This Thought Counts

I'll admit it. I love Autumn. The leaves are falling from the trees and each morning wakes up with that wonderful crispness that says that snow is coming soon. I know I haven't done a lot here since the Summer of Change ended. I've been uber busy. How uber busy? Well, let's put it this way - I have 4 pseudonyms and I write in many different genres. 2 of my pseudonyms have huge book launches this month and I've been working on them for the last 6 weeks. The one just launched today, but I'm really excited about the book that launches Oct 20th. It's the first in an inspirational romance series I've written under the name Bree Cariad . Taking place in the fictional town of Hyacinth, Washington, this contemporary town lives by very traditional values. From the courting of the girls at the age of 18 to the fact that words like trust, honor, and discipline are more than just words. These novellas are clean, hopeful, and as several people have told me "...

Stop planning, stop hoping, stop regretting, stop dreaming for just a second. Today, I want you to live. Ignore yesterday. Tomorrow will take care of itself. For today, do something just for you. Go to the movies, buy a book you’ve been wanting to get, walk in the park with an ice cream cone and a smile. Learn a magic trick. Live your life today. Don’t just hope it will happen. Live it. Some of you might be saying, ‘but what I’m working for hasn’t come through yet’. My answer? Get into that feeling. Remember how it will feel when it arrives? Have that in your head? Now go do something today that drives that feeling home. Your dream is to be a size 6? Do NOT go to the mall and look at the size sixes as invariably you will then compare them to your current size and that’s just depressing. Instead, be a size 6 in your mind. Feel how amazing you look. Walk around town as a size six. You feel it. You exude it. Wow, you are so tuned into it. Just for today, live your life. Be yo...

Beauty is everywhere. Look for it. When was the last time you looked around just to find the beauty that surrounds you? The ripe orange on a tree, the cat sunning herself on a ledge, the clouds as they float by, the beautiful smile on the 4 year old's face where she is missing both of her front teeth. Beauty is everywhere. Sometimes you just have to look past the surface stuff - the dust on the counter, the D you just got on your test, the fact your husband or wife once again did not do what you asked - and once you get past that - WOW! Look at that. Beauty is everywhere. Now, go look for it!

As we all go for goals that are bigger than we are, some so big they feel more like dreams, the question of how can I keep hoping when there are no hints in front of me. I have found small ways to combat it, but last night a story brought home just how hope and determination can do anything & everything. Have you seen the movie Apollo 13? Apollo 13 is about the Apollo 13 space mission. The fact that NASA gave it the number 13 was quite prophetic. The number 13 is associated with bad things happening, and lets face it - nothing but bad things happened to that ship. First, part of their ship blew off. They lost most of their oxygen and most of their power. They had to use a LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) as a life-raft for their trip around the moon and back. They had to turn off the LEM engines so as to have power for the end of their trip. They had too much carbon dioxide at one point that had to be dealt with. They came in too shallow and had the possibility of skiffing off the atmo...