Happy Independence Day

From the musical that reinforced my love of this day!



May you all have a wonderful 4th and celebrate the wonderful blessings of the day!

Join Me at Heathy Writers

My Healthy Writer's Blog is up. Today's topic is about the 60 Minutes piece -

Is Sugar Toxic?

Happy Mother's Day??? A quick poll

I'm looking for some opinions today.

You know how women are always joking about how things would be different if men experienced them?

Well my husband found a Mother's Day card that loosely reflected that sentiment. He thought it was hilarious. I'm wondering if it's really meant as a compliment or a thinly-veiled dig.

The caption inside says - It's not easy being a mother. If it were, fathers would do it.


So what do you think?

Did the designer intend it as a compliment or not?

Attention: Genesis Entrants! Don't Quit

My class and I were reading and discussing this poem today. How ironic that today turned out to also be the Genesis Semi-Finalists were announced.

To all those who made it through to the next round, CONGRATULATIONS!  Enjoy the success and indulge in unbridled hope. You deserve it for having the courage to enter. I hope your dreams come true.

But this post is also for the discouraged entrants who didn't make it to the semi-final round.

I remember, in the midst of my celebration last year, reading Katie Ganshert's blog about never being a Genesis finalist. She proved that you can not final and still succeed. Her book is scheduled to be released next month! Wildflowers From Winter

For those of you struggling on your results, I offer this hope. I figure it's not just irony that put this poem in my head today, but rather God's perfect timing.

The video sets the words to pictures and music. The actual words are below.



                 

DON'T QUIT

 When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow–
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out–
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Unknown Author

And because I love conversation, I'd love to hear your thoughts on perseverance.

My favorite quote that keeps me going is this one:

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit.”     Richard Bach

As a final prep, my class read and wrote about a poem called Don't Quit.

How do you keep going when t hings get tough?

D.E.A.R. DAY

Did you know today is Drop Everything and Read Day?

If ever there was a day made for me, this is it!




So for today, let's talk books. If you have the chance to drop everything and read today, what will you be reading?


I want to tell about the terrific book I'm reading, but it's a CAROL book (ACFW's contest for published writers) so I can't name it. I will mention another book I'm reading - The Wounded Healer by Henri J. M. Nouwen. From the back cover -

In this hope-filled and profoundly simple book, Henri Nouwen offers a radically fresh interpretation of how we can best serve others.

So, if you have a minute, please mention what you're reading.  My TBR piles are towering but that's never stopped me from buying more books!

ETA: I thought the bookends above were perfect for today! They're made by Cubo3.

Seekerville

What a crazy day. I meant to post earlier that I was blogging today at Seekerville about Writing into the Mist. It's not too late to drop by to be inspired and join the conversation.

Writing into the Mist

Where Do You Write?

I'm really curious for feedback on whether where you are writing has any effect on your writing?

Through the years, I've had various favorite places to write. I was thinking of them over the weekend and it occurred to me that my most productive writing places always faced outward either toward a window or out into a room.  Whether it was the coffee shop I wrote in while my daughters had dance class (facing a window) or the makeshift office I created in the laundry room a decade ago (also facing a window), I seem to need open space ahead in order to lose myself in my story.

The problem with that is my desktop computer is in an enclosed office where I'm facing a wall. No wonder I'm always looking for outside wallpapers for the monitor.

Lately my most productive work has been early in the morning sitting propped up on my bed - looking outward into the room. I thought maybe it was just the early morning, but I got 1700 words written in an hour this afternoon in that same place.

I'm starting to think there's some psychological link here. It's almost like the wall behind my computer symbolizes writer's block.

Imagine how productive I could be if I had that beach desk?
Nah, I'd probably daydream all day.

What about you?
Where do you write? Does it matter to you?