Get Talking - Goals

Are you ready for this week's question? Well here it is:

What's one goal you're working towards right now?

A goal that I'm working on right now are my reading challenges for the year. I always set a target of how many books I want to read over the course of the year. This year the number is 120. So far I have read 48. I've got 8 books in various stages of being read and I recently bought some new books! There will also be a vast selection of books that I choose to re-read - like a bunch of old friends!
Some of these books will also be included in the specific reading challenges that I have chosen to participate in this year (speaking of those, I really should do a new update very soon). The original post where I outlined which challenges I am doing for the year can be found here.

Get Talking - Optimism

Are you a person who sees the glass half-full or half-empty? I think we a call be a bit of both, depending on the circumstances. However, on the whole I think I'm more a glass half-full person. There have been many times in my life where the negative circumstances have been overwhelming, but I have been able to find something in that to make me laugh or smile and find joy. This brings me to the question for this week:

What are you optimistic about?

I am optimistic about my life (most of the time) because I know that God knows exactly what He is doing and I don't have to worry about what will happen because He has everything under control.

ACRBA Tour - Glimpses of Light by Jeanette O'Hagen & Nola Passmore

2 - 6 May

Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance

is introducing

Glimpses of Light

(By the Light Books, 15 December 2015)

Edited by  Jeanette O'Hagan and Nola L Passmore

About the Book:

Be challenged, captivated and moved by these imaginative reflections on faith, help in time of need, joy in the midst of tragedy, and surprising encounters with God.

During 2015, the International Year of Light, twenty-one authors from Australia and the United States have come together to explore the theme of 'glimpses of light'—finding light in dark places—through short stories, poems, flash fiction and creative non-fiction.

Glimpses of Light includes contributions from respected and award-winning authors and poets Jo-Anne Berthelsen, Paula Vince, Lynne Stringer, Adele Jones, Jo Wanmer, Jeanette Grant-Thomson and Ellen Carr, as well as exciting new talent.

Profits from this anthology go to CBM Australia, giving sight to the blind.

About the Authors

JEANETTE O'HAGAN

Jeanette O’Hagan enjoys writing fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. She is writing her Akrad’s Legacy Series—a Young Adult secondary world fantasy fiction with adventure, courtly intrigue and romantic elements. Her short stories and poems are published in Tied in Pink romance anthology, Another Time Another Place, Poetica Christi’s Inner Child, Let the Sea Roar, Like a Girl. 

Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and, more recently, a Master’s in writing. She loves reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends, pondering the meaning of life and communicating God’s great love. She lives in Brisbane with her husband and children. 

Website: jeanetteohagan.com

NOLA PASSMORE

Nola Passmore’s poetry, devotions, inspirational articles, and short fiction have appeared in magazines, journals and anthologies in Australia and overseas. Although she’s a former academic with qualifications in creative writing, psychology, and Christian ministry; she’s found that you can never underestimate the power of friends and mentors in the writing journey.

With ringleader roles in Quirky Quills and the Toowoomba chapter of Omega Writers, she’ll be nagging (oops, encouraging) other writers for some time. She and her husband Tim have a freelance writing and editing business called The Write Flourish. 

Website: www.thewriteflourish.com.au

My Thoughts:

While I personally did not enjoy this book, other than the last chapter written by Jo-Anne Berthelsen, those of you who like fantasy books may like this one. I do not enjoy fantasy, and that is predominantly what this book is.
So if you do like fantasy, maybe you could buy this book and at the same time support CBM Australia in the work that they are doing in poorer countries around the world.

Get Talking - Career

Careers are funny things. They can remain the same for one person for their whole working life, while others change jobs/careers every 10 years (or less).

What one thing could you do tomorrow to enhance or change your career path for the better?

One thing I could do is to enrol in the Diploma course to improve my qualifications. Or course, that will require money, which I do not currently have; or a change in the government regulations to enable me to get government funding to do the course, significantly reducing the cost to me.