Being Faithful While Living with Infertility

Today I'd like to welcome a very special guest blogger. Please say hello to my niece, Tiffany Blair Van Ingen. Welcome, Tiffany!

by Tiffany Blair Van Ingen

Infertility has been the greatest struggle of my life. It has brought me to my knees, it has made me cry myself to sleep, it has had me angry at God and questioning Him, it has caused stress in my marriage, and then caused me to rebuild my relationship with God which is now stronger than ever.

Being in my late-twenties, I'm surrounded by friends who are either pregnant, or have kids, some even pregnant with second or thirds. I have seven female cousins who all have kids, some still adding to their families. I love being around all of them, but I won't lie. It does make my heart hurt a little bit. Okay a lot. I'm not sure exactly why it is that I must go through such heartache. But I trust in God, that there is some sort of reasoning behind this struggle. Maybe I have even started to learn some of it already. I definitely feel more positive about it. I don't feel as angry. I feel that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

But one thing I've always known for sure – I was born to be a mommy. My heart still aches and yearns for a baby so much, so you can imagine that our child will be my world. My child will know on a daily basis how loved they are, how long we waited for them and how worth it this was, how much God loves them and what a beautiful and precious creature they are.

To my future Baby Van Ingen,

I hope you have my green eyes and curly hair. I hope you have your daddy's long eyelashes and olive skin tone. I hope you have his sense of humor, and my sense of fashion. I hope you will know every day that you are our world. That you are our little miracle from God. I hope we laugh together all of the time.

I hope you are better than your mommy and Uncle Kyle at eating your veggies. I hope you love that I will read to you every night until you are probably too old for it. I hope you let those stories take you away to faraway places full of magic in your sweet dreams. I hope that you will never be afraid to share your hopes and dreams with me. I hope you learn to play an instrument, your dad is learning and he will teach you.

I hope you have a close relationship with your grandparents. They will be so over the moon for you. I hope that you will play baseball with your Uncle, even if you are a girl, he would love to teach you, and I'll leave it up to you if you want to be a Giants fan or a Yankees fan. I hope that you will come to know the Lord and how much He loves you. I hope we can read the Bible together and talk about it afterwards.

I hope that you share mine and your father's love for Disneyland and we have so many memorable trips there. I can't wait to see how your eyes will light up the first time you experience the magic of my favorite place in the world. I hope it will be yours too, but if not, that's okay. I promise to buy you Mickey ears and stand in long lines to get a picture with your favorite character, even if it means chasing them down like your Grandma has been known to do. I hope you let it keep you a child at heart, and that you will never be too old to ride Peter Pan with me. I hope it's your favorite ride, just like it's mine.

I hope you share our love for music and love all kinds of it. I plan on playing lots of it to you when you're in my belly :) I hope we dance together. I hope we have summers filled with swimming, blowing bubbles, playing in sprinklers, beach trips with sandcastles and you feeling ocean water on your little feet for the first time, and ice cream cones. I hope you believe in Santa for as long as I did, and that I make all of your Christmases magical. I hope that you love birthdays as much as I do. I plan on making all of them special because your birthday will be my favorite day. I hope that you make me lots of art work in school, and pick me flowers from the yard for Mother's Day...or any day.

But most of all, I can't wait to see you for the first time. If I'm crying a lot, it's not because of the pain. It's because of how long your daddy and I have waited for you. How much I've gone through to finally bring you into the world, which by the way, I will never hold that over your head in a bad way, I just want you to know how much you are loved. It will be the best day of our lives. I hope in these next few months we will find out you are on your way. Really grab on tight when you get in there. I will make it a very comfy place for you, I promise :)
Love,
Your Future Mommy

If you know someone who struggles with infertility, try to be sensitive about things you say. You don't need to walk on eggshells.  Just know they have an aching heart and they appreciate when people show they care. Hopefully soon I will be able to say that I overcame infertility and my blog will be filled with lots of pictures and stories about our little one. Until then, we continue to pray for this child to come to us, and for God to give us the strength through this process.

About Tiffany Blair Van Ingen:
I'm a 27 year old wife, Christian, stepmom, sometimes student and wannabe artist. I love reading, photography, fashion, traveling and baseball. Anytime spent with my husband is my favorite part of the day.

Before endometriosis became such a huge part of my life, I was pretty active with things like dance, yoga and pilates, hiking the many foothills that surround our sleepy little town, and swimming. I do try to take part in a few of these activties when I'm up to it. As I mentioned, endometriosis is something I now deal with on a daily basis, as is intersitial cystis. In late 2007 after our first wedding anniversary, my husband and I decided we were ready to start our own family. I had no idea what kind of road was laying ahead. I suffered a devastating miscarriage in December of 2007, and from then on fertility drugs and doctors became a weekly thing. My cycles continued to become more and more painful, and pregnancy was not happening. I was diagnosed with endometriosis in November 2009 during a surgery after months and months of being so ill I was convinced I was dying. I finally had an answer, but it wasn't easy to hear.

Since my diagnosis I've had two more major surgeries, one which included the removal of my left ovary. I've become an advocate of educating people on this terrible disease, as well as the painfulness of infertility, and you'll even hear me educating doctors who think they have all the answers. Not only has this disease caused me physical pain, but emotionally it has been rough as well. Being a mom is something I will never stop fighting for. It's really the only thing I've ever known for sure that I wanted to do and would be good at. Not having it come to me as easily as it seems to come to others is something I spent years being depressed over.

However my love for God, and His love for me, has brought me to a place in life where I can accept it and understand that everything happens for a reason. He has a plan, and I have learned to patiently wait to see what is in store for us.

You can read more about this at my blog: sassylittleolive.blogspot.com

Some helpful websites for those living with endometriosis:
www.endometriosis.org
www.endometriosisassn.org
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstitial_Cystitis
www.ichelp.com
www.ic-network.com
www.resolve.org
www.dailystrength.org
www.fertilethoughts.com

Best Independence Day Reads

By Lisa Karon Richardson

It’s no secret that I’m an Anglophile and world travel calls my name in a siren song of allure. But, I’m also a true-blue, red-blooded American. I love America and make no apologies for my country. If a glimpse of the star spangled banner can make your heart beat just a little faster too, here’s a list of patriotic books perfect for reading on a hot July afternoon.

Cherry Ames: Army Nurse-This series was begun in 1943 at the height of WWII. Chock full of mysteries and adventures it is very similar to the Nancy Drew series, but with a heroine who is a little older.

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane-A young man discovers fear and courage during the Civil War.

The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy-A Russian submarine captain concocts a daring plan to defect to America with his ship.

John Adams by David McCullough-A moving history of America’s second president.

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes-A young silversmith is caught up in the excitement and danger of the Revolutionary War in Boston.

Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts-A recounting of the impact of notable women on the birth of our nation. 

The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill-American and British pilots plot to escape from a German prisoner of war camp.

Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose-Recounts the 101^st airborne’s quest to capture Hitler’ Eagle’s Nest.

The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw-Tells the stories of individual men and women who stood up to Hitler and built a modern America.

Blue Skies Tomorrow by Sarah Sundin-A B-17 pilot and a young war widow find romance while the air war escalates around them.  

What books do you think we should add to this list?

Happy Independence Day everyone! 

Influenced by books like The Secret Garden and The Little Princess, Lisa Karon Richardson’s early books were heavy on boarding schools and creepy houses. Now that she’s (mostly) all grown-up she still loves a healthy dash of adventure and excitement in any story she creates, even her real-life story. She’s been a missionary to the Seychelles and Gabon and now that she and her husband are back in America, they are tackling a brand new adventure, starting a daughter-work church in a new city. Her first novella, Impressed by Love, part of the Colonial Courtships collection, is coming in October, 2012 followed shortly thereafter by The Magistrate’s Folly in November.

What Does Zondervan First Mean for You?

 by Dina Sleiman

 
On June 6th a huge announcement hit the publishing world. Zondervan launched a direct to digital imprint called Zondervan First. You might not realize it, but this is exciting news for both you and me. Zondervan is one of the oldest and most respected names in Christian publishing, it's one of the biggest companies, and it is owned by Harper Collins. This new imprint opens doors for both readers and writers. And in an even more exciting turn of events, my historical romance, Love in Three-Quarter Time, will be the launch title for this new imprint. You can read about it here in Publisher's Weekly.

* Good News For Readers: The Zondervan First imprint will allow Zondervan to broaden their content and take more chances. This is much needed in Christian publishing, and many readers have been clamoring for it. The overhead for these direct to digital books will be much lower, allowing Zondervan First to try new things. I looked at Zondervan's historical catalog and was surprised to find only a few authors under their traditional imprint. Not much variety. But this new imprint will change that for sure. In addition, the cost of the ebooks will be lower, which provides more reason for the reader to rejoice. And if you're not an ebook fan, no worries. Zondervan First will also offer print books right along side the digital versions. The main difference is that they will be doing most of their marketing and distribution through online sources. And let's face it, that's how most of us are buying our books these days, so it's great to see Zondervan responding to the changing industry.

Considering the fact that they chose my novel to launch their line, I can't help but wonder if they might have a slightly different audience in mind for this new digital imprint than the traditional CBA reader. Hmm... They've certainly taken a little bit of a chance by choosing a book set in 1817 Charlottesville, VA rather than the prairies or an Amish farm. And since my novel revolves around dance, I think it's safe to say they aren't catering to the ultra-conservative crowd. Although I would not call this novel "edgy," I do have a rather passionate heroine I think you will find delightful and refreshing.

* Good News For Writers: With each passing year it becomes harder and harder to get those illusive contracts. Especially for first time authors. Looking through the Zondervan adult fiction catalog, all I could find were established authors. But, according to their website, this new Zondervan First imprint is designed to allow Zondervan to give a chance to new authors. Although they do not offer advances, there are plenty of other perks. They offer their full Zondervan expertise in editing, marketing, cover design, and distribution. There is a quick turn around time (mine will be released about three months after being contracted). The royalties are good. And, as I mentioned, they do offer print books as well as digital. In addition, they will be using this imprint to find authors to move to their traditional Zondervan line.

But the best news for writers is that you do not need an agent to submit to Zondervan First!!! It seems these days it's  becoming almost impossible for new writers to find agents, so this is an incredible opportunity. If you would like to submit to Zondervan First, go to their website. Be sure to read all of their requirements in full as well as the "Frequently Asked Questions" page in detail. You don't want to waste this wonderful chance. At the moment they are primarily looking for novels that are finished, polished, and around 70k. They are hoping to release 10 in 2012!!! So get in there while the need is great. And they plan to open up to nonfiction in the future as well.

* Good News For Me Too: The only difficult aspect of my decision to go with Zondervan First was that I had to make it in one day. Yikes! The reason was, if I made the decision quickly I would be included in all the press releases about the new imprint, which they would be making later that week. The down side was that we didn't have time to wait for counter offers from other publishers, and my book had only been sent out about three weeks earlier. But I felt like God provided some pretty cool reassurances for me. The best one was an opportunity to meet Zondervan editor Sue Brower the week before at Blue Ridge--and even to hang out with her in a relaxed setting away from the conference. I really liked her and had full faith in her. Second, the only other editor who had shown significant interest at that point called with a no only a few minutes before this offer came through. Seemed like God was opening all the right doors (and closing the wrong ones), so I decided to walk through.

Of course the fact that my agent thought the deal was good, even without an advance, was a huge factor as well. As the launch author for Zondervan First, I will be getting a lot of extra publicity and advertising, which has already started happening. And I'll likely have my first royalty check in hand by around the same time I could have reasonably hoped to get an advance. It's a thrilling opportunity, and I'm so glad I seized it. Exciting stuff is going on at Zondervan, and I'm happy to be a part.

Here's the current blurb for my soon to be released Zondervan First novel, Love in Three-Quarter Time.

"When the belle of the ball falls into genteel poverty, Constance Cavendish must teach the dances she once loved to help her family survive. The opportunity of a lifetime might await her in the frontier town of Charlottesville, but the position will require her to instruct the sisters of the plantation owner who jilted her when she needed him most. Can Constance possibly face Robert Montgomery, her painful past, and the guilt that threatens to destroy her in time to waltz her way to a fresh start?"

Hope you enjoy it.

So what do you think of this new Zondervan line? Do you plan to give it a try? Do you like ebooks, or would you opt for print? Authors, anyone thinking of submitting?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dina Sleiman writes lyrical stories that dance with light. Most of the time you will find this Virginia Beach resident reading, biking, dancing, or hanging out with her husband and three children, preferably at the oceanfront. Since finishing her Professional Writing MA in 1994, she has enjoyed many opportunities to teach literature, writing, and the arts. She was the Overall Winner in the 2009 Touched by Love contest for unpublished authors. Her debut novel, Dance of the Dandelion with Whitefire Publishing, is now available at amazon and other online and ebook distributors. Her latest novel, Love in Three-Quarter Time, will be the launch title for the new Zondervan First imprint. Dina is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Agency. She has recently become an acquisitions editor for WhiteFire as well. Join her as she discovers the unforced rhythms of grace. For more info visit her at http://dinasleiman.com/

Sweetly Broken

Can you believe the year is half over? I know it's flown by for me and the fact that this is July 1st has caught me completely off guard. I hope you'll take time out of your busy day to reflect on God and what His sacrifice means to you. 

This is one of my all-time favorite songs. I hope you are able to soak up its essence. Be blessed today.