Kathryn Spurgeon – Page 11 – Kathryn Spurgeon

Family Reunions Make Memories

06/01/201601/26/2025 by Kathryn Spurgeon, posted in My Thoughts

13321653_10209927894613825_5086049068864393464_n — First cousins at Family Reunion

Why did 50 of us travel to Dodge City cow-town on Memorial Day weekend? Some of our family caravanned, a slow but fun way to travel, cars dog-tagging along, arriving at Dodge House Lodge before nightfall on Friday.

For the reunion, we wore matching t-shirts. Now that’s a bonding experience. We had cute gift bags, volley ball tournaments that lasted hours, card games, swimming and Billy Sims delicious BBQ. We made our own family tree on the wall, tracing our grandparents’ Sibyl and Fremont Pope’s lineage back to British royalty, well at least according to Ancestry.com. What fun! Then little acorn families popped up along the bottom. All we missed was the watermelon and a few family members who couldn’t show up.

Why do we do this? Why do we take time out of our busy schedule to gather together?

I thought about what family means, in particular my family. We’ve held reunions since I was a child, gathering elderly relatives, new babies, and strangers. Well, related strangers.

We do this to stay connected, or maybe reconnect. I was amazed at how different people played ping-pong or chatted over breakfast, ones who had never connected before. And grandma, oh my, she took individual pictures with each person present, chatting with them about their lives.

That’s the part I like, making memories.

All this is to create memories for our younger generation, and to also remind each person how precious and special they are. They are what makes up our family. We are a bunch of good-looking, creative, moral, and fun individuals. Diversified – different sizes, shapes, ages, colors. Maybe a little competitive. Maybe a little crazy. But we care about each other and that’s what counts.

Individuals have difficulties, days we have trouble getting through, but the support of a family is like a canopy of rare gems. We have to hold on to it, value it, and not let it slip away.

We are jewels. Each person shines brightly, reflecting on past achievements and future promises. Some like me may still need a bit a shining up after the failed starts, but remember that we go through this life together, a handful of people aging in the same sphere.

The lesson I learned this weekend: cherish each other, and go make some memories.

A Plus for Writers

05/25/2016 by Kathryn Spurgeon, posted in My Thoughts

One benefit of being a writer is attending writing conferences and book fairs. I happen to love them. I attended the Edmond Author’s Book Fair last weekend and the Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc. (OWFI) Conference the weekend before. What a blast! I highly recommend going.

I met tons of passionate writers, old friends and new connections, experts in different genres, beginning wannabe writers and accomplished, published experts. Although this was not my first time to attend one of these events, I learned vital tidbits here and there from the classes and from chatting with others. I took an advanced copy of my book and people seemed to like the cover and description. We were also entertained and taught by author and wonderful speaker Stephen James. On top of that, I won three awards at the writing contest! Who couldn’t love days like that?

The writing business is different than other industries I’ve been associated with (accounting, oil & gas, prison). Writers, who spend so much time alone tend to love to interact socially, confirmed by the OWFI crazy costume dinner Friday night, and the awesome support to other writers for their accomplishments, whether a small published blurb or a trilogy book deal. Isn’t that what God asks us to do, encourage one another in our calling?

Writers are helpful people and I’m proud to call myself one of them, even if my book, A Promise to Break, isn’t released by Memory House Publishing for another three weeks. Three weeks! Oh no! I better get busy and stop ruminating on the benefits of being a writer or I won’t have time to attend the next conference.

You are loved,

Kathryn

My new book cover is ready!

05/12/2016 by Kathryn Spurgeon, posted in My Thoughts

PromiseFront Cover I’m excited about the release of my book on June 18^th, 2016! A Promise to Break: Love, Faith, and Politics in the 1930s, set in Oklahoma, is about a socialist banker’s daughter who falls in love with a Christian hobo!

This book took years of research, analyzing, writing and rewriting. Thanks to everyone who helped. Many of you willingly reviewed, made suggestions, and edited. If not for your encouragement and support, this book would still be covered with dust! The cover includes an actual picture of Sibyl.

Here’s the back cover description of the book.

Sibyl Trimble makes a promise to her father when she is a young girl that she will be part of a socialist political movement to change the world. From a wealthy banking family in Shawnee, Oklahoma, she is comfortable with fashionable clothes, cruising in a new Chrysler, and dancing at the local speakeasy. Even the Depression cannot put a damper on her comfortable lifestyle. By 1932, the timing to fulfill the promise to her father seems right.

Then she meets a handsome, blue-eyed, down-on-his-luck hobo and her life is turned upside down. The more she gets to know him, the more she learns about her world, her purpose, and God. Her love for him opens her eyes to a different way of life than she has ever known.

Based on a true story, this novel follows Sibyl through some difficult choices. She must dig deep within herself to find the strength to face her upbringing and determine which, if any, of her past beliefs can be salvaged. She must decide which is most important, love or duty.

I’m so looking forward to sharing this book with you, and plan to get it out on kindle soon.

You are loved,

Kathryn

Family Secrets: To tell or not to tell

04/05/201604/25/2016 by Kathryn Spurgeon, posted in Memory House Publishing

My new novel, A Promise to Break, which will be released in June 2016, is based on a true story. Some family secrets will be exposed. Is that good or bad? I’ve talked with living family members involved and assured them I don’t mean any harm, but how do I disclose information without hurting feelings? Where do I draw the line?

First, I tried to address the disclosures with grace, not in an ugly, malicious or sensationalist way. And there are ways to do that, without hiding the facts, but by revealing deeper motives, hurts and struggles. We all have secrets, some best left unspoken, and some helpful to other people going through the same scrapes in life. Second, I had to choose carefully what and when to expose confidences and when to let those awkward issues lie buried in the past.

Why do we keep secrets anyway? Maybe we don’t want to hurt someone else, we don’t think anyone cares, or we’re flat-out embarrassed. Face it; some things are better left unsaid.

At my niece’s bridal shower last week, I thought about advice one would give a new bride. Do you tell her that relationships are difficult? Nah, probably not the best time to express that. But I really wanted to say that we shouldn’t keep secrets from our spouses. It’s easy to do when we we’re either hurt or have done something foolish again.

For example, this past week, I backed into a van, dropped and destroyed my phone, and failed to get the oil changed in the car when I said I would. All those things I wanted to put off telling my husband. Even more serious, what about the times my feelings are hurt? Maybe it’s just me, but I might pout, nag or turn a cold shoulder. After all, I’m tempted just like anyone else. And we do tend to keep our hurts secret.

What does the Bible teach about secrets? That’s a lengthy study, but many people’s weaknesses are exposed in the Bible. Remember David and his lusty affair? Moses and his disobedience? However, all secrets are not revealed in the Bible. There would be too many to list. So it appears that when a secret is beneficial to us, the reader, then at the appropriate time and place, it’s proper to disclose.

There are no secrets from God, Psalm 44:21, for He knows our hearts. But there are fitting times and places to reveal our vices. The goal is to glorify what God has done through our weaknesses.

I have tried to incorporate Psalm 102:18 into my writing. “Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.” May anything I write offer praise to God, even the family secrets in A Promise to Break.

You are loved, Kathryn

Not perfect, but not giving up

03/23/201601/26/2025 by Kathryn Spurgeon, posted in My Thoughts

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As Christians, we have a dilemma, we want to be perfect, but we keep failing. We want to do everything right for our family and friends, but we mess up. I have an adorable slew of grand kids, well behaved, awesome kids as you can see from a few of them here. I lost my temper a few weeks ago, and felt bad about it. I don’t blame them, they’re just kids. It was me. I messed up again. How can I always stay the loving, patient grandma I desire to be? What is the Biblical answer to this problem?

I love Arise Ministries who do so much to help single moms! They let me do a guest post on their website.See my answer to our problem here:

http://ariseministries.net/perfection-in-an-imperfect-world.html

You are loved,

Kathryn

Have a Circus Cousins Camp!