100th Post // A Surprise!

***Warning-- Post filled with lots of excitement which may include the following: crazy asterisks, overuse of exclamation marks, all-caps, and confetti***

As you read in the title for todays post, THIS IS MY 100TH POST ON SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS!!! *bucketfuls of confetti and balloons and chocolate cake* Party time! So instead of a Wrap-Up post this month, there's going to be something way better!

Guys, I seriously can't believe that I have posted (and y'all have read) ONE HUNDRED posts! 100!

Wow! <-- Thats really all there is to say!

So in celebration of this huge accomplishment and milestone, I have a surprise! (Be prepared to scroll because you know how this works!) Anyway, it's a surprise that I have wanted to do for a while, and also a surprise that is going to be a blast! For all of us!

The question is: Is it going to be a giveaway? Maybe, maybe not! Is it going to be a vlog? Maybe, probably not! Is it going to be something that anyone can participate in? Maybe, maybe so!

Ok, I will stop beating around the bush and holding ya'll in suspense... go find out for yourself what the surprise is!

Let the scrolling begin!

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Almost there! 

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Just kidding. XD 

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Are you ready to find out??

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Good! 

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Because...

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Here...

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It...

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Is!!! 

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I am hosting a contest!!! *More confetti and sparkles and sprinkles too* XD

Yes, you read that right! I have decided to host a flash fiction writing contest!!! This contest is going to be super fun because there will be two prizes for two winners!

So how's this going to work? Let me tell you.

Rules: 

Since all good contests have rules, Showers of Blessings 100th Post Flash Fiction Contest will not be the exception. Follow the rules carefully, because I want this contest to be as organized as possible.

-All flash fiction entries can be whatever genre and writing style you prefer.
-All flash fiction entries must be a original work that has not won any other contest before.
-All flash fiction entries must have a word count between 350 and 500 words. Stories shorter or longer than 350 and 500 words will not qualify.
-All flash fiction entries may not have any curse words or taking the Lords name in vain. If the story has bad language, it will not qualify.
-Deadline to enter is Wednesday September 4th, 2019 at midnight. Entries sent in after the deadline, will not qualify.
-Contest results on Monday September 9th, 2019
-All participants who are under the age of 18 must have a parents permission because if you win, I will be needing your address...
-You can only enter one flash fiction piece per participant.
-Email your entry to: wofgoatsmilksoap@gmail.com
-In your email, you must tell me what age group you are in, how many words your story has, and where the story idea came from.
-USA residents only. (So sorry to all my international friends!)

Ages: 

There will be two age categories. Since I know some of my blog readers are younger and I want y'all to have a chance to participate, there will be two age groups and two prizes, one for each!

-Age group number one: 10-17 years old
-Age group number two: 18 and up

Judges:

To make this as fair as possible, I won't be doing the judging of this contest. I have picked three lovely judges that have gladly volunteered!

Judge number one: My mom

My mom is a homeschool teacher and has a keen eye for little details. She will be grading your flash fiction pieces on grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc!

Judge number two: My older sister

My big sis loves reading, and will be grading your flash fiction pieces on plot, short story structure, characters, and overall story flair.

Judge number three: My little sister

My younger sis makes a great judge because she will be grading your flash fiction pieces on how it flows, how the story comes across, and if it holds her attention.

A hint about the judges:
I thought I'd tell you a little about the judges so you can choose or write your flash fiction accordingly. Some of the things that the judges would love to see in your story might include animals, friendships, strong family values, excitement, suspense, etc. Some of the things that the judges would probably not get into as much would be fantasy themes, dragons, darker scenarios, and violence.
(So that's just a tip about the judges preference in their reading material...)

Prizes:

Since there will be two age groups, there will be two prizes as well!

For the younger age group (Age group number one) the prize will be one (1) bar of goats milk soap, three (3) handmade scrunchies, and one (1) mystery item. Trust me, your gonna like it!

For the older age group (Age group number two) the prize will be one (1) bar of goats milk soap, three (3) handmade scrunchies, and one (1) mystery item. Trust me, your gonna like it!

Note: The winners get to pick out their soap scent! You can choose either Lavender Oatmeal, Warm Cinnamon Spice, or Jasmine Dreams!

~~~

Isn't this so exciting? *jumps up and down* *throws more confetti*

Also, I wanted to say a huge thank you to all my blog readers and followers! Y'all are the best! Thanks for reading what I write, and thanks for making blogging so much fun! I still can't believe I've posted 100 posts!

I am so blessed to have this platform to make friends and share my writing! <3 <3 <3

Off the top of your head, what has been your favorite post of mine-- out of the 100? Are you SO excited about the contest? Are you going to enter? Do you like writing Flash Fiction? Was this a fun surprise?? Taco 'bout it in the comments! 

TWENTY NINETEEN!

Today, I'm posting two letters. Sometimes I'm weird and I write letters to things that aren't people. It wouldn't feel right without doing something for the New Year, so I thought writing these letters would be a way to end last year and begin this year! I have also linked to some of my blog posts throughout 2018 that I want to keep alive. Also, at the end of this post, I am giving you some really important insider information about what's happening on Showers of Blessings in the new year! 

(So, if you are new to Showers of Blessings or even if you are not a new follower, feel free to check out the older blog posts linked below in context to what I'm saying in the letters. Also for new followers, one of my nicknames is "Ben" so just letting you know so you don't get confused...)

~~~

Dear twenty eighteen, 

For a year that has gone by so fast, you have sure put a lot of changes in my path. Overall, you were a good year, you definitely had your ups and downs. This year was filled with many blessings, but also so many challenges. But through those rough patches, I am a better person for it, because I grew closer and closer to my Savior.               

This last year, one of the things that I am so thankful for is to have been given the opportunity to start a blog and join this amazing blogging community (aka the blogosphere), where there is just as many deep and heartfelt posts out there as there are fangirl confetti. I have "met" so many girls that share the same interests as I do and it is so awesome to see how God works through Showers of Blessings! I can't wait to see where He takes this blog in the new year. 

There were so many adventures I went on in 2018! I tried many new things and went on quite a few vacations. I went zip lining, parasailing, mud runs, and triathlons for the very first time in my life. I stepped out of my comfort zone and did things like shadowing future job options and taking my written driving test to get my temporary drivers license.

In this last year, I have also realized my dream for writing a book and becoming self-published! 

In 2018, I turned 18, which is a milestone! 

This past year, I have and still am learning about trusting God in the unknown, even when I don't know Why certain things happen. I am so grateful to have been given another year. 

Twenty eighteen, I will look back on you with fondness, because even through the tough times, I would like to think of those times as refining me. I don't mean to sound melancholy, but goodbye 2018. May I always remember the memories I made in this year! 

Love, 

Ben 

~~~

Dear twenty nineteen, 

I have to admit, saying twenty nineteen does not have near as good a ring to it as it was saying twenty eighteen. You know, new year, I'm not scared of you like I probably should be.   Your just another 12 months, 52.143 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, and 525,600 minutes. No, I didn't do all that math by myself! Ok, so you might be just a little bit intimidating, but... moving on! 

Twenty nineteen, you will no doubt have your many ups and downs, your joys and trials, but it is my hope that I will turn to God in those bad times as well as the good times. 

In this next year, I want to accomplish my goals, but also rely on His plan for this year. I want to be able to step out of my comfort zone more and be bold for God. I want to cultivate my writing and if it is in His will, I might just become a author and not just a writer. I want to love those around me and cherish the time I have with those who are with me through thick and thin. I want to be still and know that He is God. I want to watch Him paint my Brokenness into Masterpieces. I want to find my Special Mission.

I wish to Stay Awestruck of of my Creator and live more fully because of Him. I wish to be a witness through the words I write and also to the people I meet. I wish to strengthen my trust, knowing that I have a Trust Rope to hang on too when I'm falling. I wish to be more knowledgeable of the Bible. I wish to find True Joy and not just search for temporary happiness. I wish to be a better sister, daughter, and friend.

So many adventures await in the year of 2019, and it is my hope that I will be ready for all that this coming year brings.

In 2019, I will learn a abundance of new things, and in this next chapter, I will grow. I will grow stronger and closer to Jesus. Because He will never fail me. His love for me never fails. So, hello 2019, may I live this year with memories and not just dreams! 

Love,

Ben

"Spirit lead me where my trust is without boarders,

 let me walk upon the waters 

wherever You would call me. 

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

And my Faith will be made stronger 

in the presence of my Savior"

Happy New Year y'all! This time of year is not just for looking back on the last 12 months of our lives, but also looking forward to what the next chapter has in store of us! That is why I wrote these two letters and I thought I would share them with you. Maybe they can encourage you, because if you are anything like me, change can be hard. So, I am praying for you in this new year, may we all stand strong in Christ! 

I encourage you to write a letter to 2018 and 2019. You don't need to share it with anyone, you could hide it under your bed if you want! But it's good to acknowledge the good times and the difficult times over the year. 

I see a lot of girls around the blogosphere that are picking words for their years. I thought this was a really good idea and started thinking about my word all the way back in the early weeks of December. And I have to admit, it was so hard picking one word, there are so many words that I could pick! Words such as courage, joyful, simple, trusting, faithful, bold. All of these are so good, but the word I chose wasn't of that list. 

I chose a humbling word Unfinished. 

God is refining and molding me. I am not done yet. Although my Creator is perfect, I am still a work-in-progress. He is writing my story and He knows the paths I will take. I want to rely on His plans. I don't know exactly why I picked this word, or why it stood out to me. To me it's like describing a semicolon. "There is more to be said" it's unfinished. There is so much ahead of me, so many things to be discovered and opportunities to take, I have barely scratched the surface! :)

~~~

New year blog changes: 

Don't worry, nothing big at all, because I am rather happy with my blog design! I'm not sure when I will get these changes up, but I would like too soon! I want to tell you all some of my ideas and give you a heads up as to whats going on. 

-I am going to put some quotes on my sidebar.

-Reorganize my Pages and add Pages.

-Maybe tweak the header.

-Figure out how to do a picture and About Me intro on the sidebar.

-Change my sign-off signature. 

-Maybe post a (life or writing or bookish or tag) post once a month on a day other than Wednesday?

Tell me your thoughts on these ideas! I want to hear what Showers of Blessings' readers like about my blog and how to make it more user friendly and better displayed. 

Posts to look forward too: 

January will be the usual posting schedule of posting every Wednesday trading off between a devotional and poem. The last Wednesday of January will have a wrap up post as usual.

For each Wednesday in the month of February, I am celebrating my one year blogging anniversary! That means that I will be doing some really fun posts and hosting a GIVEAWAY!!! Yes, your read that right! I am already starting to put the giveaway prize together and let me just say, I wish I could win it! (Ya, that sounded really bad, I know!) 

March will be another fun month because I have asked each of my immediate family members to take over my blog for every Wednesday and post whatever they would like too! They could talk about some of there interests, life on Winds of Faith, photo dumps, recipes, devotionals, interviews, whatever they would like to share! It's going to be a blast! 

***Because those two months are already planned, I am going to NOT be doing monthly wrap-up posts for February and March. I know you all really like reading my wrap-ups, so I am by no means stopping them, but I do not want to take away from the other things I have planned (plus I need that extra Wednesday!) Wrap-up posts will continue on after March.***

So tell me what you think of my ideas! 

Have you ever written your year a letter? What did you do to celebrate the New Year? Is there anything fun that you are looking forward to in 2019? Were you able to look over the older posts linked throughout the letters? What is your word for twenty nineteen? Do you have any changes you would like to see around Showers of Blessings? Comment below! :)

P.S. This is my 50th post!!!

Showers of Blessings

Welcome to Showers of Blessings, I’m glad you stopped by! Since this is my first post, I thought I should tell you a little background about my writing journey and why I started this blog. 

Rewind back almost ten years. 

You see a little girl, her two sisters, and her two cousins. All five girls loved to play what they called, “shows.” They would play for hours and hours! Usually, they acted like that they were in the olden days, most of the time, they were orphans escaping from the orphanage. Their imaginations took off and it was crazy fun!

Then one day on a trip, this little girl was board. She needed something to do, so her and her cousin took out a notebook and began writing stories. They wrote about a little boy named, Tommy. Rachel was Tommy’s older sister and Leah was her friend. Tommy was always getting in loads of trouble! 

They had so much fun writing these stories, that when they got home, they wrote even more! Eventually all five girls decided to make a movie out of their stories. Using a video camera, they would film each other acting out Tommy’s Adventures. It was just like a “show” but better! 

A few years passed, and this girl began to think that reading was more than just a part of school, It was actually starting to be fun! She read books like the Sisters in Time series, and The Circle C Adventures. “Andi” Carter was her age at that time, and she had a horse like Andi, making The Circle C Adventures even more fun to read.

She read so many books, that by now she would be considered a Bookworm! When she learned that The Circle C Adventures had a writing contest, she started to write short stories about Andi and her family. After the story she wrote for the contest was accidentally erased, she wrote a shorter version of it again. She entered it, but didn’t win. 

Part of her school was to write poems. She liked rhyming poems and her first poem was about a popcorn machine! She wrote other poems about horses, but then she started writing poems that she would read at church and the nursing home. Then the poems turned into writing “devotionals” or random object lessons that she learned through nature and other things that inspired her. So she kept writing on and off as the years went by. 

Fairly recent, she was on Andi’s Blog and saw a Christmas photo writing contest so she decided to give it another try. Within a week, she had come up with a short story titled, “True Sisters at Heart.” She sent it in and was so surprised when she won! She couldn't stop smiling, she had actually won! Read my short story here!

Through Andi’s Blog, she was able to find a network of other young, christian bloggers! She read on these blogs about books to read, young authors, horses, art, and devotionals. Realizing that these blogs were very similar to what she wrote, it got her thinking. What a great way to share my devotionals and writings beyond my family members! 

She started asking herself questions like, is this something I could do? Do I have what it takes to be a blogger? 

One question that popped into her head was this. Through this blog, if I could make a difference in someones life, if I could bring one person closer to Jesus, would it be worth it to start a blog? Deep in her heart, the answer was and is a definite, YES! Because she knows that even if she doesn't “have what it takes” to be a blogger, God can still use her.

So it is her hope, that through this blog, God can use her words to bless someone else. 

After agonizing over a name for this blog, she finally settled on Showers of Blessings based off of Ezekiel 34:25-26.

“I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 

I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.” 

What you will find here on Showers of Blessings are devotionals, poems, short stories, some random other things, and I hope, a shower of blessings!