Author Photos // Pick Your Favorite

Hey y'all!!!

I'm trying to decide on an official "author photo" for the back of my book but I'm having some difficulties! :) So, I thought I'd post my favorites and let y'all give me your input! 

Please leave a comment and let me know which one is your favorite!!

#1 Down by the Creek

#2 In the Breeze

#3 By the Fence

#4 In the Hay Field

Photos taken by my awesome cousin Kelsey.

Divine Confidence // From Psalm 138:8

Good Morning!

I don't have anything to share about my book this morning, I just wanted to post the devotional that I read today. It comes from "Morning and Evening" by Charles Spurgeon. I was very blessed by it, and I hope you all are too!

"The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me."

~Psalm 138:8

Most manifestly the confidence which the Psalmist here expressed was a divine confidence. He did not say, "I have grace enough to perfect that which concerneth me -- my faith is so steady that it will not stagger -- my love is so warm that it will never grow cold -- my resolution is so firm that nothing can move it"; no, his dependence was on the Lord alone. If we indulge in any confidence which is not grounded on the Rock of ages, our confidence is worse than a dream, it will fall upon us, and cover us with its ruins, to our sorrow and confusion. All that Nature spins time will unravel, to the eternal confusion of all who are clothed therein. The Psalmist was wise, he rested upon nothing short of the Lord's work. It is the Lord who has begun the good work within us; it is He who has carried it on; and if He does not finish it, it never will be complete. If there be one stitch in the celestial garment of our righteousness which we are to insert ourselves, then we are lost; but this is our confidence, the Lord who began will perfect. He has done it all, must do it all, and will do it all. Our confidence must not be in what we have done, nor in what we have resolved to do, but entirely in what the Lord will do. Unbelief insinuates -- "You will never be able to stand. Look at the evil of your heart, you can never conquer sin; remember the sinful pleasures and temptations of the world that beset you, you will be certainly allured by them and led astray." Ah! yes, we should indeed perish if left to our own strength. If we had alone to navigate our frail vessels over so rough a sea, we might well give up the voyage in despair; but, thanks be to God, He will perfect that which concerneth us, and bring us to the desired haven. We can never be too confident when we confide in Him alone, and never too much concerned to have such a trust.

God bless,

     Keri Nicole

Meet the Characters // Jill

Hello!

The second character in my book that I'd like y'all to meet is:

Jilleen ("Jill") Williams

Excerpt from Chapter 5~

 Jill, who hadn’t said a word yet, could hardly contain herself now. She quickly clamped a hand over her mouth and turned her head away in an attempt to keep from giggling, but her shoulders shook in suppressed laughter.

         David noticed Jill’s struggle and grinned, cocking his head slightly. “Gonna make it?” he asked. A look of amusement spreading across his face.

         Jill forced herself to look at him. “Sorry.” She said, trying so hard not to laugh.

         “Don’t apologize to me!” he paused. “Or were you laughing at me?”

         Jill didn’t answer but just shrugged her shoulders and smiled, despite the fact that she knew she was blushing.

The elegant young Jill is a good friend of David's. She has a fun-loving, bubbly and outgoing sort of personality, and talks in really long sentences when she's nervous. She's very much a peacemaker and doesn't like conflict, though she does have a bit of an independent streak that shines through from time to time. In the first book, Jill gets caught up in an "adventure" with David as they try to uncover the mystery of the Old Man's Path. But when David has a change of heart and dares to stand up against false and deadly teaching, she finds herself caught between wanting to avoid conflict and what she knows is right. 

Jill will become more of a main character in the second book. I have not titled it yet, but God really helped me bring the outline for it together in the last week or so, and I'm excited to see how it will turn out! Look for more info about it in the near future!

Meet the Characters // David

Hello!

I would like to introduce you to some of the people in my book, so over the next few weeks you will be getting acquainted with a couple of the main characters. Today I would like you to meet...

David Joseph Riley

"David had thick brown hair and green eyes that twinkled with his every smile."  

"He was a lively young man of sixteen with a kind heart, a strong character, and a broad smile just like his Pa." 

In Paths of Righteousness follows the life and struggles of this adventuresome farm boy whose delightful personality will be sure to capture your heart. The story finds him growing up in the midst of a culture where the Christian faith had become dead, empty and devoid of hope. He tries so hard to be a good person, but watches with horror as all of his efforts fail and God shows him the depth of sin in his heart. Believing that if he can just obey everything that the Bible commands him to do he will be righteous enough to gain eternal life, David is devastated when he discovers that "There is none righteous, no, not one:" (Romans 3:10). Meanwhile, a local wives tale demands his attention when David sees with his own eyes the mad man who had supposedly died many years before. As he seeks to uncover the mysteries that continually play over in his mind, God works a miracle in David's heart and life. But it doesn't come with out a cost. 

I loved creating the character of David because I was able to express what Christ has done for me and some of the ways that God has worked in my life through the events in David's life and the struggles of his heart. I love his smile, and his sense of humor; and sometimes I can even hear him whistling a cheery tune. 

Slightly Sunburnt // How It All Started

Hello!

So, considering that the book I just finished writing took me 3 1/2 years from start to finish, I decided that I'll have to really discipline myself in order to get the sequel written in a reasonable amount of time. And why put off starting on it, right? But yesterday afternoon it was just so beautiful outside that I couldn't bring myself to sit in the house and type. So, I grabbed a notebook and a pencil and went out to enjoy the weather. Finding the perfect little place out in the sunshine, I sat down and wrote for a few hours. It was lovely! But apparently my mind was so lost in a frigid Minnesota winter evening that I completely forgot my body was still sitting out in the 75 degree sunshine of an Ohio afternoon! It turns out that I got a nice little sunburn on the right side of my face, the right side of my neck, my right ear and right arm....ah, such is life! :) But hey, I filled 4 notebook pages, so at least I accomplished something!

I thought I would share with you all how I got started writing. It definitely wasn't one of my favorite subjects in grade school. I actually didn't care for it too much. But at the end of my freshman year I was given an assignment to write a short story. Got that? A SHORT STORY. Like 10 pages long, max. But no! It couldn't be that easy, could it? I got this grand idea for a story set in the "olden days", because I love everything about the way of life in 19th century America. "Little House on the Prairie" and Sauder Village were a big part of my childhood. And for those of you who haven't heard of Sauder Village, come to Ohio for a visit sometime--it's pretty cool! 

So anyways, back to the story! I made up all these little characters who were friends from church--David, Hannah, James and Jill. Then there was Henry. He was the bully at school. Henry was always mean to these four friends, but they decided that they were going to try really hard to be nice to him anyways, and then he would get saved. After a week or so of working on this story that shouldn't have even taken me that long, I started to get more and more ideas and the story just got longer and longer. One of the nice things about being homeschooled was that my wonderful teacher {a.k.a. "Mom"} told me that I could have as much time as I wanted to finish it because she saw that I was really putting a lot of effort into the story and not just trying to get out of doing the work! So, a few weeks turns into leaving it sit for the summer and then tackling it again my sophomore year. As I watched the story develop, I started to see something that wasn't sitting well with me. At that point I was calling my story "Because of the Faithful Four" and saw my characters thinking that by their actions they would be able to change Henry. So, I decided to bring them to a point where they realized they wouldn't be able to do it on their own. Only God can change a heart. At the same time, I really started to like the character of David, and I was following him more specifically. I can't really explain what has happened since that point, other than I can say without a doubt it was God. He gave me a vision for what HE wanted the book to be, and each time I sat down to write and prayed for His guidance, the words just came to me.

In Paths of Righteousness isn't anything like the little story that it started out to be. I am still amazed to see how God took the ramblings of my 15 year old brain and turned them into something big that He can use to touch others. What a privilege to serve such an awesome God, don't you think? 

Because of Him,
          Keri Nicole

Welcome // About Written On My Heart

Hello!

Welcome to Written On My Heart! I've started this blog as a way of sharing with you the story that God has given me. I never knew I was a writer until my freshman year of high school. In fact, I was quite certain that I was not, nor ever could be, a writer. Okay, I'd written a few short stories in my earlier grades, but to think that I would ever write something that could be published was like pie in the sky. But, as you will see, God's plans were entirely different than my own and I'm so glad! I am currently in the very beginning stages of having my first book published! Excited can't even begin to describe what I'm feeling right now!! Lord willing it will be in print by early this fall. I would ask for your prayers as I seek God's will in the decisions that need to be made. 

The title of the book is In Paths of Righteousness. It is set in the late 1800's and follows the life of a teenage boy and his search for God. While this story and its characters are purely fictional, my prayer is that you would find David's experience to be much the same as your own--that you found God when you searched for Him with all your heart. Read more about it on the page called "My Books".

Because of Him,
         Keri Nicole