How to Invite the Power of Intentional Growth into Your Life this Year

Exciting news! I have a new book out and it's available for pre-order now!

 I'm so happy to be able to offer this to readers who are looking forward to some serious and intentional personal growth in 2019! Read the ebook with a journal or notebook handy because this book is meant to give you ideas...

The Healing Bucket: How to Invite the 

Power of Intentional Growth 

into Your Life this Year

by K.L. Lantz

This is my first foray into the realm of nonfiction as well as into the world of Christian motivational books. I personally love inspirational books of all kinds, and have read excellent books by Evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons (Latter-day Saints) like me, and those of no particular faith. In fact, a few of these authors are referenced in my own book because a book without references is a sad, lonely island. As such, my book is rich with references to scientific studies, wisdom from other books I have read, as well as personal experiences that have informed my perspectives.

I've written this book because I believe that every person's experiences qualify him or her to share unique perspectives on universal wisdom. We all come at this big, blue world from different angles. It's through our differences that we discover the most powerful truths about what makes us human and what that even means. My faith informs every decision I make in my life, so it wouldn't have felt right to write this book without it. The main reason I had to include a fair dose of God in a book about overcoming personal challenges is that all of the amazing personal achievements I had in 2018 were gifts. Yes, I am the one who ran the marathon in the rain. I am the one who busted my butt until twenty-five pounds fell off. I am the one who wrote and published my first middle grade novel. I am the one who, terrified though I was, squeezed myself into a leotard and took an adult ballet class every Friday at 10am. I am the one who signed up for science classes and went back to college. But you guys, God is the one who gave me the breath from day to day enabling me to take these frightening paths. God is the one who lined up the ducks and made it easy(er). God is the one who comforted me and guided me through the lowest points of my journey--and every journey has 'em. Yes, it would have been ungrateful not to include God. 

I hope that those who pick up The Healing Bucket discover in themselves strength they never knew they had, and power to change their lives. I also hope those who journal their way through this book will acknowledge all of their angels, the mundane and the divine, who help them along the way. As I mention in Chapter 11, gratitude is the secret to lasting happiness. Oops, I'm giving it all away. Just don't forget to pick up your digital copy. At $4.69, it is a steal! Enjoy!

Here's the blurb:

Prepare yourself for the future life you want to live. While there may be bucket lists full of items that sound exotic or alluring, the best goals are the most personal ones. What you want is not a bucket list, but a healing bucket. The items you add to your healing bucket will not come from a travel website or a fashion blog. They will call to you from within your heart as you use the power of prayer and this unique journaling aid to find the fulfillment you've been longing to find. This isn't just a journal and it isn't just a Christian motivational book. It's a little of both. And it's an invitation, a guide to a journey that ends with a greater sense of purpose and meaning, the kind that can only be found on a journey with Christ.

Katrina Lantz is the author of the middle grade book Drats, Foiled Again! She is also a wife and mother to five rowdy boys. Finding peace and a fulfilling purpose in the midst of a sometimes crowded and chaotic life has not been easy for her, but with God all things are possible. Writing as K.L. Lantz, Katrina leans on her faith as a member of the Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints and shares her experiences after an intense year of goal-setting and miraculous fulfillment in this unique inspirational book, The Healing Bucket. Some miracles are big and some are small, but all have the same source. Lantz invites you to lean on Christ while daring to dream of a bigger and brighter life for yourself and those you love.

And the COVER!!

Pre-Order Now

What I Read When I'm Not Reading Fiction

If my blog looks like a ghost town, it's because LIFE!

Neighborhood kids singing You're a Grand Old Flag, Fourth of July 2014

I'm not really making an excuse because I firmly believe my time has been well spent. As a homeschool mom who dabbles in politics and takes every spare moment to read, whether it's current events or a really tasty bit of speculative fiction, it isn't that I don't have time to blog/write/read/review/whatever. When we're honest with ourselves, we know our "I just don't have time" excuses really just mean "I'm doing other things that I deem more important." That's true even if we don't want to admit to ourselves that obsessing over our sock drawer or 'everything' drawer or that highly addictive new facebook game is a value choice of one activity over the others we also claim to value. Luckily, I haven't been tempted by a facebook game since about 2007. :)

As a recovering perfectionist, I have to be careful how I spend my time or I end up writing until 3am or "sorting papers" (read: reminiscing over high school essays) for an entire day. This natural obsessive tendency, which is very much genetic, is what allows me to crank out first drafts in pretty good time when my heart and soul is in it. It's also what leads me down other paths that are equally riveting. 

So here's some insight into my Soul Stretching Out (hint: that's my blog title these days):

I read NDE's (near-death experiences) like they're going out of style. My most recent read in that category was this:

Goodreads

These books are a great supplement to the backdrop of intense scripture study I find myself doing, especially when it has to do with the beginning of life, the purpose of life, the end of life, and the end of days. While I don't believe everything I read from those who claim near-death experiences and visions, I do find these types of books about visions of the afterlife or future to be soul-stretching. They give me an opportunity to ponder and pray for my own answers, and those periods of quiet meditation are necessary reprieves for a mom of tiny tots. 

That brings me to something else I study somewhat obsessively:

Goodreads

I read about pregnancy and childbirth. You'd think after four pregnancies and births I'd give up my study, but I ALWAYS, always, always find new bits I didn't know before, or am touched by reading somebody else's completely different birth story, or find healing in a birth story a lot like one of mine. Every pregnancy, birth, baby, and child is different. I can't imagine abandoning my study or thinking that I've finally learned it all. 

Of course, since I do homeschool, another topic I obsessively study is education. 

Goodreads

This book, between twenty and thirty years old, has some of the greatest insights on education I've read yet. It's a bit of a thick read and heavy on the technical language in parts, but it also includes scriptural and apostolic guidance about the way human beings learn. Since I believe learning never stops until you die, I also like to read a bit of history and classic literature.

Right now I'm reading this:

Goodreads

So now you know what I read when I'm not reading fiction. For an example of the awesomeness I read when I'm craving fiction, check out the moving book carousel in the right sidebar. I'm lucky enough to know those authors, and every one of their books is an adventure.

What do you read when you're not reading fiction? 

 

Writers Write

Writers write, bloggers blog, and some say blogging doesn't count as writing. I hope they're wrong because, not counting blogging, I haven't done any new writing in weeks.

I'm reading THE PLOT THICKENS and critiquing for some fabulous people (CPs, cousins, contest winners, auction winners), and eyeing my teetering TBR pile with a mixture of excitement and despair.

I'm also teaching my son addition, subtraction, phonics, handwriting, reading comprehension, art, music, science, and social studies.

And lately I've been cleaning my house, which has to be done during these dry creative periods (because when I'm feeling inspired, I can't be bothered to dust or vacuum).

But all those things up there don't make me a writer. Only writing does. So, referencing my own post on bite-sized goals, I plan to cheat on my overwhelming to-do list and write 1k words tonight anyway. Even though I should be doing other things. I just can't stand not being a real writer. Not really writing.

Do you get into slumps like this that aren't really slumps? Times when something else trumps writing just because it has to be done? 

After all, it is September. I know half y'all are dealing with school beginnings either as teachers or students.

May we all find the time to express the stories fighting to burst free from our innermost fancies!

*rides off into the sunset*

(I never know how to end these things.)

Hibernating

I'm not actually hibernating, but we are studying bears today for my son's preschool learning. In my search for a unit study on the topic, I found this childhood gem:

  Teddy Bear Action Song:Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear touch the ground
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear tie your shoe
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear that will do.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, go upstairs
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, brush your hair
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn off the light
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say goodnight!

Aww, jump-rope memories from kindergarten! 

Can't wait to teach it to my kids after nap time. 

Every once in a while, writing takes a back-burner while I do intensive research on different curricula and restructure the way we do preschool. I found my file boxes while de-cluttering the other day, so that threw me into organizing more. Some of the things I made for my oldest a few years ago (apple-shaped red felt pieces, etc.) are now perfect for my two-year-old who's learning colors, letters, counting, and speaking. 

I know a lot of my fellow writers are teachers, and a few are fellow homeschoolers. Since my four-year-old is getting into thicker instruction (by thicker I mean, I really need to consolidate these three progress binders) and is reading early readers by himself, I decided to start a blog to chronicle our adventures and to help me spot routines that are working vs. ones that aren't. If you're into home learning or just curious, follow me at...

Knight Academy - Homeschool for Champions.

In other news, I can't believe it's already Thursday! What are your weekend plans?

The Road to Eye-strain is Paved with Good Intentions

Sigh. 

Go ahead. Ask me what's wrong.

Why, how nice of you to ask. (Okay, I'll stop doing that.) It's eye-strain. I seriously need to cut back on my hours in front of this bright, backlit screen. This is tough because I'm totally addicted to tumblr and twitter and facebook (and the news). I know, I need to suck it up and do what's best for my eyes. Turn. it. off.

Picture from this site

The truly tragic thing is that it's affected my reading time. By the evening hours, when it's finally quiet enough to critique for my partners, edit my own work, or read my latest favorite book, my eyes are already bugging out my head. And my response time for critiques and reviews has gotten. really. really. really. slow. As painfully slow as reading that last sentence probably was for you (if you observed every mid-sentence period).

So I'm faced with a dilemma, or rather, a choice. I can keep doing what I'm doing and go blind in the next decade. Or I can cut back on screen time and save it for my reading/writing pursuits which are my only real non-familial goals these days.

It's a no-brainer.

I know what I really want, and it's not a plethora of random tidbits from distant (though cherished) friends and the mass media. It's quality family time and quality writing time. This will require self-mastery.

Sigh.

But it's going to be tough, as all new habits are.

Have you ever struggled with a technology addiction (iPhone, video games, web-surfing)? Or if that's too personal, how do you keep a healthy balance in your life?

The Moon and Me

Pic from this site

Everything in our known world is subject to phases, most notably the moon. We plan our lives around it, the month to month motion of the great silver goddess. My life is no different. The last phase was Writer Fest--an almost manic, certainly absorbing portion of the last year in which I've been able to accomplish a lot, meet some amazing people, and edge closer to my writing goals. But now, with life-altering events happening in far-away lands, my life is shifting again into another phase.

This doesn't mean I'll stop writing.

Just like the Writer Fest phase, when I still maintained my home, my family, and--by a thread--my health, this new Family Strong phase won't kill my writing. The moon never really disappears. The visible part shifts and my visible priorities must also shift.

This is not really an announcement; simply a musing, a reflection. Operation Awesome continues to spread the awesome with contests, connections, book love, and writing tips. The Best Damn Creative Writing Blog continues to provide up-to-the-minute writerly news. And I'll continue to contribute to these worthy endeavors any way I can. But my heart is more fully invested in my kids today. My mind is preoccupied by matters of mortality, survival, and safety. I don't know when this phase will end, or even if these phases have a bolded line between them.

Today I'm seeing my goals the way I see the moon--as a constant whole, highlighting a half-circle here, a quarter-circle there, sometimes forgetting to highlight anything at all. But always in motion, always part of a larger dance.

How have the recent disasters affected your priorities?

I'm Baaaack (from family vacation)

Arizona temple, aka the building where my husband and I were married

My 3yo son took this picture of the reflection pool on temple grounds

Vacation over!

I'm sure you've missed me. :-) I've missed you, too.

Now it's back to mountains of laundry, unpacking suitcases, re-reading my WIP synopsis and trying to figure out what the heck I was going for before my five-day hiatus.

And back to blogging. *happy sigh* I missed this.

While it was heavenly to spend time with my family, close and extended, the greatest reprieve my little vacation offered was from myself. Yes, I checked my email for query communications. No, no offers magically appeared (that would be a good story). But I didn't think (much) about plotting the perfect story. I didn't feel guilty for going a few days without lifting my proverbial pen. I just lived. I enjoyed my sons' cuteness, my husband's sense of humor, my brothers' competitive spirit, and my parents' unconditional acceptance. I basked in the July Arizona sunshine and went down the water slide TWICE! I got a necklace from my mom's trip to Hawaii (though I've still never been there myself), and a pair of yellow and white sport Skechers at Ross for $25. I read SOULLESS by Gail Carriger on my brand new Barnes and Noble NOOK (both fantastic products, btw). In short, I ditched my computer tether and saw a few of the things I like to write about: people, places, and pluck (courage or resolution in the face of difficulties.).

Almost the moment we returned home, my stories began invading my mind again. Mostly, it's Azalea and her antics that keep me up at night. Oh, Zales, what are you doing to me?

I'm washing the dishes while my husband talks to me. Somehow I don't realize he's asked me a question until a few seconds of silence follow. Luckily, my brain stores that information in temporary files, so I'm able to retrieve the question to answer it. "Oh yeah, let's have a light dinner tonight. All that junk food definitely needs some health food to wash it down."

Then she's back. Azalea's doing flips, zapping around (her kind does that), making snarky remarks to Tabitha, who sighs deeply at the teenager's disrespectful ways. Oh, the shenanigans. This is why I write. To get the darn voices out of my head and onto the page so I can get some REST!

Oh, and because it's delightful, good fun.