pin things that I want to actually try and have hopes of doing. I like pictures and sometimes I pin things just for the fun of looking at them. But I caution you and myself about pinning a bunch of things that just make you drool. If you look at those pins and regret the life God gave you, if you wish you were THAT person, or had THAT life…then slowly back away. If that Mommy blog makes you feel like crap about your own parenting then either unsubscribe or ask God to show you your strengths. It is possible to appreciate another Mom’s strengths and NOT want to BE her.

                  I get  a lot of people who compliment my crafting and I often hear “I wish I was crafty”. Please don’t put yourself and your kids through that. If you hate crafting and have no crafty bone in your body, please don’t stress yourself and others by trying to be a crafty Mom. What is your strength? What are your abilities? If God wants you to branch out in something new, then great. If it’s from God then HE will provide what you need and it won’t be based in envy.

                  Maybe you are great at cooking and eating healthy. If you’re a homeschooler then use your strength and bake bread with your kids to teach math etc. Or if you’re sporty then use that in your school. You don’t have to know it all. There is nothing wrong with hiring tutors. If your kid loves something that you’re not good at, then get them a class to go to or the stuff they need to teach themselves.  Whether a kid homeschools, private schools, or public schools there will be gaps in their education. No one kid can know it all or be taught everything. Kids will naturally do better in some areas and worse in others. If God has called you to homeschool then he will equip you. He doesn’t expect you to change personalities. I will never be sporty. So Michael has been in different programs etc…My gym, karate, flag football…etc. I don’t ride bikes with him. He does that with my Mom and step Dad who are much healthier than me.

                           Back to Mommy guilt & envy in a sec…I want to touch on spouse envy real quick. When I was newly married, we had close friends that were pregnant the same time we were (I was…lol Chris wasn’t pregnant). Every year they seemed to pop out another kiddo and well, we  became infertile. The wife was married to a Pastor’s son that I grew up with. Her hubby was super attentive and planned romantic dates. My husband is a loner and super redneck. He’d rather watch youtube videos and get his Jeep dirty. They stayed with us one weekend and I took the wife out for a pedicure. I was amazed that she had never had one before. She told me that her hubby didn’t like them to be apart for long and she rarely had time to herself. She told me how lucky I was that Chris let me have girl time so much. I was shocked. I realized that day, that the grass isn’t greener on the other side. I happen to love my alone time. I couldn’t stand it if Chris was super clingy. I love romance….but only when I want it lol….not every second. A girl’s gotta have time to think :).  Anywho, we parted ways, both being thankful to have the husband God had given us.  Over the years as I’ve seen the differences in our family, I’ve learned to be thankful.

                       Now…Mommy envy. A good bit of my friends are “crunchy” and super healthy. Many have bigger houses and more kids. I admire them for who they are. Sometimes I wish I was Michelle Duggar. I wish I had more patience and was barefoot and always pregnant. The truth is that my only lil girl will probably be my french bulldog Annabelle. Michael may be our only natural child. And though I want to better myself, I really enjoy junk food and video games. There I said it! I like being a night owl. I enjoy having just one kid to chase around and I enjoy how close I am to my son. I like being able to have a flexible lifestyle. I LOVE how my kid can make his own breakfast and let me sleep in a bit. Does that make me a bad mommy? No, I’m just a different Mommy. I blog about crafts and take a million pictures because I love it! It’s not because I want to be famous or make other moms feel insecure. I do this blog thing because I want to and it’s a ministry. I get bored quickly and I can’t stand the monotonous. I love homeschool because it changes each year.

                                       I love this life God has given me. Sometimes I complain and I wish but at the end of the day I wouldn’t want to be you or anyone else. I love my lil house and how the counters are short enough for me. I like the clutter and the art supplies everywhere. People ask how I do it all. Well, I don’t. No Mom does it all. You pick and choose what is important to you. My house is cluttered and honestly it only gets major cleanings before guests visit. Our carpet has paint on it and dog fur. My “office” is a mess. My grandma visited once and made the comment that she always heard that kids with messy houses are happier. Yeah, I felt dandy after that lol.

                              The truth is, if I tried to have a spotless house, woke up at 5 am, and cooked gourmet dinners every night, then what I am good at, would fall behind. If I had a dozen kids, I probably wouldn’t have time to write a book. I probably wouldn’t bother with intricate crafts. I’d probably be terrified of painting in the house. Sure, if we didn’t have an ark, we wouldn’t have so much animal fur and smells…..but then we also wouldn’t have so many crazy awesome pet personalities to keep us entertained. If we had a bigger house then there would be more to clean…ugg, no thank you!

                               Okay, so this was my “short” post…..another Amber thing. Hey, I’m a writer :). So I plead with you, be YOU…not me…not the other Mommy bloggers…not the fictional Pinterest Mommy that does everything. What does God want you to do today? You will always fall short in some areas because you are human. You will never be the perfect Mom, wife, or teacher. You can seem to be perfect and completely lack love. Whatever your parenting style is…run with it :). Love God with all your heart and love your family as yourself. At the end of the day, your kids will care more about your love than your superb craft or lesson plan. I’m here with you…learning. I know at the end of my life I won’t say “Oh I wish I had done more crafts.”

                      I love you dear ones and I pray for you. God made you unique and there are so many beautiful ways you can shine his light in this world. Trying to be someone else is not that way. It’s fun to learn new things, challenge yourself, and heck…even try a celebrity hairstyle. You know your motives….is it fun and to better yourself or is it envy? I challenge you to ask God to try your heart today. What are you thankful for? In what ways are you content? How can you practice contentment and mirror that to your family?

    Please leave me some comment love if you will. God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

PS: This was directed towards mommies but others can definitely apply the same principles. Everyone deals with envy sometime in their lives.

Hear the Writer Roar! Tuesday: NaNoWriMo Time! November 5, 2013

Are you ready for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)? I am and I’ve got my first Vlog to prove it :).  Email sub. if you can’t see the vid please come to my site.  Forgive me dear ones for the scary night time face. I figured the Hogwarts hat would help ;). God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

NaNoWriMo time video~ 1st Vlog

PS: If you are a Wrimo this year please leave me a comment. How do you prepare? What keeps you going? Do you have a chocolate stash too?

Hear the Writer Roar! Tuesday: “David”, a short poem September 10, 2013

Dear ones, it’s Tuesday and I have another poem to share. It’s based on a sad but true story. My poems are a bit melancholy but I find it helps me to write about sad times. Please don’t copy but you can share the link. God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

“David”

by Amber Dover

Sept 2013

I hear your slurred speech,

I see your child-like face.

You were broken in so many ways.

She stole your soul  when she stabbed you.

But you sat there and listened to Dad preach.

You came so close but hope was just out of reach.

I pray you knew Jesus

before you met your fate,

Before they found you lying

dead in the paint.

Curse depression! Curse addiction!

You should’ve never died in shame.

May God hold you now, David.

I’ll never forget your name.

Hear the Writer Roar! Tuesday: Porcelain Doll July 23, 2013

Dear ones, I wanted to share a vulnerable spot in my heart, with you. Here’s a poem I wrote a couple years ago at a time that my pain and illness was really making me feel isolated and useless. Please don’t copy but you can share the link. The picture is an old Second Life pic from The Companion sim I think. I’m not sure if it’s still there but it was a beautiful place for the pic and it’s perfect that my avatar was sitting on a bed because I’m usually in the bed a lot during the winter when my pain is at it’s worst. Please turn on images because the poem is written on a picture below my gut pouring (scroll all the way down please).

Most of my posts are cheerful and busy. My melancholy side comes out in my poetry and I rarely share this with people. But I know it’s good to realize that bloggers are human. There is flesh and blood behind the pretty pictures. It is only by God’s grace that I stand at all. Please keep me in your prayers and my family. My hubby and I both deal with bad pain when the weather changes and also when there’s change in air pressure. The rain has really caused a lot of pain lately….him with his knees and shoulders. Mine all over but the worst in my fingers and a new thing, my elbows. Little man has pain too and I pray it’s just growing pains. His bones pop like crazy and that concerns me. It breaks my heart that Michael’s parents are so broken in our twenties. This is a time when we should be able to play with him but he gets more active play and exercise when he’s with his Nana and Grandad than with us.

Just some insight in to what I mean. I noticed a year and a half or more ago that the fingers on my right hand are slowly curving. More and more my right hand is becoming pitiful. A couple weeks ago during our family Olympics, I had to use my left hand to bowl some. It still hurt a lot to bowl but I tried to switch back n forth and keep the pain tolerable. I just pray my fingers will get better so I can continue to type. I’ve had to give up dancing (clogging etc..), choir, and family theater. I really don’t want to lose blogging. So of course I’m going to push myself and smile despite this pain. But it is an inward battle that’s outwardly invisible and a bit lonely to deal with. I thank God for my hubby who can understand. If we’re broken at least we can be broken together and understand each other’s limitations. He’s only a year older than me so he gets the whole feeling old but really being young thing.

I don’t want to be a downer but maybe this will help others who are suffering the same way. I know there is that pressure to put on a smile and keep trucking. People just can’t handle seeing suffering. I can understand that side too because I saw my Dad suffer bad before he died. It was very hard to be around him because you hate seeing those you love suffer. But I also knew that if I didn’t visit he would feel abandoned and that’d be selfish. Sadly, many people didn’t visit him because they couldn’t handle his suffering. It’s rough when someone’s feet is rotting off and the whole room smells. But I got to say that it’s harder for the person that’s suffering, in pain, and lonely. I’m thankful that I serve a God who was and is willing to get face to face with Lepers. He doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty. Thank you Jesus! I love you!

Now, finally…the poem 🙂. God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

PS: some of this will be cut off so you’ll need to click on the picture to read the whole thing :).

What You Say or Don’t Say is What We Get…… July 2, 2013

Hello dear ones! Enjoy this reblog from my Mom’s site. If you can’t see it in email then you’ll need to come to my blog. God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Ann Littlefield

Hello everyone!  Welcome back to the world of handwriting analysis!  Today we are going to take a look at your lower case letters, ‘a’ and ‘o’.  These letters tell us how you ‘communicate’.  

The Webster dictionary says to communicate is to convey knowledge or info about; make known (to share).  In other words when you communicate you are impacting or bestowing–revealing and sharing with others. We are looking at the verbal way of communicating.

So, with this in mind, let’s take a look at your a’s and o’s.  Are they open? Do they have lines through them or loops? Let’s take a look at the examples below and see if you can spot your communication letters!

Let’s look at the first line of a’s and o’s where there are no lines, or loops inside the round area. This writer will be honest, and frank in communicating.

The second set…

View original post 254 more words

Hear the Writer Roar! Tuesday: Kiss of Grace June 18, 2013

Hello dear ones. I thought I’d share another poem today. Watch out…I may get in a habit of this lol. Again please don’t copy but you can give the link. I wrote this years ago during a hard time in my life. I know it’s hard for people to hear that Christians and those with good families can also deal with bad depression. But I know that Jesus has gotten me through some doozies and that I am completely weak without him. So I guess this is me boasting in my weakness. I’m going through a hard time right now with an ill family member. So please keep my family in your prayers. God has always got me through in the past (even when I couldn’t lift my head) so I know he will get me through now. That doesn’t mean there won’t be pain and sorrow. I just look to His arms to hold me and my loved ones. Anywho, here is my poem.

Kiss of Grace

by Amber Dover

March 27th, 2008

Come on. I need a rider on a white horse,

I’m dying in this hell.

Everyday it gets harder to be strong,

I don’t wanna fail.

But I bleed inside,

please kiss away my pain.

I’m ready to fall off the edge,

I’m begging for the rain.

I wonder if I scream will anyone hear?

If I cut myself will they see my fear?

I’m so desperate,

but I have a life to live.

I have a family,

I have such beauty to give.

Jesus, I can’t hide and I can’t escape,

so I give you my all.

You have to rescue my heart,

God, please don’t let me fall.

I’m struggling,

struggling just to stand.

I’m drowning in weakness,

please hold my hand.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Hear the Writer Roar! Tuesday: Mom May 28, 2013

Hello dear ones. I’ve decided to start featuring some of my poetry on Tuesdays. Today I start with a Mother’s Day Poem. Please do not copy. You can share a link to my blog though.  God bless & enjoy! ~Amber Dover

Mom

by Amber Dover

written on 5-11-13

     When I think of you

I think of dancing to the Jackson Five,

I think of pizza and ice cream

and the joy of being alive.

Like a flower you kept me

wild and free,

still gently urging

that I be the best me.

I think of you with sunsets

down an Indian Summer road.

I think of you with thunder

and sitting quietly in the cold.

I see you in my shadow

and I see you in the mirror,

even when we are apart

you will always be near.

For a mother’s love is timeless

and yours is certainly so,

Mom, I love you forever.

I just thought I’d let you know.