Catching Up with femmeflashpoint

Angelia Phillips, also known as femmeflashpoint of flashPress, is a born scribe.  In her words, “I write often, and on schedule. It’s been a passion since I was a kid.”
 
She employs wisdom gained from life experiences to write on a plethora of subjects such as book reviews, historical fiction, a Farmacopeia series on natural medicines, and the mysterious and miraculous.
 
Angelia takes time to work with many of us in the Weeblyhood as a web master. A photography and video enthusiast she enjoys making our work come alive with the latest techno tools and techniques available to us.
 
As a friend, femme is loyal, compassionate and ever so funny. After checking out this interview and her work on flashPress, I'm sure you will agree.

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Angelia Phillips (femmeflashpoint of flashPress)

Maria:  When do you feel most relaxed?
 
Angelia: When I’ve finished a job, or I’m sleeping. Otherwise, life is exhilarating. I’m too blessed for it to not be engaging and exciting. There is always a quest or project or endeavor to look forward to. I slowed down a couple of years ago when an illness moved me out of the fast lane. I’m recovering but fatigue has caused me to have to incorporate more breaks into my work schedule. However, I use them to my advantage and when I’m physically resting, I take the opportunity to be researching and learning. Hooray for tablets and smart phones!

Maria: When do you feel saddest?
 
Angelia: I think I’m like most everyone else, and experience sadness most when I’ve lost someone or something I care for or when someone I care for is hurting and engaged in a trial. But, I don’t allow sadness or grief to linger. Life is short and I don’t believe we’re meant to spend the most of it in sadness.

When I’ve had a chance to catch my breath then I do my best to push the dark thoughts and feelings away. When they’re too big for me to move on my own, I seek God for help and He delivers every time. Darkness can’t take up space where He shines. He’s the ultimate source of my joy and peace. He gives it so freely and in such magnitude it transcends every hurt I’ve ever experienced. 

Maria: What would you like to teach others?
 
Angelia: First I'd want to share the news that for years, it was all about me; my own perception, my own doing, my own achievements. As I’ve gotten older and gained some sense, I realize how terribly I short-changed myself and everyone else. 

I’m thankful that I've learned (and am still learning) to move myself aside and make plenty of room for Christ. It’s His influences that are the salt and pepper in my work. He’s the perfect good in and of anything I have to offer. It’s been Him that was responsible for my achievements. So, the very best thing I have to share with others is Him because He is the best part of me. 

Second ... nothing is free. There are no such things as free education, free food, free medical care. Someone, somewhere has paid or is paying for all of those things. If someone gives a gift, that’s what makes it special, valued. They did it because they wanted to, not because they were forced.


Third ... there's no such thing as too many editors.

Maria: What's your secret passion--your dream job?
 
Angelia: I don’t know that I have secret passions. My life is pretty transparent. I love working with friends who can click smoothly as colleagues. Working with friends is like having dessert first. The old standard of not taking a professional situation personally, in my estimation, is a crock. I prefer to work with folks who are personally passionate about their work.

To consider a dream job, I’d have to ball several situations into one to make it all come about. I have a burden for folks who are struggling, especially the homeless or people who have no close family or friends. If I could work at something I love and earn enough money to establish self-supporting communities for those who desired to live in such places, and produce similar animal rescue sites, I’d deem that sort of achievement to be the pinnacle of career success.

Other areas would be education and encouragement. What knowledge I have, I love to share, when it can help someone. That's how I learned most of what I know. People cared enough to teach me, counsel with me and encourage me. I derive great joy in passing it along and seeing someone's life made better or easier for it.

I'm far, far from perfect but God helps to make up the difference and keeps me encouraged to move forward, gaining ground in my work and personal life which have always been sewn tightly together.

Maria: What is the most hated gift you ever gave someone?
 
Angelia: The measles and mumps. They were terrible and I shared them with my sibs.
 
Maria: What gift could you have done without?
 
Angelia: Mono, strep and and several game related fractures. The fractures rank highest since they’re the gifts that keep on giving. The older I get the more they strive to ensure I don’t forget about them.
 
Maria:  What would I be surprised to find in your junk drawer?
 
Angelia: I don’t have a junk drawer but if I did, it’d have compartments in it, so all my junk would be organized and easy to find. It’s no wonder I love using Evernote, GMail and Google Drive. 
 
Maria: Describe your date from Hades
 
Angelia: He wasn’t from Hades. He was from D.C. Saying goodbye to him was one of the best moments of my life. 

Maria:  How about your worst/ or funniest vacation story?

Angelia: I’ve been chased, late at night while traveling on several occasions. Once was with my sister and my nephew, on our way home from a funeral in Oklahoma. Driving through the mountains, a trucker did his (or her) best to run us off the road. We were traveling in a small SUV, and my sister, Alicia (who’s thankfully a very good driver) had it maxed out on speed. The trucker got close enough to us several times that I could have reached out the back and grabbed the grill of the truck.

It was high speed and very exciting, all in bad ways. 

He backed off after driving into a weigh station. We didn’t have mobile phones back then. We never saw the color of the truck or a license plate. We just wanted to put some distance between us and the driver as fast as we could. The SUV was a rag-top and even though we were armed, we felt especially vulnerable with the little on in the vehicle. Thankfully, my nephew slept through the whole thing.

That was one incident. There have been three others that I won’t go into. None of them were nice and I hope there are no further incidents. 

On the lighter side, although I love it, I’m not great at skiing. On my first trip, I joined a ski class. I was the last in line, but also at the top of a small slope. At some point, I lost my balance, and bumped into the student next to me. I righted myself but he fell over. He also bumped the person on the other side of him, and they fell over too. So it went on down the line, all the way to bottom of the slope involving about 20-some students. 

I was at the top of the hill and the only one standing when the instructor yelled, “Who did that!?!”

It was a “Duh...” moment and I was right embarrassed. Other than a separate incident of loosing control at high speed on a downhill (for me it was high speed) and nearly scaring myself senseless, and the five folks I wiped out (accidentally) when exiting the ski lift (once more I was the only one standing--poor people) ... the rest of the trip was awesome-sauce! 

Maria: What is a life lesson you'll never forget?
 
Angelia: When I put Christ first in everything, I’m doing it as right as I can do it. It’s through His influences I can be the best of all He designed me to be.

Maria: What is a life goal on your bucket list?
 
Angelia: To get Frank Peretti's autograph and finish a book I’ve been working on since forever.
 
Maria: What do you most look for in a friend?
 
Angelia: A sincere caring for others. A positive attitude and desire to find a way to achieve goals and not be easily daunted when the path gets a bit rough. Throughout my whole life, the good Lord has given me magnificent friendships around the globe. They’re a huge part of what makes my life qualify as abundantly blessed.
 
Maria:  What is something you will never part with?
 
Angelia: There are several somethings. ☺ 

My bible, my two teddy bears (Hugs and Cinnamon), my vintage bow, a gift from my sister, the shell casings from military memorial honors, a lapel pin from a Marine who received it upon his graduation from boot camp and 30 years later gifted it to me when my father (also a Marine) walked on. My Marine Corps League challenge coin, a gift from the Commandant of the Longhorn Division and two prayer cloths.
          
Maria: What is a life lesson you'll never forget?
 
Angelia: That whatever is happening, I’m not alone in it. Christ is with me in every situation, helping me to meet every challenge, and loving me more in every moment than my simple, mortal mind can grasp. When I foul up, I'm forgiven and I must keep pressing forward until my course is finished and I get to make Heaven my home.
 
Maria: What's the worst part of getting older?
 
Angelia: People telling me, "You're too old to be doing that!"

Age is largely attitude. I continue to strive to gain ground physically. I have hopes and plans to long-board again, roller-blade often  and keep the bike trails warm. 
 
Maria: What's your favorite movie and why?
 
Angelia: Here's another that has way more than a single answer. I don't have a favorite movie. I have several that I love. Ben Hur, A Bridge Too Far, The Ten Commandments, The Patriot, Schindler’s List, Braveheart, the list goes on and on.

I suppose historically based movies are my favorites but I’ve been pretty fond of The Avengers, X-Men, Lord of the Rings and The Harry Potter series as well. They all have the common thread of something (even an ideology) good enough to be protective of and sacrifice for. 
  
Maria: What subjects / genres do you enjoy reading about?
 
Angelia: Adventure, historical/speculative fiction and blends of fact and fiction. It’s no secret that my favorite living author is Frank Peretti. He stands in the equally loved ranks of several others who are ten Boom, Doyle, Dickens, Burroughs, Tolkien, Kipling, Lewis, and several others.

Maria: What would be a subject/ genre that you would like to read more/ about?
 
Angelia: Other than biblical text, I engage in continued studies on organic agriculture and homeopathic medicines and holistic lifestyles. I study it, and as often as possible, apply it to my own life and share the info with others when I can.

Maria:  What are your latest projects...anything you'd like to share with us?

I’ve been doing more interviews lately, along with my sister, Alicia (Nee) of On Story Street. When we work together on articles for our websites it’s a big help because she covers most of the photography which frees me up for information gathering. Later, we go through most of the data together to produce the article. She’s used to working with me and knows the sort of shots I’ll want to use, so it makes for a sizable sharing the the workload.

We’re also doing a bit of collaboration with the New-Harmony Gazette, a local vintage newspaper in our county, which has been fun and very interesting. We’ve made some new friends and colleagues through this and we’re enjoying the venue and the variety of literary angles and talents we’re encountering. 

When my schedule has a sufficient hole in it to allow the time, I’ve been writing again on the novel that’s taken forever to complete, but each graph puts me closer and closer to the finish line.

A recent enhancement to our literary endeavors has been videography. It’s been a somewhat daunting and frustrating venture but it’s rendering rewarding outcomes. Our associated YouTube channel is beginning to fill out with interesting content and we’re enjoying positive responses from viewers and new fans.

Thus far, I've refused to do any photo updates or be visible in any of the videos because my hair's not grown out quite enough for me to be comfortable with since I locked my hair a year and a half ago. I love having dreads but I'm not quite ready to be showing up with them in videos or pictures yet. They're growing much faster than they  were in the beginning and have finally made it past my collar. I imagine I'll be good to go with new profile photos and being in videos when needed in another couple of months. In the meantime, I never did like being in front of a camera so not being featured isn't bothering me a bit.

Thank you, Angelia....
 
I am honored that you agreed to share yourself with us in this beautiful and fascinating interview.

Thank you so much!

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