Oh my goodness! I am B.E.Y.O.N.D. excited to be back at Inspy Romance!
With a heavy heart, I stepped away from the blog a year ago because, honestly, I was in over my head on SO many things in life.
Don’t get me wrong. I love me some romance and LOVE blogging about it, especially when we’re talking romance novels. Goodness, I WRITE them for a living, right?
But I was taking inventory of my priorities and realizing that my family was getting scraps and things like blogs were getting most of my brainpower.
Yeah, that’s not okay. It was time to “demote” a few things in my life so I could “promote” the things that mattered most to me. God. My family. And yeah, writing too, because when you get so busy blogging and don’t have enough time to WRITE BOOKS, that is a problem when your career is writing books!
So I took a break from most of my blogging, personal and here, to get into better rhythms in life.
While I definitely don’t profess to have it all together, when Valerie asked me if I was interested in coming back to InspyRomance, I was SO EXCITED to realize I was ready to tiptoe back in! I could blog about romance again, one of my FAVORITE topics, and it would fit in nicely with my current schedule.
I think we all need to do that at times, take stock of what is consuming our time. I LOVE reading books, and I LOVE blogging. But I’ll be really honest. If reading my books inhibits your real life romance, if you are so wrapped up in the fictional world I’ve created that you tend to ignore the real world happening around you, then I’d rather you not read my books. I write to encourage women and moms, and the occasional male who is secure enough to read a book drenched in pink. I write for God to use my stories for his glory. I write to provide entertainment that enriches instead of pollutes. But I don’t write to replace the real living God has for you to do. I don’t write to replace the deep relationship God has for you for your spouse, for those of you who are married!
SO what do you think? Do you have your romance-reading hobby at the appropriate priority level? What tips do you have for others who are trying to balance real life with the joy of escaping into fiction for a few hours?
A few of MY tips:
- When I say “Just let me finish this chapter” I really try to just finish that chapter. My kids know that I’ll put down the book and give them 100% of my attention when that chapter is done.
- When my hubby gives me that look, even if I’m snuggled in bed and in the middle of a good chapter, I chuck the book. Nuff said.
- I forewarn when I’m starting a book. “Mommy is going to go read for a few hours” works nicely. Granted, my kids are “mostly” old enough to entertain themselves, so this works. Before, it was negotiating “no kid” reading time with my husband while he took over kid time. I repaid the favor when he wanted to spend some kid-free time doing one of his many hobbies.
- When a kid says, “You’re reading a book AGAIN?!?” I know it’s time to take a reading break.
Those are really specific to ME and my life-story, I’d love to hear what tips you have!
Krista Phillips writes inspirational romance with a dash of smiles. She believes a sprinkle of laughter (and a wee bit of chocolate) makes everything a little better! She blogs regularly about life as a wife, mother, follower of Jesus, and mother of a child with a rare congenital heart defect at www.kristaphillips.com. She is represented by Sarah Freese of WordServe Literary.
Welcome back, Krista! I don’t think any of us have it “all together,” but we do the best we can right? :) Sadly, the amount of reading time has greatly reduced since obtaining my first contract, but I do find that reading can help when I get stuck in my story. My dream is to take a week off from the day job and do nothing but read…not sure that will happen though.
I’ve learned when I was a kid that when mom called and said “come now” I had to drop the book even in the middle of a chapter and do whatever it was I needed (usually lunch or dinner time, go to school or I’d be late.. that sort of important things). I ended up learning that even though I really really wanted to know what was going on, the book would be waiting for me when I got back (as hard as it was to have to wait).
Today, my husband knows I’d do the same to him if we really need to go, but every now and then I get to indulge a few more lines and he’ll patiently wait for me. (Bonus of being the boss of me for now; kids are not in the picture just yet, but I figured it will be just like in parents house: less book time, more time for other things.)
Oh, and if I’m really busy at work, I never start a new book. (but I do re-read my favorites.)
Reading is the way I relax. I’ve always been a reader and I am probably oblivious to others reactions. :) But there is importance to balance. I’ve found I dive in for a season, the relax for a season. Kids are grown and gone, but we have grandkids, so any chance to spend time with them is awesome. My 10-year old granddaughter is an avid reader. Yay!
Welcome back! I really enjoyed this post.
My whole family loves to read. My husband reads his books before he goes to sleep. I read at all times of the day. My stack of books is growing and the ones on my kindle are growing, but, my husband smiles and says, “I know you will read them all. You love to read.” :-)
Yay! I’m glad you’re back! I’m starting to see that my kiddos will see me reading, disappear for a minute, the come snuggle up beside me with their own books. Does a mama’s heart proud :)
Welcome back, Krista! Thankfully my husband is a reader too, so we can both snuggle up with a book in the evening. Getting time to write, now that’s something else again… ;)
Oh that sounds like a fun dream!!! I too read much less than I used to. I tend to go in spurts, where I will read a bunch of books one month and then none the next. In between writing books is when I tend to get my most reading done, too!
That’s a good one! I’ve picked up a new book more than once and had to put it back down and remind myself that I really do NOT have time to get lost in a book right now!
I was that book-loving kid too, but alas, I did not learn that lesson as well as you did. And except for school, If my kid is in a book, I still tend to let them finish the scene/chapter because I know what it feels like, LOL!
My grandma is the one who cultivated my love of Christian fiction! I read my first christian romance visiting her house one time — and one of the first things I did when I got to her house was to check out her bookshelf for new books!!! It is a very sweet memory for me!
Welcome back, Krista!
My husband reads probably twice as much as I do, maybe more. We say our kids learned to love reading defensively. That is, that’s what we were doing, so they had to get with the program!
My reading took a huge nosedive when I started writing. For the longest time, I couldn’t read fiction while I was in first draft mode. When I came up for air, I’d read a few novels, then dive back into the next one. But I felt like I was starving without fiction! Now I read for about an hour just before bed every evening. It helps me relax and take my mind off my own stories, which is a good thing if I want to sleep! Otherwise I’ll lie there trying to solve story problems and not sleep well.
Thanks, Jessica!! It is so good to be back :-)
You have a very good husband!!! Mine is not a big reader, but he definitely has a lot of grace for my hobby!!!
Oh I love that!!! My Annabelle is starting to do that. She can’t read yet though so sometimes she even goes and gets some of mommy’s books off the shelf and comes and snuggles by me and “pretends” to read and just makes up her own silly stories! LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!!
Yeah, mine is not. But he appreciates that I “repay” him time to do his own hobbies!!
*sigh* I love reading before bed too… but I still have a REALLY hard time putting down a book and have spent too many nights up until 3am finishing a book, then I am miserable tired the next day!!
Wow! Are we ever on the same page! I just blogged about this last week (https://anothersinnersavedbygrace.wordpress.com/2016/04/15/freedom-from-my-funk/) and I am planning a blog for this Friday about safeguards I’ve put in place to help me keep my priorities straight! It’s great encouragement to know that I’m not the only one who struggles with this! Thanks so much for sharing!!!!
*hugs* Julie, I love this!! Read your blog, LOVE LOVE LOVE your honesty and boldness to share your struggle!
It is so easy to think just because something is “good” that it can’t be wrong. But “good” things that become an idol to us can definitely be harmful– be it reading or sport or writing or a hobby of some sort or music or goodness. The list is almost endless.
Krista, welcome back. I see that other authors here suffer from that same problem of reduced reading time. Before I started writing, I was always reading a book. Now I treasure reading time. It usually happens when I’m traveling on a plane. I look forward to that uninterrupted reading time. Hubby and I are empty nesters so there are no children to distract from reading or writing. Hubby reads all of the time. He probably reads 3 or 4 books a week, if not more.
Ahhhh there was a day I could read 3 -4 a week too! I would never get any writing done if I did that now! LOL
Completely agree! Sometimes even “doing good deeds” can be the wrong thing if it’s not the thing God’s calling you to do at that time or if the doing becomes more important than the relationship.
I completely agree, Krista! When we were newlyweds, reading got to an unhealthy level for me so I went cold turkey and stopped pleasure reading for about 10 years while we raised babies.
I read some Christian living and devotionals during that time but no fiction (I had been reading romantic books like Sweet Valley Saga since I was 10 years old so it was too much too early).
Stepping away from reading opened my eyes to the romance unfolding in our home each day.