Happy Fall everyone

Well, Saturday was the first day of fall (Autumn for some of you formal folks), and it is time for all things, harvest, Halloween, and the last holiday, Thanksgiving.

I will not say that I enjoyed my summer, nor do I hate it either.  My summer was so-so.  I cannot say anything about my summer at all, except this.

First of all, my July 4^th was wonderful yet hateful at the same time.  The way I planned my summer was to lay low from June 21^st to July 18^th, travel to Orlando, Florida for all things family reunion and Disney, ending the rest of the summer in this “catch up on my business and revamp where I can” type of summer until the first of September 1^st.   Instead, my parents did not want to travel to Florida, I had not saved for Florida, and neither did my brother, sister, and nephew.  I did not get to see my city’s Red, White, and Boom celebration because my parents and I were in their hometown of Tuscaloosa and Moundville, Alabama.  Mom did well coming and going, but the hotel was not the most promising.  In fact, we ended up changing hotels in the middle of the week.

The first hotel was a hot mess dot com.  We arrived at a less than quality Howard Johnson, at 4808 Skyland Blvd E, Tuscaloosa, AL 35405.  They were in the middle of a room renovation, switching out television sets, peeling walls, worst breakfast in the history of me having the worst breakfast, bad handicap bathrooms (mom needed one) I ever seen, and I have been in some bad hotels.  We stayed there until about Tuesday of that week.  Next hotel was actually a better deal with a nice room, a couch, handicap bathroom on point (except I missed my bathtub) and had to stay in the room with the parents.  The first one, I had my own room. This room was spacious for three of us.  The only things I hated about that room in addition to the shower deal, I was catching an allergy/cold that lasted all summer (last week I finally am starting to feel like myself again) and dad snoring on some nights (He had the c-pap machine, but he did not use it, what was that all about?)

The 4^th was spent at one of my uncles’ house, and he threw down with the food.  We had ribs, chicken, brats, corn on the cob, spaghetti with meat sauce, greens, desert, baked beans, and watermelon. There was Potato salad, macaroni salad, and a few other things that I could not remember.  We visited my aunt in Bessemer, AL, and I had TCBY for dessert one night (that company decided to close up in Central Ohio, it was one of my favorite places to eat Froyo.)   

I took off for August.  I prepared to write posts, but I did not publish anything.  Look for those to come at the end of the month.  I did not vlog anything or create anything. I was preparing for this month, but this month, I did not much either.  So, it is now the time to get back to work full time.

Pigeon Forge, TN (Copyright
2015 P.Lynne Designs

Fall in love with a forever changing blog….

New in this blog:

Starting October 1^st, I will break this blog into segments.  I have been meaning to do this, but as I was not sure how to do it, especially with it being in Blogger format.  I have been researching other blogs and found that everyone was able to break off their subjects into different segments.  One reason is for an organization and the other is, so I know what keywords to put for my readers to be able to find a post.  The segments are:

-          Motivational Mondays- Encouragement from writing your first post to anything that has to do with you and writing your masterpiece.  The first piece of this newly minted day is on Humility.  Look for it next Monday.

-          Tip Tuesday- Enough said, but it has to do with tips on writing, except on journaling.  I will save those for ….

-          Write it Down Wednesdays- (honestly, there are no days of the week that goes with journaling).  I addressed this one of my posts.  I recently started a series on journaling.  I had so much fun tackling this subject until I want to write about it at least once a week. 

-          Throw Back Thursdays- This is a post that I can update or a subject that I previously posted about and give it a new twist.  No, this is not another chance for me to attack Abby Lee Miller (I wish her well in her cancer treatments), but this is for posts that promote motivation, writing and other stuff related to the current status of my blog.

-          Facebook Fridays – Well, it is for more than just Facebook, it is for all of the social media, at least the big six (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube). I did a series a couple years ago on social media as I know it, and I recently wrote about Facebook as an updated version of that series.  Again, like the journaling series, I had fun writing it until I want to write on the subject for a while.

-          I will skip Saturday and Sunday, which would be a good time for me to do a Social Media Saturday or Sunday, but I want to spend time with family and friends and to regroup from the week. 

That is it for now.  As for Fall…

·         Embrace all of what fall brings. 

·         This is bonfire weather, pass the popcorn and apple cider while you read a book under a cozy blanket weather. 

·         Leaves are falling, and kids are ready to jump into a pile of them. 

·         Time to find that costume for the end of October.

·         And finally, have a bountiful feast consist of turkey, stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, and Pumpkin or Sweet Potato Pie. Do not forget to give back to those who have to do without.

Be grateful the little things.  Again, Happy Fall/Autumn.  Be safe, warm, and God Bless.

Orlando

(c) 2016 P. Lynne Designs

I have no words about this week, just like I had no words when 9 people were killed last year, during a bible study.  I am sad.  I am sad for this country and this world.  The killings were no different, then when school children were gunned down while in school in Sandy Brook or Columbine, or Virginia Tech and the school in Oregon.  They were no different when a gunman went to a military base in Texas and killed people.  I can even say that these killings are no different than 9/11, or when Michael Brown, Travon Martin, or Sandra Bland were killed. 

They are all the same to me, and the all too familiar scenario goes a little like this:  Someone got hurt.  Maybe it was an injustice, a law change, or a simple color of someone’s skin or lifestyle that trigger that hurt.  It could have been a mental illness (I hear voices that told me that it is right to do it). It followed hatred.  Hatred towards that group of people.  Next, comes the preplanning. “Where can I do it, and who can I do it to that hurt the least amount of people?” Preplanning also involves making the purchase of guns, ammo, training.  After all of that, and finding a target, then the act will commence.  An ordinary workday, a night out on the town, or a school day. 

People are getting ready to go about their day.  Children getting ready for school (Sandy Brook and Columbine), People getting ready for a day of work (9/11), students getting ready for classes (Virginia Tech), and people getting ready for a night out (Pulse Nightclub and Paris, France).  They kiss their loved ones, and off they go.  People are learning, working, or having fun.  All of a sudden, everything changes for the worst possible moment.  A shooting, a routine traffic stop gone bad (Sandra Bland), a walk home gone bad (Travon Martin), bombs going off (9/11, Paris France, and Boston Marathon).  Utter chaos erupts. People are hurt, forever disfigured, or killed.    In the next few days, weeks, and months followed, lives are changed, funerals, memorials, and plans for better security are made. 

Here is my question for all who read this:  Where are those plans now?  It is the job of the administrators and leaders of this country and the world to come up with a viable solution that not only deter these people from doing harm to the general public but, make a peaceful coexistence for all.  It does not matter what race you are, gender, creed, belief, sexual orientation, or race, one of our jobs as humans is to try to peacefully coexist with our environment and with each other.

The president came up with a plan that bans the use of automatic weapons.  He did not say that you cannot own a gun, such as a rifle (manual-think westerns) or handguns (I can think of a Saturday Night Special).  Automatic guns are the kind where you put your finger on the trigger and you only have to pump one time, and multiple bullets come out.  A semi-automatic is slightly different.  That is all I know about guns. The NRA (the National Rifle Association), is a good old boy’s organization, which thinks that the president is going after their 2^nd amendment rights to bear arms.  You will still have the right to bear arms, and to protect yourselves, and to hunt for sport (although I do not see why for sport when you got to eat), to me, you do not have the right to own an automatic weapon.  Why would you have one in the first place, when it is made for combat and military use ONLY, O-N-L-Y.   

I have written a comment (a letter) to the wife of the minister in Sacramento, CA, who said in his sermon, that “Orlando is now safer since 50 Pedophiles were killed in a nightclub.”  This letter is what sparked this post in the first place, because, I had said all I had to say on Facebook, Twitter, and in person.  I had to write it on their family blog page because their church did not have a comments section on their blog.  Don’t worry, I did not blast him out.  I simply reminded her to remind him of the compassion that Jesus Christ showed all people, and to not hate the person, but the act. I have made a copy of comment, and is listed below:

“Mrs.  Jimenez, I come to you with deep concern for your husband as he leads your congregation towards showing Christ's love towards others.  Christ teaches us as Christians to love one another.  You do not have to love the sin that a person does, BUT love the person anyway.  We all need a reminder of that.
When I heard on the news of the things that your husband said about Orlando, Florida in his sermon, I was very dishearten.  I thought to myself "please tell me he did not say what I thought he said."  How could he say that Orlando is a little safer because 50 Pedophiles were killed in a nightclub?  These are not the words of Christ, because, Christ teaches us to love the person despite the sin. He taught us to love people, so to say that Orlando is a lot safer does not show love nor compassion.  It shows hatred towards the person who has committed the sin.
Mrs. Jimenez, I do not know your husband and his heart, only God does, and I am not here to show that hatred towards him.  I have nothing but prayers for him, for you, and for your family and your congregation.  I am not part of that community, I am straight, African American female who is a United Methodist in Columbus, Ohio (although it does not matter what denomination I am).  My minister, on his last day at my church, as he and his family are moving to a new appointment, Sunday, encouraged us all to have compassion and prayers for not only the City of Orlando, but for the victims, friends and families of all who were killed, that they may be comforted.  My minister, as well as I, do not believe that any of them are pedophiles, but people who are trying to have a good time that night.  No one knows these people's hearts but God.  They may have confessed their sins as they took their last breaths.  You may never know.
May God bless you and your family for now and forever.  I wish you well, and I will be praying for you and your city and congregation as well.”

I hope this was a misunderstanding, as the news media has a tendency to take things out of context, and sensationalize it.  I like to believe that Pastor Jimenez has the love of Christ in his heart, and again that this was all a misunderstanding.  We, as Christians have to really watch what we say to others, me included.

#prayersforOrlando