Hello, friends. It’s been quite a while since I’ve last written on this platform. Lots of things have happened. Some good… some… well, I like to focus on the positives. Nevertheless, it is inevitable. The undesirable will happen. Our resilience lies in how we handle those situations, however.

Just this month, I had to make a decision at my place of employment because there was a lack of work in my particular business area. I thought it most wise in my position to make a graceful exit. I am a new homeowner, so stepping out was a very uncertain choice. I felt as if I were facing a rickety bridge over molten lava. Should I take my chances and cross? Or stay over on this side of the castle with the dragon? Shall I stay? Or progress forth?

(If you were imagining that scene from Shrek, don’t feel bad. So was I)

https://youtu.be/U_I2CjLCTdE

Perhaps it isn’t as bad as that, but I feel that I am taking a risk with whatever I choose. It’s too late, now. I’ve already left. Now begins the long process of applying to every job opening available while still trying to figure things out. I would love a position that has flexible hours and wonderful pay that will help me to keep up my mortgage payments, take care of bills on time, and have a spot of cash left over for my leisure and creative efforts. My strategy? Leave no application unturned(in). Apply everywhere. I’ve thrown several of my (virtual) resumes into the air of cyberspace. Not the paper one, though. We mustn’t litter.

So far, I’ve been searching and applying galore, but haven’t secured anything. I’m not giving up hope, but this makes me think… is it time to launch my entrepreneurial side-hustles into full-blown businesses?

…I’d think not. Unfortunately, this economic climate doesn’t seem very promising for setting sail in such a ship without some sort of liferaft to escape in if needed. By no means does that mean I should shut down my hobby side. In fact, I have been pushing things a bit more, sharing my Ko-Fi and Patreon links on social media, publishing ebooks on kindle, and even making an audio chapter available for purchase.

I’ve gotten a few donations and purchases too, and for those, I am extremely grateful. Still, these things are NOT enough to sustain. They do help immensely to hold me over, though. I know that people giving me money is no easy task. Everyone is experiencing inflation. Gas is over $5 per gallon. Things are getting ridiculous and crazy, so every single penny given to me is cherished immensely. I thank each and every one of my supporters. I love you all and send so many prayers and hugs to you every day.

https://www.wordigirl.com/support

In addition to these things, just before the great Thanos Snap occurred at my workplace, I was blessed to have received quite a few more orders of Fiverr gigs on my page. Those seemed to drop in right on time. I also shared my personal website with a ton of folks.

As my brain scatters and my soul prays, my creative mind never ceases to churn out ideas to try. I plan to look into who may be hosting seller markets and maker fairs in person. Funny, I was planning on doing a lot of them in 2020, but the pandemic had other plans. Perhaps I’ll take it all up again as I had plotted it all out at the end of 2019.

If any of you have other ideas and ways to make a bit of spare change, feel free to shout them out. If you’re going through a similar experience, or are simply hoping for a financial breakthrough, please comment that below as well so that I can keep you in my prayers. I have faith that, with God’s help, we will all make it through this difficult time together — whatever you’re going through. You aren’t alone. Know that I love you, and I’m here if you’d like a chat.

God bless and much success! :)

Happy timezones, everyone! I have published the first chapter of my audiobook Secret Agent Someone: Troubled Beginnings featuring the very talented Jon McNally! It is available in my Ko-Fi shop with a short trailer vid if anyone would like to check it out.

https://ko-fi.com/s/acf5e15bd4

God bless, much success to you all with your own endeavors!

PS. Some of you Prosers may know that I had published a Troubled Beginnings before on this site. I now consider that Chapter Zero because it showcases his parents right before he was born.

God blessed us with this beautiful planet, and one of our first assignments as humans was to take care of it. Yes, there is a promise of Eternal Life above, but that is no excuse to neglect and destroy the place where we live right now. We share this habitat with so many other people, animals, and plants.

Genesis 1:31 kjv

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

The Earth is a good gift. A VERY GOOD gift. The best way to express our appreciation is not to take it for granted.

Let's do our part today and every day!

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

Don't litter! Find a trash bin.

Be nice to our animal friends.

Care for the wonderful plants around us.

Don't let the water run unnecessarily.

Power down lights and devices when not in use.

No deed is too small!

Have an exuberantly blessed Earth Day! What's your commitment?

Have you seen lots of eggs today? Bunnies? Chicks? These cuddly symbols of spring always remind me of the new life we gain when we place our trust in Christ. Though all of us sin, God forgives us and made a way for us to have a close, personal relationship with Him.

Long ago, God allowed Jesus to be put to death. But, three days later, He arose from the tomb. What a glorious day it was! Defeating death, He gave us a chance to live forever by accepting Him as our Savior.

E- Emmanuel. A name for Jesus meaning "God with us."

Matthew 1:23

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name EMMANUEL, which being interpreted is, God with us.

A- Almighty. The God who gave us Jesus.

Revelation 1:8

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the ALMIGHTY.

S- Savior. Jesus covered the price for our sins, becoming the Savior of all who believe.

1 John 4:14

And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the SAVIOUR of the world.

T- Three. How many days Jesus said He'd rebuild the temple if it got destroyed. Little did they know, He was speaking of His own body!

John 2:19-21

Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in THREE days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.

E- Everlasting. How long our lives will become once we put our trust in the Lord.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have EVERLASTING life.

R- Resurrection. The most important part of the story. He didn't just die. He got back up! That's where the power lies. He defeated death, so now we can rise above sin and come into the lives God created us to live.

John 11:25

Jesus said unto her, I am the RESURRECTION, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

I pray you all had an exuberantly blessed EASTER!!!

I desire to honor and recognize those who support me on my creative journey, so I fashioned up a little article in my project's world page. I truly, sincerely thank each and every person who has showed me support monetarily, verbally, and even by reading my works. Words cannot express how grateful I am. The Outstanding Operative award is canon in the Secret Agent Someone universe. I wanted my paying supporters to become agents in-world, so I figured, what better to do than put them in the WILLOWISP wall of fame?

https://www.worldanvil.com/w/secret-agent-someone/a/outstanding-operatives

If you're already a supporter, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! <3 If you would like to become one, simply follow my world! Or, if you desire to do a bit more, check out my website's support page which features all the different ways you can donate. Absolutely anything given is greatly appreciated. <3

https://www.thepeculiarjeweler.com/support

There are lots of updates and fun things to come, but, realistically, it can be a strain on my pocketbook. Still, more wonderful content is coming, so stay tuned for it!!! If you can help to make it possible, I will be forever grateful. God bless, and I love you all immensely.

Moving methodically, speaking melodically, her warm gaze searched his malachite eyes.

Her smile was hypnotic. Her giggle was enchanting.

Each little quirk struck a new chord.

Though he tried with all his might to deny, it didn't take him very long to discover she was already dancing upon his heart...

Their screams were drowned out by the roars of the growing inferno. The tightness of the ropes that held him to the chair seemed to melt into the rising heat. None of it mattered anymore. The entire place was going up in flames all around him.

And, as he watched it burn, he laughed.

I'm a weird person. Not many understand me.

Also, I know that I cannot generalize and apply a blatant statement to all humans. Not everything is white or black.

BUT, I will keep this short and sweet...

I've told others on multiple occasions how I feel about friendships and romances.

My desire, personally, is to be platonic friends with everyone. IF one of the platonic friendships develop into a romantic relationship, I may go with it, or I may let the other person know that I'd rather stay friends (at least for now).

Well, what if a guy is 'hot'? You may ask.

Of course, I openly admit I find all kinds of men attractive. Older, younger, all heights, weights, colors, shapes, ethnicities, accents, styles, interests, and personalities. Outward appearance, however, is not of utmost importance. There are times when I am initially attracted to a guy because of his looks but then am turned off by his spirit. OR, on the contrary, I have met people whom I did not outright think looked like an "ideal prince charming" or whatever but something about them made me like them... something they said or did or how they acted when I got to know them allowed me to see how handsome they were inside, consequently illuminating the outside also.

Now, where does the "just friends" part come in?

Even if I have romantic feelings for them (and maybe even they have them towards me, too) I believe it is possible (and, dare I say, the better idea) to still remain friends before becoming more serious. And if 'doing the deed' is the only thing that suddenly makes you more than friends (as some people seem to think), my goal is to 'remain friends' until my honeymoon night.

Yes, that may be considered extreme for some, but my personal beliefs include celibacy, therefore, I set appropriate boundaries. Whether simply platonic friends or dating, nothing more is going on between us.

Maybe that's why I've never actually dated anyone. Still, I'm keeping this philosophy and trusting that God will work in His time- that His plan will prevail... whether that mean I stay single for the rest of my life, or if He miraculously brings someone into my life who will respect my philosophy long enough for us to become husband and wife.

I have had many 'friends' over my 24... 25 years today... on Earth. Some people who had romantic feelings only stuck around long enough to find out if I reciprocated them or not. When my mom tried to matchmake me with a guy before she was aware of my platonic-friends-before-dating philosophy, I awkwardly had to tell the dude I 'had a crush on him' but didn't want to date him yet. He was cute and everything. He was a nice friend. He shared most of my beliefs. BUT, that didn't mean that I instantly wanted to jump into a romantic relationship with him. I want to be platonic first and then perhaps something more would develop. We're still friendly, but he wanted to date and marry quickly. I let him know that I was totally fine with him dating others. Most guys who have tried to wait end up marrying another girl. So did he. And that's fine! I have no jealously or envy. I am proud of them, happy for them, and befriend their wives as well!

We start as platonic friends and, until I get the urge to increase our friendship past the platonic phase, we are open friends. You are free to date and whatever. I'm just here and I don't want to hold anyone down.

Problem? Many men don't even want to enter that phase. They see that I don't want to date them and then say goodbye, considering me a waste of time if I don't want to marry them on the spot. They think I'm "friendzoning" them. But, in my opinion, you have to get THROUGH the friendzone before getting to the BOYFRIENDZONE. There is no going over, around, or through.

Yeah. I'm a whacko. Especially in this society?! In this day and age?! UNHEARD OF! My own mother didn't understand what my problem with dating was.

I'm not opposed to dating. I just think that a high school jock leaning against the cheerleader's locker and saying;

"Ey, gurl... Wanna goh out?"

May not be the best way to enter a relationship. There is already a motive. This guy wants to date... most likely to get to an end result. The intention is not to be friends. The mission is to get a girlfriend. Even if the guy is sincere and is not only caring about a deed or solely focusing on looks, I think this relationship is inevitably more shallow than one built on pure, platonic friendship. Getting to know each other in an unromantic context. Not being fake to flatter. Not only striving for one goal with all this tension and clouding emotions. Platonic friendship is, simply, one heart sincerely getting to know another heart, whether more will come after or not.

Trust me. Sometimes, I think it's strange, too. I've questioned my own philosophy. Is it too ridiculous? Unrealistic? Possibly. But I feel it is something God has laid on my heart to stick with. Whenever I try to disregard it, things backfire on me. I'm grateful for not leaping headfirst into an abyss, though sometimes I wonder if I will ever find someone who could actually be friends BEFORE dating. I try to keep the faith and listen for God's voice.

I said "short and sweet", didn't I? Oh welp. I guess I'll sum it up there. If you have any questions, feel free to ask below.

TL;DR?

Of course, it is possible for two people who have feelings for each other to be strictly platonic friends. EVEN IF they hope for more in the future.

THIS DOES NOT MEAN that it's possible for each individual, however. And, even if POSSIBLE, doesn't mean likely. Some people will say no. For those people, clearly, it's hard for them. But I'm one of the people who say yes. I've never dated anyone, though I am 'attracted' to many people for multiple reasons. So, if you thought a rarity like me didn't exist, here I am. Feel free to take pictures and write headlining newspaper articles. Tell your friends and family about this strange anomaly. And, maybe, just maybe, the word will get around to someone who thinks the same.