Tag: Courage

A Story in Slivers

~ Christine Goodnough ~ 7 Comments

Yesterday we attended an all-day writing workshop in the city, put on by a national Christian writing group based more-or-less in Alberta. We heard half a dozen different speakers, mostly motivational. A lot of thoughts on the need to write, and why we need to write.

A few minor things stuck in my mind, one of them being a comment one of our speakers made to an attender who’d just finished publishing his parents’ life story. Sheila Webster, the speaker, congratulated him, then reminded him & told us all about the nudge she’d given him when he wasn’t finding the time to write this. They’d done a quick calculation and figured that if he’d only write 47 words a day he could get the memoir done in such-and-such a time.

I’m not certain of the exact numbers, but the point was clear. A writer may wish for hours to write, with thousands of words whacked out every day. However, even writing in silvers — 10-15 minutes a day — you can actually get a book finished and edited. I don’t know about you, but if I have my scene thought out and sit down to write, I can easily do 500 words in 15 minutes.

This reminds me of another done-in-slivers project I heard about one day. An older woman who sews all her own dresses was advising some younger ones, busy moms, who claimed they couldn’t find time to sew. “If you sew just one seam every day, you can get a new dress made for yourself in a month.”

Marla Cilley has made her fortune as the FlyLady, telling people the same thing about house-cleaning. In her book, Sink Reflections, she writes that no matter how disabled or how depressed a person is, almost everyone can work at a task for 10-15 minutes.

Facing the immense task of rebuilding the temple at Jerusalem after it had been destroyed by the marauding army, the prophet Zechariah says, “For who hath despised the day of small things?” Zech 4:10 A plan was made and the work was organized, each family given responsibility for a part of the wall.

Both Marla & Sheila do stress one point:
YOU NEED TO HAVE SOME SYSTEM. A ROUTINE IS YOUR FRIEND.

That’s what I need to work on. 🙂

Morning Smile

~ Christine Goodnough ~ 2 Comments

I was talking to my cousin last night — she’s just celebrated her 85th birthday — and she tells me she picked up a second-hand computer from someone who had one to get rid of. A brave new adventure and I hope it doesn’t lead to unnecessary frustrations. I can’t leave a message on her answering machine because she hasn’t mastered how to use her message manager — one bit of frustrating technology for her.

I asked her if she could type and she said, “I can learn.” Spelling will be a problem for her, though. Unfortunately my cousin not only lacks basic education, but also has some type of perception issue. She may read a short poem or quote she likes, but when she decides to copy it for me, she garbles the word order and line breaks. So she’s likely to see a lot of red lines on her screen as she types.

However, writing isn’t her goal anyway; I’m sure she didn’t get a printer in the deal. Another senior told her you can play games on a computer, so she’s looking forward to that. I hope it works better for her than her attempts to operate the TV remote control. When I spent a week with her a few years back, I had to call her cable company frequently and ask them to reset her TV because she’d hit the wrong button on the remote and switched it to “Play DVD” mode — then didn’t know how to switch it back. (Being somewhat technologically challenged myself, plus we haven’t had a TV since 1974, I couldn’t figure out how to fix it without help, either.)

Still, I have to admire her willingness and courage to try something new and am keen to see how this technological ‘step forward’ works for her.

Going through old files I came across this bit of wit, my adaptation of one of Murphy’s Laws. Hope it gives you a smile.

Speaking

Books: Rescuing Finley

~ Christine Goodnough ~ Leave a comment

I have great news for readers who like an inspiring contemporary fiction story. Dan Walsh is one of my favorite writers and the first book in his Forever Home Novels, Rescuing Finley, is FREE today on Amazon. NOTE: Last Day of giveaway.

Rescuing Finley CoverMy Book Review:

Two people in desperate situations, one abandoned dog.

Amy Wallace was a recovering meth addict, who lost her job and needed friends. Sad to say, two “friends” had in mind some shoplifting: they wanted to steal an expensive ring from a department store’s jewellery section. And they had in mind Amy should be the one to pocket the goods. Which meant Amy was the one who got caught and sent to prison.

Ever since he finished high school Chaz wanted to sign up with the Marine Corps. His mother protested angrily when he told her, “I signed up today. It’s for two years — but they’ll go fast.” She needed him to help her survive. And what about his dog, Finley? Did Chaz expect her to look after him?

Chaz was Finley’s whole world, the one human who loved him. Chaz’s mother barely tolerated Finley in her small apartment. We understand through his eyes how abandoned and confused he was when Chaz left — and never returned. Finley couldn’t know his master’s life ended on a battlefield, but he knew something was very wrong. Lost in her own grief Chaz’s mother couldn’t deal with a dog — especially a huge one like Finley. Feeling guilty but desperate, she dropped him off at an animal shelter.

Chris Seger’s life as he knew it also ended while on a mission in Afghanistan, when he stepped on a land mine. A permanent ticket home — minus one leg. Stateside, after months of therapy, he found work with an understanding and flexible employer, but he wrestled constantly with PTSD, depression and the nightmares. Then a pal suggested he look into this new program: service dogs for the disabled.

Dan Walsh does an excellent job of taking us through Chris, Finley, and Amy’s lives as they struggle to start again. Then he brings them together in a winning story of forgiveness and healing. At the same time he walks readers through a great program where prisoners work with dogs, training them as companions for veterans with PTSD.

I found this a terrific, heart-touching book and shed quite a few tears as I watched the story unfold. Five stars from me.