Poetry Friday ~ Gratitude

Hi, everyone! It’s the first of the month, and that means poets choose their own syllabic poetry form, theme, words, images, etc. Colleen’s 2020 Weekly Poetry Challenge

The year 2020 has seen its share of major historic events and bizarre incidents in just a little over five months–– including the acquittal of President Donald Trump in an impeachment trial, the bushfires in Australia, the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic, and the entire world grinding to a halt as businesses shut down and people are quarantined.

As I ponder on these events and others like the death of (a legend) Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash, the United Kingdom withdrawing from the European Union, the Dow plunging 2,997 points due to coronavirus fears, the 2020 Summer Olympics postponed, and the fact that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from their duties as senior royals in Buckingham Palace, I want to pinch myself to be sure I’m not in some dark and eerie nightmare. Despite the peculiar times we’re living in, I’m sure everyone can find at least one thing to be thankful for, right?

I’m thankful that my family and I are doing well, and that we have plenty to eat and drink, and our toilet paper inventory is full. I’m grateful that this nightmare has not prevented me from doing a lot of reading and writing. My cooking and baking skills have gotten better. Despite the fact that I miss my family I have enjoyed our zoom get togethers. I’m also grateful to be in such great company during isolation – there are no better quarantine buddies than my husband JC and Pomeranian Scribbles. I have a roof over my head and a great view of a golf course. How could I not feel gratitude in my heart.

Although there are a plethora of strange happenings there are also appreciable moments. To be honest, there have been times when I’ve been down, fearful, anxious – none of us has ever lived through times like these. It’s easy to feel vulnerable and like you have no control over the outcome of your life. But when have we ever had total control over the outcome of our lives? We can’t focus only on the negative – it won’t solve a thing. Let’s think about all we should be grateful for.

“The most powerful weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. Train your mind to see the good in this day.”

Gratitude should be

as natural as breathing

Inhale and Exhale

Photo by Candice Picard @candice_picard

Stay healthy, helpful, and calm, my friends!

Poetry Friday ~ Random Acts Of Kindness

Hi, everyone! 

 

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This week has been “Random Acts of Kindness” week at the Rave Reviews Book Club and I must tell you it’s been an amazing week filled with love, generosity, and numerous selfless acts. I’ve never been happier or more proud to be a member of the RRBC because I’m surrounded by extremely talented, kind, and unselfish people. I’d like to thank Nonnie Jules, the founder of the club, her supporting staff, Tweet Support Team, sponsors, and all the members that participated in this event and have shown me love all year round. A sincere thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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T  Author D.L. Finn (Blog)

H Natalie Ducey & Designs (Blog)

A Suzanne Burke (Amazon Author Page)

N Join The Adventure! | Author, Karl J. Morgan (Blog)

K Fiction Favorites with Author, John Howell (Blog)

 

Y Scribblings of a Southern Belle | Marlena Smith (Blog)

O Gordon Bickerstaff (Amazon Author Page)

U Books and Music | Author, Jan Sikes (Blog)

 

V THE INDIE SPOT! | Author, Beem Weeks (Blog)

E Flossie Benton Rogers, Author | Conjuring the Magic (Blog)

R M. J. Mallon YA/Paranormal Author (Blog)

Y Wendy Scott Award-Winning Writer of Fantasy & Books for Children (Blog)

 

M Stephen Geez.com (Author Blog)

U My Independent Editor | Susan A. Hughes (Blog)

C Lizzie Chantree (Amazon Author Page)

H Emotional Shadows | Author, Balroop Singh (Blog)

 

M The Showers of Blessings | Author Miriam Hurdle (Blog)

Y Author, Forrest Robert Stepnowski (Amazon Author Page)

 

F Reflections by Gwen M. Plano (Author Blog)

R The Long and Short Stories of Life | Author, Linda Mims (Blog)

I Writing What I See | Author, Charles W. Jones (Blog)

E Author, Joy Nwosu LoBamijoko (Amazon Author Page)

N Outshine Ovarian Cancer | Author, Karen Ingalls (Blog)

D Rhani And Friends | Author, Rhani D’Chae (Podcast)

S Our Lady of Victory Remembered! | Shirley Harris-Slaughter (Blog)

! Yvette M. Calleiro’s Author Blog 

! Mary Adler Writes (Author Blog)

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Grateful for good friends

Their kindness, it knows no end

I’ll pay it forward

So that all can comprehend

What it’s like to have good friends

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Thanks for the visit! Enjoy the rest of the day!

 

 

 

South Branch Scribbler: Guest Author Vashti Quiroz-Vega

Hello everyone! The Fall of Lilith Blog Tour continues. I cannot thank you enough for all the support and encouragement I’ve received since the launch of my new novel. Today I’m a guest author at the South Branch Scribbler! Author Allan Hudson is gracious enough to invite me to his blog, so please pass by for a quick hello. 😀 

I’m sharing an excerpt from The Fall of Lilith and there’s a 4 question interview.

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

~Marcel Proust

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**BOOK PROMOTION: I’ve been informed that some readers missed out on the free promotion for The Fall of Lilith. In light of this, for a limited time (8/13 – 8/15) The Fall of Lilith (eBook) will be priced at 99¢ So, don’t miss out on this promotion, follow the link to Amazon and download your book now.

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Author Allan Hudson is a great supporter of the writing community, so don’t forget to stop by and say hello.

Follow this link to the South Branch Scribbler.

 

Writer’s Quote Wednesday – GRATITUDE

Hello and welcome to my blog! It’s Writer’s Quote Wednesday. Gratitude is a feeling or attitude in response to something good. I also believe that gratitude is a virtue because being grateful is a morally positive character trait.

Some people . . . many people, spend their time griping and complaining about the objects they don’t have, and the places they’ll never visit, and things they’ll never do. They don’t put anywhere near as much time and energy appreciating the people in their lives or what they do have. I don’t want to be like those people (although sometimes I can be).

It occurred to me that we don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other huge holiday to tell others and ourselves what we are thankful for. I decided that today I will do that and I will begin with the so-called ‘little things‘.

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1/ Toilet Paper

Did you know that before toilet paper people used stones, pieces of clay, sponges, and corncobs to wipe their––you know? Ouch! Quilted Northern, formerly Northern Tissue, advertised as late as 1935 that their toilet paper was “Splinter-Free!” So, the first rolls of toilet paper had splinters? I’m so grateful for my soft, absorbent, splinter-free Charmin toilet paper.

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2/ Bottled Water (clean water in general)

I don’t know about you guys but I go through at least 6-8 (16 oz.) bottles of water a day. I can’t imagine living in countries like Ethiopia where women and children are burdened with the task to get water. Sometimes walking up to six hours to collect water from unprotected pools of water that may be contaminated. I’ll never complain about having to go to the corner supermarket to get water again.

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3/ My Bed

You’d be surprised how many people don’t have decent beds or mattresses. Would you like to know what it’s like not to have a bed? Go camping for a weekend––you’ll miss your bed . . . trust me.

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4/ My shower (running hot water)

If people in countries like Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Laos . . . don’t have enough clean, sanitized water, do you think they have showers with running hot water? I don’t think so. I can’t imagine going to work with bed-head and skin that smells like night sweat. 

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5/ My iPhone

I have books, news, information, weather and traffic reports at my fingertips! Thank you Steve Jobs! I’m glad you bounced back after being fired from your own company.

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There are so many things I am grateful for, like my husband, family, my fluffy baby Scribbles, friends, online blogging buddies, writing, readers, the fact that there hasn’t been a hurricane in Florida in the last few years, my new house, Pinterest  . . . I could go on and on.

For those of us living in free countries where there is plenty of food, clean water, freedom of speech and religion, entertainment and beauty––lets stop complaining about the things we don’t have and live life with gratitude for what we do have, because if we think about it, we have so much.

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“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.”

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Colleen Chesebro is a writer, poet, and book reviewer. She hosts an inspiring event every Wednesday on her blog, Silver Threading, called Writer’s Quote Wednesday. Anyone can participate by choosing a quote by a favorite writer and posting it on your blog.

Ronovan, from Ronovan Writes and Colleen have joined forces! He has been linking his #BeWoW blog share (Be Wonderful on Wednesday) now to include: Be Writing on Wednesday. If you would like to combine both posts feel free to do so and link them to Colleen’s post. She will make sure and add you to the quote wrap-up she does each Tuesday. Please make sure and check out Ron’s blog for more writing inspiration and motivation!

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What are the ‘little things’ you’re grateful for?

Have a wonderful day!

A Thankful Heart

Hello and welcome! Yay! It’s Friday! Thank you for visiting my blog. Today I have compiled a mix of quotes and poems with related topics and recipes. I know, it may seem a little strange, random and mismatched, but it’s well thought out. My friends would say it’s a Vashti-ism. Maybe it is, but I hope you enjoy it. ;D

 

 

Thanksgiving comes to us out of the prehistoric dimness, universal to all ages and all faiths. At whatever straws we must grasp, there is always a time for gratitude and new beginnings.

~ J. Robert Moskin

You can get this yummy Cheese Straws recipe at smitten kitchen

 

 

Ah! On Thanksgiving day…
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before.
What moistens the lips and what brightens the eye?
What calls back the past, like the rich pumpkin pie?

~ John Greenleaf Whittier

Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie

Get the recipe at Simply Recipes by Elise Bauer

 

 

Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.

~ Theodore Roosevelt

30 countries worldwide have taken part in Good Deeds Day. Here’s the story and mission of the global annual event

 

 

Forever on Thanksgiving Day
The heart will find the pathway home.

~ Wilbur D. Nesbit

Feed the Homeless in Your Community During the Holidays . . . and Throughout the Year

 

 

Grace isn’t a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It’s a way to live.

~ Jacqueline Winspear

If there’s someone that lives gracefully that would be Kim from The Kim Challenge

Visit her blog for a Tres Leches Cake recipe. You will thank me later.

 

 

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.

~ Cicero

 

 

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.

~ Johannes A. Gaertner

Today is my little pomeranian’s birthday! He is 16 years old! I am so grateful to have had another year with my little buddy. Happy Birthday Rascal!

Rascal Quiroz-Vega

 

 

Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants.

~ Kevin James

I just thought this was hilarious (and in some cases true), and I love this guy.

Kevin James

Honoring Veterans’ Day

I would like to thank all the men and women in the armed forces past and present. I believe there’s a special place in Heaven for all those who sacrificed themselves to make better the lives of others. I would like to also give gratitude to the soldiers’ families. I have featured this poem before, but it seemed suitable for today. Enjoy.

Remember the day I borrowed your brand new car and dented it?
I thought you’d kill me, but you didn’t.

And remember the time I dragged you to the beach, and you said it would rain, and it did?
I thought you’d say, “I told you so.” But you didn’t.

Do you remember the time I flirted with all the guys to make you jealous, and you were?
I thought you’d leave, but you didn’t.

Do you recall the time I spilled strawberry pie all over your car rug?
I thought you’d hit me, but you didn’t.

And remember the time I forgot to tell you the dance was formal and you showed up in jeans?
I thought you’d drop me, but you didn’t.

Yes, there were lots of things you didn’t do.
But you put up with me, and loved me, and protected me.

There are lots of things I wanted to make up to you
when you returned from Iraq.

But you didn’t.

~Anonymous

Thank you to all our veterans and their families for your service, dedication, courage and sacrifice!

Please check out this poem written by an American soldier.