Hello dears! Iona @Story Blossoms tagged me for this, which I didn't realize until nearly a week later 🫣 oopsie 🫠 But anyway, here I am!

The Guidelines

1. Post the Guidelines on your post!
2. Pick one item from the post that tagged you, and give it a shout out in your post that you agree.
3. Link back to the original Story Blossoms post, and who tagged you. (Both the same, in my case. 😁)
4. Make a list of what you’re so ready to see in Christian Fiction (providing it’s wholesome!) that you haven’t seen much of, or at all yet.
5. Challenge 5 bloggers by tagging them!
6. Do these in your preferred order, do be wholesome and biblically honoured, and be yourself.

What We Wants, Precious

So, to be honest, most of the books I read are older, so I'm not sure what contemporary Christian authors are writing 🫣 Most of what I know is based on what my GR friends are reading. 😆 But nevertheless here are elements I'd love to see, along with relevant quotes/lyrics/verses. 😁 Several of the items on my wishlist will be similar to Iona's, lol, because she made so many good points!

Godly Mentors 🧓

I need someone older and wiser
Telling me what to do
You are seventeen going on eighteen
I'll depend on you

~Liesel von Trapp, The Sound of Music

I know we always get the fantasy mentor who promptly dies 3/4 of the way through the book (which I take issue with, ahem 😒 protect all the mentors!) but I don't see a lot of other mentor figures in books. And y'all, we need spiritual mentors! Like Liesel, we need somebody older (not Rolf though) to look up to, to help guide us through life and share the godly wisdom they've learned along the way. I'd like to see more characters who have that kind of person in their lives.

Healthy, Important Family 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

If we don't have each other, we don't have anything.

~Sodapop Curtis, The Outsiders

I know Iona made a very similar point in her post, so I'm gonna echo her here, because I LOVE a good sibling rep, but I want to see it extend to the whole family. Like, the kids respect their parents, the parents are wise and involved instead of being dumb or distant, and the siblings love each other like they're supposed to and get along *most* of the time. (Yes, folks, it's possible. My brother and I have gotten along swimmingly for years, though we didn't always.) And we can include extended family in this, too! Grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins? Bring 'em all on!

(And let's take a minute to appreciate the wisdom of Sodapop, because it's absolutely true and I have that quote on my "motivation wall". We love good ol' Soda 🥹)

Glorifying God Through the Arts 🎬

I believe all good things come from God. I don't believe I'd sing the way I do if God hadn't wanted me to.

~Elvis Presley

It seems (at least to me, and maybe this is my fault for reading older books) that the creative pursuits - writing, art, music, acting, dance, etc - are usually not considered "proper" for a Christian character to be pursuing. And that frustrates me, because I'm a three-way artist (writer, graphic designer, and musician, who would love acting if she did it). 😆 I'd love to see artsy characters who can struggle over how to best use their talents, how to keep one's art from becoming an idol, how to stay pure and be a good light in the corrupt, liberal-infested industry, not letting fame go to their head - but ultimately use their talents in their field to glorify God. Y'all, it IS possible!

A Heart for Wrongdoers ❤️‍🩹

You have no right to be the judge
To criticize and condemn
Just think but for the grace of God,
It would be you instead of him.

~Hank Williams (aka Luke the Drifter), "Men With Broken Hearts"

So honestly I wasn't sure what to title this 😆 but I'll explain as best as I can. From what I've seen, there are a number of books about Christians who reach out to others who've failed morally and help them find redemption. But what about, say, criminals? Or those JDs who will grow up to be crooks if God doesn't get ahold of their life? This is something that's been on my heart for a long time (yes, renewed by reading The Outsiders; I'll admit it) and I'd like to see a character who's willing to reach out and show God's love to those kinds of people.

(A good example of this is in Guild of Thieves by Jaiden Phillips. The Christian characters don't excuse or condone the MCs wrongdoing, but they show him so much love and kindness. They're so sweet 🥹)

Victory in Jesus ✌️

God loves us as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us there.

~Dr. Scott Hahn

(Also similar to something Iona said 😝) I feel like a lot of Christians, and therefore Christian characters, focus too much on their struggles instead of on Jesus and His power. Guys, PLEASE. Jesus didn't save us just so we can go stumbling through life with our heads bowed! Through Him we can have VICTORY over the things that trouble us - something I'm still learning (heh) and would love to see characters experience.

Characters from Multiple Denominations ⛪

[By] the grace of God, we'll see each other's heart
Can you, can you relate?

~for KING + COUNTRY, "Relate"

Sooooo, as a non-denominational girlie, I generally try to avoid specifying a denomination for my characters to belong to 🫣 but I have friends all over the denominational spectrum, from Mennonite to Catholic and everything in between. I'd love to see a friend group that includes characters of multiple denominations, but they're all united in their love for Christ. (Psst, for a great real-life example of this, try the book Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose! And read Luke 9:49-50. 😉)

Singles Accepting Singleness 👤

So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better.

~I Corinthians 7:38

Even though I love a well-done ship and HEA, I am NOT a romance girlie, and it's annoying when all the characters can think about is gettin' hitched. To be honest, I'm quite happy as a single pringle, since that's where God has placed me right now, and I shouldn't be unhappy or trying to fight it. I'd like to see more characters who cheerfully accept their singleness as part of God's plan for them, instead of moping around because "X has a boyfriend and I don't" or "single on Valentine's Day again". 🙄🤢 I want to see them realize that being single doesn't make them any less, and their identity isn't tied up with their status. (Guess what? I'm sure a lot of other single girlies would appreciate that too. 😉)

(Katja has an excellent post on why the main characters in her book A Noble Comfort stayed single. That was one of the many aspects of the book appreciated by yours truly. 😊)

Truly Strong Women 💪

Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

~Proverbs 31:25

In this age of feminists, it's really hard to find a good female character anymore, one that Christian girls can look up to. I want to see more FMCs who are strong in a godly way - a girl who doesn't go trying to be the boss of everyone, a girl who can have spunk and enjoy non-girly things (*cough cough* me) but embraces God's standards for women and pursues a right relationship with Him. Remember, meekness is strength under control. It takes more strength sometimes to respond with meekness and grace than it does to assert yourself and your "rights"!

Characters With Backbone 🦴

Loving [your enemies] doesn't mean letting them go on and do as they please, lad.

~Aunt Kate, Patriot at the River

I must admit - in my earlier books and my first drafts of more recent ones, my characters could be rather milk-toast sometimes. 🫣 Yes, we should certainly be loving and forgive our enemies. But I want to see more characters (my own included) who know when it's the right time to stand up against wrongdoers - whether that means telling them off, getting in a fistfight, turning them over to the police, or even requesting a court-martial. Sometimes what's best for everyone involved doesn't line up with pacifism, and more characters need to realize that. 😝

Older Kids Living at Home 🏡

People usually are the happiest at home.

~William Shakespeare

Obviously I don't appreciate characters who are just staying at home doing nothing and mooching off their parents. 😒 But one thing I've noticed is that nowadays a lot more kids, especially former homeschoolers, are either staying at home or returning home after they've grown up and/or graduated. (Including me, a graduated 20-something who works from home and loves it. 😉) I'd love to see more characters who love their family so much that they don't want to leave and strike out on their own, but would rather keep living with the people they've grown up with their whole life. (Family matters, yk?)

And now comes the tagging, which is always hard for me 😆 but let's see who I can hit up . . .

• Katja @Little Blossoms for Jesus
• Ryana @Life of Heritage
• Miss Special @She Kinda Writes
• Savannah @ whichever blog she wants to use 😆
• Ava @Always Ava

And you of course, if you are so inclined to snurch. 😉

And that, me darlin's, is all! Hope you have a lovely and blessed day/night/whatever time it is for you 😆 and stay warm because there's an awful storm gripping the country this weekend! At least we only get the tail end, but still. Single digits is quite cold enough, thank you. 🥶