Being in the world of content creation I have to be more aware of calendar holidays such as “national donut day” or “pet appreciation day”. It is a part of my job to know and be prepared for all of the upcoming world renowned days on the calendar. I often look for advocacy days or certain awareness days but this year, I noticed World Book Day. As the day approached, I really didn’t think much of it, until I remembered, “WAIT, I’m a flipping author and I wrote a book!!” So you better believe I was about to celebrate this special day!
If you would’ve asked me 10 years ago “Megan, would you ever be an author?” I probably would’ve answered, “No way! Writing is a lot of work and reading is hard. Plus, I’d much rather talk!” (Still all very true) However, over the past few years I have found a new appreciation for books.
I wrote my first children’s book just a few years ago called “No Such Thing As Normal”. I saw a need for educating children about interacting with people with disabilities and differences in our everyday world, so in turn, I wrote about it. I evolved from being the reader of a story to the author and I have to say, when you’re writing with purpose,it isn’t that bad!
As much as I love talking with people and advocating for people with disabilities, I knew that one on one conversations with every person on the planet wasn’t quite feasible. So, I decided to write a book to share with the world!
I didn’t know how, I didn’t know when, I had no idea what the steps were for writing a children’s book but I simply took a step forward. Today, “No Such Thing As Normal” is on the shelves of over 2,000 families and is being sold across the country.
I believe that books are important. I believe that they can translate a message to all types of age groups over a vast period of time. I believe that books can be read over and over and over and with each read, something new can be revealed. I also believe that reading creates a certain discipline in us. To be able to sit down in our busy world, stop what we’re doing, and simply read and absorb, learn and dream and take in those words that are on the page.
Now I may be acting extreme for a children’s book, but there’s probably a book that you can remember that your mom or dad or teacher read to you as a young child that made a really big impact on you. My hope is for “No Such Thing As Normal” to be that book for your little one to remember.
Lastly, I especially want to encourage you that if you feel like you have a book within you JUST START the process. I know it’s hard, believe me. I decided to write a children’s book because I wanted to start simple. However, I’ve always known I’ve had a “big girl book” inside of me. And again the task seems daunting but I’ve decided to commit to writing a little bit every week towards my “big girl book”. I truly believe that I have something to share with the world and I hope I can get it all out onto pages that can be read for years and years to come. As for now, on World Book Day, I hope that you have the chance to read and share my book “No Such Thing As Normal” with your little ones and your friends!
Have you ever had a dream of writing a book? What is holding you back from doing it?
Cheers to doing hard things, reading amazing books and chasing your goals! Happy Reading!
I cannot believe it’s 2022. I know that we have all have been in quite a funk since the beginning of 2020; but if I’m being honest, 2020 allowed for me to set out and accomplish a lot of major goals. One primarily being the launch of my business No Such Thing Co and to sell of over 3000 copies of my first self published children’s book, No Such Thing as Normal. Though it’s not all about goals, it felt really great to accomplish these things during such a funky year. Along with the launch of my business and the release of my children book; I also just felt like it was a year of closeness for our family as we spent many days inside the walls of our home.
Then came 2021. I believe we all thought it was going to be the year that redeemed 2020, but again, if I’m being honest, I actually feel like it was a harder year than the first. I dealt with a lot of stress, anxiety, fear and worst of all, I felt as though the year was a giant waste. Am I the only one?
So as 2022 approached I was excited for a fresh start. I was very much anticipating a new year of regimens and strict goals. Dreaming and laying it all out once again to see what God was going to do. I was a little frustrated though because I wanted to hit the ground running with goal setting and planning, but I still didn’t have my word for the year. Every year, I kick January off with a “word for the year” and when 2022 had begun, I still didn’t have “my word”. I was reading my Bible every day, praying and asking God for it, but I still didn’t have it. One day around the third of January I felt it in my Spirit. I finally knew what I was going to be focusing on for the year; patience, preparation and precision.
When I looked at the words as a whole I didn’t feel like they went together. How do I sit patiently (waiting) while I actively preparing, and do things with precision… ??
I sat with these words for a few days and I felt that the Lord was showing me exactly what that meant.
Patience
Ever since our kids were little we would say “Have patience. And what does patience mean?… “ We would try to get them to repeat “ Patience is waiting without whining.” I see now that in this year, I will need to hold steadfast to this. As an adult, I want to go go go and when I don’t see what I want to see, I complain. The beauty with patience is knowing that it’s God timing and not mine. His timing is always better than mine; better than any goal I could ever set. He knows when things should be released and put out into the world. Most importantly, patience is all about trust.
Preparation
I read a quote the other day that said “preparation precedes opportunity.” There are things that I’ve been waiting for in my business, things I’ve been asking and praying but they are completely out of my control. I feel that God is saying, I’ll take care of the opportunities, you just be prepared. So in this season, I am being patient and preparing; just waiting for an open door opportunity. With that, comes the peace knowing that this is going to be a year where we prepare a lot of things so that when the floodgates open we can handle it.
I had somebody ask me last year “if someone were to order 5000 copies of your book would you be prepared to fill that?” The answer was no, but the thought of that excited me. I’m not saying I’m going to have 10,000 copies of my book sitting in my bedroom (I do have 2000 copies though ha!) but I’m saying there are many things I’m preparing in my heart, in my finances and in my ways of thinking. I know God is going to use me and my family to reach a lot of people and I want to be prepared for those moments. I cannot wait to see what open doors God brings our way.
Precision
I put so much pressure on doing things perfectly. Thankfully, that was not one of my words for the year! ha
But sometimes I wait for perfection before I make a move. I felt that with this word God is showing me how precise HE is. He pays attention to quality and accuracy.
As I was reading through the Bible I was realizing how much precision God took into His creativity and into all His plans.
He will give me precise plans, for my health, for my family, for my marriage, for my business.
I know He will still speak more to me about these three words but I’m excited to focus on them this year and watch what He does.
If you haven’t ever had a “Word for the year” I’d encourage you to seek one out.
So what’s to come… ??
I’m sharing some of these as a seed of faith.
Turning No Such Thing into a nonprofit.
We have some big plans for this business of mine and I’m excited to see it’s expansion not only financially but across the globe. We believe one way we are going to make a bigger impact is actually by becoming a nonprofit (this is actually a really scary step for me because I have zero idea no the finances to pay a lawyer currently so if you know anyone who has experience in creating nonprofits, please let me know!)
The DeJarnett Diaries YouTube channel.
Yikes! Another scary one!!
Well you’re reading it here first! We decided we will be starting a YouTube channel. I can’t tell you when it will be launched but I know we have some fun things we are preparing for it!
The launch of our new No Such Thing Line –
Lovely As Can Be is our new line that we will be releasing. There will be everything from clothes, to toddler gifts, including the release of my new children’s book series. This has been in the works for over a year now and I’m so excited that it will be coming out to the public here in the next few months.
A physical shop location!
(Another scary one)
Again I’m not sure that this will be completed within 2022 but we have big dreams of opening up an actual brick and mortar shop. This will be in partnership with another couple who has some awesome dreams as well. I’m sure we will be releasing this on social and The DeJarnett Diaries here soon.
Full-time social media and contact creator
I was blessed this year with an incredible job that provided a lot of freedom for our family. But I’ve been feeling this tug for the last few months and now it’s time for me to step away. I will be going into full-time contact creation and social media partnerships. (Again another crazy step for us as we will be letting go of our steady income.) This is very much unknown territory for me but I’m excited to see everything unfold
I wanted to share some exciting new goals that I do feel like God has placed on our heart and has been stirring with us for quite some time.
Looking at all these things that I just released, it appears that I really am jumping into some deep waters. Am I crazy??!
I’m a big believer in “if you don’t take big risks you’ll never see big reward” but I also know God will hold us up through it all. Patience, Preparation and Precision is what I will be holding onto this year. What is your word for the year?
If you read this far, thanks for your patience. First blog of the year and I had lots to say. Thank you so much for following along our journey. If you want to read more and stay up-to-date with what’s coming be sure to subscribe to our website!
Summer break started and we decided to take the boys to the public pool for the first time this season. Almost all the chairs are filled and you see the excitement of all the kids in the pool. As we approach some lounge chairs, Shai immediately noticed a friend from his bus.
(I’ll share more about sending your kids to public school at five and six-years old later, but man does it hurt the mom-heart sometimes. I remember putting him on that bus for the first time terrified but again just trusting he would be OK and sure enough we made it through kindergarten just fine.)
As we set stuff down, Shai’s little friend hollers from across the entire pool “Hey Shai, what’s wrong with your mom?” Shai instantly looks at me with a mixture of fear and ‘what the heck?‘ in his big eyes.
In a split second I realize something deep in my heart – This is it! The moment I’ve been waiting for. The moment I NEVER wanted my children to experience, but also the moment I wanted them to be PREPARED for. The moment I pictured in my head happening and the reason I started No Such Thing.
I could have bailed him out and explained to the kid that his question was slightly inappropriate. I could have walked over to his uncomfortable mother and shared with her too, but I looked at Shai gave him a smile and immediately responded “go ahead and answer him.”
Shai is an extremely exquisite little boy with a large vocabulary and even larger personality and I honestly didn’t know what was about to come out of his mouth.
He screams across the entire pool “Nothings wrong with her. She just can’t walk”. The best answer I could have ever heard. Simple and true.
The boy then says “why does she have legs then?”
You could feel the awkwardness for the parents surrounding the pool but I still didn’t want to intervene. Shai then walks over and explains what my wheelchair is and that I use it to get around and that my legs just aren’t strong enough to walk but just because I can’t use them like he does doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have them.
The mom then walks over and apologizes for her son but I tell her “it’s ok, Shai handled it” Did I mentioned this boy was probably 2 or 3 grades older than Shai?
I’m sure she was embarrassed that the entire pool heard her son scream such intense questions, but honestly I couldn’t have been more proud of the way Shai replied. I felt so much pride in my heart. He wasn’t ashamed that his mom was different. I think if anything he felt bad the child didn’t know the simple answer of what a wheelchair was used for.
As a mother our natural instinct is to protect. To prevent harm, shame or even uncomfortable situations for our babies. I believe we are called to equip them. To teach them to stand up for love and truth. I never wanted my child to have to answer this question, but I also knew it was inevitable.
Do you relate to the mom whose child is asking the “awkward” question? Or do you relate to living with a unique situation that the world is hungry for knowledge or insight about?
Either way I hope to be a resource for you. Through my book No Such Thing As Normal or through my blogs, vlogs and social media accounts where I’m sharing what I’ve learned as I continue to navigate the question “what’s wrong with your mom”, not only for my boys but for myself.
