Good morning, friends! I’ve been meaning to write for at least a couple of weeks now, but life has been so busy.

It seems like November has been a blur of activity on the home front. With the holidays approaching, I’ve been cleaning out and organizing like crazy. We also moved our two youngest boys into a new bedroom, and are in the beginning stages of organizing our bonus room into a library and work room for my Etsy shop of sorts. Glory be! Oh, and I also finished writing the eighth novel in my Amish of Appalachia series.

Today is gearing up to be busy as well. After hosting a small Thanksgiving meal with my mother and daughter’s boyfriend on Sunday, tomorrow we’re going to do all of our normal Thanksgiving things. I only have a little more cooking to do today, and then I’ll get to cleaning. But first, we’re going to head to Crown Craft Market where I sell my products to get it ready for this week’s sales.

I’ve got a couple of big red bows ready to decorate with, and I worked hard on making a variety of holiday hair bows and wreath bows yesterday to be sold when I could. Starting today, my booth will be 20% off.

Oh, and my Etsy shop is 20% off through the weekend, too! I wish I had a pretty graphic to share with you, but have I mentioned how busy I’ve been? I hope to get one of those made sometime today, too.

This morning, I woke up bright and early and shuffled around the house turning on our Christmas trees. It’s so nice and peaceful during these quiet hours. I then sat in a big comfy chair with my laptop and a few books. I’m currently rereading all of the Beverly Lewis books that I own, relishing each and every one of them. I love her books so much. I think they are precious, for lack of a better word. For Christmas, I plan to ask for any titles that I don’t have to complete my library. Thankfully, I already own most of them!

But before I go any further, I wanted to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving if you are in the States. As I usually do during this time of year, I’ve been reflecting on my life and the blessings that I’ve been given.

Oh, life isn’t “perfect.” It rarely is. But through it all, I see the fingerprints of God writing my story, and I’m so grateful for my life and all that I have.

I think we can see God in all situations if we look hard enough. Usually, the hard things we encounter refine us into the people we were created to be. So whenever I encounter a less than perfect scenario, I wonder what I’m to learn from it.

How will this make me stretch and grow?

One of my favorite things about growing older is the growth I’ve seen in myself through the years. While I’m the same person I’ve always been, I’m also different. And I’m very proud of how I’ve been able to change and adapt to life as I now know it.

I want to encourage you today…if you’re going through a tough time, God’s got you. You were created for such a time as this and can rise to meet any challenge you face.

I hope and pray you have an amazing season filled with joy, peace, and love. Oh, and with lots of comfort and happiness, too!

I need to get a move on if I’m going to accomplish everything on my to-do list today. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today, friends!

Click here to check out my Etsy shop. Oh, and you can find all of my books here!