Thanksgiving & Friends

Thanksgiving & Friends ~

When the alarm went off long before daylight Monday morning, the five-day Thanksgiving break came to a close, but the glow of focusing on all we have to be thankful for still lingers in my thoughts and emotions.

It’s amazing the changes life brings. From one decade to the next we often can barely recognize who we once were or even know who we will become. But whether it was a nightmare of a season or a dream-come-true one, family and friends become an integral part of that journey.

Friends come to us through dozens of venues and they always help shape our lives. Sometimes we gain and lose friends without realizing what’s taking place. Other times it’s a distinct decision.

My first real friend was an African American girl I met at a school I’d just begun, neither of us thought to tell our parents the color of the other ones skin. It was the mid sixties and I still remember the roaring laughter of our dads as they shook hands the day she came to play at my house.

But we moved a few months later and that’s when I met my next best friend, a Plain Mennonite girl.

Females of the Plain Mennonites wear the caped dresses and prayer kapps. She didn't watch television, listen to the radio, or ever wear pants, even when the teachers asked her to.

I had watched television since I was a babe and later I watched soap operas with my mom. I had eight-track tapes because the radio bored me with its commercials. I wore pants--even though my dad disapproved. She wasn’t new to the school. It seemed that I was forever new to schools. And looking back I wonder what drew us together.

~ Hmmmm, more on that next time ~

Hidden Destiny ~ that which we cannot foresee today, but will shape the rest of our lives.

A hidden destiny may be when you see a child playing in a yard and take the time to pray over him or her. Through the power of that prayer, a new hidden destiny may have begun.

A hidden destiny may be when you're going through your normal day and a stranger in need of help crosses your path. When you give help to someone who is no one you'll ever see again and your heart is melted for reasons that defy logic--the hidden destiny just happened for both of you.

Yesterday I said that today's topic would be: What you can learn about my life as I share writing advice on politics & religion. That was definitely a joke folks, but I will share a weird writing tip.

Among the vastness of people there’s no unanimous opinion, so write according to your moral compass & imagination, letting who you are be sewn into the universal fabric of life regardless of the multitudes of people's thread-ripping opinions.

That tip is broad, but there’s a truth and freedom inside that thought. Over the last few weeks I’ve been reminded that opinions are live and well on this planet.

America is the land of the free ~ as long as you don’t want freedom from other people’s opinions—or freedoms to break the law ;- )

So, I’m on a journey to use the freedom that soldiers have fought for to find my truth inside of God’s truth and temper all opinions with something deeper than the self-important rhetoric of dissenting opinion.

The ending of Phi 2:12 says ~ continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

I'm continuing and grateful for the right to do just that.

Okay, that's all the deep stuff I have for today . . . maybe for the year.

To my one commenter yesterday ~ I'm sorry to have discouraged you, Meg. But if you come see me at the book signing (listed below), I'll share more chocolate--are we up to eating MORE chocolate yet?

Shudder.


When the Heart Cries
Cindy Woodsmall

What: Book Signing

Where: LifeWay Christian Store
Mall of Georgia Crossing
770-831-7707

When: Saturday, November 18, 2006
3 to 5 P.M.

Help, I’m not good at this blogging thing!

A few weeks ago I mentioned to my critique partner that I’d started a blog. She asked if I’d ever kept a journal.

No way had I ever written a journal! Until a few years ago, I would never have trusted putting my thoughts and emotions into something as easily accessible as a book or computer! It’s not that my thoughts are dark, not at all. It’s not that I have secrets to keep, except the kind that are opened on Christmas or birthdays. I just like privacy from other people’s opinions and since a journal can fall into the hands of those who will definitely have an opinion, it wasn’t something I’d ever do.

The irony in being so cautious in this area is as I approached forty my heart started leading me down a path of writing and EVERYONE has an opinion about what they read. Hmmm. If God wants us to face our greatest fears, I can put a check mark beside that one.

But as the weeks have passed since I started the blog, I’ve had to look deeper into my reasons for not keeping up with it and I think I’ve found part of the problem.

One: I’m an introvert by nature, but not by personality—which means I look outgoing enough that anyone who’s not familiar with the true differences between introvert and extravert would consider me an extravert.

The clichéd explanation: introverts are shy and extraverts are outgoing. But we all know that writers are to avoid clichés, so let’s look at this a little deeper.

From what I understand, extroverts live to be around people— to share who they are with others. They are energized, encouraged, and motivated in life by contact with people. Introverts get their energy, encouragement, and motivation from time spent alone. But, when at a gathering, the outward behavior can be the same for both introverts or extraverts.

The difference may only be what’s happening on the inside of the person: an extravert is gaining life’s energy; an introvert is spending life’s energy. And, yes, each person is doing a little of both, so the answer lies in which one is predominate for that person.

Being an introvert is my first problem with blogging, but one I think I'm willing to work through—-for reasons that I don’t understand. But, that for-reasons-I-don’t-understand, is how I began my writing journey in the first place, so I’m game again.

To explain what the second problem is that I discovered, let me share with you some of the advice given to new bloggers:

• A newbie author (like myself) must not give writing advice.

• An unknown blogger must not write about their personal life.

• A fiction author must not cover politics or religion.

So, I’m not to write about anything that is: personal, political, or controversial—nor am I to share anything I’ve learned in the field of writing.

Hmmmmm. I think what I was told is: Don’t, don’t, don’t. Now go do it.

Yep, that’s definitely another stumbling block to posting to the blog.

Bottom line ~ it’s time to cross the boundaries of the don’ts and see if I can blog more often than once every two months.

Tomorrow’s Topic: What you can learn about my life as I share writing advice on politics & religion.