Inspiring others through stories. Writing my story and sharing stories by others.
“I am a dreamer and share life experiences with my pen. I bring hope and inspiration to life through books. Fans of my work love to experience a new outlook on life through the words I share. I love sharing life experiences as I paint the imagery in my mind with readers. My passion is to inspire others by sharing my stories. I plan to share what is in my heart and mind through self-published books over the next few years.” – Cindy Ann Rogers
When I say “driven,” I’m not speaking about driving in a car or other vehicle. I’m referring to what Drives YOU to do the things you do.
I pondered on this thought when I was setting my usual goals for this year which is normal for me to do. Each year and sometimes even multiple times during the year, I sit down planner in hand and write out a list of the top things I want to accomplish. Many times, it’s a list of 5 or so things or even more. But I try to focus on only the items I consider BIG for myself and the ones I feel I can accomplish. I also have a couple of long-term goals that I choose to be a backup plan to work on as a accomplish the more reachable tasks.
As I continued thinking of my goals, I began to explore the bigger picture. The WHY, you might say, behind my goals. This idea hit me like a ton of bricks and my thoughts became energized with fresh ideas and a newfound motivation. I love when this happens. Picture the tiny 40-watt light bulb trying to illuminate the brick pathway leading up to a doorway being replaced by a 100 Lumen spotlight allowing the path to become clearer.
To understand my thought process, (which can be scary, lol!) I will share a brief backstory about me. I am a mother of three raised in a broken home who tried to keep my own family together. I’m referring to my husband and children. But for various reasons, I couldn’t, and I became a single mother of three children.
This may sound familiar to many women; I know I’m not special in this regard. Of course, divorce is not “special” it’s hard and I won’t sugar coat it. But I remarried and thought I could give it another go and try to improve my situation and that of my kids. Only to be faced with more problems and despair when my second husband committed suicide.
Since his death, I was surrounded by memories and sometimes those memories haunted me and my kids. I became more determined or driven to break free from everything that reminded me of my late husband or my life with him.
Now comes the light bulb moment… The WHY that drives me is to be remembered by my children and even their children as the person I AM. I don’t want to be remembered by my circumstances. I want to be remembered by my accomplishments and the differences I make for others.
With that in mind, I began a new list of goals. Remember the long-term goal I had placed as a backup plan? I moved it to the TOP of my list. If I AM to be accomplished and make a difference, I must allow my light to shine and be the vessel that God has called me to be.
I now have only 2 Goals on my list for 2023 and I will only add to my list if I accomplish them.
My novel is titled: Trapped Spirit. It is Fiction based on things that happened after my late husband passed. Writing this book has been difficult for me but I’ve also found great healing through the process. Getting the thoughts out of my mind and onto paper has served as an outlet as well as a source of sorting through my confusion surrounding my life. The book is now in editing and will be released soon.
Unexpected Blessings – Forgiveness is a collection of stories from Christian women sharing how their journey to forgiving others or even themselves has brought forth many blessings. Blessings are all around us but many times we can’t see them for the clutter of events or thoughts that cloud our focus. Sometimes we must clear our vision or our goal. In order to clear my mind and focus on my goals I’ve had to do a lot of Forgiving. My chapter in this upcoming Anthology will share how I forgave myself. Until I was able to do this, I was stuck in the cycle of blaming others. Realizing that forgiveness starts within, and we are responsible for our decisions and actions is where overcoming our past begins.
Now that I understand what motivates me or my WHY – “being remembered for my accomplishments and the differences I make for others” I have my Goals for 2023 set: next I will make a plan on how I will accomplish them.
What is your WHY? Have you set goals for YOUR year? Are they goals that will make your light shine?
I’ll leave this post with the memory of a familiar verse we sing in our church, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.”
Author Unknown
If you’d like to become an author in the upcoming anthology, Unexpected Blessings – Forgiveness we still have a need for a few more authors.
Purchase your e Book copy today!
Paperback coming soon!
Raised Bridges
Become a part of something great! Share your stories to inspire others by becoming an author with Raised Bridges, LLC. If you are interested scan the Code in the video above or complete this form.
Click here to be redirected to complete form. (You will be asked to add a short bio and headshot.)
We have published two anthologies in 2022 and helped a dear friend to publish. Checkout those books on Amazon.
It’s hard to believe 2022 is almost over. I put together this flyer to show the many accomplishments achieved this year. Wow! As I was editing this, I realized how many projects I was involved in or led myself. I am humbled by all the support and encouragement I received this year. Thank you for coming along on this ride with me. Oh and, I plan to make 2023 even better.
If you’d like to check out any of these books above: Below is the link for each on Amazon.
Are you interested in becoming an Author? We are planning to publish a new book for the series: Unexpected Blessings. For more information, complete this form : Click here to link to form. Once you submit it will be delivered to our email.
I’ve decided to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. I’m excited and nervous at the same time, but I’m determined to get it done and write 50,000 words during the month of November. It has been my personal goal to write my own novel and NaNoWriMo will give me that push to accomplish my dream.
Before getting started I’m making notes for my novel, setting up my writing space and even doing some writing sprints to figure my average word count. I did figure out by watching several YouTube videos how to break down my writing sessions to be able to pace myself over the month to get this 50,000-word count done. My favorite you tube video I found was by Sarrah of Heart Breathings. Here’s the link to her video for the Preptober Planner that contains lots of information on planning for this writing challenge: Preptober 2022
Some other things that I’m doing to prepare is to set up my writing desk and also setting up a portable caddy so I can write anywhere. Here’s a list of some of the things I’ve gathered for my writing space:
Want a sneak peek at the novel I’ll be working on in November? My goal is to publish this book in December.
Here is the book cover for my upcoming novel. Let me know what you think about this! I love it. If you’re wondering, my work in progress is Supernatural/ Fiction.
I’ll be sharing frequent updates here on my blog and on my facebook page. If you’d like to write with me, I plan to do some writing sprints on the facebook. Follow my author page on facebook for updates!
Check out my recent Anthologies, both contain stories from Christian women sharing their faith journey.
Return to Me – My Scars are healed is available on Amazon in eBook at $1.99 or Paperback at $19.99.
Unexpected Blessings-Finding Joy is available for Pre-Order at $2.99. It will also be available in Paperback at $19.99 or Hardback at $24.99. Our plan is to make Unexpected Blessings a series of books with the next book, Unexpected Blessings – Forgiveness, set to be released in January/February 2023.
#raisedbridges #Nanowrimo #unexpectedblessings #authorlife #returntome #author
Exciting things have been happening since the release of our book, “Return to Me.” Most excitedly we made the Amazon Best Seller List in the Christian Inspiration category!
If you haven’t read it yet; Get your copy here on Amazon by clicking on the image below. Make sure you have some tissues handy and be prepared to be blessed. These ladies pour their hearts out as they share their testimonies.
There are more exciting things in the near future for our authors. We are working on a Book Series titled “Unexpected Blessings” The first book of this series is set to be published on November 1, 2022. I can’t wait for you to read everyone’s story of inspiration and hope as they share how they are able to find joy through pain, heartache on life’s journey.
See below for our cast of Authors writing in this series, Unexpected Blessings.
I chose today as the release date for my new Anthology, Return to Me – My Scars are Healed because it is my grandfather’s birthday! Pick up your copy of our eBook today for $1.99 on Amazon or the Paperbook for $19.99 on Amazon.
This book is filled with stories by 12 amazing women and their journey to finding themselves.
#raisedbridges
I’m so excited to announce this amazing book will be released on September 9th. You can now pre-order the Kindle e-book and paperback copies! Can’t wait!
Pre order your e book here: Return to Me e’book
Paperback here: Return to Me Paperback
Participate in the upcoming Anthology: Return to Me – My Scars are Healed
Return to me is a collaboration of authors sharing their stories of finding themselves again.
Have you gone through something in which you lost sight of who you are? Sometimes things happen in our lives which cause great pain and loss. Divorce, abuse, trauma, grief or addiction are a few examples of things which can cause us to lose our identify.
This book is about people that have gone through life’s challenges and how they overcame to find and improve who they are.
If you are an author or would like to become an author, we’d love to have you join us. If you are interested in participating email me at raisedbridges@gmail.com We’ll be kicking off this project on July 9th, 2022.
On today’s episode of Simply Handmade we shared everything needed to get started doing machine embroidery. As promised the list is available below in PDF form for you to print or save.
I hope you enjoy listening to our podcast! If you’d like to be a guest email me at raisedbridges@gmail.com
Raised Bridges 
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