Join the Christmas Joy Blog Hop!

                I am pleased to announce that in celebration of Christmas and my recent 100^th post I will be hosting a blog hop on Monday, December 14, 2015. The Christmas Joy Blog Hop is for anyone who would like to share what brings them joy at Christmastime. Tell us what makes Christmas special for you. To participate, just sign up your blog on the linky list below, post on December 14 with the Christmas Joy badge >>>, and visit fellow participants to spread the Christmas cheer! You can make the post as long or as short as you would like. Here are some things you could include:

- A special Christmas memory
- Favorite Christmas song/carol
- Share why you celebrate Christmas
- Favorite decorations, favorite food or treats, etc.
- The best gift you ever gave or received
- Traditions

I will probably include all of the above because Christmas has always been my favorite time of year! So, please join in on the fun and feel free to tell your friends :)

Christmas Joy Blog Hop Participants:

 

1. Liz's Random Ponderings

2. A Bench with a View

3. Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh

4. Pile of Smiles

5. Writing in Wonderland

6. Susan Says

7. Tamara Narayan

8. Writing Off the Edge

9. Star Trek Sci Fi Blog

10. Birgit

11. Abba's Lap

12. My Holiday Decorating

13. Getting Back the Meaning of Christmas

14. Stacey @ a little bit of me



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Be Thankful

 

                I would like to wish my American friends a Happy Thanksgiving! Take a moment to remember the things God has blessed you with and thank Him for what He has done in your life. Sometimes we get so focused on what we don’t have, that we forget the things we do have. Don’t take those things for granted. I know the recent attacks in Paris are still heavy on our hearts, and that is reason enough to hold on tighter to those you love. At the end of our lives, the people we care about are much more important than wealth or fame, so tell your loved ones that you are grateful for them today!

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15 (NIV)

November IWSG: Giving Thanks

            Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer's Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another.  IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month.  The co-hosts for November are: Tyrean Martinson, Karen Walker, Denise Covey, and Stephen Tremp.  

                This past Saturday night, I was feeling particularly insecure about the short story I submitted to the IWSG Anthology Contest and I thought I would be writing about that today. I’ll be honest, I don’t think that my story was that great. I procrastinated too long and I feel like I could have put more thought into developing my characters and plot if I had more time. But my story is no longer an insecurity for me. On Sunday, I spent some time with a good friend of mine and got a lot more than writing insecurities talked out. And on Monday, I read this post from Chrys Fey about her gratitude challenge. So, I felt inspired to share some things I’m grateful for with writing over the last week.

                I’m grateful that I finished my story. I may not have polished it up as much as I would have liked, but I’m glad I wrote it. I now have a 5000 word short story completed, which is much longer than any other fictional stories I wrote in high school. I know this may not seem that big to those who write novels or are participating in the NaNoWriMo, but this is a huge first step for me! Plus, I submitted my story to a contest for others to judge, gasp! By the way, good luck to all those participating in NaNo! I only recently found out about it. Maybe I’ll be ready to try it out next year, we’ll see.

I’m grateful for those who commented on my last post who were encouraging me to write my book. I actually haven't thought about it for a while and I have not added very much to my collection of stories, journal entries, and introverted frustrations for months. I was reading through some of my collection before I posted and thinking about continuing my work on it. Maybe it is time to turn it from collecting dust back to a work in progress.

I’m grateful for our Ninja Captain Alex for sorting through all those emailed contest submissions and making sure we have them in an editable file format, lol :) I’m grateful for Chrys Fey for her reminder to look at the positive things in life. And I’m grateful for my friend, Shannon, I’m glad we had that chat, it really helped me put my story (and other things) in perspective :) In fact, I’m grateful for all my wonderful readers and followers, family and friends. Thanks for stopping by!
 

 

What are you grateful for with your writing or the blog community this month?

Blessed

“Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in His commandments.” Psalm 112:1 (KJV)

When we obey God and live for Him, we will receive His blessings. My pastor likes to say that even if you never receive another blessing from God beyond salvation, you can still consider yourself blessed because that is the greatest gift you can ever obtain. But, if I really stop and think, I know that God has blessed me far beyond salvation. I have food to eat, a roof over my head, friends and family that care about me, and the list could go on and on. Sometimes the trials of life cause us to forget our blessings and we only see what we don’t have. In those times, we must learn to count our blessings. Another B word is found in Matthew 5:1-12; the Beatitudes speak to believers about how they are blessed.

 

Let Us Give Thanks

            “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 107:1

            What better time to be reminded of thankfulness than right around Thanksgiving?  I started reading a new book at the end of October. It’s called “Preparing to be a Help Meet.” It was supposed to give me tips about attracting men…no, not really, it was about how single woman can serve God and prepare themselves to become wives someday. What I wasn’t ready for was the chapter on gratefulness I read a couple weeks ago. Since it is November, of course I was already surrounded by messages of being thankful for what I have and the blessings God gives. But that chapter pointed something out in way that finally got my full attention. I realized that just stating what you’re thankful for is not true gratefulness. True gratefulness involves taking in all the blessings God has given and thanking Him for what He has done. A few days after reading that, my pastor preached on Thanksgiving. He repeated a phrase he has used before, but I never really took it to heart until then. He basically said that if God never blessed you with anything else beyond your salvation, you still have reason to give thanks to Him. Believe me, God has blessed me with so much since the day I was saved; I probably could not count them all. After that sermon, I thought some more about the message of that chapter. It talked about negative thinking, which I had never equated to ungratefulness before. I figured my negative thoughts were just triggered by depression and the way I was raised. I blamed my family; they were usually pessimistic, so naturally, I would be too. I blamed my circumstances. It seemed everyone in my life was moving on, getting married, having kids, finding fulfilling jobs, etc. Since nothing was happening for me, I had a right to be depressed and self-pitying, or so I thought. God has something else in mind.

            Instead of trying to reword the author, Debi Pearl’s words, I’m just going to quote a section of that chapter I read: “Most women say they can’t help how they feel. This is a lie which will keep you bound to a wretched life…It is not that one woman has a wonderful life and the other has nothing but misery; it is that one sees life through the eyes of thankfulness and the other through a heart of discontentment. A downcast attitude is a dishonor to God and your husband-to-be.” Ouch! I was talking to my friend, Cynthia a couple months ago about this subject. We decided we needed to stop focusing on the negative in our conversations and thoughts. I have not kept up my end of the bargain. I remember one day in church when 2 different people at 2 separate times told me I need to smile, things aren’t that bad. I’m sad to say that that almost made me feel even more sorry for myself. It’s not easy, but a thankful attitude is a choice, not a condition. So, this is a proclamation to my readers that I need to have a more grateful spirit. No more moping around in self-pity. God has done great things for me, and I should be filled with joy and thanksgiving. As Madam Blueberry said: “A thankful heart is a happy heart, I’m glad for what I have, that’s an easy way to start.” When I get into that state of discontent again, I just need to remember to count my blessings. Let’s all take Philippians 4:11 to heart: “…for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”