Announcements! We have an amazing array of authors covering historical, young adult, middle grade, fantasy, nonfiction, and more all participating in the #LetResilienceArise series starting next month. Get ready for some amazing moments with authors you love! April will feature Middle Grade and Young Adult Author and Lauren Brandenburg, Actress Amanda McDonough, and Author Loretta Eidson! Stay tuned for more very soon… Last week’s blog about helping friends who are hurting got a lot of attention on social media—if you’re wondering to help someone you care about, check it out HERE and share with a friend in need or group…
Tools and Treasures For A Great New Year
Thorn & Vine blog features three key areas to ramp-up your new year dreams and reenergize your family during this first quarter of 2017. Life 101 has tips for living well and intentionally with your choices and planning. Life Stories dives deep with books and inspiring stories of resilience. And in A Beautiful Life, you’ll find places and items to dazzle and delight your hunt for simple joys in life. Life 101 I’ve turned to some home remedies for help this fall and winter, both with health and outlook. From simplifying our household using time and money-saving processes, to dealing…
Seven Ways To Put More Magic In Your Life
Are mundane tasks dominating your life and stressing your outlook? Here’s seven ways to add more magic into the everyday mixture for you and your family. Light a fire – Whether it’s a candle or a fire in the fireplace, the flickering light seems to signal something special is coming. Usually it leads to more laughter at our dinner table and loosening up for the parents, too. Turn on magical music – We often listen to a station from London broadcasting amazing classical music. Not the kind that makes you snore, but the elegant, heart-lift, gaze sparkling kind….
Help Name My Blog, and Giveaway Too!
I’ve been working on some great things for my website update, including a more fun focus on gems, mysteries, and things for teens and tweens as well as for parents, Moms groups, educators, and people making a new beginning in life. Phew! Now it’s time to name the new blog, which will have separate sections for kids and adults. Sometimes it will feature content like you’re used to here — meaningful tips to live with greater resilience whether you’re facing bullies, or trying to be more adventurous after a difficult season in life. The new things, though, will be related…
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
This time of year is filled with highs and lows, isn’t it? One moment it’s a play with little ones singing their hearts out on stage. The next, there’s something broken in the house that needs fixing urgently. That sound of water running, and no one’s in the shower. Not good! Then my heart is with sick friends in hospital and ones far away. There’s missing loved ones you’re apart from. And sometimes difficult moments with others whose words jar and barb rather than heal. Sickness seems inevitable, and a rush of memories from wonderful times and rough ones all…
How To Create A Writer’s Wonderland
Ever wanted to create a lively atmosphere at your school where kids are learning a bunch about writing and hopefully falling in love with the craft—and meeting some great authors, too? Some caring parents at Barnard Elementary recently invited me to participate and I wanted to share some highlights since it was so special. For someone who loves writing, it was a bit like fairyland to step into that room. More than 200 kids over the evening were bustling between poetry and cartoons, book-themed dinner and desserts, creating characters while a talented artist drew them, and much more. The kids…
Time To Go! Your New Start
The final part of our New Beginnings Series! Done with that! Well, sort of… When the mists of crisis finally begin to clear, how ever do you find your equilibrium and breathe new life into your dust-covered dreams? First, congratulations! You’ve made it through either a busy season in life that was a big distraction, or perhaps a complete change in lifestyle that required your full focus for a while. Whatever brought you through, take a moment to celebrate! Hearts lifted! It’s time for your gratitude to overflow. You may be more weepy and sensitive or still require a bit…
All Star Authors Event
Last week’s post about updrafts, those key moments when your New Beginning gets a major boost from a circumstance or meeting, brought one for me with wonderful Starley Murray. On the exact day for our eight-year anniversary of losing everything in the wildfires of 2007, I was invited to a super author’s event in Los Angeles. It felt like time slowed down when I got to share our story and how I use all the challenges we’ve had to help others now. I thought you’d like to come backstage to watch it happening! Starley was so encouraging, and reminded me…
Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award
I’ve been nominated for the Sisterhood of World Bloggers Award by a writing friend, Jodie Wolfe. Jodie and I met through the Craftsman’s courses with the Christian Writer’s Guild. I was pleasantly surprised to find an email in my inbox this morning saying she had nominated me. I love the way Jodie encourages readers with her true-life stories and book reviews. You should check out her blog at Digging For Pearls (http://diggingforpearls.blogspot.com/) and her updates and features here (http://www.jodiewolfe.com/). There are some rules with this nomination. The Rules: 1. Thank the blogger who nominated you, linking back to their…
Recent Comments