View from the Front Porch - Page 106 of 161 - Award-winning Author Judythe Morgan

16 11, 2016

A Heart filled with Gratitude

By judythemorgan|2016-11-07T15:23:58-06:00November 16th, 2016|Wednesday Words of Wisdom|1 Comment

Winnie the Pooh was a favorite of my youngest daughter. Every nap time we read a chapter from A.A. Milne’s books and then at bedtime we re-read the same chapter.

The beautifully crafted stories of Christopher Robin’s adventures captured my daughter’s imagination. Ernest H. Shephard’s illustrations brought the tales to life.

The wisdom of Pooh and his companions was sometimes beyond her young experience, but Milne’s never failed to impress me with the compassion and insight his characters imparted with humor.

Piglet shares wise words in the graphic above. Though our hearts be small, like his, we can fill them with gratitude.

So what’s in your heart today?

14 11, 2016

Creating a gratitude list – 4 suggestions

By judythemorgan|2016-11-11T10:04:53-06:00November 14th, 2016|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

Gratitude, I’m sad to say, is not part of most people’s natural disposition.

I understand. It’s hard to be thankful when all around us is hurt and pain and disappointment.

Gratitude doesn’t make sense, but it’s a discipline needed to remind ourselves of the many reasons we have to be grateful, which in turn will push off negativity.

Being grateful is a choice. If you’ve lived most of your life NOT focusing on gratitude, it’s not so simple to change that perspective.

Developing an attitude of gratitude can take time and effort. One way to begin that change is to write a daily gratitude list.

It’s hard at first, especially on those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, but over time a daily gratitude list can give you an attitude adjustment.

Where to start? How to start? What to put on your list? Here are some suggestions:

Grab a pencil or pen, some paper, and write out a list of things you’re thankful for. The kinesthetic experience of actually writing is valuable for two reasons:

The physical act imprints a feeling of gratitude at the cellular level.
Writing by hand is a slow process and provides more time for contemplation.

Chose a realistic number of things to list. Begin with two or three at first and work your way up to whatever number makes you feel comfortable.

Identify things around you to put on your list. Chose simple things like you woke up. Your house. The sunrise/sunset. There is so much to be thankful for, if we only have eyes to see.

Fake it, if necessary, until the habit is established. You may not actually feel grateful for anything at first, pretend. Before long you’ll discover gratitude is all around. Next, you’ll learn gratitude grows the more you use it.

If writing a gratitude list isn’t for you, try grateful beads. That’s what I use.

Grateful beads are a string of the ten beads that serve as a guide to being thankful. Three beads for three people who touch your life. Six beads for six things, events, and occurrences and the final bead to remind you to give thanks to your creator.

And in case you were wondering, this is my grateful bead list for today:

Like-minded friends and encouragers: Jody and Millie

My husband, who is my biggest fan and strongest supporter

Good health

Living in the forest where I can enjoy nature

Being able to share stories with readers

Readers who write to tell me how much they enjoy my stories

Old church hymns

Last, and most important, Grace — God’s love that cannot be explained (only surrendered to)

Here’s my challenge for you: Whether you use a gratitude list or grateful beads, find some time today, wherever you are, and whatever you’re doing, to be grateful.

What would be on your gratitude list? Share in the comments.

11 11, 2016

Veterans Day and Gratitude

By judythemorgan|2016-11-09T15:20:36-06:00November 11th, 2016|Holidays|2 Comments

Today we celebrate Veterans Day. Do you know why?

This short video from the History Channel explains the origins.

According to Cynthia Ozick, “We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”

Don’t let that happen today!

Say “thank you” to a friend, relative, or co-worker who is a U.S. military veteran or active member of the military then pause a moment to remember the brave men and women who sacrificed their all to make America the greatest nation on Earth.

9 11, 2016

GRATEFUL + THANKFUL = GRATITUDE

By judythemorgan|2017-11-04T19:57:22-05:00November 9th, 2016|Wednesday Words of Wisdom|1 Comment

GRATEFUL and THANKFUL are adjectives describing deep appreciation. Exhibiting both adjectives causes GRATITUDE.

In this month of emphasis on being thankful, I’m an author who is grateful to and thankful for readers who read my books.

Use the comments below and/or on Twitter with these hashtags #grateful #gratitude to share what you’re thankful for today.

7 11, 2016

Thankfulness: the beginning of gratitude

By judythemorgan|2022-11-13T18:13:53-06:00November 7th, 2016|Make Me Think Monday|2 Comments

Blogging about thankfulness and gratitude in November is cliché, but there’s no better time than the month when our whole nation pauses and gives thanks to focus our thoughts on thankfulness.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that in order to achieve contentment, we should “cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously.”

As we celebrate the coming holiday in America, most of us will have a thankful attitude on Thanksgiving Day. Too often, though, our attention wanes for the rest of the year. We should seek out things daily to be thankful for, i.e. give thanks continuously as Emerson suggests.

Here are two ways to focus an attitude of thankfulness beyond one Thursday in November.

Use social media

Surprised? In our plugged-in culture, it’s impossible to avoid social media no matter how hard you try so why not use your posts, pictures, videos, and tweets to cultivate thankfulness on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Heaven knows we get enough of wars, earthquakes, floods, fires, sick children, murdered spouses and, lately, politics.

It seems the more suffering and mayhem, the more mass media coverage. Yet research shows the opposite: good news spreads faster and farther than disasters and sob stories.

By sharing positive, uplifting posts, memes, and videos, you encourage attitudes of thankfulness in yourself and others.

Keep a gratitude list.

According to Henri Frederic Amiel, gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Writing down what you’re thankful for everyday reinforces positive thoughts and grateful feelings.

We’ll explore gratitude lists more next week. For now, can you think of ways you can foster thankfulness?

2 11, 2016

How’s Your Journey Going?

By judythemorgan|2016-11-02T19:08:07-05:00November 2nd, 2016|Wednesday Words of Wisdom|2 Comments

We recently drove the San Juan Scenic Byway, also known as the Million Dollar Highway. It’s a spectacular ride if you don’t mind steep cliffs, narrow lanes, zero guardrails, and hairpin “S” curves cut directly into the sides of mountains.

While we human passengers were white-knuckled and breathless, our little Maltese gazed out the window contently enjoying the ride.

Made me think of this quote.

If your life is on a path filled with hazards and challenges, relax and enjoy the journey like Buster.

31 10, 2016

Fiction Interrupters – Is your writing interrupting your reader?

By judythemorgan|2016-10-01T14:06:23-05:00October 31st, 2016|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

Our story worlds become tangible to us as writers. A video plays in our head as we write. We see the setting; we feel the emotions. Our characters become genuine people moving in an authentic world we’ve created.

While our story worlds are real to us, the reader enters a story world as a visitor exploring what we’ve created.

Interruptions can happen. The telephone rings, a text comes in, or the doorbell rings. Distractions we choose to ignore or respond to.

If a reader is truly engrossed, they will return to the story world just as we return to our writing.

Not so if the writing itself causes the distractions. Then readers turn from explorers into critics or worse yet, quit reading.

Beth Hill (The Editor’s Blog) says “Interruptions from inside the story world become a part of that world and influence our [readers’] reactions to it.” She offers a list of fiction interrupters that writers should avoid.

These are the interrupters that jar me as a reader.

Dialogue

Characters who speak like fictional characters rather than real people. Actors in old movies from the 40s and 50s used pseudo acting voices. Actors today don’t. Neither should our characters’ voices be false.
Unnecessary character dialogue, i.e. characters sharing already known information or dialogue used simply as fill

Plot

Contrived plot lines
Deus ex machina endings or endings that don’t follow the story lines
Leaving some story issues unresolved

Characterization

Characters who act in a ways not compatible with their established worldview or the story era
Lack of character motivation for unexpected actions
Too-stupid-to live characters who do senseless things or act in ways simply so the plot works out a certain way

Writing Craft

Failure to include setting references of time and place. Readers need to be grounded – who, what, when, where – at the beginning of chapters and scenes.
Bad grammar, incorrect facts, inconsistent spelling, poor punctuation, preaching or teaching
Lyrical or poetical writing that doesn’t match the story’s style, i.e. purple prose.
Poor sentence structure or confusing words

You can find Ms. Hill’s blog about reader interruptions here. Her list is longer than mine, but neither list contains everything that can distract a reader from a story.

What pulls you from a story when you’re reading?

28 10, 2016

Color Project = Unexpected Results

By judythemorgan|2016-10-27T21:29:48-05:00October 28th, 2016|Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Several months ago, Rachel began a color project with her Bantams. She built six different runs with coops and sorted the birds by breed and color.

Then she hatched eggs and got some very pretty birds. She also hatched some large fowl eggs.

These birds may not be as pretty as the Bantams but some of them are laying beautiful eggs.Perhaps this was not the intended result of the color project but it is nice.

26 10, 2016

Using Our Ears to Influence

By judythemorgan|2016-10-02T17:45:27-05:00October 26th, 2016|Wednesday Words of Wisdom|1 Comment

There is wisdom in this Holley Gerth quote. Are you listening today?

24 10, 2016

21 Grammar Rules and Writing Mistakes

By judythemorgan|2016-10-01T14:36:48-05:00October 24th, 2016|Make Me Think Monday, writing, Writing Craft|2 Comments

Grammarcheck.net recently posted this infographic of 21 frequently ignored (or unknown) grammar rules and writing mistakes that everyone who writes should know.

How many do you know? How many do you ignore?

I’m with them on all but the serial comma and semicolon. I only use a serial comma for clarity in my writing. And, I think the semicolon is too formal for my voice. I only add it when my copy editor insists.

Source: www.grammarcheck.net