As Chatsworth resident and faith-based author Kristen West signed copies of her self-published books at the Garmony House in downtown Dalton on Saturday, Dec. 9, she couldn’t help but smile.
For as long as she can remember, West has had a love for writing and public speaking. But she never imagined that passion would lead her to releasing two self-published books and the opportunity to spread encouragement and inspiration to hundreds of people through public speaking and her blog.
“The love has always been there,” she said. “From a young girl to high school and college, I have always loved it.”
Earlier this year, West, the director of staff development and culture for Rock Bridge Community Church in Dalton, released her second book, “He’s an Everyday God.” Her first book, titled “Inspirational Nuggets from Grace and Glory: Bitesize Devotions from My Blogging Journey,” was published in October 2020.
Both books contain faith-based devotionals to “inspire and encourage others in their walk with Christ,” as the back of each book reads. “(West’s) writing highlights what God has done in her life so that others may find that same hope in theirs.”
“Her work is definitely a reflection of who she is as a person,” said Jillian Ledderdale, the owner of Garmony House and a close friend. “She was originally one of my customers and from the instant we met, she was super kind and outgoing. She’s such a joy to be around and always has a smile on her face.”
Influential figures
Growing up in Ishpeming, a small city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, West said her passion began developing early on, thanks in part to her grandmother, Rose Gleason.
“When I was a girl, my grandma would get the Reader’s Digest sent to her house, which was kind of like a TV Guide in the ’70s and ’80s,” West said. “Guideposts, a faith-based, tiny publication, would have one that she would read religiously as well. They were full of inspirational stories, prayers that people could pray, and chapters and verses that you could put on the refrigerators that would encourage you to stay faithful. She would either read me a story from it or we would look through the pictures. She had a hand in making me what I am today.”
Another inspirational and influential figure was her mother, Marge Hendra.
“My mother was an English major and she made sure I enunciated well and wrote clearly,” West said. “She was a drill sergeant when it came to that; she would tell me not to ‘sound like somebody from the North or somebody from the South.’ She also told me, ‘You’re going to go far if you can read, write or speak.’ For me, she fanned that flame. Both of those ladies were huge catalysts for what I feel like I’ve become today.”
After high school, West moved to West Virginia, where she received an associate’s degree in journalism from West Virginia University in 2000. A few short years later, she would meet the love of her life, Anthony; they recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.
“We actually met online and once we married, my two children from a previous marriage (Jael and Phil) and I moved down to Georgia to live with him and his two children (Alex and Annah) and haven’t looked back,” she said. “It was an immediate ‘Brady Bunch.'”
Reinvigorating passion
For her first 13 years living in Northwest Georgia, West said her writing took a backseat to becoming a full-time homemaker as she homeschooled her and Anthony’s children.
“Eventually, my husband asked, ‘Do you miss writing?’ And honestly at that point in time, I said, ‘No,’ because I didn’t have time to write. My life was so busy with all of the day-to-day stuff,” West said.
After her children graduated from high school, a staff opening at Rock Bridge Community Church’s Chatsworth location became available.
“With my husband’s support, I applied and got the job,” she said. “The first thing I started doing was email my team encouraging stories every single week. It was received with such enthusiasm that I thought ‘Maybe I have missed my writing.'”
As she continued sharing nuggets of inspiration, she eventually moved to Rock Bridge’s Dalton central office.
“In doing so, one of my supervisors would see these emails that I had sent and asked, ‘Why aren’t you blogging?'” she recalled. “I thought ‘Why would I be blogging? The world is full of voices; it does not need one more.'”
West said soon thereafter she attended a church conference in late 2019 that she will never forget.
“One of the ladies that was speaking said, ‘What is it that you know the Lord is stirring you to pick back up and do that you haven’t been willing to face?’ I immediately knew what it was,” West said. “It was writing.”
Within a month, West said she began an online blog on her website, www.kristen-west.com, called Grace and Glory.
“I started tossing real-quick, two-minute devotionals that people could read and apply to their lives,” she said. “God’s word was always integrated in some capacity in my stories and I asked the Lord ‘There’s a million voices out there; what would the difference of one voice make?’ And his simple answer was that if it impacted one person or changed the life of one person for the better, would it be worth it?”
She said the answer was a resounding “Yes.”
Encouraging others through the written word
After a little more than a year of consistently posting to her blog every Wednesday morning, she began putting together her books.
“Both of them are compilations of stuff that has been on my blog, so there’s small, short devotionals that anybody — men or women — could pick up and go ‘Oh, that’s relevant to me,'” she said. “I love getting to encourage, inspire and just help people in their path with the Lord or in their journey of faith.”
After publishing her works, West has been able to connect with even more people throughout Whitfield and Murray counties.
“Even though I’m not originally from here, I have fallen in love with the people,” she said. “For me, it’s truly the people that make the community and make it a home.”
Mandy Arriola, who owns the Cohutta General Store in downtown Cohutta and met West through church at Rock Bridge, said seeing West succeed has been incredible.
“She is a precious lady that loves the Lord, and his spirit just shines through her,” Arriola said. “She’s just a wonderful person; she’s always happy to do anything for anyone when they have a need.”
During the 2022 Christmas season, West held her first book signing at Arriola’s store, where copies of both of West’s books are still available for purchase.
“When (West) came to us and asked if we would be willing to let her have a book signing here, we were so excited to do that,” Arriola said. “She brought in a lot of business for us that day. We are honored to carry her wonderful books.”
While West said writing is “still done in my spare time,” she feels the desire to “continue to hone this craft that I know God has given me.”
Even though West said potential work on another book is far off, she has had other exciting opportunities to continue her passion, with one coming from a publication in particular that has personal meaning.
“Several months ago, several of my stories had been picked up by some Guideposts publications for their hardcover books,” she said. “When my first (copy) was mailed to me and I had it in my hand, the first person I thought about was my grandma because she fostered that hunger and that willingness and eagerness to appreciate a written word and work toward those goals. To be able to write and be published (by a publication) that she loved, it’s hugely meaningful to me.”
Both of West’s books are available for purchase through her website or on Amazon. Select copies are available at the Cohutta General Store at 317 Wolfe St.