WHAT IS ON YOUR SOMEDAY LIST?
Regardless of whether we sit down with pen and paper to craft a formal “someday list,” many of us secretly dream, or verbally declare what we want to someday accomplish.
Sometimes we don’t tell others because we fear they’ll laugh or think we’re foolish. When I buckled down and got serious about finishing my first book, only one person knew I was writing, until I typed “The End.” I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, and I didn’t want the pressure of having people ask how it was going or questioning whether it was any good. Once I finished that first draft, I asked a few fellow writers to critique it, but there was something special about pursuing this goal in solitude. I felt in sync with God and free to follow where He creatively led me.
At other times, I’ve boldly declared my heart’s desire, and I’ve been humbled and delighted when God has worked through others to bring it to pass. Had I not shared my vision on those occasions, who knows whether those connections would have happened?
In
The Someday List, Jillian describes how she made some bold declarations early in life that surely left some around her scoffing. As she shares her list in Chapter Four, even she seems amazed at all she has achieved.
Rachelle, on the other hand, realizes that whatever she may have dreamed of as a 20-something student got derailed by fear, trying to please others, and striving to fit a mold of what her life should look like. Those choices have crippled her. As hard as she tries to pinpoint some personal goals, she can’t. She doesn’t know what she wants out of life anymore.
Unfortunately, Rachelle’s dilemma isn’t farfetched. Many of us get consumed by the cares that come with working and paying bills, raising children, serving the community or in church, and nurturing relationships. Amid this busyness, we sometimes forget to nurture two of the most important relationships: the one between us and God, and the one between us and ourselves.
Yet, a vibrant connection to God and routine self-care are critical, if you are to become the woman or the man God has called you to be.
We can’t fully walk in our purpose unless we take time to hear Him and understand the call He has on our lives. Once we embrace our purpose, we can’t fulfill it if we’re emotionally drained, lack positive support, or have no time to rest and just “be.”
In the few quiet moments we do have, it’s important to take stock of where we are and where we want to go. It’s important to invite God to search our hearts and to show us anything that may be hindering our blessings.
When we find the courage to purge those ills, to make ourselves a priority, and to take everything to God, we can trust that He’ll help us fill our “someday lists” with big things and small things that will make our hearts sing.
My character Jillian understands that. Rachelle is on the journey to knowing.
Where do you find yourself? What’s on your list already? What small steps can you take now to avoid “someday regrets” and make your “someday” your today?
Let’s chat about it.
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ABOUT THE BOOK
The Someday List
Jubilant Soul Series Book One
by Stacy Hawkins Adams
Rachelle Covington has it all. A fabulous home, a handsome and prestigious husband, two beautiful children, and a place in the upper crust that’s quite comfortable. But her life is not all it’s cracked up to be. When her husband goes away on business trip and the kids are sent off to the grandparents for a month, Rachelle takes up the challenge of a dying friend to start a list of things to do before she dies. She heads back to Jubilant, Texas, to reconnect with her past, her purpose, and herself. But when her ex shows up in town looking very fine and very single, Rachelle must confront feelings she thought she’d long buried. Will she give up everything to recover the past? Or will she find a reason to plan for the future? The Someday List is an honest look at what makes us who we are and what can throw us off track. Author Stacy Hawkins Adams writes with a voice that is fresh, sincere, and completely real. Her characters jump off the page and into her readers’ hearts.
For more information about Stacy, visit her at stacyhawkinsadams.com.
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THE SOMEDAY LIST BLOG GIVEAWAY
Tell Us One Item on Your Someday List. Leave your answer in the comment section. Participants will be entered into a drawing for the The Someday List Blog Giveaway. View the prize package below:
- $50 American Express Gift Card
- Autographed Copies of all of Stacy’s books: Speak to My Heart, Nothing But the Right Thing, and Watercolored Pearls, and the anthologies The Midnight Clear and This Far By Faith.
- 20% Discount Coupon from Tywebbin Creations. (May apply to one service)
Join Us for an Hour Long Chat with Stacy on January 30, 2009. We will announce theGRAND PRIZE WINNER of the THE SOMEDAY LIST BLOG TOUR GIVEAWAY during the call.
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THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY TODAY!
Continue to visit other stops on The Someday List Blog Tour at:
http://www.stacyhawkinsadams.com/blog
Final general discussion
During this blog tour, I’ve spent two weeks sharing details about myself, my writing journey and a few things that have filled my personal someday list. But today, I thought I’d talk generally about the point of even having a list like this, and what it meant to the fictional characters in my novel.
Related
Angela Benson
Great blog!
Okay, one item on my Someday List is to renew my CPA license, teach accounting at the college level and to start a bookkeeping/tax service.
Angela, thank you for being so gracious and hosting Stacy on your blog today. I hope you have a blessed weekend and many blessings on your next writing endeavor. I’m looking forward to reading it!
Blessings,
Ty
I’ve never written out my someday list but one small thing I’d like to do is visit Alaska. I love nature. Thanks for the review here’s anither book to go on my to read list.
Stacy,
There’s value in writing things down. It’s becomes a personal contract with oneself when you make the written committment. Also, spiritually writing a thing down may cause you to ponder it more deeply. More importantly the Bible tells us in Habakkuk 2:2 “Write the vision, and make it plain on tables, that he may run that reads it.” For many years I thought the run part meant those who read it would be afraid, but then about 12 years ago my pastor taught on this scripture and explained the run was “run with it”, “get busy” “do it”. So God has told us that writing down our goals and dreams and plans gives them more power. I believe when I write it, it will happen by virtue of HIS word. Prophetically, those things I write…happen, so I am faitful to do it.
Without writing a novel here, I think that in the end, the list for Jillian enabled her to look back and see that her life was filled with accomplishments. For Rachelle, the list became a starting place for her.
Angela,
Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog. I am honored!
Thanks also to all who shared some of the dreams on their list, and to Rhonda for sharing “a word” on Habakkuk 2:2. I flipped open my Bible on New Year’s Eve and my eyes landed on this exact verse – no kidding. I hear God’s message loud and clear.
Blessings to All, Stacy
Hi Angela and Stacy,
Thank you Angela for introducing me to Stacy. Thank you Stacy for letting God use you to write what sounds like a great book.
Thank you Rhonda for pointing out that scripture. I have been planning a website and a book and have been dragging my feet. I need to “Write the vision, and make it plain on tables, … and run with it. I just need more “oil in my lamp” to keep me burnin’ for God.
My “someday list” includes writing a book about the Lord’s influence on my life and, glorifying Him thru a website.
Hi Angela and Stacey!
Thanks for the introduction to “The Someday List.” I am very eager to read the book. One item on my someday list is – learn how to swim 🙂