I haven’t been blogging lately. Just doing life stuff. So…I thought I’d give you an update of what’s been going on this year. First, about writing.
Part of my story is in a chapter of my writing coaches CJ Hitz and Shelley Hitz’s book, Kingdom Writers. I helped to promote it. You can find the book here, available on Amazon. It is a great book!
I’m one of the featured alumni panelist speakers for Shelley’s upcoming Kingdom Writers conference on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, at 11 a.m. eastern time, so stay tuned for more news about that!
Each alumni speaker will only speak for a few minutes, but this is such an honor that Shelley asked me to do this! This edition of the conference is dedicated to helping authors build their platform and sell more books through collaborations
If you need a speaker for your women’s conference, retreat, online event, or podcast, or know an event planner who does, please contact me here. I love encouraging women and giving them the hope of Jesus Christ!
I’ve also been writing a Vella fiction short story called She Won. It’s about a recent widow and mom of 4 grown children, Norah Wellington, who goes to the convenience store every day to buy a coffee, a chocolate doughnut with colored sprinkles, and a lottery ticket. One day she wins the jackpot.
She winds up moving to Destin beach, Florida, the place of her dreams. She has heard that winning the lottery can be a curse instead of a blessing. It also changes people–for the worst! What will Norah do with the money?
I’ve now written 7 episodes of the story. An episode is like a chapter. I think Vella short stories are ideal for aspiring authors, as writing a book can feel so intimidating. This way, you can write one episode (chapter) at a time. Much easier!
You can read my Vella short story here. The first 3 episodes of a Vella short story are free; after that, you buy tokens to unlock and read future episodes.
At the beginning of this year, God told me to do 2 things in 2022: to write my story for CJ’s and Shelley’s book (which I did) and to focus on my podcast.
Image source: Brontosaurus – Scott Greer @ Unsplash
He had never said that to me about my podcast before, but there must be a good reason! I’ve had a podcast for many years (think, dinosaur, like the Brontosauruses above!), but decided to move its hosting platform to Anchor.
Anchor’s staff is amazing, but the move was a royal pain, especially with one of the podcast platform sites. I had a LOT of techie issues doing this, and had to hire a VA to help me. (Callie Revell Media Services. She’s amazing and you can find out more about her at her website and her services here.)
But we pushed through and my weekly podcast, Beth Jones International Speaker, is now on the following platforms for you to listen and subscribe to it:
- Anchor;
- Spotify;
- Apple Podcasts;
- Google Podcasts;
- Pocket Casts;
- Radio Public;
- Stitcher.
I just wrapped up my Women in Biz podcast series. If you haven’t heard them yet, you can still listen here. These are amazing women of God, and each one brought a valuable gem for the listening audience.
Please let me know which podcast topics interest YOU!
You can donate one of three amounts of 99 cents, $4.99, or $9.99 at Anchor to help me cover the costs to create future episodes. Just click the support button at the top of the Anchor page.
lama, taco pinata, and taco tumblerdecor at taco event
I just hosted and spoke at my taco event, Back to School Book-Writing fiesta. It was fun! I did it last year and decided to do it again. It was in person at Jose Pepper’s Mexican restaurant and virtual on a Facebook Live video in a private, pop-up Facebook group.
There was chips and salsa (my addiction!) with delicious Mexican food, chocolate, a (toy) lama, cute table decor, no techie issues (praise God!), and a good training about writing (or finishing) your book.
If you missed it, maybe you can come next year. OR you can take my virtual training below in the comfort of your own home, at your convenience!
Me with coffee by a palm tree in Antigua, Guatemala
Do you want to step out speaking publicly or want to write a book? I have a virtual training available for aspiring speakers and writers. It’s called Turn Your Ordinary Moments Into Extraordinary Messages. It is available on the website Podia for just $47. You can find out more about it here.
red and purple annuals
I’ve been enjoying the beautiful, sunny summer days here in Missouri (though we’ve had lots of rain, too!). I’ve been trying to sit or lay out at least 15-20 minutes daily as much as I can to get that good Vitamin D.
Althea bush
My flowers have been doing okay. Some are blooming beautifully like my annuals and my Althea bush; others have wilted and died. I bought flowers for our daughter Leah for her patio, too, and told her it’s all a learning experiment. Do you have a flower or veggie/fruit garden in your yard?
And of course, I go to get chips and salsa when I can – my addiction!
Ray and me at Tu Casa Mexican restaurant
This summer I “chased hearts” and it was so fun! Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas (twin cities, if you didn’t know) had its Parade of Hearts exhibition, where artists creatively painted 5-foot, beautiful hearts (156 hearts total) nd they were displayed all over Kansas City.
Maybe people think I am crazy to do this, but it was so fun going to look for them with the app and taking pics by them–the hearts were all different colors and themes. Ray went with me the second time that I went.
We winded up eating a nice dinner at a posh restaurant in Union Station. We only got cheeseburgers, haha, but Ray also ordered grilled asparagus. They had good bread and sweet red wine.
me with one of the hearts for KC Parade of Hearts
Ray with one of the hearts for KC Parade of Hearts
Ray at posh restaurant at Union Station
cheeseburger at Union Station restaurant
grilled asparagus – yum!
buttered warm bread is always good!
This year I’ve also enjoyed holidays and birthdays with our family–with yummy food and cake! It’s been fun going to our daughter Heather’s house to celebrate. She loves buying cute decor like I do for holidays and birthdays.
Heather, her fiance Andy’s son Eian, and me
Our beautiful girls: our granddaughter Violet & our daughter Heather on July 4th
Leah & Ray at Pizza Street for his & Eian’s birthday
I try to see my daughters Heather and Leah at least once every couple of weeks to talk with them and hug them! They both work hard, full-time, and have busy lives. They live about 45 minutes north from my house, which isn’t too bad a distance (although I wish I lived right next door to them!).
Leah and I usually go out to eat lunch or supper. I try to have coffee with Heather or come by her house to visit her. Recently I tried Dutch Brothers frozen blended coffee; it is pretty good!
Leah and me at Jose Pepper’s restaurant for lunch
at Dutch Brothers coffee shop with Heather
I’m dreaming of going on a vacation to the beach this year ~ my place of refilling and peace. Are you having a vacation or staycation this summer?
It’s gorgeous!
Destin beach, Florida
Soft, white sand & blue-green, clear water
What have you been doing this year? Please let me know in the comments below!
