Why VOTE?

I hear the grumbling, the complaining, the hopelessness that the 2016 Presidential campaign has created and I agree. More than the usual complaints of why one candidate is better than the other; those are to be expected, this election season has brought about the worst in most of us and this is fueled directly by those we have to choose from in this election. It is a sad commentary on our country and our people. Still, we must vote because it is our right, our privilege, and our duty as Americans. Our voices are important as individuals and members of a free society and have an impact in ways that we don't readily see.

Beyond these patriotic and logical reasons though, for some of us there are even more important reasons than those. God encourages us to be a part of the society we belong to.

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ..." Romans 13:1-14 English Standard Version

Deuteronomy 1:13 English Standard Version "Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads"

"He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding" Daniel 2:21 ESV

Get out and vote today y'all, because for now, we can.

Peace , TheWritingMommy

Sometimes, you gotta just stand...

Ephesians 6:13 English Standard Version

"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm."

Sometimes standing is the hardest part, especially when you want to explain, fight, shout, and all the rest. But it comes down to this; if you didn't start it, you didn't want it, and nothing that you have done or said has made a difference, then consider that "the battle is The Lord's" and let it go. It may hurt, but how does holding on to that anger, pain, resentment, and all the rest that goes with it feel? 

 

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

 

 

(I couldn't lean on my own understanding even if I wanted to because there are things in this life and this world that I can't make sense of anymore so I'm preaching to myself today.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 But, because all things are lessons if we allow them to be, i know that someone out there might be going through something today and need to see this as well.

 

Keep standing friends. Peace, TheWritingMommy

Check out my books on Amazon.com for temporary price reductions...

Hey Y'all,
This is the link to my books on Amazon.com. If you have read any of them I would love for you to submit a review. I would greatly appreciate it.

On August 19, Legacy of Love, a personal memoir of my mother's last year as she battled with cancer and anecdotes from myself and her other daughters, will have a price reduction for 5 days.

And beginning tomorrow, August 13, 2016, the Kindle Edition of One Perfect Now, a story of a woman losing her mom but finding her faith and herself, will be free for download Saturday and Sunday.
                         

                        "One Perfect Now is the story of Sandy Weston’s journey through incredible love and unbearable loss. She embarks on a journey she never wanted to take and along her journey she finds the identity she thought she lost, the strength she hadn’t realized she had, and the courage to walk into the future she always wanted"

Again, any reviews would be appreciated. Even if you don't love it, your opinion matters a great deal, especially as I am about to take my Aunt Millie Goodman's advice and begin a sequel to One Perfect Now, focusing on Sandy's brother and their relationship.


As always, peace to you all. 

Andora , TheWritingMommy

Rest In Peace My Sweet Friend

Puppers Henson. Sweet friend and lazy dog. :)

Puppers became a part of our family in June of 2003. He was so tiny he could barely reach the next step as he tried to climb onto our porch. He showed up covered in Sarcoptic Mange, malnourished, and had clearly been abused judging by his frightened and skittish demeanor.

I had recently been told by my sweet husband, "no more strays!", as we had only just moved in and I'd already taken in a few cats and another dog. I called him right away and explained that it would cost $20 to take this puppy to the pound and $20 for the medicine he needed to get better. I didn't want the responsibility of that decision so I left it to him and he quickly replied that I'd already made my mind up what I wanted to do so just go ahead and buy the medicine.

It took 8 weeks of daily treatment for the mange to begin to heal. I covered him in the foul smelling medicine every morning and left him in the kennel with food and water. I talked to him  when I went outside and sat by his kennel often just to remind him that he wasn't alone. He didn't whine or make much noise at all. I think he was just glad to have a place to rest and heal.


Eventually he was a cute fat little fuzz ball and he began to trust me. He still wouldn't come inside our home for many years and it took about that long for him to trust my husband. Loud noises frightened him and since we live in the country there were hunters and fireworks and coyotes and all manner of noisy things. The poor little thing was so nervous sometimes that I wondered if he would ever feel safe. After a while he began to trust us all though and He became our friend and a member of our family.

 His loyalty to me specifically began when I treated his mange I think, and grew over the years as he found many opportunities to need me. When he was well enough to leave the kennel he lived in our front yard. It was fenced and big enough for a dog his size to live in and get plenty of exercise. I felt it was completely safe for him and had no worries. One morning however, at about 7am I heard a terrible sound. The crying and moaning was awful and I couldn't get outside fast enough. I could see him standing in the middle of the yard but didn't see a problem right away until he shook his head and let out a mournful howl that broke my heart. This identified the source of his discomfort; he had somehow gotten a chain link stuck in his eyelid! This was a heavy duty chain used for securing cars to a tow line and weighed about two or three pounds. I don't know how he found it to this day as there were no chains in the front yard, nor did I ever figure out how he got it through the top of his eyelid but there it was nonetheless. I coaxed him over and calmed him as best I could in order to assess the situation. I had no choice but to try and get the thing out as quickly as possible. The link had remained open enough that I could pull it out if he would let me. I prayed for him as I began and he let me finish. I doctored the wound and let him love on me all he wanted even though I can't stand being licked. Once again, I had proven myself to him and he never forgot that.
He would get into similar harrowing situations several times over the next few years and thankfully God was gracious and allowed me to arrive and help him just in time.

 Puppers hated riding in the car and we didn't force the issue often, but when we had to for vet visits we often followed up with treats. He loved vanilla ice cream. I know, I know.... ice cream is people food and dogs have specific nutrition needs. I've been schooled by friends already but I gotta say, a little vanilla ice cream never hurt anyone and sometimes it makes a scary drive or visit to the doctor's office a little more bearable; at least Puppers and I thought so.

Even as a puppy, he was calm around me. He just knew somehow that I needed peace and he was such a peaceful influence. He would come into my office and sit with me while I wrote, usually with Gladys, the huge stuffed gorilla pictured here. Before I moved into the bigger space, he would come and lie under my desk at my feet. He was always gentle with me, but for a while he was a brute with other dogs. He would pick fights with dogs bigger and meaner than he, which was really surprising because he was always so gentle with people. He stopped when he was attacked, in our front yard, by two stray Pit Bulls. They almost killed him, ripping an ear nearly off. The vet was shocked when the ear healed and he hadn't lost it. He said Puppers must be a real scrapper. He was a survivor for so many years that I think he was ready for this transition from life on earth to life in heaven. He was diagnosed with heart worms and had arthritis so the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter worked against him for the past couple of years.

I'm not a "dog person". It's not that I have anything against animals, I just have a "take 'em or leave 'em" feel about animals in general. I respect that God made them and like us, they serve a purpose but Puppers was different somehow and he found his way into my heart. He was more than a dog to me; he was my friend and I will miss him.  Rest in peace Puppers. 

Times, They are a Changing

So, clearly I have lost the "30 Day Writing Challenge". No excuses. We make time for what is important and there are family issues that far outweighed my need to write.

Still, if I worked for a traditional employer I would likely not haven taken off whole days for the circumstances so I am making changes that will clearly mark my writing time and business. Not an easy thing for a "work from home" professional. Especially when that professional is a woman, and a mom. Not that men who work from home don't face the same dilemmas of time management, but it seems most women feel more of a pull to make sure the house and the children are in order. Maybe it is just me though; I have been told I'm a bit of an odd duck. 



Now that my children are, for the most part grown, I feel that the season of "mommy hood" is coming to a close and I can focus more on my career and the parts of me that I put on hold in order to nurture and raise up my children. That was a choice I willingly made with my husband for our family a long time ago, but much has changed and I'm ready, even excited to raise the level of priority that I give to my writing passion and business.



Do you have any suggestions? What has worked for you? Please share all tips, tricks, and ideas that may be helpful to me or any other reader. We would all appreciate it. Thanks y'all. 

Peace from TheWritingMommy

Hard Times...

Sometimes we go through things, hard, nearly unbearable things and we don’t know why. We may never know why. This is when faith is most important. This is when you have to choose, on purpose what you will believe without physical proof, what you will declare regardless of circumstances, and what you will hold onto even when your strength is gone.

Right now, some of you may be going though something really hard too. I want to encourage you with a phrase that keeps me going in times like this….

“This too shall pass.”

It isn’t in the bible and it isn’t attributed to anyone in particular but it has reminded me often that hard times come and go and it troubles come to the just and the unjust alike. While god is just, life isn’t fair and that remains truer than ever. I count on God’s grace always, but especially in these times.

What do I do during the hard times? Well, The Bible says “be still and know I am God.” Psalm 46:10. It further says that we should resist the enemy and when we have done all we can we should continue to stand firm. But guess what? Standing, just simply being still is so terribly hard for us humans. We want to say something, do something, make a plan, get busy…. And on and on. But that rarely works. And it wears us out quickly and then we are more vulnerable and less able to even resist and stand.

So, here I am, writing because that is how I process things. I’m horribly distracted by the circumstances that I simply cannot control and I really don’t like it but since I have “done all” that I can do, I will stand in faith in my God and Father who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all I can think or imagine.

Peace to you all friends.

TheWritingMommy

PS:

Here are some verses to give you help and hope if you too are going through something hard right now.

Psalm 120:1 ~ In my distress I call on The Lord and He answers me.

Psalm 118:14-16

Psalm 16:8

Proverbs 18:10

Isaiah 41:10

John 14:27

John 16:33

In Memory of All Who Lost Their Live and the Families Who Lost Their Loves - A Poem

I know that Memorial Day is for remembering those who perished in their service to our country, but I submit that there are many who came home and walk among us who have lost their lives in a different way. I wrote this several years ago after one such casualty returned from the sand.  

I pray for the families in both scenarios and thank all veterans and their families for their service.  God Bless America

Lost in The Sand

We were so happy when he came home safe and sound

Not a scar or a scratch could be seen

But we found later that they were there, just out of sight

And while his body came home, his spirit was lost

Missing In Action, a Prisoner of War

 When we drive past innocuous buildings in the city now, he shows us which ones would be good sniper posts

He gives us unrequested tips on where we could hide if we were to suddenly be under fire

And he drinks beer from the time he wakes up till he lays his head down at night

Never water, it could be poisoned

And never from a container opened by someone else

He doesn’t trust anyone.

His daughter didn’t want to see the differences in him

But his wife couldn’t help it

Especially after he woke her one night by punching her in the face

He hadn’t meant to hurt her of course

He was dreaming and the enemy haunted his dreams

Then she became the enemy in his waking hours too

Requiring more of him than he could give by simply needing him to come home

All the way home

And leave the sand behind

He never could though

So he left her too

He carries his wounds deep inside,

So far no one can see,

Unless they loved him before he went to war

Then they know

And they wait for him to return, all the way, from the sand.