It’s not the first of the Year, and there is a switch off

Hello, and welcome to my last post of 2018.  Usually, I would try to do a recap of my top posts and reminisce the fun I had in writing each one of these posts.  Not this year.  Why?  Because I have stop and started a consistent schedule so many times on this blog (as well as on the other blogs) until I am driving myself crazy.

Today IS the last post of 2018, but I took this past week off to reflect on myself (and my business) and I am coming up with some ideas that not only will help me but help you as well.

First off, I am changing my schedule for Wednesday.  It is no longer going to be writing Wednesday for just journaling ideas.  That will still be there.  I am switching journaling to Thursday (I hate #TBT (Throwback Thursday)).  Instead, What I want to do is have written for everything that I represent, which includes Ghost Writing, Non-Fiction writing, and research to name a few. 

Thursday will look like this:  Journaling.  I like this non-rhyming day because I do not know what type of journaling you do.  I may have topics that allow you to do a throwback Thursday moment.

Friday is still a social media day.  I will have tips and I will have blog tips as well.

Monday will be still motivational Monday, but I am switching it to every other Monday.  On the days that I do not have a Motivational Monday, I will be working on blog posts for my other blogs, At Home with Tricia's Baskets and P. Lynne Designs. Hopefully, this is also one of the days that I will be listing something new on my Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, and soon to be completed website.

Tuesday is still Tip Tuesday, but the tips will be for only writing and anything that is written in this blog.  Other tips that I have done will take their place on At Home with Tricia's Baskets and P. Lynne Designs. Hopefully, I will be doing videos as well on my YouTube Channel.

Speaking of YouTube, the highlights of videos will be on this blog, since every time I post one it also appears on this blog.  I will share tips of my adventures with that as well.   I recently had to erase a video I was editing because the audio was not syncing with the rest of the video at all, so I tossed the whole thing.  So, I have no videos for the month of December.  Hey, it happens sometimes.  Could I have re-recorded it?  Yes, I could, but in this case, I had already put my haul into circulation, and not everything is where it should be.  If I find them by the time I create my next video, I will probably squeeze them in.  It was on my Erin Condren haul of the latest mystery surprise box and my new planner.

Saturday will be a catch all day.  This means if there is something that I forgot to mention on the blog during the week, it will be mentioned on that day.

Sunday is a day of family, church, and in the evening, tying up the loose ends.

So, this is a short post to wish you all a very blessed beginning to 2019.  My thoughts and prayers are that you make this new year something that brings you joy, peace, inspiration, new beginnings, and new relationships.

• Joy. Find the joy inside of you.  Joy is not something that can be bought in a store for that joy is temporary.  Joy to me is something you think about and immediately a smile comes over your face.  You may give a little giggle and people ask you what’s the joke you are thinking about.  Joy may be a person you see, perhaps your children when they get excited about something they just did for the first time.
• Peace.  Peace to me is a feeling of calmness like everything is going to be ok. Peace is needed, but you cannot ask the next person to help you find that peace.  Like joy, it has to be found inside of you, even when the world is in chaos.  You can find physical peace, such as a relaxing bath, a massage, or even in a beauty routine.  Peace helps you get started for the day.  For this is why I do not turn on the news.
• Inspiration.  Inspiration or to Inspire is to me joy and peace put together.  Inspiration is a divine thought, word or deed.  Inspiration is creative and creation within itself, something that is of God.  So, is creating a painting, a song, a dance, or a spoken or written word inspiration?  It can be, if it makes someone happy, brings joy, and/or offers peace to all who see or hear it.  Be an inspiration to those who need it.
• New Beginnings.  Often times we make a resolution to become better than the year before.  Why is that?  Is there something you did not like about yourself in 2018?  This is when we write out or tell someone that there are changes coming for 2019.  What I wrote for you at the beginning of this post is a resolution or goal for this blog.  When we say resolution, it is sort of a kick in the gut of something that you have been promising yourself all year.  Why not call it a goal?  Goals are nicer, and it does not have to be for a year.  Make them long-term and short-term goals with no date in sight. 
• New Relationships.  This part is a little tricky for me because this is reserved for At Home with Tricia's Baskets.  Since that blog deals with the relationship of the family.  I am talking about relationships with strangers, the people who you do not know, and who may view your works, should you decide to become an author of a published book.  It can be possible, especially when you put your mind to it.  I never dreamed of writing on a blog almost every day, but I am.  Finding a new relationship can be as simple as a love of writing or any hobby. 

OK, I said that this was short and sweet, and it ended up over 1,150 words. (Yes, I have a word count on MS Word) and I love it.  My niece cat, Gizmo is going ham on my keys and her ball and having fun just batting on them and rolling it around. Watching her and writing this gives me something to do while I am waiting on my sister and her daughter to get here.  (The cat is actually my nephew and girlfriend’s cat).      

Well, like I said, Happy New Year, and may God richly bless you in this coming year.

You Give Me Joy…

“There beauty in my brokenness,

I have true love instead of pain.

There’s freedom though you’ve capture me,

I got joy instead of mourning.”

You give me joy….

(c) 2015 P. Lynne Designs

These are the words I have been listening to lately.  The song “Joy” is by VaShawn Mitchell, who is an African-American gospel singer.  He is one of my favorite singers to date, and I have enjoyed many of his songs.  In case you are not familiar with this type of song, it is referred to as a praise and worship song.  You are praising God for many of his blessings.  In no lately, especially now, this world we live in is changing so rapidly, until it is hard to keep up.  I do not try to anymore.  I have stopped with the “freedom posts”, as I like to call them.  I have not said one bad thing about President Trump, even though I dislike the man for what he is doing right now.  He is no President Obama. 

In my last posts, it says it all, when a person is unhappy with something, do not complain about it, for it might fall on deaf ears.  If you need to complain about it, go to the right person, mainly the person who is in charge of the thing that you have the complaint about.  Who knows, things may change.

Try to find the joy in everything that you do, even a simple, mundane task.  One day, if you are patient things, will change. What do I mean about that?

You have heard of me talking about my businesses on this blog.  What you do not know is how hard it is to market to someone.  I have been doing things for free, mainly for my church and other areas.  Well, I am finally getting paid with my first paying job.  I am helping a friend of mine celebrated her birthday by making her invitations.  It is a small price to pay all this time, but it was well worth it.  I have been paid before by making cards for relatives, and they have paid me something after I insist that I do it for free.  It is the little things that count. 

So, when I hear words like, “There beauty in my brokenness”, it is my testimony to say that there were times when I did not know where to turn.  I have been broken because of something that I have done, said, or something that someone or something has been done to me. When I look back on the broken times, I find joy in it today.  Why?  Because I have survived it.  It did not kill me, even though there were a couple of times when I wanted to end it all. “I found true love instead of pain” is also a testimony because I found out that there is someone who loves me through all of this.

As a teen, I had low esteem.  I did not like myself.  I felt I was too short for most of the things I wanted to do, which was to model and to be an actress.  I wanted to be a Rockette, all tall jobs.  Over the years, I found that it takes special training to be all those jobs.  I also found out there are short actresses out here, short dancers (I met all the requirements of a Rockette except the tall part), and you have to practically starve yourself as a model.  I found jobs that make me happy.  I forgot about modeling and being a Rockette.  I do not think that my ankles will allow me to be one now.

You have to find joy in your life if you are going to make it in life.  I talk about that all the time. 

There’s Freedom though you captured me

Did you know you are free to do anything you want to do?  There are so many opportunities out in the world for employment now more than even 20 years ago.  I do not see the irony of sitting around and doing nothing but causing problems.  Yes, I know about the police, but that is a different story and one that I have covered in the past year.  Yes, I am also angry that the police officers who shot those people get to walk while whole families and communities suffer the loss of their loved one.  You have to understand that these cops will get theirs, if not now, soon.  There is a much bigger plan that neither you nor I can handle.  Entrepreneurship has allowed me to do what I want to do in life, which lead to me being able to do my friend’s invitations.

Takeaway Moment:

Find something that gives you joy, peace of mind, and a sense of self.  If you read books that tell you to find your own happiness, take it to heart.  Sometimes, when a person has low self-esteem, you could be that person who brings them out of it.  If not, there is a much deeper problem that neither you or the person you are trying to help cannot handle.

I know you must think this post is mainly for Christians, but it is not.  This post is for anyone who believes in making peace with themselves, rather you believe in God or who you call God.

(c) 2015 P. Lynne Designs

Please take the time to seek out what you need to find peace with.  Take time to find joy in your life.  Take time to find you.