random thoughts

Join One Thousand Gifts book club

~ Beth ~ Leave a comment
One Thousand Gifts

One of the great things about the online community in social media is that you make some great new friends. Recently on Incourage I found out about a book club using Ann Voskamp’s incredible book, One Thousand Gifts.

Ann is the kind of writer that makes you squint at your own writing and think, “Should I just give up?” Her writing is raw, transparent, deep, is filled with beautiful description, and goes right through you with its sharp truth and intolerance for religious, pat answers – asking and answering the question, “Is God good?”  Even in the hard times?

“Do not disdain the small. The whole of life – even the hard – is made up of the minute parts, and if I miss the infinitesimals, I miss the whole … There is a way to live the big of giving thanks in all things. It is this: to give thanks in this one small thing. The moments add up.”  ~ One Thousand Gifts

The first video for the book club is this Sunday, February 6 at Incourage.  There is still time to join!  Watch the video below and hop on over here to Incourage, where you’ll find out all about it!  Then invite your family and friends!
Video of One Thousand Gifts

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One word for the new year

~ Beth ~ Leave a comment
2011-beach

How were your holidays? We had all our kids and grandkids over, and they enjoyed Ray’s traditional sweet, holiday ham – enjoyed it so much that there were no leftovers! 🙂 Today is the start of 2011, and if you’re like me, you’re ready to put the old year behind and start fresh.

Resolutions always leave me feeling like a failure (by about the 2nd week of January!), so I’ve decided to do a “theme” word instead and concrete goals where I can take steps of action to accomplish them. I got the idea of a “one word theme” from K-Love Radio Station here.

The one word can be a character trait you want to work on, or something you want to focus on this year. You pray and ask God to speak to you His “one word” for you this year.

Radio listeners’ comments about their theme included words like “dream,” “destiny,” “more of God,” and “forgiveness.” That one word will stick with you all year long, and will keep you motivated. And one word from God can change your life!

What would your one word be? Leave your comments below.

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Writing Prompts: when you’re stuck in your writing

~ Beth ~ Leave a comment
blank page

There is nothing scarier for a writer, and yet more exhilirating, than a white page. The white is your breathing space – and yet it leaves you so vulnerable. What if you mess up – with spelling, grammar, or worse, it sounds so silly, bland, boring? This can freeze you up and you get stuck.

One thing that can help with writing are writing prompts. At Daily Writing Tips blog recommended  on ProBlogger, you’ll find a great post on Writing Prompts. A writing prompt is a topic around which you start writing down ideas to give you something to focus on as you write. You can stick closely to the topic or wander off….(which tends to be my style!).

Take one or two of these prompts, and jot them down. “His feet were already numb. He should have listened,” or “She woke, shivering, in the dark of the night.”  Then run with it. 

I also recommend not punctuating, not paying strict attention to spelling or grammar. Tell the internal editor with the critical eye to just sit down and be quiet. Don’t listen to him or her – just write.

What did you come up with?

How do you get unstuck in your writing?  Leave your comments below.

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