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Spiritual Potty Training
Pictured above is Lily on her fourth birthday. With four came a push for potty training.
One day at the beginning of this month, Lily was playing with her sisters when I heard behind me, “Mommy! I peed in my pants.”
Before even turning her way, I stifled a sigh and grabbed the roll of paper towel. “Well, clean it up and we’ll get you changed.”
As I turned to hand her the roll, her wide eyes met mine, “I was going potty.” Her little hand rose and she pointed at the toilet which was maybe two feet from her.
My heart melted in that moment. She felt the urge, and was on her way, trying her best to do what she knew she should do, but it hadn’t been enough. I leaned down and kissed the top of her head, encouraging her that it was okay and to try better next time.
As I cleaned the mess, I pondered her self-disappointment and frustration, and couldn’t help but relate. How many times have I been trying to do my best for God and think that I’m doing so well to suddenly mess up when I felt I was so close to hitting the goal?
The blessed thing is God’s even more understand than I was with Lily. He knows our efforts and struggles. When we mess, He’s right there to help up get back up, clean up, and encourage us to keep running.
Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Writing
What I’ve been working on and Updates:
This year, I set goals. One of them was to put out a newsletter on the first of every month. Whoot! I did it.
My goal is to have the first round of edits on my current novel (Ivory Kiss) completed by May, and I’m hoping to have a Biblical Fiction Novel drafted by the end of the year.
On top of that, I’ll be critiquing and editing for friends and will let you know what those projects are. (I’m excited to work on J. L. Burrows’ The Reconditioned Series book two, though!)
Ivory Kiss (will be retitled) first round of edits, chapter 3
I finished proofreading Ed Smith’s Island of Belief. Ed Smith is the mind behind Transformational Prayer Ministry which has helped me a lot on my spiritual walk, and I’m proofreading another piece for him currently.
I’m also reading as many books from my author’s group, Charis, in order to prepare myself for March 8th and 9th when we will be at AuthorCon in Smyrna, TN.
Reading
My Goals this year was to read at least 24 novels. To help with this, I finally opened the kindle my father-in-law got me for Christmas of 2023. I never thought I was going to enjoy e-reading, but it seems I was mistaken.
Currently, I’ve read:
LuAnn K Edward’s An Odd Request
A Christian romance where, even though I found it odd to be reading a modern romance—not typically my genre—, I genuinely found myself turning pages and intrigued to figure out what was going to happen.
Kelly Knowles’ Chin Hairs and Other Things Moma Didn’t Tell You: From Surviving to Thriving in your 20s and 30s
I found this little gem a few years too late as I learned a lot of the lessons in it the hard way already. Still, it was a cozy, easy read. Kelly’s voice makes it sound like you’ve a cool older aunt taking you through life.
And I’m currently reading
Amy R. Anguish’s Destination: RomanceThis so far has been a super cute contemporary romance. It reminds me of an old Disney channel/Hallmark hybrid. Again, not my typical genre, but I have found myself enjoying this librarian finding love.
Life Update
My husband finished his master’s degree this December which really frees up time for our family.
I’m still homeschooling our girls, and loving it. Lily and Azalea are almost completely potty trained, which is also very nice. And, after Azalea had to have three teeth pulled, we’ve all been health! Thank You, Lord.
I’ve started to attend a Mom’s group with my church again, and although I find the women in the group quite different from me, I’ve found a warmth in my heart for them because deep down, we all share a love for God and a desire to see the gospel advance.
Also, I’ve done a few online roleplay sessions led by Caleb M. Powers. One was based on the Stormlight Archives (a novel series by Brandon Sanderson) and the other is called Pendragon, based on the King Arthur story. These have been so much fun and a great opportunity to meet awesome people and let my nerd out.
P.S. I’ve found a love for bread baking. My family nearly refuse to eat bagels now unless I make them.
Extra! Extra!
Another one of those goals was to find a way for me to be more active on social media. Weird, I know. Most people need to be less active on Facebook and Instagram, it’s true. But, as a writer, these are great sources to connect with your audience and possibly expand your reach.
Since I have had an addiction to those little videos on sites like Facebook and Insta, and because you don’t see what you want to see, but only what the algorithm wants you to see, I’ve decided to open my own Discord server!
What is Discord? A social Media platform that’s primarily focused on just posting “chats” or messages. I think because of this, it’s super easy to use and truly encourages that community I want to foster.
Since my tagline is The Warrior Priestess, I could think of no better name than “The Sanctuary.” If you’re interest in joining our group. Go ahead and click the link below! Note: The link will only be active for a week, and if you want to join after that, feel free to contact me.
The Sanctuary
Amber Skye Mileusnich 
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