inspiration

19 08, 2022

Inspiration

By |2022-08-19T12:00:54-05:00August 19th, 2022|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara


Teachers went back to school last week to get ready for a new year. I teach at a small charter school that is not immune to the many challenges facing education right now.

Finding teachers was hard last year and even harder this year. This resulted in some hard decisions for our school. People were not happy.

Then we received our rating from the state based on our test scores last year. Not surprisingly, they were the lowest they had been in many years. More people were not happy.

I was pretty discouraged as I pulled into the driveway on Friday afternoon.

Then I saw our amaryllis.

We have been in a record-breaking drought this summer causing many plants to give up and die. Part of this amaryllis did just that.

Then there is the bunch of flowers that bloomed despite all the challenges. They seemed blissfully unaware of the brown all around them and showed their colors proudly.

I was inspired.

If a nonscientient plant can produce color amidst all the brown around it, I certainly can proudly display my courage to face a new year. Even if those around me seem overcome by the drought, I can continue to bloom.

Maybe others will be inspired, too.

30 04, 2014

Spring – Where is it?

By |2022-04-17T07:23:54-05:00April 30th, 2014|one word Wednesday|0 Comments

If you’re like me, your weather outside is not looking or feeling like Spring.

The snow is hanging on. It comes in flurries and sprinklings on the ground.

The temperatures warm up as the sun rises, but too many days begin with numbers below the freezing mark.

Who feels like wearing bright Spring colors and hiding them under winter coats?

It’s the last day of April. Where are the flowers?

Here around me in the Rio Grande National Forest the green is hiding underground!

Rather than be depressed, I suggest:

spring

27 02, 2014

Don’t look down!

By |2014-02-27T06:00:54-06:00February 27th, 2014|Company's Coming|10 Comments

Welcome with me our first guest blogger for Company’s Coming Thursday. Her thoughts on life resonate with me. I’m thinking they will with you too.

Don’t look down!

by Jody Payne

Don’t look down. But it’s okay if you hold your breath while looking up. That’s what I’m doing today as I post this on Judythe’s blog.

I have to admit I have no idea why anyone would give a hoot about my opinion of anything, but I’m always willing to give an opinion.

Jody's blog 02-27-14Sometimes, I see myself as one of those pebbles you find on the beach.

I’ve been washed and polished and tossed ashore. Then, just as I start to feel the sun on my face, I’m thrown back into the ocean by a wave with the force of a tsunami.

However, next thing you know, there I am on the beach again basking in glorious sunlight.

Is this how you see your life?

Probably.

I do know this much; life, with all its troubles, all its anguish, is a miracle.

Yep, life is a total miracle to be enjoyed even when we’re in the deep, way over our heads and wondering if this time we’ll ever surface again.

Do this for me, for yourself and everyone you love: Vow to take time to understand you’re being cleansed and polished.

Trust me; next time you are tossed ashore, you will discover you are stronger and your life will be more beautiful than ever.

What’s going on in your life right now?

Can you remember a time when your life was at its darkest? And then, voila! You were thrown back on the shore to rest in the sun.

If you’ve never been in the depths of real trouble, never been afraid this time you’d never get a happy life again, I’m thrilled for you.

I also think you’re lying.

Tell us the truth. We’ll all feel better. I’m just sayin’…

jodyJody Payne is

a writer (fiction and non-fiction),

a horse woman (dressage, no less),

an animal lover (just ask her two rescue dogs Annie and Janie or my two four-legged boys, Toby and Buster),

and most of all she’s southern through and through.

Want to visit with Jody more? You can find her on FB: https://www.facebook.com/jodypaynesays or her website: www.jodypayne.net

26 02, 2014

One word Wednesday – INSPIRATION

By |2014-02-26T06:00:07-06:00February 26th, 2014|one word Wednesday|0 Comments

colemanI’d never heard of Derrick Coleman, who plays for the Seattle Seahawks, until his team tromped our Denver Broncos. He and his team were amazing on the field.

Then I read an article in the Savvy Signing newsletter and learned Coleman has been deaf since he was three. He wears a skullcap under his helmet to secure water-resistant hearing aids during games and quarterback Russell Wilson takes his mouthpiece out during huddles so Coleman can read his lips.

Two other deaf defensive players have been part of the NFL – Bonnie Sloan was the first deaf player to play in the NFL in 1973 for St. Louis and defensive player Kenny Walker joined Denver in 1991.

Coleman attended public school where he played sports. Instead of giving up when other kids made fun of him and told him he wouldn’t be able to do something, he’d turn his hearing aids off.

His success on the field has made him an inspiration, but his actions off the field, have made him a role model.

He says he did the Duracell commercial so his story could encourage kids in the deaf community to fight for their dreams. His story as the first deaf NFL offensive player to play in a Super Bowl is awe-inspiring to all.

Coleman: “Nobody is perfect. I wear a hearing aid, some people have glasses, some people have depression. Everybody has something. But as long as you don’t let that get in the way of what you want to do, you can do anything you want to do.”coleman2

Watch the Duracell commercial and be inspired. [btw, I’m not promoting Duracell, but Derrick Coleman.]

3 09, 2012

Labor Day from a writer’s perspective

By |2022-09-24T14:37:54-05:00September 3rd, 2012|Uncategorized, writer, writing|1 Comment

Today is Labor Day. We pay tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. To celebrate the writers in the workplace, I’m sharing a blog and a video about the writing process.

Nathan Bransford’s blog, “The Publishing Process in Gif Form,” made the rounds on Twitter, FB and many boards and loops. It’s worthy of another view.

For those who haven’t read the blog and don’t know him, Nathan Bransford is a children’s author, a former literary agent with Curtis Brown Ltd., and is now the social media manager at CNET. Bransford knows the emotional process of writing from all angles and his blog illustrates a writer’s rollercoaster ride perfectly. His blog is hilarious.

Another blog I read, especially for humor, is The Steve Laube Agency. I met Steve, president and founder of the agency, at an ACFW Conference many years ago. Wise man.

He’s a 30-year veteran of the bookselling industry. His career began in the bookselling arena with a store in Phoenix. He worked with Bethany House Publishers. In 2004 he formed The Steve Laube Agency which represents everything from sweet romance to systematic theology.

Fridays on his blog are FUN days. Recently he shared this great video by James Andrew Wilson titled The Five Emotional Stages of Writing a Novel. Make sure to watch through the credits.

Wherever you are in your writing process, I hope I made you laugh today.

Happy Labor Day and labor on! Our readers are waiting.

20 08, 2012

How do you write?

By |2012-08-20T08:09:29-05:00August 20th, 2012|Uncategorized, writer, writing|8 Comments

It’s Monday again time to begin our writing week. I thought it would be fun to consider how other writers write (wrote).

So what method will you be using to write this week?

Where will you be writing?

How much do you play to write?

I’m inspired. My goal this week is to complete revisions on the first five chapters of my current WIP.

How about you?

13 08, 2012

Wit and Wisdom from Writers to Jump Start your week

By |2023-08-19T14:55:48-05:00August 13th, 2012|Uncategorized|4 Comments

This month’s guest speaker at my local RWA chapter was Adrienne deWolfe.

Being in on vacation, I wasn’t able to hear her program, but I did check out her website and found a wealth of helpful resources. You might want to do some checking yourself.

I also discovered this delightful video Ms deWolfe created which inspired me to get my butt in the chair and WRITE. I’m sharing so you can start your week with Wit and Wisdom from writers, too.

Okay, so did the author inspire you to write?

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