Life and Writing Chronicles 04-30-2015.

THE DEFINITION OF LIFE: A JOURNALING PROMPT

I define life in this fashion: It's a series of blessings to be counted.

Every moment has multiple blessings, if only we search for them. If we were to do this with every moment of our lives, we would live the best life possible, a supremely blessed one that is acknowledged and counted as blessed. 

Journal your thoughts.

Count your blessings. List as many as you can. 

SINAN THE CAT
(APRIL 29, 2015: A VERY IMPORTANT DATE)

04-29-2015 was an important date. Our orange Maine Coon cat, Sinan, turned six years old. So, now he is older than me in cat years, but younger than B. He was given extra attention and wished a happy birthday, in which he looked a combination of annoyed and confused. He didn't care for the extra attention, after all it was not on his terms or time clock. Poor Puttins. 

I gave him an extra dose of playing flying fish on a stick and string, though,which cheered him right up, jumping high, going in circles, pouncing, somersaults, and running. It was a cat's paradise and ideal workout program. Sinan was then quite pleased. 

What a joy Sinan had been. He has one of the best personalities and is guaranteed to do something goofy to make B and I laugh out loud at least once a day. He is also a sensitive soul and knows anytime something is wrong with anyone in the household and he tries to take care of them. He's playful and talkative. His vocabulary amazes me. Never mind how he is too smart for his own good. What a blessing he is and has been. 

He was found by a cat rescue as a tiny kitten, he and his siblings, by the railroad tracks in Iowa. We adopted him in August. He was fourteen weeks old or so. So, he was our first rescue. We are not sure if we rescued him or if he rescued us. 

I cannot picture life without him. He adds depth and love to our lives, never mind joy and sometimes frustration. He is not a destructive cat, but his curiosity can get him into trouble where he accidentally hurts something. For instance, at an unfamiliar house, he wanted to jump onto the ledge which opened to the downward stairway. Since he hadn't jumped up there before, he didn't realize he could fall all the way through, and fall down the stairs to the bottom, if he didn't make his landing a perfect ten on the ledge. 

Well, let's just say there were houseplants there. He tried to grab one of the pots to break his fall, which meant the pot ended up somehow falling down the stairs and breaking into several pieces and it made one massive mess. Sinan was mortified. B and I wanted to wring his neck since it was not our house or plant. But, he knew he made a mistake. He didn't run. He waited for us to find him and he faced his scolding like a lion. We cleaned the mess, went to the store to fix what the cat did, and went back to the house to fix it and love on Mr. Mischievous. 

Never mind how he jumped on top of the fridge, didn't realize it was cold, slippery, or dusty and he slid right off in surprise, fell to the floor, unharmed except his pride. 

Or, do we need to tell how he loves the daily newspaper. He jumps on the table, buries himself under it, pushes it into the air, and onto the floor so he can wrestle with it and pounce on it? And, need I mention, the paper isn't ours, but is the paper of the house we are staying? (Ugh.) That accidentally destructive part I mentioned earlier...

Also, Sinan is the protector of our domain. He alerts us if he hears anything out of the ordinary and will growl and put himself between us and the threat (usually a perceived threat). He is quite alert and takes good care of us. This is one of his best qualities. 

Sinan is a character, that is for sure. What a blessing, though! Thank God for him in our lives. Laughter, love, and memories. 

CURRENT WRITING PROJECT

I am working on a new project, on top of the A SEARCH FOR HOPE project. I started it yesterday. I will let you know more about it once I get to 30,000 words. I want to make sure it is one I see through to the finish. 

WORD COUNT PROGRESS

2,299 words done of 1,000 words due on 04.29.2015.

NEWS AND CURRENT EVENTS (FOR AWARENESS AND PRAYER POINTS)

In order these articles were found:

1
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/curtis-houck/2015/04/28/cnns-brooke-baldwin-blames-veterans-becoming-cops-police-violence

2
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/ken-shepherd/2015/04/27/msnbcs-chris-atthews-blames-right-work-states-part-baltimore-rioting

3
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-hollingsworth/author-persecuted-christians-middle-east-are-defying-isis-their

4
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2015/04/28/baltimore-mayor-getting-heat-over-space-to-destroy-remarks-n1991756

5
http://townhall.com/columnists/michaelreagan/2015/04/29/another-coverup-for-the-religion-of-peace-n1992112

6
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/04/30/report-freddie-gray-may-have-intentionally-tried-to-injure-self-in-police-van/?cmpid=NL_morninghl

7
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/04/30/rescue-crew-pulls-survivor-from-rubble-5-days-after-nepal-quake/?intcmp=HPBucket

8
http://townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/2015/04/30/tell-people-theyre-victims--theyll-act-like-victims-n1992182?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&newsletterad=

9
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2015/04/29/friendly-reminder-52-percent-of-democrats-view-socialism-favorably-n1992316

10
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/danieldoherty/2015/04/29/mother-of-the-year-i-was-trying-to-save-my-sons-life-n1992201

11
http://townhall.com/columnists/victordavishanson/2015/04/30/an-ironic-drought-in-california-n1992114

12
http://cnsnews.com/commentary/l-brent-bozell-iii/obamas-bucket-contempt

13
http://cnsnews.com/blog/michael-morris/gallup-less-1-adult-population-part-same-sex-couple

14
http://www.ijreview.com/2015/04/309128-scotus-alito-gay-marriage-could-lead-to-polygamy/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningnewsletter

15
http://www.ijreview.com/2015/04/308815-democrat-milwaukee-sheriff-baltimore-riots-failed-liberal-policies-fault/

16
http://www.ijreview.com/2015/04/308488-theres-no-excuse-reason-two-kids-received-unexcused-absences-pa-school/

A SEARCH FOR HOPE: JOURNALING THE WORD SERIES

Pray on this, think on this, meditate on, ponder, contemplate, all night and day:

Psalm 31:24 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

24 Be strong and courageous,
all you who put your hope in the Lord.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
~*~**~*~

The New Daily Plan for RYP Stories Blog Posts (A New Blog Introduction)

The New Daily Plan for RYP Stories Blog Posts (A New Blog Introduction)

I wanted to share my new daily plan and set-up for Remembering Your Present (RYP) Stories blog. After all, I have so many ideas I want to make sure to capture them all on the page. I also recognize how not everyone who reads this blog will be a Patriot, military supporter, conservative, Christian. This blog is about more than that. Therefore, how do I include all of my passions in one blog and in a daily blog post? I want to include thoughts about life, wisdom, Journaling prompts, news links, stories about critters (animals and pets), personal history (life story or memoir), inspirational, stories of fiction, how to journal, how to write fiction, and tell of my latest writing projects and progress.

Also, I want to avoid multiple blog posts per day. Therefore, I will combine all into one blog post I will send around noon Mountain Time each day. 

I have decided to put my daily blog posts in a careful order. I am adding to the top of each blog post the things that would appeal to the most, and as you move down reading the blog post, I will add the things fewer might want to read.

Therefore, I need to ask you a huge favor.

MAY I ASK YOU A HUGE FAVOR?

Would you please do me the kindness of being discriminate enough to ignore the stuff you don't want to read and skim the rest to see what you do want to read? Will you not totally ignore these blog posts because you do not agree with parts or because parts do not apply to you? 

I guarantee you can, and will, find something you like to read in most blog posts. 

Thank you so very much. 

Have a blessed day. 

A Blog in Progress

A Blog in Progress

I'm working on adding all of my writing and previous blog posts to this blog. Stay tuned. You'll be able to find all of them here. 

Also, you will not see very images at all on this blog. I want to focus on the journaling, writing, and reading components, not on images. 

Thank you for coming your o this blog and website. 

Have a blessed day.

Personal Prayer Journal (PJ) September 01, 2014, Monday

Blessings Counted List

2014-09-01 17:14:23

I'm thankful...

691 Today is the first day of a new month, where God can use me in any way He desires.

692 I can look around today and see God.

693 Fall is around the corner. 

2014-09-01 19:26:52

Every journal entry I do is a prayer journal (pj), a blessings journal (bj), and just a regular journal. However, sometimes, I will focus on different aspects in a journaling entry. This entry will be focused on prayer journaling in particular.

Zack was having dementia a couple of minutes ago. Thank God, it's calmed down. (694)

Lord, keep it calmed down and help him relax.

Abba, please guide me. Tell me what YOU want me to write. Everything seems to work for a while, then it changes and I get a fire for something else. Why? Is it my lack of focus? Is it me not obeying You? Show me the way, Lord. Please. 

What would my ideal book be? What has God equipped me to write? (I look up and pray, Lord? Pause. My voice trips off...)

Journaling plus history plus family tree (genealogy) plus fiction plus journaling how-to plus faith-based and prayer and blessings based equals ideal book.

Yes. Those are all of my passions rolled into one. That fits and sounds right. 

Okay. Great. What on earth does that look like? 

Etc. Etc. Etc.

MATTHAN
I think this is a new genre of Epic Dystopian.

LOOKING FORWARD TO MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY
I've dedicated Monday through Thursday of next week to a writing marathon of at least twelve hour days.

Today's Writing Goals and Plan

Today, I hope to write to a total of 9,200 words minimum.