Monday Rumors

On Phone Booths

I must confess I’ve been watching DVDs of an old TV show called The Rockford Files. Move over George Clooney, there’s a new man in town.  The ruggedly handsome Private Eye, Jim Rockford (James Garner) is yummy.

Yes, I said yummy.

There are things in the show that are no longer a part of our culture such as phone booths.

Every time my favorite PI needed to use a phone (unless he was in the decease’s home) he’d have to stop the car, jump out, run to the rectangle box of glass, thumb through a big yellow book and call. This observation came full circle for me when I heard something this week.

A teacher asked the young class this question. “Have you ever seen a phone booth?” One child raised a hand and said, “Yes, at the mall.” The teacher felt confused and questioned the location of the phone booth since the teacher couldn't remember seeing one at the mall. Then student said, “In the middle where people walk there is a booth that sells phones.” 

Hence, phone booth.

On My Scribbles

It is the end of the month and I have three short stories in the mail. My goal for the Write 1 Sub 1 is to get one short story out each month. This month, I wrote a new one and finished two others.

I dressed them in warm protective clothing, kissed them goodbye and shoved them out the door.  I might have said, “And don’t come back.”

On the A-Z Challenge

Today you can sign up.

The Blogging From A-Z Challenge is a blogfest coming in April. As a writer, it will help you stretch your imagination, draw more readers to your blog and gives you the opportunity to meet new bloggers. And, you don’t have to write a book every day, no no, you can write as much or little as you want.  If you don’t consider yourself a writer, then I must contradict you and say you are-- if you write posts for your blog. I’m just saying it.

Each day of the challenge, you will post something that reflects the letter of the day. Twenty-six (26) days. As I understand it, except for April 1, there will be no posting on the weekends. You might want to write posts before April.  I’ll tell you why later.

You can use a theme. Do you like poetry? Write a verse a day for 26 days. Write a poem a day. Other possibilities:

1.      Pet articles

2.      Pet conversations

3.      Hobbies

4.      Music

5.      Cars

6.      Fiction or Non-fiction

7.      Poetry (I already said that, but it bears repeating.)

8.      Photography (Post a photo a day where the photo corresponds with the letter.) After all a picture is worth a thousand words or—the letter of the day.  

9.      Any interest you have will do.

I plan to write my posts before April because if there are thousands who sign up (and that’s the rumor), then I will use April to visit others. That’s how you get to know new bloggers. 

Don’t sweat about it. Don't over think it (that one's for me). Remember what I said, it’s a blogfest not a marriage.  Consider it a fun date.

Have a great week!

~~Teresa

Training the A-Z way

It’s January and it's my plan this year to participate in the blogfest A-Z Challenge in April. This blogfest is about posting for 26 days with every day corresponding to a letter of the alphabet. There’s much more to it at the Blogging from A-Z Challenge site here. Wait; don’t go until you read my post.

Lee at Tossing it Out is the man behind the scheme. He thought up this challenging blogfest and it’s been a hit ever since. And he’s recruited some of his friends and fellow bloggers along the way to help. Beginning January 30^th you can sign up.

Now, I don’t join blogfests often. There’s the commitment issues. There’s the “marching to my own drummer” philosophy. But sometimes you long to belong.

And that’s where the Blogging from A-Z Challenge comes in. To get prepared, I’m in training. Here’s my workout plan.

Exercising

Fingers stretch out. Fingers pull in. Repeat eight more times. Then—stop.

Resting

·         Get eight hours of sleep.

·         Dream each night about a dancing alphabet.

·         Leap vigorously to catch random letters in your dreams since you will need them to complete A-Z.

·         And even if they struggle and bite to be free, catch them. It’s well worth it.

Mental Games

Repeat daily: A-Z is only one month. Not even a month. Only 26 days. It’s a challenge not a marriage. You’re only committing yourself for 26 days. Consider it a very long date.

 Read

·         The Little Engine That Could (I think I can, I think I can)

·         Old A-Z posts for ideas. New A-Z posts for ideas.  (This helps you know you’re not alone.)

·         Gone with the Wind (“I can’t think of that right now, If I do I’ll go crazy. I 'll think about that tomorrow.”)

Nutrition

·         Eat chocolate – lots and any kind is fine.

·         Drink coffee. Lots. Coffee helps with memory. True story, I think.

·         Eat fried foods to store fat because writing is a lonely and cold profession. You’ll need the comfort of fried food.

Write

Write random ideas. Write conversations. Write grocery lists. Write until you find your theme. Then…write it for real.

And that’s my training workout for the Blogging From A-Z Challenge coming to a blog near you April 1-30.  I’m stoked. I have a theme. I’m getting prepared.  

Now go visit the Blogging from A-Z Challenge site to learn more about it. Get outta here--go!

Success

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends.

To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded."   ― Ralph Waldo Emerson


What's your version of success?

Quote Source: http://www.inspirationpeak.com/success.html

Mondays

Some days I've just got nuttin' to share, except:

It's Monday

Have a great one!

~~JW

Relationships

One of the hardest things about grandchildren for me is after they’ve reached six months, they can control who holds them. For a short time, the chubby cheek kissing stops. The holding them close—stops.

Don’t cry for me Argentina because once I develop a different relationship with my grandchildren there’s no peeling them off me. It’s a wonderful thing.

This last little man and I made connection on his terms late last year. I was sitting on the floor of my living room talking, when out of nowhere, he leaped into my lap. No warning. No may I? He just leaped into my lap with the twinkling eyes and the sweet grin of his daddy. 

A good relationship is never one sided.

We can live our lives with minimal relationship with our Heavenly Father. But, without knowing who God is and what he can do for his first love—humankind, we are not getting the complete experience of God’s love and power.  

A good place to start?  Praying.

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.” Amen. Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV)

God is always there. He's waiting.

Blessings,
JW

Life Edits

Are you the editor of your life?

As I write and then rewrite, I use my editing skills. During the process, I often learn what not to repeat and what works well. I’d like to say I learn the first time from my mistakes, but not necessarily. And guess what? If I don’t apply the edits, I may get the same bad results the next time.

We are the first editors over anything we do—or we should be. We should edit:

·         What we say.

·         What we do.

·         What we spend.

·         What we eat.

·         What we keep.

·         How we live.

Do you learn from your edits the first time (for whatever it may be) or does it take a try or two?

Be inspired to be your own life editor.  Happy Wednesday!

~~JW

Monday's Random Thoughts

This is what I've been up to.

On Writing:

1.      I’m working on a story for the Highlights Fiction Contest. It needs to be a children’s story influenced by an unusual news item. Due January 30. Go here to read more about it.

2.      I’m fine tuning two shorts to go out.

3.      Still working on a Christmas story. Its working title is Three Miracles. But that sounds lame—so I’m not sure.

On Reading

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 

At the Movies

I got out of the house this weekend and went to see Joyful Noise with Dolly Pardon and Queen Latifah. I didn't go to see it with those two, they were in it. Just wanted to make that clear.

It was a fun movie and (I wasn’t expecting it) had a spiritual tone. It had lots of humor, romance, disappointment, tense moments and happy endings. Oh and it’s totally a musical, but I like musicals. For me, some of the storyline was lame, but I enjoyed it.

On Music

If you haven’t been there yet, I’ve put up something new at The Ruralhood, a post titled Music Traditions in the Ozarks.

Random Thoughts

Dear Store Cashiers, I like to use cash to purchase. It’s my thing—helps me see where my money goes. It hurts my feelings when you hold my bills up to the light to see if they’re real. I promise—they’re real. And why aren’t you holding up the new coins, that I gave you, to the light to see if they are real? Huh?

Dear Bearer of Gossip, if you’re going to talk about someone, do not stand with your back to the door. The subject of your news might come in and hear you. Ok, they did hear you.

Dear Diverticulitis, Ouch. Please, go away. Don’t come back another day. Leave now. Your taxi’s waiting.

Dear Humongous Store, you might think by moving your inventory around that it will cause the consumer to buy things they didn’t intend to buy, but this only causes me to give up and go home. Now what do you think about that? You made me tired. I went home. Now you can’t hold my thousand dollar bill up to the light. 

Dear Beautiful Stray Cat, if you want me to sneak around and feed you, you must not antagonized Kiki Dee. She’s Queen Bee. I’m sure you’ve heard that she rules? She will make you go away, so be nice. I’m just saying.

Love, JW

Those are my random thoughts, what’s yours?

3:16

^{There’s more to it, John 3:16.}

¹ Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.

⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

⁹ “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. ¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. John 3:1-21 (NIV) (Underlining emphasis mine.)

There’s more to this well used verse. God is not our fairy godfather. He's God. He's about real love and eternal life. And, we have the choice to either follow him or not.

That's what John 3:16 is about.

Scripture source: BibleGateway.com

I feel like an Idiom

I was as sick as a dog with a chip on my shoulder. Why you ask? Because out of the blue, someone rubbed me the wrong way, jumped the gun and now will pay the piper.

This is how it went down.

“Will you forgive me?” he asked.

“You’re barking up the wrong tree, Buddy. Forgive? Maybe once in a blue moon, maybe never,” I said.

“You’re making a mountain out of a molehill.”

“Way to be an eager beaver when asking for forgiveness,” I wheezed with anger and sarcasm.

“Get off your high horse.”

“YOU hold your horses.”

“Baby, it’s a dog eat dog world,” he said, “and, you eat like a horse.”

“You need to watch your step, Mister.”

“But, it was a piece of cake.”

“No, it was my last Twinkie and you ate it AND—Twinkie is going bankrupt,” I cried.

“You’re blowing this out of proportion."

“I know and I feel like an idiom,” I said laying my head on the kitchen table, facing the empty Twinkie wrapper.

Do you have a favorite Idiom?

Sources for Idiots Idioms: http://www.idiomsite.com/, http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/

On May 22, 2011, Joplin Missouri was hit hard by tornadoes.  When disasters happen life is usually lost and unquestionably lives are altered. Heart breaking.  

The world talked about it. We talked about it too, here.

Joplin is recovering.

In October 2011, Extreme Makeover Home Edition (EMHE) visited Joplin and built homes for some of those who lost their homes. This Friday EMHE (ABC) will present their final show—their series finale. Their last show will be about their visit to Joplin.

There were seven families that were helped through the EMHE show. You can read here a blurb about them.

I’m going to watch.

~~Teresa

This and That

Closets

I cleaned my main clothing closet and removed three bags of clothing. I'm ashamed I had so many clothes and I didn't wear them. We have so much and really need so little.

Then, I forgot.

I forgot that I cleaned my closet. When I walked in my closet later,  I thought I'd entered Narnia because I didn't recognize it. It was a wonderful world my closet, but it wasn't Narnia.

Message conveyed: Don't clean your closet or you'll become confused.

Revelations

It’s going to be a great week if I make it so.  I had two revelations this weekend—revealed about self-power.

1.      If you are waiting for validation from someone and you can get it to save your life, stop.  The waiting isn’t worth it and the validation is not on its way. And, if you continue to wait for that validation, you're putting your power in the hands of someone who does not care about you or you would have experienced the validation already. 

2.     If you don’t look fear square in its face, fear will pursue you relentlessly. Fear will also take your power from you.

Message conveyed:  Don’t give away your power. It’s yours.

A New Year's hope for you and me.

"Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours." ~Swedish Proverb

Happy Monday!

FPS or Faith Position System

A couple of years ago, I went to one of the best technology conferences I’d ever been to and—it was at a lake resort. It was March 18, my birthday, and I was excited. I was looking forward to sitting in the midst of Geeks and Nerds for the intelligent vibes I was hoping to capture just by sitting next to them.  I think it worked don’t you? Never mind.

I started out that morning a little before eight o’clock thinking I would have ample time to get there for the key speaker at nine. What I didn’t count on was driving through Missouri fog which took longer. And although I’m familiar with the area, I had no idea how to get to the resort.  So, I whipped out Agnes, my trusty global positioning system (GPS) and began my journey. 

The morning was beautiful and semi-warm. The fog trapped the morning sunrise in beautiful shades of reds and yellows. Silhouettes of nature posed alongside the road.  I’m directionally challenged but felt ok about my travels—until I got to the lake roads. I had put my faith in Agnes and my GPS became confused. After following her directives to turn persistently, repeating the word “recalculating” at least twenty times—Agnes went silent. 

In the middle of a lake road covered bumper to bumper in fog and with few houses around me, I was alone. Ironically, I had trusted technology to deliver me to a technology conference.  I immediately prayed and found my way back to the main road and then effortlessly to the entrance of the resort. 

This bible verse came to mind of Abraham.  “…he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Hebrews 11:8 (NIV)

That day, I had put my faith in a GPS. Daily we put our faith in various things: cars, people, electronics, restaurant cooks. (Yep, I said it.)

God may allow us to make a thousand turns and mistakes, but he never abandons us or shuts down. We have the same opportunity to put our faith in God of the heavens and earth as we do in other things, but with greater benefit.

"Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear." Luke 12:22 (NIV)

What’s your faith position this morning?

So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:5 (NIV)

Is your faith in the right place?

Scripture Source: Bible Gateway

Another Night...

With My Imagination

Something wakes me. I hear drumming. Is it the wind? We’ve had high winds lately. An intruder?  I hope not.

It’s 12:10 a.m. and if I were nine again, I’d climb under the covers,head and all, until the monsters went away, but I’m not nine again.

My school resource officer says my idea of using a 20 foot-shootin’ can of bug spray to stop an intruder might be a good idea if my aim is good and I hit the intruder in the eyes—with the spray or the can.

And then I remember I ran out of bug spray during the summer—while spraying wasp nests. My supply is nil. I'm on my own.

So, as I always do, I leap out of bed and race through my bedroom to flip on the light switch. I hurry down the hallway and flip on another light switch. I race through the darkened dining room because I believe in running head-on in to “drumming” monsters. I hit a wall—literally then turn on–you guessed it, the light switch. The dining room is lit. The kitchen is lit.  The living room was already lit with my heavy duty security nightlight. No need to go there.

Now, I race through another doorway for the last switch on my itinerary that will shed light on the family room. I still hear the drumming. But, it seems to be getting louder and reminds me of a steady heartbeat which makes my groggy mind think of Edgar Allan Poe and The Tell-TaleHeart.

By this time my adrenaline has diminished. I can’t make myself go to the last two rooms, the utility room or the upstairs bedroom to shed light on the (hopefully) light sensitive drummers. Instead, I opt to peek out the double doors and flip on (repeat with me) the light switch. Light switches have always helped me be braver.

Then, I recognize the drumming sound as rain that I hadn’t heard in months.

It was raining. I had heard the rain. I turned off all light switches and crawled back in bed wanting the rain drumming on the roof to lure me back to sleep.  

It’s 12:15 a.m. My eyes are wide open.

I love my imagination, but not at 12:15 a.m. Aren't you glad you're not me?

The End.

It's Time

It’s time to take the decorations down,

It’s time to set the goals,

It’s time to move from old to new,

It’s time to take control.

That's all I've got today because it's time to go back to work. I'm wishing  you all a great day.

It's Time!

~~Teresa