Keeping it real-

Tears and sweat, pain and sorrow
explain my tomorrow,

Love and despair, gloom and doom and hate
seal my fate,

Hope and dreams, positive and success
drive me to excess,

Wishes and wants, power and false illusions
give me no solutions,

Facing reality and life, struggles and fights
give me no delight,

Praying to God for strength and wisdom, for faith that is true and real
give me optimism and zeal.

Ha! That was fun-too bad I don't write poems.
Don't worry I'm not losing my mind and this blog will not have many of these-I don't want to scare people away ;)

Linking and Commenting-

Fellow Bloggers-

I see there are more and more of you checking out my blog. Please stop to say Hi and to leave your URL in the comments , so that I can check out your blog! I'm looking for good blogs to link to. If you like this blog, please link to the site, and I'll do the same.

Thank you!!

Evil-

Do you think that you can escape me? Escape me, evil? Ha! You can’t.
I’m always there.

So, you think you can escape my grasp? Don’t even think about it.
I will always be there, in your mind, in your head.
You know the place.

You face your fears; I will help you run and hide for years.
I will be there.

You work hard to be faithful and good; I will help you play and get away from it all.
I will be there.

You love and believe in God and in fate; I will help you hate.
I will be there.

You laugh and you cry; I will help you die.
I will be there.

You hope and you dream; I spread gloom, doom and make you scream.
I will be there.

I am with you day and night through time and space; I will be with you.
You know the place.

By Lisa Braendle
June 23, 2005

My response to evil: You can try, but I have God on my side. I feel the pull between good and evil every day. Read the news, watch TV, see it in our own churches-evil is there; we must keep the faith. But, don’t forget that evil is real and with us. We must reaffirm our commitment to God on a daily basis to word off the evil one. God is there and will prevail. Don’t give up hope. God is good!

Thought of the day-Tip of the Day

Thought of the day-
"I am who I am. Take it or leave it."
Poor attitude? Good attitude?

Let me know what you think!

**************************
Tip of the day-
Feeling down?
*Call, email or write a friend or family member in need. Don't wait for them to call you. This will help put life into perspective, and you will be able to help others get their minds off of their problems as you do the same! Or better yet, volunteer and help others you don't even know!

*Read a good book-nothing lets you escape your worries better as you escape to another time and place.

*Write your thoughts and dreams down on paper so they seem more approachable and real to you.

*Spruce up any relationship you're in by doing something totally different together like ballroom dancing-I know it sounds strange, but it should take your mind off of the little annoyances we all have with one another.

*Pray, pray, pray. Then, pray some more.

*If none of this helps, you could always stay busy and clean your house, run errands and/or mow the grass. What? You're considering this?? No, no, no...don't do that!

Great Quote-By Stephen King-

Words by Stephen King as written in his book, On Writing:

"Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around."

This simple sentence puts it all into perspective.

Alcoholism-Stephen King

Alcoholism runs rampant in my family so I was particularly interested as
I read the following passage, written by Stephen King in his book, "On Writing":

"It's been almost twelve years since I took a drink, and I'm still struck by disbelief when I see someone in a restaurant with a half-finished glass of wine near at hand. I want to go over and yell "Finish that! Why don't you finish that?" into his or her face. I found the idea of social drinking ludicrous-if you didn't want to get drunk, why not just have a coke?"

My brother stated a comment very similar to this one as he was seeking treatment for alcoholism.

If you're expecting just a writing book from Stephen King, forget about it-On Writing is so much more than that-it's more like a survival guide.

Experiencing Health Problems?

Experiencing Health Issues?
I'll tell ya, trying to eat healthy is hard! But, it does make a big difference! After spending a great deal of time cutting out sugar, eating more nutritiously and drinking more water, I was able to change my life! Depression, PMS, migraines, rashes, swollen joints, heart issues (arrythmias etc) are almost all a thing of the past. When I don't eat as I should, I start to get some of these symptoms back but on a much smaller scale so it encourages me to eat better-not perfect-better. We are all so hard on ourselves-if you eat a brownie-GOOD FOR YOU. But the next thing you grab had better be a bottle of spring water. If you want that cup of coffee, fine...drink more water. Hey, I like spaghetti and those high carbs just like everyone else and yes, I still eat it but in smaller quantities and I increase eating more of those interesting greens other vegies. It's a daily struggle but it's a battle that can eventually be won.
There are many health stores out there to help with body detoxes as well. These help to rid the body of excess toxins created by too much yeast etc. This is a great way to feel better!! If you want additional info, please email me!! I will be happy to cover more details on the subject.

Tip of the Day-

For you beginning writers like myself, I highly recommend subscribing to Writer's Digest Magazine. I look forward to getting my copy every month! When I start to lose hope, I always find something inspirational and hopeful. I keep a copy handy all of the time :)

Enjoy the Journey!

This month's Winner!

Congrats to Dana who won this month's book, On writing by Stephen King!! She was the first one to comment on the contest post and to link to my site! I will be offering one for July as well so stay tuned!!

Thx again, Dana!
ps-wondering what this is? Each month, I will be sending out one free book (that I have read) to the first person (in the USA) who comments on the contest post (or any other post) AND links to my blog. I will be listing the next book in a couple of weeks.

Just for fun-

Ok, I thought maybe this blog was becoming just a little too serious so I thought I'd share a funny story. As I headed to my son's baseball game a couple of weeks ago, I clipped along a fast-paced street, racing to get to the game on time at about 45mph (ok, maybe 50, don't tell anyone.) All of a sudden, I saw the car in front of me swerve out of the way of an object. Too late, I'm all over it. Not good. A loud popping sound exploded under my car. (now named "Super-car") Again, not good. I pulled over to the side of the road and looked back at the mess in the middle of the road. I had run over a truck size battery. Shaking, heart racing, I pulled up to a service station, which had of course just closed. Thankfully, there was one lonely mechanic still there. I pounded on the garage door until he came out. ;)

I explained the scenario as I pointed to the destroyed battery strung out all over the road and asked ever so nicely if he would look at my car. He looked me up and down wondering what he did to deserve this. So...he took out a flashlight and checked out the bottom of my car. Hmmm, he said. "Looks pretty good, except..." Oh boy, here we go, I thought. "Your pan is a little bent but other than that, it looks good. No leaks, no problem."

Believe it or not, a good car wash to get the battery acid off and away we went! My son asked if he might be able to ride with his Dad next time. Hmm...I don't understand why? :)

So, how is your day??

ps-I now have officially run over one spare tire (that was a terrible clanking sound that lasted forever under my car and almost gave me a heart attack.) and a full size basketball.

Struggling-

Struggling this week. I need a maid, an editing service, nanny service and a therapist-all free, of course. Is there anyone else feeling this way? Am I alone?

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy my life-I’ve worked hard to find joy in my every day life, but honestly, this week has been tough. I’ve learned to find the joy in the Lord in everything-good and well, the not so good. But, I’m human and I can’t pretend everything is all right when quite frankly, it isn’t.

I pray. I pray when I feel I’m losing my sanity. I pray for strength and guidance and joy and forgiveness. And, everything else in between.

I cry. I cry as I put yet another load of towels into the washing machine, knowing full well there were be another one needed in two days-this after doing ten loads of laundry, just days ago. I cry when loved ones disappoint me. I cry when I disappoint the Lord-I’m humbled by his greatness, and I cry when I let other people down. I cry for all of the horrible things happening around me in the states and overseas.

I laugh. I laugh at my own weakness. I laugh at little children when they learn about God-they are precious and terrors at the same time. I laugh at my fourteen year old as he voice changes octaves in one sentence. I laugh as I put my feet into another sticky spot on my kitchen linoleum, just mopped. Sometimes, I even laugh at adversity. I laugh at life.

I think negative. I think negative when I want more than I can have or willing to work for. I think negative when God won’t allow me to have things in my own timeframe. I am negative when the mailbox is empty of any solid writing opportunities or replies to my queries, and instead, bills stare at me. I am negative when I edit my novel, and it all seems so daunting and overwhelming. I feel small.

I think positive. I think positive when I see others praising God and teaching others to love the Lord, as I watched last night I helped preschoolers at our church bible school. I think positively when I remember the experience I have in overcoming obstacles and in overcoming frustrations, with the help of the Lord.

I am optimistic. I am optimistic when I feel the Lord beside me, walking with me, helping me sort out my thoughts and feelings. I am optimistic when I pray, and I feel God’s overwhelming love and unconditional love surrounding me even when I don’t feel it from others. I am optimistic when I look around, really look around and see all of the wonderful people in my life-flaws and all.

I am woman. Hear me roar-even if my roar is quiet this week. But, I am not silent. I am alive. I am healthy. I am thankful. I thank God for his many blessings.

Monthly Giveaway!! Stephen King, "On Writing."

I've decided to giveaway one book to the first person each month who adds a comment(s) -to the contest post (or any other post) and links to my site. Please share your own ideas, tips and comments on the areas discussed here.

For the month of June, I will be giving away Stephen King's, "On Writing." (Paperback) and will ship it free to anyone in the USA. It's a great book!

Trying to get this blog noticed. First come, first serve!!

Rejection-(Sometimes) a good thing?

I received a great email yesterday in response to one of my short genealogy essays I submitted on my great-grandmother, whom I have never met. The editor of this genealogy magazine wasn't interested in my general how-to article, but liked my style and welcomed another submission. I submitted my second submission and this was his response:

His email simply read, "I am sorry but I did not find anything inspiring in your second story and must decline this." Why is this a great email, you ask? Well, first, he took the time to respond, and second, it will help improve my writing. I changed some things in the essay and resubmitted it to another magazine editor. Of course, I didn't enjoy the email much at the time, but upon reading it again, I found it to be the perfect response and had to chuckle.

I will not give up. I'm going to keep right on writing and writing and writing. I enjoyed writing the article mentioned above and that's what really matters the most to me. And, in time, I'm confident I will find its rightful home.

Tips for today: Drink plenty of spring water especially those of you out in hot weather-it's 85 here in Michigan. Do (at least) one thing you enjoy each day. I know it's hard-but we can do it!

Enjoy the journey and God bless!

Ups and downs of Writing-

I've pretty much been on a high since I decided to start writing. I've been writing my first novel seriously since December of last year, and it is now almost complete.

I'm editing my novel and the more I edit, the more frustrated I become. I've read somewhere when you question part of a manuscript to take it out and see if it's missed, well, if I did that, on certain days, I might not like what I have left ;) Last night,I almost hit the delete key to say goodbye to the whole dang thing, and for a second, I found much pleasure in the idea. Of course if I were to do this accidentally, I'd be horrified. The point is one minute I feel like I can accomplish anything, but the next, I'm scared that I'm doing it all for nothing. Of course I know the chances of my getting this published are slim, and of course I realize even if I do get published, it probably won't be a best seller. So, there you have it. You've caught me on an off day. Most of my blogs will be for the most part more encouraging. I will be spending most of my Saturday working on it so I'm sure I'll feel much better. Yeah, right. I've started my proposal and that is even a worse subject.

I'm praying for patience. I'll need it. I just keep on writing-something good will come out eventually (I hope ;)

Please feel free to share your writing frustrations on the publishing world. It would be much appreciated. Happy reading and happy writing.

Indoor Air Pollution Concerns-

Another one of my concerns that I need to mention is indoor air pollution. I think this is a big issue for everyone yet I don't see adequate exposure to the public at large.

People use bleach, and various other cleaning products from kitchen to bath that contain strong chemicals. These toxins create havoc on our bodies without us even realizing it. Now, I will admit, there are times when a strong cleaning agent is needed for certain jobs, but these should be used sparingly, not as every day cleansers.

So, how do we clean up the air in our homes? Try to use all natural products-visit a health store-you'll be amazed how many better products there are out there! Nothing is perfect but it does help. Ideas for cleaning or deordorizing for bath and kitchen especially if you suffer from MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities), use baking soda! Baking soda is a great deordorizer and a great cleaning product. There are also other products on the market that are great to use. Try to limit air fresheners, (or stop using altogether if there are health issues), which I think are big air polluters. There are just so many different options out there now-we really have no excuse. Again, check out your local health store for these types of cleaning products also!

Not to get into a lengthy discussion, please email me for more information. (especially if you or anyone is experiencing MCS or other strange health issues that doctors haven't been able to help you with.)

Today's Tip: Mix fresh lemon juice with baking soda and vinegar. This can be used for toilets, tubs and sinks. (On stainless steel sinks-clean off solution immediately.)

Health Concerns-Unregulated Perfume Industry-

I am getting more serious about writing about the concerns I have over the FDA's inability to see the seriousness of letting the perfume industry go for the most part unregulated. Yes, they do regulate the industry but on a very small scale.

I've always been sensitive to chemicals/perfumes, suffering from migraines as a teenager but stayed away from perfumes because even at an early age, my body rebelled from strong scents. After working in a toxic environment, I experienced symptoms of MCS, (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities). I started researching the causes on the Internet and various health stores. I changed to unscented products, and many of my health issues (such as migraines, rashes and infections) were greatly reduced or alleviated altogether. I also needed to make changes in my diet to deal with many allergies as I have stated in a past blog, but that was only a part of my heatlth success story.

Back to the perfume industry, why aren't we demanding safer products? Why isn't there more exposure on the toxins in our environment? I just don't understand it. Am I missing something?

For more information on this subject, check out www.fpinva.org. If you're concerned about your health and that of your family's health, you'll find this most interesting.

More on the subject to follow at a later time.

Please share your health story!