"It's a Wonderful Life"...

I'm sitting here watching "It's a Wonderful Life".  It is one of my most favorite Christmas movies.  How many of us, if given the chance, would like to see what Life would be like if we didn't exist?  George Bailey was one of the good guys.  He was self-less.  He sacrificed his adventure, college, and his career dreams for the people of  Bedford Falls. He could have left town with his friends, but he stayed.  I wonder what would have happened to George and the people of Bedford Falls if he had left town, gone to college, built all those wonderful things he imagined. 

We all have choices to make in life.   Who we marry, where we go to school (if we go to school), do we take the job that gets us by or our dream job?  No one has a crystal ball to see where we will end up.  How are you living your life?   Do you think of others first, how your decisions and choices will affect those around you?  Or do you make your decisions based on what is best for you?  

It seems like George gets the raw end of the deal.  Every time he tries to leave Bedford Falls, he gets pulled back in from one crisis or another.  And yet he has built relationships with people.  Offered them opportunities to own their own homes, helped them when they struggled, and treated them as friends.  And though he didn't have monetary wealth, he was truly the richest man in town.  He was loved and when he was in a rough spot, those he had helped rallied around him.  Many would say that is karma.

The moral of this fictional story - treat others as you wish to be treated... even if....   

I sat on Santa's lap today and he asked me what I wanted for Christmas.  I thought for a moment and then said, "I wish people would be nice to one another."  A pipe dream?  Probably, but I truly meant it.  There is too much meanness in this world.  Be kind for we all have our own battles to wage.  

So, if only for the next 22 days, let us be kind.

Merry Christmas, 

Linda

So many thoughts for the first of December 2011...

There are so many thoughts and ideas running through my brain.  Such is the life of a writer!  Having a vivid imagination doesn't help matters much.  A good example is during a recent visit to a local museum, "characters" and a story line started creeping out from the shadows of my imagination!  Someday you might get a chance to "meet the gang" as they plot to steal works of art in "Heist at the Haggin".  I even enlisted the help from a couple of friends in my "research" as we toured the museum. 


Writers can be inspired by so many things.  Another plot I have in my "notebook" came from watching a couple walking on the beach at Pacifica.  I imagined they were newlyweds on their honeymoon.  The woman had never seen the ocean and her husband was all too happy to  introduce her to it.  She would get to the edge and then gleefully run back as the waves as they chased her.  Being a writer can be a curse and a blessing. :)


December
Switching gears....  December is a month filled with various religious holidays.  It is also a time when stress, commercialism, and angst abound.  Let's make this December different.  
I challenge you this Advent season to set aside your grievances, the pettiness, holding onto grudges, all those negative thoughts and for the next month choose to be joy-filled.  If someone or something annoys you, let it go.  Choose to be cheerful, grateful, joyful.  However you choose to celebrate this December, bring joy to those around you.  


I know there are those of you who are in mourning.   The holidays, especially Christmas, bring a mixed bag of emotions.  Know that I am praying for you, praying peace for your grieving soul.  There is good news, but it can wait for awhile.  Embrace your grief, wrestle with it, get angry, and then, if you need to, let the tears flow.  If you need a shoulder, call me.  I know your grief -I have my own.  


Until tomorrow... choose joy!  It is much better than the alternative.  :)


Faith and Peace -
Linda

Hello!

Hello!  I have taken the proverbial plunge into the blogging world.  Writing has been a passion of mine since the third grade.  I saw the fulfillment of my dream when "Carolyn's Search" was published in 2004.  It was amazing and scary and awesome!  Barnes and Noble in Stockton was gracious in allowing me to have a book signing event at their store.  People actually bought the book AND asked me to sign them!!   It was a great feeling of accomplishment.


This blog will be a smattering of my thoughts, writings, and hopefully news of upcoming books!  I have a couple of manuscripts in varying stages of completion and look forward to having at least of them ready for printing by next summer.


Bear with me as I figure out this blog business!


Faith and peace, 
Linda


Favorite quote: "Remember in the darkness what God has taught you in the Light."