Obey the Nudging: June 2023 Newsletter

Thoughts To Ponder

If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land.

Isaiah 1:19 NIV

Obedience.

This was not my “word” for 2023. I actually don’t remember what my “word” was supposed to be, so clearly I didn’t pick an impactful one.

The Lord is constantly providing opportunities to grow us, to teach us, and to make us more like Him… if we’re willing to embrace it.

I’m learning a lot about trust and obedience these days.

To be frank, I have no idea how I’m going to write the book I’m currently writing. I have 24 hours in a day, and between parenting our toddler, all of my household responsibilities, errands, groceries, Bible study, and the very necessary sleep I need, etc… I truly have no idea where I will find the time to write.

Whenever I pause to really think about how I am going to do it, and a little panic starts to set in, a small phrase presses into my heart—a quiet phrase—that makes itself heard above the noise within my head:

Do you trust Me?

A few months ago, after being frustrated I couldn’t find uninterrupted time to write, I sort of threw my hands up in the air and decided to embrace the snippets of time I had within the “here and there” moments of my day—a sentence while cooking, a paragraph during nap time, a few ideas jotted down at the playground. It seemed so little, but it was all I had.

I just kept chipping away at it, showing up to write within the margins of my day that I previously overlooked. I started to feel a tug towards managing my time differently: to stop the scroll, to stop the mindless TV, and to use those little pauses of time to write.

Initially it was hard to be obedient—to resist the temptation to zone out on my phone—and instead focus on stringing coherent thoughts together. But after persistently showing up and putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), I found that the ideas rolled out quicker, the words were smoother, and I was making decent progress.

I kept, and still keep, feeling the pull to be obedient and trust the Lord with the details. I don’t know how I’m going to do all of this, but I trust that if I keep showing up, He will provide.

Lately I’ve had a lot of nudging to start waking up at 5am to write. This certainly wasn’t an idea of mine, because I don’t really like the thought of waking up two hours before my toddler in the mornings. It also requires an adjustment of my evenings so I can still get adequate sleep.

Oh, but the nudging. If there’s anything I’ve learned from the Lord: Do. Not. Ignore. The. Nudging.

So I set my alarm for 5am. Somewhat resigned, I might add. I was not thrilled. And I also didn’t know if I would actually roll out of bed the first few times.

But I asked the Lord to meet me there. I asked Him to meet me at 5am when I pour the cup of coffee and settle down to write.

And He has.

I have a new rhythm and my body is naturally waking up at 4:50am most days, allowing me to turn off my alarm and get out of bed without (usually) disturbing my husband.

Besides the writing progress I’ve made, I have found there is so much joy within obedience. A steady trust that defeats the “how am I going to do this” thoughts.

I love when someone asks me how I plan to write a book within the chaos of military life and motherhood and I get say, It’s not me—it’s God. It’s all Him. I’m just showing up where He’s called me to be, and trusting He’ll use my words in the way He sees fit.

Sometimes we look at obedience or submission to another—even if that “another” is God—as a sign of weakness. Lately, I have found it to be my biggest strength.

What I’m Reading

Reading has slowed this month in exchange for writing. I had a few deadlines to meet this month, so reading has taken the back burner.

I read Edified by Marissa Sail Fike. I actually met her at a local market in Florida. I was selling and signing copies of my children’s books and she stopped by to introduce herself. She’s a Christian fiction author based out of Tennessee. I thoroughly enjoyed her book! She twists the plot, characters, and morals within the story together very well, with a few surprises along the way.

I am reading a few books as research for the book I’m writing, so that’s been most of my “bedtime” reading. I try to read for 20 minutes before bed each night as a way to wind down.

My current read is Why Do I Do What I Don’t Want to Do? by Jonathan Pokluda. My sister lent me her copy and warned me that I will hate this book because it is so convicting. I just started it and can already feel myself bracing for the conviction-impact.

What books have you been reading lately? I love adding to my “to be read” (TBR) list!

What I’m Writing

I have a new method of how to wrangle words while I am also wrangling my toddler. Hannah, my two-year-old, hates when I am on my phone, which is unfortunate since I mostly type my thoughts in Google Docs. But I also get it—it’s annoying when someone is on their phone when you’re supposed to be spending time with them. To placate her, I now carry a little blue notebook around that I scribble notes in while we play. I can write quickly, and often without looking, so I am much more present with her while I write down my thought before it disappears into the void that is mom-brain. She refers to this as “paint.” She gets quite excited when she sees “Mama! Paint!” and points to my notebook. It makes me smile, because I also get excited when the words flow enough for me to “paint.”

I’m so excited, honored, and humbled to share that I was recently published on Living Truth Collective website. I was a bit floored when Brittany, the founder of Living Truth Collective, reached out and asked me to write for her. The content on Living Truth Collective is the breath of fresh air and encouragement Christians need and I am thrilled I was able to contribute. I’ll be honest, I did not want to write what I wrote for this article. I felt the Lord nudging me to share the more raw parts of my heart but I resisted for a bit. I tried writing something else but it all came out as jumbled garbage. However, not surprisingly, when I finally started to follow the Lord’s nudging, the words rushed out like a river.

Maybe I should respond quicker to the Lord’s guidance instead of trying to do it all myself. The lessons I learn within my writing are applicable to so much more.

Here’s the link to my article, and I’d love to hear your feedback!

My book is still a work in progress, but I’m diligently putting words to paper to bring it to life. I plan to pitch my idea to publishers in the near future, which is exciting and terrifying at the same time. Please continue to pray for guidance as I write this book, and for my words to be well-received when I do present my book idea to publishers. Above all, I hope to bring the Lord glory through this process.

Childhood Dreams Do Come True!

I spent endless hours in the Barnes & Noble Cranberry bookstore growing up. It was my childhood bookstore and one of my favorite places to go. I used to attend Thursday morning story time in their children’s section and used to daydream that maybe one day I would read my own book to kids at story time. Becoming an author was a childhood dream for me.

You can imagine my shock when I found out that Barnes & Noble Cranberry not only had my book in stock, but also gave me the opportunity to read The Princess Puppy during story time! It was definitely a pinch-me-is-this-real moment. I had an absolute blast reading to the kids and cannot thank Barnes & Noble Cranberry enough for making my childhood dream a reality!

If you’d like to check out my children’s books, I sell signed copies through my online shop.

Snapshots of Motherhood

The sounds that make up the musical rhythm of my day.

The hum of the sound machine through the baby monitor. A little voice calling “Mama! All done!” as the sun rises. Coffee grounds brew into liquid gold as the percolator whirls and churns. The snap of pulling the diaper fasten open; the click of the diaper pail shutting. Pitter-patter of little feet hit the floor as they run across our worn wooden floor to find Dada. Clinking of dishes as my toddler “helps” unload the dishwasher. “Amen” is said after prayers before breakfast. Milk is slurped and a spoon clatters after a bowl of oatmeal is consumed. Shrieking yells, joyful shouts, and giggles weave in and out throughout the day. Sniffles and tears occur sometimes too, requiring hugs and kisses. The washer and dryer ding at regular intervals. Board books close with a gentle thud; blocks crash to the floor when a tower is just a tad too tall. Water rushes into the bath tub, and the air is filled with splashing and high-pitched toddler laughter. The laughter fades to sleepy yawns. Head on my shoulder, her breath exhales gently in my ear, as the nursery rocking chair quietly creaks back and forth, back and forth. A silence full of love encompasses us, as our two heartbeats sync into one.

Let’s Connect!

Thanks for reading my newsletter! If there’s content you liked—please let me know. If there’s content you didn’t like—please let me know! My hope is to encourage you in your everyday faith and to share the joys and trials of life and motherhood. We’re all in this together.

—Kristin Sponaugle