Gladly Changing Profile

Since I have not posted much this last year and presently don't have many followers, I have not thought about my profile until this morning.  It still remains simple and short for the time being, however I realized I needed to change the numbers it reflected.

•  I get to change the number of grandchildren I have from 8 to 11.  My oldest daughter remarried, and I now have the chance to claim another 3 as grandchildren.  
•  I added a + to the number of grandchildren to represent a special couple adoptive couple whom I love in the same way and are always in my thoughts along with the others. 
• I changed the number of great-grandchildren to 3, because a new little angel was added this weekend.  
• The + great-grandchildren represent the son of the adoptive couple, because he is in my prayers as much as his adopted sister, and for another little angel my granddaughter is expecting in April.  

I feel so blessed this morning as I reflect on all the special spirits the Lord has allowed me to have in my life and call my family. Each one of them have something they represent to me and each one teaches me about and assists me in appreciating life in a variety of ways.  The talents and abilities of the older ones inspire me and remind me to keep improving my own life and reach for goals that I may have never considered before.  The exuberance and innocence of the younger ones help me remember to appreciate the simple things in life, to enjoy the small moments of life that are over too quickly, to love unconditionally and to be humble.  The extended members are there to remember that love doesn't always have to be spoken to be be given or received.  Sometimes love is sent through a thought or a prayer and sent with faith that they will know and feel it around them and their hearts will touched.   

/So as I close his quick post, I acknowledge the gifts and blessings of family which I enjoy.  These gifts I hold precious in my heart. These members of my family I carry in my thoughts and prayers each day,   I send my love to them through action, deeds, words and sometimes silence hopes.   I step back and let them live, yet stand ready to hold them or even hold them up when the time is right.  I trust the Lord to watch over them and bless them as he had blessed me.   

Old Read - New Insight

I did it again.  I read a book I have already read and I enjoyed it.  Can you believe that?  Some people would think I was crazy.  From comments I hear often, reading a book a second or third time is not the same as watching an old favorite movie for the fourth or fifth time this year.

I already knew what was going to happen, when it would happen, who it was going to happen to, how it would change things and even whether there was a sad or a happy ending, but I read it anyway.

 This time as I read I could let go of the emotions of wishing something would turn out a certain way, the anxiety of waiting to find out if something was or was not going to happen, wondering who the mystery character was or why he was involved in his hidden acts.  I didn't have to feel stressed not knowing how many more pages I had to read before the chapter ended and trying to read them as fast as possible in the little time I had.   This time I could enjoy the characters and get to know them.  This time through the characters were more than just names on a page, they were people who were going to face challenges, and I could see how they either did or did not prepare for what was to come.  I could relax and feel the emotions they had rather than pushing aside the feelings in my my haste to turn a page or finish a chapter as quickly as possible.  

This time as I read I could enjoy the style of the writer, the way the story flowed and moved, or didn't move at all.  I could enjoy what the writer pointed out about life, decisions and values.  I could enjoy the writer's views as well as the views of the characters.  I could think about how the values were similar or dissimilar to my own.   I could take time to ponder what I thought myself about the problems the characters faced or their particular personalities or how either I or someone I knew had faced those challenges.  

I had previously read the majority of the chapters of this book through a blog that the writer had over a year ago.   She shared a new chapter twice a week for several months.  Due to family responsibilities she paused in her blogging, but shared an occasional update that she had changed a few things in the story, including the ending.  So when I stumbled across another post the other day, and found that she had published the book I was anxious to read it.  So I downloaded the book  Under My Neighbor's Roof by Melinda Porter Wilden to my Kindle.   I was pleased with some changes I felt she had made.  I liked the changes in the ending she had made.  She added a smoother ending to a variety of the story lines while leaving an opening for follow-up for others.  I have already looked to see if she is working on anything else, and found two chapters of another story.  I guess I will need to check on this writer again in the near future.  

So would I do this again?  You bet.  I have already gone to my home library and browsed the shelves, reminding myself of the hours of enjoyment I have found in the pages of some of these books.  What did I enjoy about each one of them?  Why did I buy that one? Why did I save this one but not the other one by the same author?  Maybe I will even go buy a set of books I have been longing to reread but gave away to a friend a few years ago and they moved before returning them.   

Different - Not Better

Why do we let other's opinions get in our way?  Where did we learn or decide that what they think is better than what we think or believe?  The truth is- their opinion is just different- not better. 
Yesterday our new home teacher came to our home.  He was asking about some of our interests, and of course I said that I love to write short stories, and explained how and why I had started writing short stories for children.  Alex told him I was thinking of getting them published.  Rather than just wishing me luck, he started telling me about another couple in the ward that are professional writers and that they had several things published and had their own website.  He asked if I knew them and suggested that they could teach me how to write so that I could have something published someday.  I am sure that he was trying to be supportive however something about either what he said or the way he said it left me feeling as though he felt I was less of a writer than this other woman and her husband, and that if I would talk with them I could be good like they are. 
I let the thoughts lie dormant until this morning, as I was busy helping several family members yesterday.  Then the thoughts surfaced again as I was thinking of my own stories and wondering if my daughter had found a chance to read any of them that I had sent her to edit for me.  So I did a quick search for this author whom I had already met a few weeks previously through my visiting teacher.  What was the book she had published?  What were her books about?  She had talked at dinner the evening we were together about the importance of submitting your work to many places or agents if I really wanted to be well known or actually sell any of my work.  
Well, I am glad I searched.  For here I am, able to share with you that I know she is not necessarily a better writer than I, but she is a different kind of writer, with different opportunities and experiences. 
I found that like me, she creates alot of short stories.  It is some of these short stories that have won her an award (hence her suggestion that I search for contests to enter) several years ago.  I was feeling bad because I have not created a novel or a long book.  What I found out is that much of what she has had published are short stories included in another author's compilation book of science fiction stories.  Yes she writes fiction, but her fiction is very different than mine.  Her stories are all science fiction and fantasy, except for one piece she had published in The Friend.  She has the support and assistance of a husband who has also co-authored stories with her.  Her husband is a "world builder" which means he creates fantasy worlds and populates them for science fiction.  While I work full time, and find only a few minutes to write early in the morning or late at night when my mind is already numb from the cares of the day, she works only part-time, has no children home, and has several hours each day to focus on her writing. 
So as I left her website, and moved back to my own short stories, I left with a better attitude than I had started my search with.    I had let the opinion of someone else put a doubt in my mind that I was a good writer, or that my writing was of worth.  The reality is that neither the other author, her author husband or I are better than one another, we are just different.  We write differently, we have had different opportunities to share our work.  They have been able to share their work through magazines and compilation books of short stories, while I have shared my work with teachers, children, friends and other parents I have known, and am now ready to share it with many more people.   They are blessed to have several hours each day to be able to focus on their writing, while I am blessed with many hours each day to focus on what I feel I believe I can share with others through my talents and abilities.  They are able to support, encourage and even work together on their stories and writing.  I currently enjoy support and encouragement from close family members in moving in a new direction with my writing and reaching out. 

So I remind myself, and you my reader, to remember to balance our own opinions with those of others.  Opinions are not truth.  Someone else's opinion does not make us right or wrong, better or worse.  In the light of knowledge, opinions just offer a chance to see difference.