2019….We Go Again

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Being a full time rugby dad, I’ve heard the above phrase often over the last few years as I’ve stood on the touchline supporting Adam. When a team scores and is regrouping for the resulting kickoff it is a rallying cry for the side. Yes, we may have just scored. Yes, we may be leading. But the game isn’t won yet. There is still work to be done. We can’t afford to relax or be complacent.

We go again….

On a personal level, I achieved a lot in 2018. I wrote a book. I ran two marathons. I watched the blog grow to over 8000 followers. But, more importantly, I grew as a person. Yet, there’s still so much to do and I can’t help but feel time is not on my side. So, I go again. Despite being sidelined with illness currently, I’m still hopeful of completing my tenth marathon in May. The Belfast Marathon has a new route this year which I’m looking forward to tackling.

Then there’s the little matter of my book, ‘The Kirkwood Scott Chronicles: Skelly’s Square.’ I’m loathe to blog about it as it’s an entirely selfish exercise, but I realise in order to promote it, I have to occasionally blow my own trumpet. I’m wary of that side of my character, but have good people around me to guide me along that particular path. I’ve even ventured back onto Twitter, which was a huge, and still weird, experience.

The book is currently with my editor, Laura, having gone through the beta reader process. When she returns it, I will be ready to start querying literary agents. I’m currently drawing up a shortlist which I’ve been researching online. I’ve also drafted my query letter and book synopsis. So, I’m standing on the cusp, the edge of submitting sample chapters to them. It’s exciting, but also terrifying.

I’m hoping to be a better husband and father in 2019. A better manager, a better employee, a better son, brother, uncle, everything really. As ever, I will strive to blog regularly and honestly, keeping you updated as to my successes and setbacks. I will also continue to battle with my fractured faith and work at keeping the beast that is my OCD, well and truly shackled in the deepest recesses of my mind.

I want to read more books, watch more movies and start work on KSC2. Ideas are starting to form in my mind as to where Kirkwood, Meredith and Harley go next. I also want to engage more with my fellow bloggers. I regard many of you as friends now, people I would miss if you dropped off my online radar. Blogging is more than just posting blogs. It’s about reading, interacting with, and supporting others. I need to do that more.

I hope you all realise your dreams and targets in the coming year.

We go again. We go together.

What are your 2019 goals?

Published by Fractured Faith Blog

We are Stephen and Fionnuala and this is our story. We live in Northern Ireland, have been married for 17 years and have three kids - Adam, Hannah and Rebecca. We hope that our story will inspire and encourage others. We have walked a rocky road yet here we are today, together and stronger than ever. We are far from perfect and our faith has been battered and bruised. But an untested faith is a pointless faith. Just as a fractured faith is better than none at all. We hope you enjoy the blog.

39 thoughts on “2019….We Go Again”

  2. I wrote a book in November. I will self-edit it as needed this year, run it through the publishing process, and retire from writing again.

    2018 is the first time I’ve managed to see my income go up instead of down. I’d like to turn that into a trend.

    I’ll continue being kind to my wife, my cat, and everybody else.

    I’ll keep the health thing going. When I tweeted that I was fat enough to keep my pants up with the Kuiper Belt, that was a big lie. I’ll probably tweet more of those.

    Not a whole lot of goals, but I’ll set more as they come to me. I don’t limit myself to January when I do that.

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  4. Looking forward to reading your book in 2019. Keep us informed on that progress. My goals: do more blogging – more consistent. Expand my list of bloggers that I read. It is interesting how I feel that many of the ones I read are becoming friends. I find myself praying for needs or hopes they share. Read more books. I will have a knee replacement this year so in anticipation of that, lose some weight and get stronger physically. And continue to be a support to my family. God bless you and yours in 2019 and great success with that book.

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  5. Happy New Year!! I hope you have a blessed year!
    My main goal is to get my book written! I am slowly realizing how much of a process it is. But I know I can get it done!
    I’m doing a short devotion series in the YouVersion Bible app about choosing a “word” for the year. My word is going to be “perseverance!”

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  7. This is a lovely post Stephen. So honest and so optimistic. I don’t know what my goals are realky – except just to keep going through all dufficulties. I)d live to get more Followers to interact with, but don’t know how to do that. Like you, I am working out my faith, but I doubt it will end up as a conventional one. I am a bit wayward lol. But I think we need to be, to some extent. I am hoping and praying we can find a new, more welcoming and less abysive church in 2019 and we have one in mind, but we can on,y syck it and see. It might be bitter or it might be sweet! You have done amazingly Stephen, to run all thise marathons. Hope that you achieve all your goals in 2019. God bless you.

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      1. Absolutely Stephen. I will always visit your Blog. And I am also going to try and get a poetry book published. Poetry is hard to get published though. I am really looking forward to reading yours.

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  11. Happy New Year! I wish you joy, success and the courage to ignore your OCD (I was trying to choose between ‘fight’ and ‘ignore’, and decided that ‘ignore’ felt like the best word to me, because even though it doesn’t fully convey the pain and the struggle, it seems to be the only way to defeat OCD…)

    I don’t know if you’re a fan of self-help books, but they’re something I like to read at this time of year. My favourite is ‘The Gifts of Imperfection’ by Brene Brown. Reading it always brings me comfort and inspiration. 🙂

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  13. I love that “we go again”. and go we shall – resolutely or kicking and screaming – what choice is there but to move forward? I don’t have any specific goals at this moment – well, I do want to get back to writing my historical short story about life in the late 1800s/early 1900s in rural Newfoundland where I was born. I had interviewed an older man for a story for the local paper – but he gave way more than I could write in a short story for the paper. So, I kept the recorded interview and now I have mined it and let the characters come to me to tell their story in their own way. At any rate I have not touched it for well over a month so I hope to get back to it within the next week or two. )is it weird that I miss the characters?)

    I think you’re a humble guy at heart, but I am looking forward to reading about your adventures in publishing – admittedly some motives are ulterior. LOL However, I am vested in following your own personal story and your familie’s – all Adam’s adventures as a soccer player and hearing all the doings in your lives.

    I think of you more as a friend now and I do look forward to reading your blog posts. You keep it real and I love that! Happy Blogging! And Happy New Year from my home to yours.

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  14. Congratulations on your book and all you have achieved in 2018. I wish you much success! My new goals are to not stress so much and enjoy things more. Finish my series. Query Agents. Treat myself a little better.

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  16. Good luck with all your goals this coming year. They all sound worthy of your time and effort. May God bless you through the coming year!

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  18. So many wonderful accomplishments. Interaction is so important. I may not be up to date but I try to interact best as I can 🙂 even if it is at a slow pace your readers and the community appreciates it.

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