Quotes about change

In this post I am sharing a few quotes about change, since this is my year of change. 🙂 Perhaps they will speak to you or remind you of another quote that has been meaningful to you.

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. – Maya Angelou

Your mind is a powerful thing. When you fill it with positive thoughts, your life will start to change. – Unknown

All you change is yourself, but sometimes that changes everything! – Gary W. Goldstein

Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change. – Jim Rohn

The above quotes are inspiring and encouraging. One thing I want to add is that what I’ve found in my own life is that my efforts to change myself usually end up as a source of discouragement and disappointment, which I think is what often happens to many people who make new year’s resolutions. However, if I let the Lord change me it becomes a reality. A heart change is a real change. It may seem as if I have changed myself when it is the Lord changing me. I like that.

Do you have any inspiring quotes to share about change?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

PS: Please remember to pass on the word about my 2nd giveaway of 2016 offered in my January 21 post; draw February 10. Watch my countdown calendar!

My Giveaway #2 of 2016! Your chance to win!

Are you one who still likes to write letters longhand? I know it’s a fading art. In fact, it’s becoming a fading skill.

Writing is healthy for the brain. You have to concentrate in a different way, both to think of your words and to manually form the letters to write them, so it exercises two skills at once. It’s good for you! The more you write longhand the better your writing becomes, unless you’re like me and hurry a bit too much so have to slow down to create a neat legible script.

I make my own envelopes – most of them from old calendars, a great way to recycle and reuse them. The plain white envelopes that you can buy are okay, good for formal mail; however, I enjoy sending out notes and sometimes bill payments in an envelope I’ve made. (Yes, I’m one who does not use online banking or online bill paying. I’m using the “old way” as long as I can.)

Even if you don’t write letters you may need to mail something now and again. This giveaway is another which will not suit everyone, but perhaps you know someone who would appreciate having this month’s giveaway. You can direct that person here or enter your own name to try to win for them.

So, what am I giving away? Twelve of my homemade envelopes to one of you!

As you can see, they’re mostly pictures of beautiful Atlantic Canada. These envelopes are standard letter size.

Here are close-ups for you —

To enter the draw, simply leave a comment telling me how you would use these envelopes.

Draw date for this giveaway is at 10 PM AST, that’s 9 PM Eastern, on Wednesday, February 10. This gives you lots of time to pass the word on to others, too.

I will use Random.org name picker to find out which of you is the winner. Watch here the next morning for the announcement.

Remember, you have until February 10 to get your name into the draw, but don’t put it off!

PS: I am prepared to mail these to anywhere.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

A Picture Book for Newbery! (REJOICE!)

Today I am reblogging a post I thought would interest you. I’ve talked about Tara Lazar before, that PiBoIdMo was created by her, that she’s a picture book author. (I reviewed her book The Monstore on February 18, 2014.) She’s a smart cookie, this Tara Lazar.
Enjoy this informative article written by her.

Thanks for reading, and Creative Musings! 🙂

Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)

If you’re seeking to understand the significance of yesterday’s Newbery Medal being awarded to a picture book, grab a cuppa and settle in.

laststop Photo courtesy of author Carter Higgins from AlltheWonders.

Five years ago, The New York Times published an article that caused consternation among picture book creators: “Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children.” In fact, the words within plunged a dagger directly into our hearts.

Parents have begun pressing their kindergartners and first graders to leave the picture book behind and move on to more text-heavy chapter books. Publishers cite pressures from parents who are mindful of increasingly rigorous standardized testing in schools.

It felt as though No Child Left Behind was leaving we authors and illustrators behind. A children’s bookseller was even quoted as saying that picture books sat languishing on their shelves, dying sad little deaths.

OUCH.

As a parent of young…

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Giveaway #1: We have a WINNER!

Thank you to all who entered my first giveaway contest for 2016. The “prize” is this pink 2016 paper pocket planner:

And the winner with this comment “Hi Lynn, I’m definitely a paper girl. I do use my phone, but I still prefer paper. I always have a pen in my purse, so writing an upcoming appointment in a planner is faster for me than entering it into my phone. I was going to buy my 2016 one this week, now that they’re on sale. Now I’ll wait until after the 13th! 🙂 ” is….

Heather Wright!

Congratulations, Heather! You are the winner of my first giveaway in 2016. Aren’t you glad you waited? Please check your email for my request for your mailing address so I can get this on its way to you.

For everyone who didn’t win, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TRYING. I will be posting another giveaway in February, so please be sure to come back.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

My word for 2016

If you could choose any word at all to fit YOU in 2016, what would it be?

I’ve thought about this a lot, and waited, and listened, and waited, and thought some more. The result of all that is a word I’ve been feeling is for the year of 2016. It may be for my own life as well as extending far beyond me. Although other words came to mind, this one always rose to the top. That word is CHANGE.

Therefore, my word for 2016 is CHANGE.

What I foresee in my limited vision and understanding is the following, as applies to me:

letting go of some longstanding commitments, thereby allowing space for other things
seeing myself as the writer I am, thereby freeing myself to create
pushing forward, thereby completing and preparing stories and manuscripts for submission
still applying my last year’s word .. POSITIVITY .. thereby disallowing negativity and discouragement to pull me down or stop me
allowing God to affect change within me in those places that can not remain the same if I am to grow and move on

Change may seem a simple thing for you. For me it is a little unnerving, a little off-putting, while at the same time it is exciting, hopeful, and alluring.

Change is my word and also my goal for 2016. What is yours?

Thank you for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

PS: Giveaway Reminder: tonight at 9:00 EST I’m drawing for the planner. Did you enter for yourself, or maybe for a friend?

Giveaway this Wednesday!

This is a short post to remind you I am drawing a name in my first giveaway of 2016 on Wednesday (January 13). I’m planning to have other draws as the year progresses, when I find things I can easily mail out. This could turn into my year of giveaways!

Please note in my right sidebar I have a Milestone widget that’s counting down the days to the draw date. Each time I hold a giveaway I’ll be using that to make it easy for everyone. When you come to visit you’ll know what to look for and easily see the important details of the immediate upcoming draw.

I would love it if YOU would help me get started by entering your name in my draw for this month. See my first post about it HERE with lots of pictures. Perhaps you don’t use anything but electronic/digital anymore. If that’s the case, you may have a friend who would appreciate having this planner. You could enter your name to try to win it for them. Or send them here to try for themselves.

I feel as if I’m begging here, pleading for people to enter my draw! Well, okay…. PLEASE enter my draw, and tell your friends about it. The more the merrier, so they say. Of course, if no one else puts their name in the draw those who did have a much better chance of winning. 🙂

Just leave your comment telling me why you prefer using a paper planner to an electronic/digital one.

Happy January everyone!

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Colouring? Or another form of creative relaxation?

As I mentioned in my December 29 post I received some books for Christmas. Two of those are colouring books for adults.

Now, you may think a colouring book is a colouring book … all much the same, no real challenge to them. You would be mistaken – as I discovered. There is so much detail to the drawings to colour it took me awhile to get started, but once I did – I found it to be relaxing and enjoyable. I also discovered the perfectionist in me still lives. To be honest, it took me awhile to feel relaxed colouring because of the perfectionist me, but I’m doing better now, although I sometimes tend to hyper focus once I start something new.

Regardless of my fretting over what colour will go with which, and should I even start this picture … it’s so busy! … I have now completed three pages. The next thing, though, is I’m finding colouring could be my newest distraction from my writing goals! oh me

This is the first one I completed and so far it’s my favourite.

There are so many ways to interpret this art with colour. I’m not sure what my choice says about ME – (any ideas?) – seeing as I used and varied all the colours available to me. 🙂 Another more subtle shading would have resulted in a calmer image.