Leah Darrow Talks Fashion, Modesty, Chastity, and Mr. Right!

Leah Darrow
I found this interview and wanted to share it with parents and teen girls. It’s an old interview, but still very valuable today. It reminds me so much of Tanner Rose, my character in my second book, Freeing Tanner Rose.

Leah Darrow is a former America’s Next Top Model contestant. She lived a life of fashion and fame until a moment of grace changed everything.

This is a long clip, but so worth the time to watch. She discusses her former life as a model, vanity, fame, the moment that changed her life, her return to God, immodesty, virtue, chastity and so much more. It’s an awesome conversion story that all teen girls need to listen to. Why? Because her sentiments prior to her change is so common today in the minds of our teen girls. It’s how so many young girls feel about themselves and the world around them.

Check out the clip below and share your thoughts in the comments below.

Do you have a conversion story to share?

If you loved this, then you’re sure to like…

Book Review & Giveaway: “Freeing Tanner Rose” – Featured on “Our Village is a Little Different”

“Freeing Tanner Rose” Featured on Catholicmom.com

“Freeing Tanner Rose” Featured on Project Inspired – Check it out!

Songs That Inspire: “Faith” by Je’kob – Faith [feat. Conscience]

If you loved this, then you’re sure to like…

Songs that Inspire: “Creed” by Third Day and Brandon Heath

Music that Inspires: Third Day’s “Cry Out to Jesus”

Songs that Inspire: Matthew West’s “Moved by Mercy”

Catholic Review of Books Finds “The Destiny of Sunshine Ranch” Interesting and Edifying For Young Readers!

Catholic Review of Books

The Destiny of Sunshine Ranch is featured on Catholicreviewof books.com. If you’ve read the book or like my work, please leave a comment and share it with others.

It’s not an easy thing for an author to share her views about the extraordinary gift that Catholic family life is, or, at least, is meant to be. The number one danger for such art is making the good seem uninteresting, to fasten on to superlatives, to turn drama in paean or very poor pastoral. Too many Catholic writers have been able to do little more than this. It seems like there is this kind of thing, or there is Flannery O’Connor. It’s too bad. I am initiating myself into O’Connor and finding myself rather enjoying her darkness, but I can well imagine that she is not for everyone, particularly not for young readers. So what about their needs?

Sunshine Ranch starts off strong. A young man, Benedict, in foster care gets in trouble at school, only to have his foster mother get into trouble soon after. He and the little girl he lives with have to be moved. He ends us at the titular ranch, and the whole thing suddenly starts to feel a bit campy, almost like a Provident Films movie. Perhaps the fault is mine, since I was city-reared and a ‘ranch’ has all the feel to me of sappy Americana. That feeling doesn’t last too long, though, and Gaouette soon finds her stride and fall into a more natural rhythm.

She is a good writer. In her desire to set a scene she sometimes says too much, nevertheless, she generally has a knack for choosing the right word. The characters all seem to have depth and authenticity and they manage to avoid devolving, on the one hand, into caricature, or, on the other, into meanness. Read more of this review and others at Catholic Review of Books

If you loved this, then you’re sure to like…

Book Review: The Destiny of Sunshine Ranch -”I laughed, and I cried…very well written”

The Destiny of Sunshine Ranch: Chapter 1

What are people saying about, “The Destiny of Sunshine Ranch”?

10 Favorite Scriptures on Redemption and Salvation

redemption vs salvation

Following is a post I recently wrote on Project Inspired:

Hey sweet PI girls, during the Easter season, the subjects of redemption and salvation are a primary focus. After all, Easter is a reminder of when Jesus redeemed us all with His precious blood. That’s the ultimate act of love!

Scripture mentions redemption a lot, and rightly so. Here are five of my favorite verses:

“For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.“(John 3:16)

“In Him we have redemption by His blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of His grace that He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight, He has made known to us the mystery of His will in accord with His favor that He set forth in Him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.” (Ephesians 1:7-10)

“He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” (Luke 21:25-28)

“He sent release to his people, decreed His covenant forever; holy and fearsome is His name.” (Psalms 111:9)

Christ’s blood was the ultimate sacrifice for our redemption. But redemption is not salvation. God redeemed everyone by giving His only son, but salvation is our own to attain.

Christian teaching varies among denominations when it comes to salvation. Where some believe it’s attained through God’s grace in the one act of accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, others believe that the Bible teaches that salvation through God’s grace is an ongoing process that begins at baptism.

Following are some of my favorite scriptures on salvation:

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love He had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved), raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,that in the ages to come He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7)

“So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12)

“Now someone approached him and said, ‘Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?’ He answered him, ‘Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’” (Matthew 19:16-17)

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Ladies, do you have a favorite verse on redemption or salvation? What does your Christian faith teach about redemption and salvation?

Check out more of my posts on Project Inspired

If you loved this, then you’re sure to like…

5 Ways to Enjoy Being Single When All of Your Friends Have Boyfriends

10 Things Teen Boys DO Want You to Know

7 Things That Make It Tough to Be a Christian Girl Today

10 Inspirational Quotes on Writing by Great Authors

g-k-chesterton

“No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally – and often far more – worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.” ― C.S. Lewis

“A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.” ― G.K. Chesterton, Heretics

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” ― Ernest Hemingway

“Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation.” ― Graham Greene, Ways Of Escape

“Everywhere I go I’m asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don’t stifle enough of them. There’s many a best-seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher.” ― Flannery O’Connor

“If you’re going to have a complicated story you must work to a map; otherwise you’ll never make a map of it afterwards.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

“Writing in English is the most ingenious torture ever devised for sins committed in previous lives. The English reading public explains the reason why.” ― James Joyce

“No one will write books once they reach heaven, but there is an excellent library, containing all the books written up to date, including all the lost books and the ones that the authors burned when they came back from the last publisher.” ― Evelyn Waugh

“Great stories give us the grace of a mystical experience, on the level of the imagination.” ― Peter Kreeft, The Philosophy of Tolkien: The Worldview Behind the Lord of the Rings

“Fiction doesn’t tell us something we don’t know, it tells us something we know but don’t know that we know.” ― Walker Percy

Do you have a favorite quote about writing? 

If you loved this, then you’re sure to like…

Don’t Let Editing Get in the Way of Writing!

How to Get Motivated to Write Your Novel

“Freeing Tanner Rose” Update: Jumping into Chapter One When Writing Fiction Novels

5 Ways to Enjoy Being Single When All of Your Friends Have Boyfriends

dancing-teens-590x295

Following is a post I recently wrote on Project Inspired:

Hey girls! Are all of your friends hung up on having a boyfriend? Are you? Or maybe your besties already have boyfriends and you’re still living the single life. Well, I’m here to tell you to stop pining and start taking advantage of being single!

I know it’s easier said than done, but when you think about how many years of your life you’ll likely be in a relationship, it sure makes sense to take this moment of being single and have fun with it, don’t you think?

Here are some ways that you can enjoy being single when all of your friends have boyfriends:

  1. Be confident and strengthened by your single status. I’ve mentioned this before, but I want to remind you that you are not defined by whether or not you have a boyfriend. So don’t feel bad if you don’t have one! It doesn’t make you less of a person. It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. It means you have the opportunity to learn to be confident and find strength in yourself and the the love of God Almighty. There is so much joy in that!
  2. Spend time with your single friends and find new ones. Being single gives you the chance to enjoy hanging out with your friends without compromising your time with a boyfriend, his friends and his family. Now’s the time to put yourself first when it comes to having fun. So spend time with your single friends and make more. Focus on friendships with like-minded people who share your interests and faith! Youth groups and church events are great places to meet friends.
  3. Get more involved in your activities. This is the one of the best times in your life to do the things that you want to do! It’s your time to mold yourself into the person you want to be without being distracted by someone else. So get to it!
  4. Take the time to strengthen your relationship with Christ. As a Christian, your number one should be Christ, whether you are single or in a relationship. So strengthen your relationship with Him before you get into a relationship so that pleasing Him first becomes second nature!
  5. Get to know who you are. This is a great time to learn who you are, what you want in life and what you enjoy doing. Once you learn about who you are, you’ll better recognize the kind of person best suited to you!

Ladies, being single and surrounded by couples doesn’t have to be a bad thing. You just have to use the time wisely and have fun! Are you single and enjoying it? Share your story, we love to hear from you!

Check out more of my posts on Project Inspired

If you loved this, then you’re sure to like…

10 Things Teen Boys DO Want You to Know

“Freeing Tanner Rose” Featured on Project Inspired – Check it out!

7 Things That Make It Tough to Be a Christian Girl Today

“Win a Copy of “Freeing Tanner Rose”!

ID-10093621

Hey Friends! I’m in the mood for a giveaway. How about you?

So, “LIKE” my Facebook author page (There’s a handy dandy button there in the right panel if you don’t have time to visit the page right now), and when I hit 100 likes, I’ll enter them into a raffle. The winner will get a copy of my newest novel, “Freeing Tanner Rose”!

Good luck and God bless!

TMG

If you loved this, then you’re sure to like…

Book Review & Giveaway: “Freeing Tanner Rose” – Featured on “Our Village is a Little Different”

“Freeing Tanner Rose” Featured on Catholicmom.com

“Freeing Tanner Rose” Featured on Project Inspired – Check it out!

Don’t Let Editing Get in the Way of Writing!

ID-100101368

It’s easy to do. You’re in the middle of writing your manuscript and you stop every now and then to fix a typo or add punctuation. You want your writing to be perfect, after-all, right? But what if editing your work while writing it is actually harming your masterpiece? How can that be?

Well, consider these points regarding the process of editing as you write.

  • It slows you down – When you’re in the mood to write and your inspiration is flowing, you don’t want to stop to fix your punctuation or spelling. When you’re inspired and motivated, you really need to take advantage of those opportunities. So just write, no matter how messy it looks. The point of this stage is to get your ideas on paper.
  • It’s distracting – How can you focus on what you’re writing when you keep stopping to edit? And how can you meet a daily writing goal if you’re distracted with edits?
  • It’s not necessary – At least not while you’re still writing your manuscript. And editing requires as much attention as -actually more than- writing. 

So, when do you edit?

When you’re not motivated to write -unless, it’s time to edit, of course. Yes, when you don’t feel like writing or worse, you feel as if you can’t write. Use this time constructively by editing. Not only will this effort be a way to continue forward with the completion of your manuscript, it may just inspire you to actually write!

What are your thoughts about editing while writing?

If you loved this, then you’re sure to like…

How to Get Motivated to Write Your Novel

“Freeing Tanner Rose” Update: Jumping into Chapter One When Writing Fiction Novels

I Want to Write a Novel, But Where Do I Start?

Image Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net