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“What the heck do you do with all your time?”
Last year, I asked two of my friends who do not work this question: “What the heck do you do with all your time?” One friend said, “Before you know it, it’s 4 o’clock, and it’s time for dinner.” The other friend said, “I fill my days with all sorts of things. I am never bored.” At the time, I couldn’t imagine not working full time. Nevertheless, it didn’t stop me from asking the question as I contemplated taking an early retirement from my full-time teaching job at a university. That early retirement morphed into not fully retiring, but in teaching part-time at the college level. I’m cool with that.…
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Do Not Look Where You Fell
hen we slip, we can go one of two ways. We can catch ourselves and right ourselves or we can fall. Sometimes we fall hard.
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A Vlog About Writing (Because I didn’t feel like writing it)…Is that weird?
I don’t post these types of videos very often here on my blog as I do on social media. Earlier, I thought about going LIVE on Instagram, but then decided to just post a video about the writing and editing process. If you enjoy talking about writing and interacting as a writer, follow me on Instagram at stephanieverniwrites or on TikTok at stephanieverniwrites, and I’ll be sure to follow you back. 🙂 I’ve always been fascinated by how other writers works. Do they plot? Do they write as they go along? What’s their editing process? Believe me…over the years, I’ve listened to and heeded the advice of many talented writers.…
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The Magic of Miracles
Forewarning: this one’s about God and miracles and the divine. It’s kind of personal. If it’s not for you, no worries. But since it’s about my interpretation of these quotes, I’ll continue… This week’s quote comes from G.K. Chesterton and is as follows: The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen. G.K. Chesterton Perhaps it’s because I have committed to Bible in a Year with Father Mike Schmitz on the Hallow app and am moving along with it in awe, but whoa, there’s a lot to take in. It’s completely enlightening. I’m glad I’ve made this commitment. My children went to Catholic school in their elementary years, and…
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Stop Glorifying “Perfect”
In our attempts to be perfect we are missing a lot of the little joys that come along with the exercise of "going for it." Some of the best stuff happens along the way.
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Beauty + Joy
Today’s quote as pulled from my box is this: Beauty is whatever gives joy.Hugh Nibley One of the best things we did over the Christmas season was to attend our church’s Festival of Lessons and Carols. It was held the Friday before New Year’s Eve and consisted of 9 scripture readings and 9 carols. The service lasted one hour and took place in a beautifully decorated church filled with Christmas spirit and love. It was incredibly moving. The choir lifted the church with its voices, and the use of the handheld bells added to the Christmas spirit. There were a few songs that the choir performed and many others in…
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Delight in the Little Things
Today’s card is a very simple, yet poignant quote from Rudyard Kipling, British short-story writer, novelist, poet, journalist, probably best known for his collection of stories in The Jungle Book and his poem Gunga Din. The quote reads: Delight in the little things. – Rudyard Kipling I can’t help but harken back to my younger days, when I was a child growing up in Bowie, Maryland. We lived in our ranch on Pointer Ridge Drive until I was 13 years old. What we learn as children can often inform our lives as we grow and age and work and then retire. The truth is, compared to now, life was simpler…
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Living and Learning in the New Year
In 2023, I plan on sharing these quotes and writing impressions and thoughts about them, perhaps through a personal story or to provide inspiration. Anyway, that's the plan, readers. The first quote I pulled today is this one: Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you. - John De Paola
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It’s A Sad State of Affairs
I hate to end 2022 on a sort of melancholy note, but I can't help myself. Rarely, if ever, do I get preachy on my blog. Typically, I'm here to share news, light, personal stories, fictional writing, poetry, and my own uplifting insights. What will start on today's post as a downer, I hope will turn into something positive as we move forward into 2023.
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An End-of-Year Letter to Readers
Dear Readers, Today, I’m going to start with one of the highlights of the year, and it has been handwriting letters to readers. I’ve handwritten over 100 letters to readers thus far. Without a doubt, this has been one of the most fulfilling aspects of being an author, for without readers, we are lost. When I published The Letters in the Books in July, I knew I wanted to do a special promotion with an independent bookstore. (If you order through Amazon or B&N, there are no letters inside). As well, since the protagonist of my book, a bookstore owner, handwrites uplifting letters that she slips inside books, I wanted…
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I Believe the “New” Scrooge Would Adore this Collaboration
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The Irony & House of the Dragon
DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU ARE A FAN OF THE SHOW AND HAVEN’T WATCHED EPISODE 9 – I DON’T WANT TO SPOIL IT FOR YOU Princess Rhaenys is the heroine of Episode 9, but did she make a mistake? After being locked in her room while the Queen’s advisors secretly plot to have Aegon sit on the throne, throwing away the wishes of King Vicerys to have his daughter, Rhaenyra, named Queen and sit on the Iron Throne, Princess Rhaenys ascends her dragon and scares the living daylights of everyone during the coronation. But should she have done more? We all knew something was coming. You could feel it…
