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

Jesus, Our Precious Gift: An Interactive Christmas Drama 2014 December 17, 2014

Hello dear ones! By God’s grace, I wrote a nativity play for our homeschool group. I also had an Advent craft and goodies for the kiddos. If you read my Easter play post then you know I do my plays a bit differently. No one memorizes lines and the kids/audience interact as they watch the adults perform. My son Michael performs too and again was a big help. Here’s the link for the Easter drama:

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2014/05/11/easter-week-jesus-our-passover-lamb-easter-drama/

Alrighty, onto how this went down :). I played Mary who was the Narrator.

Here’s the cast list:
Mary/ Narrator- Me
Joseph- Michael, my son
Gabriel- Hannah
Herod- Stacie
Elizabeth- Erin
Zachariah- Michael, my son
Simeon- Stacie
Anna- Rachel

Wise Men, Shepherds, Angels, & Animals~ played by children/audience
Jesus & John~ baby dolls

So the other homeschool moms stepped up nicely to play the main parts. Michael and Stacie played double roles.  I was very excited to include lesser known characters in the play, like Anna and Simeon.

I didn’t have the time or motivation to make all the props/costumes this year. I bought most of it from Oriental trading.
Setting:
Bethlehem backdrop (used for Nazareth & Jerusalem too)
Cave with manger- made from a cardboard box
Cross backdrop
Altar with incense- We just pretended for this.
Chair for Mary to sit on

I had my audience pretend to go back in time with me. Then the children picked their costumes and watched and waited for their part in the story. We have a small group so this worked well.

We began our story by meeting Anna and Simeon in the temple. Simeon explains the dark times the Israelites were in but how God has made him a promise. I wanted to follow the Biblical time line. Most Nativity stories smoosh everything together and leave parts out. We of course did not see Simeon’s big moment until after Jesus was born. I wanted the kids to get an idea though of how everyone was waiting for the messiah. Simeon and Anna set that up.

Then we moved on to Zachariah’s encounter with the angel Gabriel and the prophecy of John. John would prepare the way for the Messiah. If you celebrate Advent then you know the Advent wreathe has four main candles (not including the Christ candle that lights them all). The candles represent Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace. The scenes in the drama each represented a candle. The prophetic scenes represent Hope.

Michael as Zachariah. You can read about this scene in Luke 1.

My best buddy Hannah as the angel Gabriel and also her daughter Miriam as an angel in training ;).

Zachariah loses his voice because he doesn’t believe the angel.

We head to Nazareth to meet Joseph, and Mary goes from Narrator mode to being in the story. All of the next part is also found in Luke 1.

Gabriel visits the virgin Mary and tells her that she will have the Son of God, Jesus.

Scene 2: Love (God prepares the world for His gift of Love)
Mary and the audience travel to Zachariah and Elizabeth’s where John the baptist is born. Zachariah’s voice comes back as he announces John’s name and proclaims the prophecy.

Erin as Elizabeth with the baby John.

Mary returns to Nazareth and Joseph finds out she’s pregnant. He doesn’t believe the miracle until he has a dream with Gabriel in it. Now he knows Jesus is the Son of God. Mary hasn’t cheated on him.

Joseph takes Mary as his wife. King Herod (Stacie) announces Caesar Augustus’ decree that everyone should return to their hometown to be registered. Joseph and Mary embark on the journey to Bethlehem. Silent Night played while we walked around the room.

Scene 3: Joy (Jesus is born) story found in Luke 2 and Matthew 1.

Mary tells Joseph the baby is coming. There is no room for them except with the animals. It was most likely a cave not a stable. We used a box with straw in it for the manger.

Baby Jesus is born.

Angels appear to shepherds in the field and announce the baby’s birth. Luke 2: 8-21

We pause at the manger scene to sing Joy to the World.

Scene 4: Peace
Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus go to the temple for Jesus to be dedicated. We run into Simeon and Anna again. Simeon holds the baby and makes a big speech (sorry no pics. Rachel the photographer was playing Anna). Luke 2:22-38

Meanwhile, the wise men ask King Herod where the Messiah will be born. Matthew 2:1-12

He tells them Bethlehem and God sends a star that the wise men follow to Jesus. Mary and Joseph are in a house at this point and Jesus could be as old as 2 yrs. We don’t know. The audience/children used glow sticks to be the Christmas star.

The wise men (maybe 3 maybe not. We don’t know) give 3 gifts. Mary holds up the gifts and explains them.

Gold, a gift for the King of kings. Frankincense, like the incense the priests burned, to represent the Priests of all priests. Lastly, myrrh, a perfume used in burial, a reminder that Jesus would die to save us from sin.

Scene 5: Christ, Our Light

The Wise men return home and Herod realizes that they are not coming back to him. King Herod is furious and commands that all baby boys 2 and under should be killed.

Joseph is warned in a dream. Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus flee to Egypt until King Herod dies.

Everyone exits except Mary. Mary goes to the cross backdrop and explains that Christ brings light to the darkness. Jesus grew up and died on a cross to save the world from sin. Then three days later he arose from the dead. One day Christ will return and destroy all evil. There will be no more sickness or sorrow. We ended the play by singing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”. Then we hopped in our time machine to have snacks and crafts.

Shout out to all the awesome moms who helped make the play possible. All of the pictures were taken by my friend Rachel. She has a cool blog. Right now Rachel and her daughter Maggie are making ornaments for the Jesse tree. Check her out: http://homeschoolingmom2mags.blogspot.com/

Michael and I made Red Velvet Cake Balls for the treat. Recipe here: http://www.bakerella.com/red-velvet-cake-balls/

I put together treat bags for the kids.

Nativity stickers

The craft was a simple Advent wheel that the kids colored. I found it on Oriental Trading too.

Here’s a link with Nativity facts:
https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2012/12/24/my-family-rocks-sunday-nativity-facts-the-end-of-advent

I hope the play inspires you. God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

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!”

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 :).

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.

Hear the Writer Roar! Tuesday: Parents in Children’s Novels April 9, 2013

Hello dear ones. So Michael has been sick since last night. I’m recovering from the Star Wars birthday party I threw for him Saturday (thanks Mom for your help!). I haven’t written much these last several days. I’m trying to get in author mode. And I read this interesting article that got me thinking:

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/when-parents-kill-parents-in-the-name-of-literature/

The author talks about the somewhat absent or bad parents that are often in children’s novels. She mentions “The Little House” series, Narnia, and The Secret Garden. I can think of several myself. She goes on to say how the authors were parents themselves and how she has even had absentee parents in her novel. Check out the article. She has an interesting way of explaining this “phenomena” in Children’s literature.

So I thought about my own books and how the children also take off on their own adventure. I can understand the need for this so that kids can imagine growing up. Most children’s books are coming of age stories. The fiction helps us deal with the hardships of growing up.  Still, I think maybe my character’s parents need a bit of grace. They are practically living in the dark ages with the curse and all. So maybe there will be redemption for Emmanuel’s folks. Being a parent is hard.

I myself, am a super involved parent.  We both slept in the living room last night and I checked on him constantly. I miss when Michael was tiny and I treasure every moment of his childhood (He’s almost 7 !). But I know one day he has to grow up. I doubt he will learn to ride Falkor and save Fantasia. But my goal as a parent is to prepare him for adulthood. It is my mission, my calling from God, to raise Michael with a love for Jesus, Godly character, and the ability to take care of himself in the world.

The books we write, fellow authors, are legacies we leave to our children and many others. May we leave them truths to guide them amidst the fantasy. Because they are learning something whether we believe it or not.  Parenting is heart rending. On one hand you are pushing your kid out of the nest so they can fly and on the other hand, you’re grasping at their childhood like dandelions blowing in the wind. It’s like catching lightening bugs. You treasure them for a moment but then have to let them go free.

So today I will consider what I’ve learned and show my characters to give their parents grace. Though I think they already have and will once they see their folks again. Maybe the parents will have more of a presence in the next two books. Well, back to writing…

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

Hear the Writer Roar! Tuesday: Camp NaNoWriMo March 26, 2013

Hello dear ones! You may remember that I took the NaNoWriMo challenge back in November to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I didn’t reach the target word count but I did come close to finishing my book. This April you can join Camp NaNoWriMo, set your own word count, and have cabin mates for the journey. I’m finishing up my first book this week and I’ll start the second book in  camp. I’ll also be working on editing  the first and Chris is going to help me create covers with photo shop. I’m so excited! Lord willing, you will be able to read the first book this year and who knows? maybe the second as well!

http://www.campnanowrimo.org/

Please let me know if you join. They already picked random cabin mates for me but I can message other campers.  Hmmm….should I set the tent up in the living room and go there to write? lol

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