HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year!

My wish for you in 2012 is that you find wonderful blessings coming your way, that you discover the Meaning of life, that your path is strewn with good things, and that you prosper in health, good cheer, and enough to keep you comfortable.

For my writer friends .. in 2012 may your words flow and evolve into something worth sharing with the world, may your contacts prove beneficial, may all your hard work pay off so that your hopes and dreams come true.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

Thanks for reading my blog, special thanks to my regular followers, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:13

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

‘Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us’ – Matthew 1:23

Pondering those words … God with us …

Only HE knows how grateful I am for His love (for me), His sacrifice (for me), His willingness to do what no man could do for us (even for me), His abiding Presence (with me). (It’s okay to personalize it, you know.) For many reasons, without Him my life would not be worth living. Yes, I have so many blessings and precious people in my life, but … if you have ever felt that inner despair of worthlessness, that sense of hopelessness and lack of purpose, then you know what I mean. With Him life makes sense.

My heart overflows with gratitude today as we remember Jesus’ birth, coming as a humble baby to become our great overcoming King.

May I wish you the blessing of His joy, His Peace, His Presence in your life as you celebrate this day. May you enjoy the sweet company of family and friends – even strangers who need a friend today. Perhaps you are like us and often invite someone to join you for a festive meal. Appreciate it.

My day is starting out very quietly, but by 1:00 pm this festively decorated house will be full of family, plus an invited guest, for a hearty meal. Four people cannot be with us then (one being our daughter in Alberta), but there will be twelve seated around Dad’s table. Exchanging of some gifts will follow the main course, and then the dessert table comes under attack. 🙂 There will be lots of joyful noise and laughter, especially with an excited six-year-old among us. As the day progresses, this house will be made tidy again and gradually it will dwindle down to a few people here as my husband and I move on to our house with our own family. There we will enjoy a wonderful time with our daughters, their guys and our grandson. I am excited about today with my family.

The Lord has put LIFE into my life — much more than gifts and festivity. 🙂

My prayer for you is that you too may experience the true joy of this season – God with us.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Distractions, distractions .. umm, what was I doing?

Just a little sidetrack here. Of course. I am supposed to be NaNo writing.

But ..

did I ever mention I think my middle name was supposed to be ‘Procrastination’ with a nickname of ‘Distracted’? Yes, it is true. I procrastinate. No surprise, if you know me at all.

And look at what I found at http://badger.dinorodeo.com/

Yep! That’s me, like a moth to a flame.

Is the computer on, did someone comment on my blog? write me an email? tweet something interesting?

Is there another appealing book close by to read? A website to visit? a link to check out? a new post to read on someone’s blog that I follow .. or that someone tweets about? (I’d hate to miss something good.)

Is a friend waiting to chat?

Oh dear.

Like a moth to a flame.

Now, what was I was doing?

NaNoWriMo!

Oh, wait! Someone just tweeted me a recipe for …

oh yeah. distractions, distractions.

NaNo novel, here I come!

How about you? Do you ever have this problem?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings. 🙂

Birthdays and Blessings

(I have tried to post this since November 17 but WP was not working properly for me at home! Trying on other computer, so please keep in mind the time is not accurate now.)

Yesterday – November 16 – was my birthday. Do I look any older to you?
I didn’t have a big party, but I did enjoy dinner out with my sister and my dad.

I didn’t sink into a depression, either; I’ve learned that that doesn’t solve anything.

I just quietly grew one day older, but that one day stepped me over into a new year of my life.
Another opportunity to live better, do more, try harder, dream bigger … and grow another year older.

Yesterday and today I heard from a few friends and family members with greetings by phone calls, Skype, text messages, and emails. Being remembered is heart-warming. One friend, upon realizing he was a day late, wished me a happy un-birthday, my first of this new year of my life! 🙂 I enjoyed a few cards via Canada Post, and I received a few gifts which added the fun factor.

Have I changed in that one day, the day that marks the number of years I have been permitted thus far? Not really. I’m still wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, caregiver, … blogger and all those other things.
I’m still weary, I’m still trying to do more than I have the energy to do well, I’m still hopeful that I will write something meaningful enough to make a difference, I still deeply love the same people who are precious to me, I still learn something new nearly every day no matter how small, I still plan to do the occasional adventurous thing such as sky-dive, and I continue my walk with the Lord and hope for His plan for me to be fulfilled.
In short, that one day was simply a continuation of my life with a few fun extras tucked in – and with no regrets. Another day of blessings.

Am I getting older? of course! But I like to think I’m also getting better. One can hope.

Do you do anything special to celebrate your birthdays? What is your perspective on the whole ‘aging thing’?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Announcing the winner of A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk!

We have finally made connections and I now have confirmation of our winner.

Congratulations to writing feemail (Renee J.) whose name was drawn from those submitted into the draw.

Renee, your book will be in next week’s mail – thanks to Red Deer Press. I’m sure you will thoroughly enjoy A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk by Nova Scotia author Jan L. Coates.

Thanks to everyone who read the interview and those who participated in the contest. I’m sure I will be doing more book reviews and author interviews as time and books become available. 🙂

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

We have a winner! (A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk by Jan L. Coates)

Tonight one of you became the winner of a copy of A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk by Jan L. Coates. My dear dad drew a name out of the basket, I sent that person an email, and I will be announcing the winner’s name once I receive her mailing info.

You were entered into the contest if you commented on this post: https://lynnadavidson.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/interview-with-jan-l-coates-book-giveaway/

So, check your emails, are you the winner?

Thanks for participating, and … Creative Musings!

Hurry! You could win a book today!

This is a friendly reminder of the BOOK GIVEAWAY I’m offering TODAY – November 12 – courtesy of Red Deer Press.

Please refer to my October 22 post and read my review of A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk – an amazing story written by Jan L. Coates.

Then, following my October 28 interview with Jan, you have the opportunity to win a copy of A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk by leaving a comment.

Please be sure to let others know about this, too, and get the word out about this heralded novel. There’s not much time left until 9:00 pm (8:00 EST). Tweet about it, mention it on Facebook and in your own blog .. use your imagination to get the word out there! I know Jan will appreciate the publicity for Jacob and Wadeng Wings of Hope. Don’t know who Jacob is? Read my blog posts of October 22 and October 28.