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.

Motivational Monday: Humility (or How to be Humble)

Hello, today starts what I hope will be a more structured blog.  I have been thinking about how to make my blog better for readers and I think I have come up with a solution to my problems with my blogs, Constancy and sustaining a topic.  The topics I have come up with for the rest of the year should be able to motivate you to try new things in the writing world, entrepreneurship (which includes possibly being an author of your own book), updating your social media posts and profile, and other things that will help you be a better you.

I will tell you in a later post on how and why I decided to change the theming of this blog, and I hope you bear with me as I decide rather leave this blog on the current platform or to switch to another one (WordPress or Tumblr).  I already have an account for both platforms, it is just a matter of what makes sense to me, my business, and my audience.

Now that I have gotten formalities out of the way, today’s topic is about humility or the act of being humble.

Most of my Motivational Monday’s will be on what I have heard the Sunday before in church.  I will try not to get too preachy or too much into what the scriptures say, but I am not ashamed of who I believe in, and I am not going to water it down, either.

This is my definition of humility:  to give of one’s self and to help others achieve their best self.  Now here are examples of that:

Say you are attending a PTA meeting (PTO in some places) and there is a call of action for volunteers at a bake sale.  New books are needed for the library because the ones that are there are torn and battered, and they need a little TLC. You volunteer for the bake sale and other fundraisers which are needed to put books on the shelves at your child’s library.  At the end of the school year, the president decides to recognize some hard-working parents and other family members of students, but your name is not mentioned at all.  Perhaps the president looked over you but given how many times you decide that you should run the many fundraisers that the school had, recognition was not needed.  You leave in a huff, and your friend, whose child also attends the school, ask you what the matter is.  You tell her that the PTA president did not say that she was so grateful for your efforts in running the many fundraisers for the school year, and you are not volunteering for another thing.   Is this an act of humility? This, by the way, happened to me when I was a teen, only it was not a PTA situation, but I volunteered to print off cards for members of the publicity team to hand out to people in recognition of their birthday during service.  Boy, did I get an earful from my mom, and I left out of the sanctuary in a huff because no one during service did not say, “and we want to thank Patti Logan for the printing of the cards.”  This was the humbling moment that I remember still (yes, I am still a member).

How about this:  The chairperson who runs the food pantry is looking for volunteers to help out with giving out clothes for a clothing drive or to donate clothes for those who need it.  You decide not to because you do not want to help out anyone who may be smelly, missing teeth, or should have a job lined up for them and going to work and besides that, your pink and purple dress does not belong on someone who is going to smell it up even more.  First of all, it is rude to try to figure out what a person does with the clothes and second, is this practicing humility?  Let these two examples marinate in your soul for a moment.

I have watched my mother all my life, including the times when we were in transit (Military term for waiting for your base housing).  She has taken people to go shopping, when the spouse has their car, or they have no car at all.  Tech sergeants sometimes did not make much money to afford a decent car, especially if they had a family.  I was friends with a girl a couple years younger than me, and not only they did not have decent clothes to wear, but they were being made fun of as well.  I could have done the same thing, but I did not.  Her stepfather was abusive because he did not have the money to feed her and her siblings (one who was a baby) and wife.  I think as soon as they moved, the parents were getting a divorce.  He even threatens to beat me one time for no reason.  Even when we moved to our present location, my mother has taken food to the sick, help out in our church’s food pantry, taught Sunday School and so forth, without complaining or crying about how much time she was taking time away from her own family.  We did not suffer from that humility.  Mom has never asked for payment for gas and sometimes will not take it if the person offered.  I try to do as much as I can without question too. I never ask for gas money. 

This is the art of humility.  I am not bragging about what I do, and I do not ask for recognition either.  I do not try to run things when something is already set up.  If the head of an organization ask for me to lead it, I make it a joint effort because someone may have better ideas then I do, especially if this is my first time doing it.  Sure, if someone wants to say I helped or say that I lead something, that is on them.  I will stand up and immediately sit back down.  I want the focus to be on the program or the event, not on me. 

Being humble also means excepting help when you need it.  Do not turn that person or organization down.  This is the part I have a hard time doing because I am so used to being independent, but sometimes I have to let people do their thing because there are so many people who do not and will not care for a person.  If that person sees you struggling, and they want to help, explain to them what is going on

if you trust them.  If not, except the “gift” anyway, thank them, and move on.  You may need that extra boost, pick-me-up, or that extra $10.  There are a lot of people who want to Pay it Forward.  It is their way of giving back.

There are a couple of scriptures that support on how God feels about humility, and the first one says; “Humble yourselves, then under God’s mighty hand, so he will lift you up in His own good time.  Leave all your worries with Him because He cares for you”. 1 Peter 5: 6-7.  The second one is, “When Pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Proverbs 11:2. Both verses mean you should not be so proud of yourself that you are not willing to help others.  You are given grace and God will lift up you to where you need to be in your journey.  Proverbs sums it up to say when you are humble, you will have the wisdom of doing the right thing for God and others and not for self.  There are more but I need another whole post to explain it all.  These two scriptures just spoke to me.

Takeaway:  I urge you to volunteer and help someone without saying a word.  You not only help others, but you will learn about yourself in the progress, and it does not have to be in a shelter, a food pantry, or school fundraiser.  You can volunteer by just encouraging others and give of your expertise without asking for anything in return.  That is the best part of being humble is when that return is not expected.

Have a good day, and God bless.

Renewing old habits

I am renewing something that I use to do.  It is a habit that I almost took up religiously.  I had a very distinct routine, and dare I miss one day of it.  The good news is that it was good for me, and I loved every minute of it.  You want to know what it is.   Well wait for it…wait for it…still waiting for it?

OK….

It is tap dancing.  Yes, if you have been following my blog for a while, you know I took ballet and jazz, but I am a tapper also.  I will not say used to, because once you are a tapper, it never leaves you.  The only problem is the last pair of tap shoes is a size 4 ½ and I am a 6-6 ½.  They tell you when you are fitted with tap shoes that your shoes need to be a half size bigger than your street shoe size.  I am sure that I will be comfortable wearing a size 6 ½ shoe size, because my feet are also narrow width, not average width.

Now you may be wondering why I decided to renew this habit.  Well for one thing, it is good exercise.  It increases the blood flow, and tap dancing is like running.  Once you get the combos together (and I thank the YouTube tappers for that), and your heart is racing.  At one point, I had an athletic heart, if you can call it that, because once you flap, shuffle, piddle-diddle, and wing yourself into shape, you heart rate is that of a runner.  I have developed high blood pressure since my last performance as a dancer (all three types) at Susie’s Dance Studio, I had to ask my doctor if it was ok, and of course she said yes.    I am just taking it in strive as I renew my habit. 

My first song I am dancing to is Uptown Funk by Mark Robinson, featuring Bruno Mars.  I could turn it into a jazz contemporary number as well.  I am not sure about it being a ballet number yet.  I am not auditioning to be on So You Think You Can Dance any time soon. There are no other dance competitions I can go to, and since Abby Lee Miller is not excepting adults, I think I will stay at home, unless I decide to try the exercise place in the next town that offers a class, which uses the ballet barre.