my story

As promised: This Present Darkness

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

In my story prompt post this morning I promised to say more about a book mentioned in that piece.

The prompt was angels and I shared a book read many years ago – and never forgotten – where angels, both good and evil, were doing battle in the heavenlies.

Just to make things a little clearer as we go along, I do believe in angels.

This Present Darkness

Amazon quote:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

After the film in her camera is mysteriously destroyed at a small-town festival, reporter Bernice Kreuger knows she’s found something worth covering up. She brings the investigation to her boss, Marshall Hogan. Along with the local pastor of a struggling church, Hank Busch, they find something much bigger than they expected—a demonic plot to enslave their town and, eventually, the world.

The tiny college town of Ashton becomes the unlikely battleground in a cosmic clash between good and evil. Unseen by the human protagonists, armies of angels and demons wage war against one another in the spiritual realm for the souls of the people of Ashton. Up against supernatural forces, the future of the town seems bleak – but the power of prayer might be able to influence the outcome of the fight.

This fast-paced thriller birthed an entirely new genre, setting the standard for spiritual suspense. It has since sold over 2 million copies worldwide, sparking a renewed interest in the concept of spiritual warfare.

**********************

I do believe in God, and his angels- both good and evil. I think a book like this helps us, in a small way, to understand we are not alone in this world. And someone bigger than us is in charge.

I find it comforting that God is a living, relational being, and if we put time and effort into getting to know him he will become as close to us as our very best friend.

One more comforting thing: he has the heart of a father. He never forgets; not even one of his children. That means every single person on the face of the earth, whether we acknowledge him or not.

This whole thought of the fatherhood of God is a discussion for another day but think about it – no matter how good or bad the behavior of a child, does a parent ever forget and stop loving them?

I’ve noticed the answer to that question is no. In an interview, I’ve heard a broken-hearted mother say of her bomber son… but he’s my son, I still love him.

God loving us has nothing whatever to do with our belief.

I’m a mom, I know about these things. … my kids are my kids no matter what.

I’m grateful that God loves us, and he commands his angels to watch out for us whether we love him back or not.

If we resist his love, that can make protecting us a challenge for him. (think of a rebellious toddler and you will know exactly what I mean here.) Any way, another discussion for another day.

***********************

I wasn’t planning on any of this but maybe someone’s heart needed to hear it.

Happy book Reading.

Story prompt – Angel

/ For the Love of Books / 3 Comments

This story prompt is courtesy of Sunday Scribblings

Be an angel and bring me a coffee, will ya.

Thanks, you’re an angel.

It looks like angel is a word we use flippantly, much like the word love. In most cases the way we use it doesn’t really mean anything of any significance.

Wouldn’t we be shocked if there actually was such a thing as an angel?

Some of us must think they are real. There are movies, TV shows, sermons preached, and even books written about angels. With a little research into the ways they are portrayed I can tell I’m behind the times. I didn’t know there was a spin off of Buffy The Vampire Slayer called Angel. I wasn’t into a lot of TV back then and it looks like I was missing out.

There were other angel shows and movies I did notice, though, (Touched by an Angel, Twice in a Lifetime, Angels in the Outfield to name a few) and I have to say I enjoyed them immensely.

Then there are books, maybe movies too, where there are angels of both stripes, both good and evil, doing battle in heavenly places. This Present Darkness: A Novel by Frank Peretti is one of them.

Speaking of evil and angels, there is one story I’ve never been able to forget.

It happened in a primitive foreign country many years ago. A team of nurses and their helpers were accosted one night. They heard the war cry of a band of men who wanted to rob, torture, and kill them. They were terrified. Inexplicably, the band of men stopped, looked, and fled. They were faced with a circle of giants standing guard around the nurse’s compound.

It sounds hard to believe but I’ve heard stories similar to this more than once through the decades. Different time, different place, same story. I love to think that someone bigger than me could send his angel armies to protect me in drastic circumstances.

Again, we bandy about the idea of a guardian angel as liberally as we do the terms angel and love.

What if we really do have a guardian angel watching out for us?

If it is true, just think what life could have been like without them, without someone catching us all those times we should have crashed and burned.

I can think of a few times I should have crashed and burned but didn’t and I’m grateful beyond words.

There is a verse in the Bible …

Psalm 91 verse 11, it says “He shall give His angels charge over you. To keep you in all your ways“

I believe and I’m grateful for my guardian angel.

***********************

I couldn’t have planned it better. One of my daily emails had a book suggestion with a reference to angels. This saved me from having to find a picture for this post. I was having trouble finding one to do justice to my guardian angel. I will use this book cover to dress up the post instead.

I’m not sure how the angel angle works out in the Dead Man’s Journey story, not having read beyond the first few pages, but as the character in the opening paragraphs prepares to go for a run he senses an angel presence. Guardian angel.

On further thought: there is another book where I know for sure angels, both good and evil, are part of the story. Frank Peretti has written many books involving heavenly beings and this is one of them. This Present Darkness.

I’ll use a separate post to share more about this book.

They say the veil is thin between this world and the next. I believe that is true. We are not alone on our journey. God and his angels are looking out for us, more than we realize.

*****************

I hope you like the books.

It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old lady is not snoring.

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

She can’t snore, the rain is making way too much noise.

Crazy weather.

Yesterday was tank top, shorts, and sandals.

Today is t-shirt, heavy fleece jacket, jeans, and socks with slippers.

I took a video, the rain was so impressive. Only a half hour and the yard is flooding and I needed proof. It turns out, the video plays sideways and I have no idea what I did to cause that. It also turns out I have the shakes worse than I realized. No idea idea about the why for that either. I have not yet started drinking! lol

This isn’t NBC, as one of my favorite podcasters always says, so I will go ahead and post it here anyway.

Well, I guess maybe not. WordPress isn’t recognizing it for a reason I have not yet discovered but must explore.

I’ll share a picture instead. No I won’t, it looks like I figured something out. The video is uploading.

My flooding backyard/hear the rain

Not too bad for a first ever attempt at uploading a video on here.

You can’t tell from this angle but the flowerbed below the railing is flooded. The drainage trough at the back under the trees is flooded too. After an hour or so of pounding rain it has changed to a gentle rain. By the looks of it I won’t be watering the flower beds for a few days.

My lawn is a lovely green even after all the hot weather we’ve had. All because of mulching. This is the first year the summer lawn clippings have not been picked up and it looks better than it ever has in the eight years I’ve been here.

The weather guys promised the threat of a thunder storm for today. If a really good one comes through later today I’ll try another video. After the heavy rain that already passed through, though, I’m not holding my breath for an awesome storm.

Today has been a nothing new-books day so I’m grateful for the wild storm showing up to give me a little post material!

Some of the recently ordered new releases arrived in today’s Kindle mailbox so it’s been a good day afterall.

A good day to you too. I hope you ordered some of those new books.

Happy Reading

Free and bargain books August 16, 2021

/ For the Love of Books / 2 Comments

Read til the end for an amazing scene. But first…

1531 Entertainment has suggestions for us. This first one is FREE. I remember reading this a year ago and it is definitely worth looking at again.

Looking for Justice: Christian Contemporary Romance with Suspense

Amazon quote:

Can a former attorney and a war veteran keep an assaulted student safe and heal their own troubled pasts?“Edgy, gutsy, real” says Varina Denman, Author of the Mended Hearts Series “

Attorney Alexis Jergenson leaves her law firm and the pain of her clients’ abuse cases and decides to start over in a small Tennessee town. The Christian college there is desperate for a law professor, and she is desperate for a new career. The problem is she’s not a Christian, and to add to this, a student has been assaulted and comes to her for help.

Luke Stephens is recovering from the effects of the Afghanistan war. He’s settled down to teach and work his ranch. His only problem is with the new law professor—she looks too much like his unfaithful ex-wife, and Luke will do anything to avoid her. But Luke and Alexis are forced to team up to find the student’s attacker, and they put not only their lives but also their hearts in danger.… a book that will linger in your mind long after you read the last page…” Debby Mayne, author of the Belles in the City series Book 4 of the Dangerous series, but also a stand alone. A Christian book that contains sensitive subject matter.

***********************

Another free book showed up, one more that I’ve read, enjoyed, and still remember.

An Awakened Heart (Orphan Train): An Orphan Train Novella

Amazon quote:

Trying to heal the ache she feels in her empty life, wealthy Christine Pendleton decides to volunteer at Centre Street Chapel. Ministering to one of the most deprived parts of New York City, the chapel aims at making a difference in the lives of the impoverished immigrants flooding the city. After seeing firsthand the hopelessness of the poor women and orphans, Christine is convinced more can be done to help them.

Guy Bedell has been serving at the chapel and pouring his heart out for the people he’s grown to care about. When Christine begins to challenge his methods and offers a new vision for reaching out to the community, can he trust that perhaps God has bigger plans in store for him–plans that may include this feisty socialite?

***************************

Currently, I’ve started a book that has captured my attention. I’m only on chapter two but still, it should be good all the way through. It’s at a low bargain price too.

This is about a race car driver who crashed and burned, literally. Only he wasn’t on the track, and it may not be an accident.

He’s also inherited a baby but we don’t know yet how that all came about. He’s hired a high school friend, turned private investigator, to figure out what happened. He also wants her to find the baby’s mother.

Show Me Best Friends: Small-Town Single-Father Cowboy Romance (Cowboy Crossing Romances Book 4) 

Amazon quote:

A “steel cowboy” with a wounded spirit, an ex-cop who’s never forgotten him, and a baby in need of love… Can these childhood best friends become more? A sweet, clean, wholesome romance with a happily-ever-after!

Damaged and scarred after an accident that ended his racing career, Maverick Clark returns to his family ranch to find a new purpose. When he starts caring for his buddy’s baby, Maverick turns for help to his childhood friend whom he’d had a crush on, Vera. Soon he wants more than friendship. But what does he have to offer her now?

At thirty-seven, jobless, husbandless, and childless, Vera Tsareva feels like she took a wrong turn somewhere. But once the road takes her back to her hometown to help her grandmother, she begins working with Maverick, the guy she’s tried to forget for many years. They even go on a trip to the other side of the world together, but he’s closed off his heart to her.

************************

It has been a warm one today and judging by the orange moon we are still bothered by smoke from nearby forest fires. When I say nearby, they are in the same province but miles away.

My son and his family live in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Yesterday they were driving home from holidays and the mountain highway (Coquihalla) had fire burning on both sides of the road. We were shocked it was still open when they went through.

(we affectionately call it The Coke)

When it is not burning this is an amazingly beautiful drive.

I’m sharing this for the pictures. I love this trip and I’ve driven it many times with some great memories. It’s about 2 hours long. Someone should film the whole highway then we could travel it vicariously. A friend in Norway send me a video like that once, it was a train trip. Norway has high mountains too. Watching something in real time seems like it would be boring but they did a good job with their camera work and it was enjoyable.

Anyway, enjoy the scenery.

And the books

Reading and enjoying August 11, 2021

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

The person who really wants to do something finds a way; the other person finds an excuse. — Author Unknown

This was the opening quote in chapter three of the book I am currently enjoying (I’ll share it in a bit) and it resonates with me. So much so that I need to camp on this thought for a moment and while I’m doing that I need to record some thoughts.

It resonates because I’m wrestling with this very thing. Ideas are causing a ruckus in my head and I’m asking myself if I will step outside my comfort zone and find a way to do them or will I listen to the excuses and walk away. I’ve spent years mulling over these ideas in different forms.

In a way, this quote showing up now is validation for the steps I’m taking.

Chapter three is talking about excuses but the true subject of the book is prayer. The kind of prayer Diane Moody, the author, has in mind is conversation with your best friend.

I’ve been in conversation with my best friend about these wild ideas, and many other things too, and He seems to be encouraging me to get on with it and make it happen.

Why would I do this thing I’m alluding to?

There are two sides to it. One is to help me grow personally, I definitely need it if I want to have useful years. The other is be an encouragement to others. There are enough negative voices in our world, we need more positive ones.

This quote about finding a way is especially relevant for me right now. Mainly because, earlier today I uploaded a picture to my site created yesterday on locals.com. Putting a picture out there for the world to see is a big deal for this camera shy blogger… admitting to being out there is an even bigger deal. Up until now, I have been trying my best to fly under the radar. My Face Book profile picture is a lilac bush and has been for years. Things are slowly changing.

I haven’t posted to the new site yet, I’m still in the initial set up stages. Maybe this could be part of the first post. Maybe. We’ll see.

****************************

As promised, here is the book I am reading. Diane Moody is down to earth, easy to read, and what she has to say is worth hearing.

Confessions of a Prayer Slacker (Second Edition) 

With over 600 “Five Star” reviews.

Let’s face it. Most of us are clueless when it comes to praying. Why is that? And how come we’ve never done anything about it?

In Confessions of a Prayer Slacker, author Diane Moody traces her own personal prayer journey with a touch of humor and a healthy dose of transparency.

‘‘I want my readers to stop the merry-go-round of prayerlessness, quit acting like a bunch of spiritual babies, and get serious about this thing called prayer. Without it, we’ll never experience the warm, one-on-one relationship God desires to have with each one of us.”

****************************

It looks like this post has turned out to be a bit of a teaser since I have neglected to give the name of the new site over on locals.com

That’s OK because I still have some work to do to make sure it performs like it’s supposed to.

There are more things to be said about the subject anyway so another time works well.

*************************

We have no new books today but maybe tomorrow. I did look.

In the meantime,

Happy Reading

Another this and that August 06, 2021

/ For the Love of Books / 5 Comments

I think there is something wrong with me. I don’t feel like reading.

Shocking!

I’ve finished the book I was reading and can’t seem to settle on any of the five or six that are next in line. This rarely happens, I must be sick or something.

Maybe it’s or something. My mind has been pulled in a number of different directions today and right now it’s hard to settle down to a quiet occupation like reading.

One of the things I’ve been dwelling on this evening is the subject of the next couple of chapters read in the book called The Power of Writing It Down. The author makes a case for writing as a way to improve our health. Studies have demonstrated a change in moods by writing 20 minutes a day for two weeks, an effect that lasts for an even longer period of time.

The authors name is Allison Fallon. Allison is a writing coach and she has a large team of people working with her. Her book has come out of her personal and corporate experiences and in my mind that gives her credibility. The kind of writing addressed in this book is called expressive writing. Medical researchers have studied brain activity during writing experiences and they found that different parts of the brain would light up during different types of writing. What Allison calls expressive writing comes from the subconscious part of the brain rather than the conscious part where we live most of the time.

Today’s chapters talked about writing when we don’t feel inspired. We have nothing to say and yet if we sit quietly, meditatively, and we gradually set aside the conscious noise about all the things our mind goes to when we are supposed to be working or listening; something changes. Our mind becomes focused on a single thought and as we start to write, a conversation happens.

At the end, we read over what we’ve written, in amazement. Where did that come from? I wasn’t even thinking about any of that when I sat down and yet here it is.

Allison stresses that writing out of the subconscious helps us discover who we really are, not who we have made ourselves out to be to please others. It can be a little scary, thinking about what might come out of our subconscious. Maybe, hopefully, it will be positive more often than we might think.

I’ve experienced a little of this writing what I didn’t expect phenomenon while working on some of these this and that posts. I think they have turned out to be some of the best ones. Reader response seems to bear that out.

In the end. Writing like this was a very emotional experience and I was left with a pleasant aura that stayed with me for hours. It was very positive and I would love to have it happen many more times. Maybe it will as I practice this type of writing more often.

I know you have questions so I’ll say this…

The pleasant aura was kind of like when you read a extra specially good book or watch a movie that leaves you with an awww kind of feeling. Or when you do something that turns out so much better than expected and you can’t help but keep looking at it, thinking about how much you love it. And, at the same time you are thinking I can’t believe I just did that.

This turned out way different, and so much better than I visualized going in to this post. I was wanting to practice expressive writing tonight but I was worried at the same time. I’m feeling a big sigh of relief at the way this all went.

Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA on Pexels.com

I think I can settle down now and read a book for awhile.

Happy writing and happy reading.

Check out Allison’s book, maybe it will inspire you and meet a need, all at the same time.

There was one more exciting thought on my mind tonight but I will save it for another post.

Later.

This and that, August 05, 2021

/ For the Love of Books / 3 Comments

I’m cheating, it’s two minutes to midnight. If I dawdle it will soon be August 5th, barely, so I’m not lying. It can still be tomorrow even if I haven’t been to bed yet, right? A sleep shouldn’t be mandatory to make it so.

I decided to go ahead and do a this and that post now as I’m still awake and tomorrow is going to be busy. I’m on a roll, up to 53 days in a row, I don’t want to take a chance on messing that up without a really good reason.

I’m still awake because we have a thunder and lightning storm going on. It was pretty loud there for awhile although it has calmed down a bit at the moment. Things can change in short order though.

Two good things about this storm – First, it cools things off, which is very nice, and the rain helps clear the smoke hanging around from all the forest fires in the area, and second, we need the moisture. It as been so dry this summer.

Tomorrow will be busy because I have some stuff going on and on top of that I have an appointment to get the covid shot. I qualified for it months ago but have been reluctant. For a number of reasons. I’m still somewhat reluctant but reason says I need to go ahead and do this. Who knows what the future holds, I may be thankful I did it.

Sounds like it’s raining out there again but I think it must be my imagination.

Talking about the garden, the bunnies are stunting my plants by eating the young growth off some of them. One of the worst is a bush I planted last year. It’s smaller now than when I planted it, it’s supposed to end up about 3-4 feet high. It’s not going to make it at this rate. I was trying to figure what I could use to protect it and I came up with the bright idea to use small branches from pruning one of the fast growing bushes in the backyard. I formed them into a sort of lattice work fence, close enough together that the bunnies won’t fit through the spaces. So far it seems to be working but I may have created another problem for myself. What if the branch cuttings root themselves where they are stuck into the ground? Hopefully the bush I am protecting will grow fast so I can take down the bunny fence before that happens. I’m not holding out too much hope, though.

I don’t think we have had any strikes tonight quite as strong as the brightest one in this picture but in general this is about what life looks like around here. Flat with lots of light flashing in the clouds.

Photo by Amol Mande on Pexels.com

The last big storm we had back in June, one of the lightening strikes hit a transformer here in town and we were without power for a number of hours. I hear it was quite spectacular.

I’m pretty sure tonight’s storm won’t be like that.

It’s 1 AM, I’d better go have that sleep so I’ll be ready for whatever tomorrow holds. Got to be in good shape for that shot.

Later!

I don’t write about politics, but …

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

I don’t write about politics but… I spend a lot of time paying attention.

I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure I’ve gained a number of followers based on my frequent presence on many of the popular sites. I expect they are disappointed to find I am not a political voice, never mind a loud one, in this digital world.

It takes a lot of work to be effective as a voice and my heart is not in it. I’m a staunch supporter though. Sites need subscribers, views (lots of them) and likes, to be noticed and taken seriously in the digital world. Not only that but voices need supporters to give them the courage to continue on in a place where someone wants to shut them up.

The beauty of a country where free speech is taken seriously; we are able to freely voice our thoughts and opinions, right or wrong. There seem to be bullies wanting to take away this right.

I follow dozens of sites but who I listen to most often, keeps changing. Mostly because of big tech censorship. There are certain things conservative voices are just not allowed to talk about. If they do they will be booted off any and all of the mainstream platforms.

That’s why things keep changing. People keep disappearing. The message doesn’t disappear though. New voices keep popping up, jumping into the fray, looking for the truth someone seems to want to keep from getting out. It used to be fairly easy to identify the voices, there were so few. Now they are multiplying like rabbits, which is a very good thing in these unprecedented days of censorship. We-the-people are noticing and saying hey, wait a minute! What is going on here?

My question in all of this is Why? That is a huge question.

There are a number of free speech replacement platforms under construction but it takes a lot of time and energy to have them working at a level even close to the efficiency of well established sites. It looks like locals.com and Rumble are making good progress with the investment interest they have been able to generate for their ideas. Dave Rubin of The Rubin Report is behind locals.com. He is a mover and shaker with a lot of great connections. It looks like he has a good chance at making it work.

I don’t see eye to eye with Dave Rubin on all of his opinions and positions; we are both OK with that. He is a voice of sanity in a world full of non stop yelling and I appreciate what he does and what he is trying to do.

I’m attaching one of his videos. I need a picture to dress up this post.

An introduction to a character I’ve just been talking about seems wise too, and besides, he is spending time with a sane politician about the very censorship I have been going on and on about. Adding this interview here seems like a good plan to me.

I have lots more to say on this whole subject but I’ll save it for another day when I feel inspired to share how I really feel about all of this.

Books may be the subject of a post, yet today. Now that I have this one off my chest I’ll finish my current read and do some browsing.

Later, y’all

How was your week?

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

This was a letter to a friend tonight, chatting and asking about her week. It was fun to remember good days gone by and I thought it would be nice to share memories with you too. This takes place in Canada.

How was your week? Was the weather warmer than you’d like? Did you have a chance to get to the mainland to see the kids?

Our weather has been warm again the last few days. It makes me very grateful for A/C when temps are in the 30s. I like to be outside when it’s working though because cold air blowing around makes me shiver. I sit on the deck with a book and a coffee to enjoy the heat. I don’t work in the yard though, exertion in heat like that is a killer. My body doesn’t handle overheated very well anymore. I wait for evenings and mornings to garden.

We’ve had air quality alerts with all the smoke hanging around from the many forest fires between Saskatchewan, here, and western Ontario. We don’t have nearly as many fires as you do in BC but still, there’s been enough smoke to reduce visibility and turn what sun we could see orange. We’ve had rain with thunder and lightning where I live. The rain seems to be localized. Some areas get it and others don’t. The farmers are having a hard time of it. Some are selling off their herds as they are having trouble with feeding them.

One of my neighbors has been replacing part of his fence due to the weather. It had a definite list to it after one of the big storms whipping through at the end of May. The wind can get really wild around here with major storms . Watching the poor trees taking a beating and listening to roar of the wind, always makes me think of being out on the water. Between the number of years spent near the ocean in North Vancouver, Prince Rupert, and then Chemainus, there must be scary memories buried somewhere in my subconscious data bank.

I guess the ocean wasn’t the only place we experienced scary times. One year, when Gerald was four months old, we were camping in a tent at Mara Lake in the Okanagan. A big storm whipped up on the lake, strong enough to take out trees. We were hiding in our tent through it all, fortunately we were in the middle of a field and it didn’t last long. The campers parked among the trees closer to the beach were not as lucky, several had trees fall on them (the vehicles, not the people, thankfully.) I’ll never forget that trip.

The other strong memory I have from that holiday was staying among the trees (apricots) in an orchard turned campground. That’s what you call diversification. It was at the south end of Okanagan Lake on the eastern shore. It was pretty and different. It was hot too. So hot that my can of baby formula was wrecked. Who knew? I was a new mom with little baby food experience.

Of course, this also reminds me of our first summer camping trip about six years earlier. We were headed to Regina for a visit with Dave’s sister and we camped overnight in Jasper. It never crossed our minds to think that we would freeze to death in our tent in summer in the middle of the Rocky Mountain forest. We were fast learners, let me tell you. Not a whole lot of sleep that night. We travelled on hoping to stop for the night somewhere in Saskatchewan never realizing there would be no tress to speak of. We were spoiled with BC forest campgrounds. Not finding any trees, we opted for a motel room. We were more experienced on the return trip.

Lots of good camping experiences. I could share memories all night but I’d better quit.

I am doing well, in spite of the heat. Life is quiet around here. The biggest excitement currently, aside from the fence, is the bunny eating all the tender plants in the neighborhood. I have a feeling he’s alone and sticks pretty close to places he knows. Sad for us.

Have a great weekend.

Still praying God’s blessing and strength for you and your family.

♥ J

Photo by GEORGE DESIPRIS on Pexels.com

This and that July 22, 2021

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

I have no new suggestions today. Some days are just like that and I’ve decided I’m OK with it.

I think my goal for the moment needs to be – reduce the line up of books waiting to be read.

It’s gradually gotten out of hand and I’m finding it overwhelming, if I’m being honest. I can hear someone saying – it took you long enough. What can I say. I’m a sucker for books 🙂 Anyway, I purposely haven’t done a deep dive today looking for bargains.

Moving on,

The last number of weeks I’ve spent a significant amount of time watching podcasts and while I’ve enjoyed them I’m realizing there is a down side to this kind of indulgence. Many (not all) of the sites I’ve subscribed to are built around the state of world news. Between opinions and an over abundance of information there comes a point where enough is too much. I feel weighed down, and distracted. There are other things requiring my attention and I haven’t been able to do them justice.

This blog has been affected the most by this stealing of reading/writing time. My mind feels foggy and empty. It takes a good amount of thinking time to have something to say. It takes input too. The trouble with the podcasts is the political subject matter. I don’t write about politics and the abundance of input produces no fruit in my world.

Reading, on the other hand, always spurs some kind of usable thinking.

I’m going on a podcast diet, cutting way back on time spent and it’s helping. With more time devoted to reading, the fog seems to be lifting enough to make comments.

During last nights post, I found I’d inadvertently started a new read with the novella belonging between books 1 and 2 in the Culper Ring series. I was too far into it to avoid the spoiler so I went ahead and finished it. Going back to the beginning, I’m now half way through book one and while the novella has given away one aspect of the ending it hasn’t spoiled the whole book for me. It is still a good read with lots of unexpected action.

Another decision in the back-to-reading restrictive diet was concerning my TBR list of neglected Non-fiction downloads.

Earmarking an hour devoted to Non-fiction reading seemed like a reasonable way to make some headway. The Power of Writing It Down is my pick for current read and I’m almost to the end of the first chapter.

This read definitely takes more work, that’s for sure. The author packs every single page full with thoughts, concepts, and information. A number of things stood out for me, right from page one.

I need time to chew on them before I can make comment.

There was one thought towering above the rest, though.

Research shows that thought patterns and tasks performed thousand of times create a rut or neural pathway and without conscious thought the mind automatically goes there. It’s discouraging to think that without thought these ruts lead us to unhealthy places. On the plus side: research also shows that with conscious choosing of different, healthier paths, performed enough times, over time they can overwrite and replace the old unhealthy paths.

This idea resonates with me more than usual. I think it’s because, even before reading this book, I’ve found myself practicing new patterns of thought and actions this summer. I’ve noticed myself making different decisions and choices and I’m pretty happy thinking about what it means going forward. I’ve been praying for healing and it appears to be on the way.

Read and current reads

Happy Reading y’all