Non-fiction

Introducing ‘Ole Bill’

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

 

cartoon-writer-yell-spikey-hair-2You all know — well, at least all my readers who have been around a while know — how much I love to introduce new bloggers and channel visits their way. Today I’m really happy to tell you about a blog called “Pen In Hand.”  It’s hosted by a delightful man and good friend named Bill Murphy (hence the “Ole Bill” handle in his Internet address).  And let me hasten to add that I’m not the one who started referring to him as “Ole Bill.” That’s his own choice for handles, and it just about sums up his fun personality.

Bill and his wife hail from Mississippi, USA, but they now live closer to me in Illinois. He has written most of his life — and is quite good at it — but only recently decided to jump into Cyberspace with his talent. He writes about all kinds of things — both fiction and non-fiction — and he often draws on his real-life personal experiences for material.

If you enjoy sitting back, propping up your feet, and just enjoying life, you’ll like visiting Bill’s site. Just follow the link in the blog title above and pay him a visit. Be sure and tell him I sent you.

 

 

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Share Your World 2/6/17

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

If you’d like to join the “Share Your World” fun, you can find the details here at Cee’s site.

BOX OF CHOCOLATES

Question # 1: Regarding your fridge, is it organized or a mess inside?

Exactly what is the definition of “organized”?  If it means that my milk is always on the left side of the top shelf, and my butter is always in the butter compartment, and my cheese is always in the cheese drawer, then it’s organized. However, if it means that all the other things in there are neatly placed in their own specific place — or that there are no left-over containers that have been sitting there for a few weeks, getting pushed farther to the back every day — then I would have to confess to the “mess.”

Question # 2: Do you prefer your food separated or mixed together?

I want all my food on the same plate so I can enjoy it all together. That doesn’t mean that I stir it all up together. But I eat some of all of it throughout the meal. To me the flavors of any food are made better by the complimentary flavors of all the accompanying food. I know a few people who eat only one item at a time until it is gone and then start in on the second item. When it is finally gone, they move on to the next and the next. Seems like a boring, miserable way to eat a meal to me. I went to grade school with a girl whose parents insisted that the whole family eat that way. I always felt sorry for her.

Question # 3: Do you prefer reading coffee table books (picture), biographies, fiction, non-fiction, educational?

Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Question # 4: Close your eyes. Listen to your body. What part of your body is seeking attention? What is it telling you?

My tummy, my brain, and my palate are all talking at once. They are saying, “Give us some chocolate!!!”

Bonus Question: What are you grateful for from this past week, and what are you looking forward to in the week ahead?

I’m grateful for all the celebrating I got to do for my birthday, and for the load of presents I received.

Next week, I am going to be working hard getting everything in gear for the next Healing School, which begins February 21. It is one of my favorite parts of the ministry the Lord allows me to do, and I’m really looking forward to it, and to seeing many people receive healing from the Lord during those 6 weeks.

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‘Releasing the Creative Writer in You’- Instruction in the Craft of Writing

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

releasing-the-creative-writer-in-you-coverToday’s prompt from the Daily Post gives me the perfect opportunity to introduce a new series of articles I’ll be offering on this site. I’ve taught creative writing for years, and I am currently gearing up to begin an online instructional course (via e-mail) that I can offer to people who want to take my writing courses but who don’t live within commuting distance. While preparing for that online project, I decided to offer a series of instructional articles here on my website as well.

Of course, the articles here won’t include any editing or feedback for people who do the exercises or write stories connected with the instruction. That service will be part of the actual online e-mail course only. But I thought there might be several readers who would like to glean from the information, suggestions, and experience that I can share from this venue.

The material will come primarily from my writing curriculum Releasing the Creative Writer in You (2013, St. Ellen Press). Some articles will simply be encouragement in certain areas, but many of them will offer specific suggestions that can lead us to keep making our writing better.

I know for certain that I am a much better writer today than I was 10 years ago. In fact, there’s such a difference that I rarely go back and read any of the novels I wrote the first couple years of my fiction writing because I always want to change way too many things, and I’m frustrated because the books are already in publication. But my improvement in writing was primarily the result of writing.  As simple as that sounds, it’s the truth. The more we write — and the more we challenge ourselves to stretch out into new territory and experiment in areas beyond our comfort zones — the better we become at our craft.

So I’ll be posting some segments of my curriculum on here once a week for several weeks. Some of my readers are brand new writers, who can glean something useful from all of the posts. However, I know many of you will already be very familiar with the skills and techniques I’ll be discussing. Hopefully, even for the very experienced, the articles will still give a lift and maybe a new surge of energy. The first couple of posts will be articles that I’ve posted in the past, but they are the best way to introduce the curriculum, so I’ll begin with them.

My plan is to post the instructional articles on Saturdays. I hope they are a source of real help to any readers who are just beginning to delve into their own creativity and writing skills, and an encouragement to several of you out there who already enjoy practicing and maturing your craft.

I love teaching my creative writing classes, and I’m excited about sharing more of that same material here.

 

Dream Big

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

 

CONSTRUCTION OF LEGO BUILDING

 

I spent some time with my eldest nephew,  his wife, and their three lovely children last night. The kids — my great-niece Lucy, my great nephews Gideon, and his brother Josiah, are all gregarious, super-intelligent, happy, well-adjusted people. I’m grateful for that fact, and, of course, I know personally that the family’s strong faith and commitment to the Lord and His Word is the reason for that healthy situation.

I always enjoy talking with my great niece and nephews because they are thinkers. They are not self-absorbed, but are aware of the world around them and the other people who are in that world. They care about people, and they enjoy interacting with them.

They all three have wonderful imaginations, but the middle child, Josiah, has more than an imagination. He has a vision. This child loves, loves, loves building things. He just turned 7 this past year, and he has put together more buildings, vehicles, and other structures than I can count — with various building supplies available in kid versions these days.

He sees himself as a successful architect in the future. But Josiah doesn’t want to build just certain kinds of buildings or bridges or parks. He wants to build everything. And for well over a month now he has been telling us about the city he is going to build. Last night, he talked to me at great length about this city. He has plans for building various kinds of houses for families of all sizes. He has plans for businesses – including grocery stores and specialty places like coffee shops. He plans on laying out hiking trails around the city, as well as camping facilities. In fact, he has given the whole concept serious, creative thought. He shared specific details of how he could make homes special so that they would meet specific needs and preferences for the individuals who would live in them.

I sat and listened in amazement to his excited plans, and he wasn’t done when I had to leave. I needed to get to a meeting, so he’ll have to tell me some more the next time we’re  together. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a few blueprints drawn up by then.

After I left, I started thinking about how large his vision is. I’ve taught school most of my adult life — at several different levels — so I’ve spent a good many years hearing children and teenagers share their ideas about what kind of work they want to do and what they want to accomplish when they become adults. But I don’t think I remember hearing anyone younger than 18 share a vision so large or so well-thought out.

Now, I’m not trying to say that my nephew is any smarter or more creative than all other children. What I am saying is that I believe the children of this generation have had so many advanced learning opportunities —  and so much access to the whole world and the people who make it up — that they are capable of thinking bigger, broader, deeper, and farther than previous generations when it comes to what the possibilities are for their future. Their imaginations have more to work with and more incentive than ever before.  I’m thrilled when I think about that fact. And I’m excited when I realize that if a 7-year-old can envision – in detail – the construction of an entire city today, there’s nothing big enough to stand in his way fifteen years from now when he’s ready to break ground for the first building.

So I’m going to take every opportunity I can to encourage the young people I come in contact with — whether physically or through the written word — to dream as big as their hearts desire. I know we see a lot of problems in our societies and a lot of dangers just waiting to grab the younger generation. But I’ve decided that I’m going to focus on the wealth of talent, creativity, and fortitude that is in the kids today. I’m going to encourage them and help them in every way I know how. And I’m planning on living long enough to enjoy the benefits of what this generation is going to create.

 

 

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Share Your World- 1/9/17

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

apple-life-crisp-magenta

To join in the fun visit Cee’s site.

Question # 1: If you lost a bet and had to dye your hair one color of the rainbow for a week, what color would it be?

Definitely Blue.

Question # 2: If you could choose one word to focus on for 2017, what word would it be?

It’s a definite tie between Mercy and Joy. Because the whole world (including myself) desperately needs both.

Question # 3: What was one thing you learned last year that you added to your life?

How to create good book trailers. I wanted to be able to make my own, and I’m still learning how to make them even better.

Question # 4: If life were just a bowl of cherries, which fruit – other than a cherry – would you be?

A Fuji Apple. Fuji apples have a very positive personality: fresh, crisp, juicy, and sweet, with just enough tartness to make life more interesting.

Bonus Question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the coming week?

I’m very grateful that I finally sold my wrecked Toyota to an auto parts dealer. I had a hard time making that work out after the accident, and I really didn’t want the car smashed into nothing but pieces of metal. Except for the serious problem to the frame and the two doors on the side that was hit, all the other parts of the car were still in quite good condition. I loved that little car, and I really wanted its parts to be used to help make life better for other people who needed affordable car repairs.

This coming week, I’m looking forward to getting a crown on a tooth. It looked for a while as if I might lose that tooth, but my new dentist says he can save it and crown it without costing me a fortune. I thank the Lord for working that out. (Of course, I’m not looking forward to the process itself. But I’m keeping my focus on the finished product.)

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Share Your World 2016, week 49

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Visit Cee’s site to find out how to participate in ‘Share Your World.’

Question # 1: What do you value most in a friendship?

The only TRUE friends are those people who continually draw out the highest and the best in me. They value me for the good they see in me — in spite of my flaws — and my interacting with them helps me focus on and grow in what is good. I try to be that same kind of friend to those I care about.

Question # 2: Do you prefer eating the frosting of the cake or cupcake first? Do you have a favorite flavor?

HECK NO!  Who would want to eat just the frosting first?  What makes a cake delicious is the combination of cake and frosting together. In fact, I try to eat so that I get some frosting with every single bite of cake.  Favorites?  I naturally prefer chocolate, but orange and buttercream are close seconds. And I have to admit that as long as it’s smooth and full of sugar, I like any frosting.

Question # 3:  Have you ever been in a submarine? If you haven’t, would you want to?

No.  And NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!  There — that should be clear enough.

Question # 4: If 100 people your age were chosen at random, how many do you think you’d find leading a more satisfying life than yours?

Very few — if any.
I don’t have a perfect life, but I spend most of my time using my God-given abilities and gifts doing things that make other people’s lives better, healthier, and happier. I can’t imagine anything being more satisfying.

 

 

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Smoky Mountain Fires

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

As many of my readers know, my favorite place in the whole world is the Smoky Mountains, which cover more than 816 square miles of the far eastern end of Tennessee and northwestern corner of North Carolina. This week horrific wildfires raged through the area killing three, injuring fourteen, forcing evacuation of two towns, and destroying untold numbers of homes, businesses, and acres of forest.

Firefighters called repeatedly for prayer from people all over the country as they battled the raging fire fed by the areas worst drought in a decade and by hurricane force winds blowing flames at speeds of between 70 and 90 miles an hour. Rains finally came in and offered some help over the past 24 hours, and authorities now say that the worst is over.

I’m fighting tears as I write this post, thinking of all the people who have suffered such agony and loss and most especially because the evidence points to the fact  that this whole fire was the result of arson. There are so many crazy people in this world, but this kind of evil never fails to shock me. It is beyond my comprehension.

I’ve shared a series of videos below that include TV broadcasts as well as local personal videos of the horrors individuals went through as they faced losing everything they owned and trying to make their way to safety through the fire. I believe it’s most definitely a miracle that more lives were not lost, and for that I’m extraordinarily grateful.

https://youtu.be/Ne9uxiBNGbg

The Great Smoky Mountains got their name from the Cherokee who have inhabited the range for generations and who coined the name to describe the haze that hangs over the mountains and nestles in the ridges every morning. It is often blue in color and gives the whole range a unique beauty that isn’t found anywhere else in the country. But after this week, that name won’t seem nearly as positive or happy as it did in the past.

However, I do have one positive note to add: I am happy to report that the family-owned inn where my family stays most of the time when we are in the area — and the town we spend most of our time in — are both safe and miraculously untouched by the fire.

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Share Your World 2016 – Week 48

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Goody!  I decided I could take time to do Cee’s “Share Your World” challenge this week. If you’d like to participate, just follow the link to her site for the details.

Question # 1: Do you prefer eating food with nuts or without nuts?

Generally, I prefer eating food with nuts, but unfortunately, I’m dealing with two chipped teeth that are waiting to be fixed (I have a dentist appointment for one next month), so lately I’ve been avoiding nuts unless they are in baked goodies so that they are soft.

Question # 2: If someone made a movie of your life would it be a drama, a comedy, a romantic-comedy, action film, or science fiction?

Well, personally, I think everyone’s life would have to be a combination of all of the first four. I don’t know any adult who hasn’t had his share of drama, comedy, action, and romance. But if my life were not a combination, and  I could actually CHOOSE one genre or over the others, I’d definitely like for it to be a romantic comedy. Some of my favorite romantic comedies are Desk Set, Every Girl Should Be Married, Bringing Up Baby, Pillow Talk, Bachelor Mother, and Christmas in Connecticut.

Question # 3: Who talks real sense to you?

A good friend of mine who is totally different from me in almost every aspect of our lives. I’m continuously amazed that we even became best of friends. I generally look at all sides of a situation when I have to make a decision, but he does so even more than I do. In fact, it causes him to take a very, very long time to decide things personally. But when he’s giving me advice, he comes at the situations from such a totally objective point of view that it’s very helpful. And he’s blatantly honest. And he is very good at separating emotion from facts, which is something I don’t do easily. I also use him to edit every book I write before it goes to a publisher. If there’s anything he thinks is less than excellent, he won’t fail to tell me so in detail.

Question # 4: Do you have a favorite board game?

No, but I love word games. I especially enjoy a game called Bananagrams. It’s played with little tiles of letters that you use to create words. It’s similar to Scrabble, but actually gives the players a lot more opportunities to be creative with their choices. It’s rather addictive — at least for someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes creating with words – as I do.

Bonus Question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful that I got to begin my newest blogging class. And I’m grateful that I was able to spend a lot of time with my family over Thanksgiving.

This next week I am looking forward to putting up my Christmas decorations. I wanted to start getting them up the first week of November, but there are just so many other responsibilities in my life that I couldn’t seem to get that part of it in gear any earlier.

 

 

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Seven Reasons I Love Blogging

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

cartoon-writer-pink-spikey-hair-2

 

1) Meeting people and making friends from around the world.

2) Taking part in all kinds of writing challenges that force me to get out of my comfort zone and stretch myself as a writer.

3) Opportunities to share my thoughts and beliefs with people I’d never have a chance to communicate with through any other medium.

4) Communicating with other extraordinarily creative people. Creativity begets creativity, so my own creative gifts are strengthened and stretched by that communication.

5) Opportunities to present some of my work and receive honest feedback from my peers.

6) Opportunities to lift and lighten someone else’s day by positive things I’m able to share.

7) Opportunities to make myself available to other writers and artists who would like to draw from my years of experience in the field of journalism and literature.

I’d be delighted to hear from some of the rest of you about why you love blogging. Just post your thoughts in the “Comments” section below — or if you want to write a whole post on your own site, you can share the link to it.

 

 

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The Pot Calling the Kettle Black

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

lime-red-swatch-w-hate-textAccusations running wild and free:
“Why, Donald Trump old Satan’s ploy must be!
He hates, discriminates, and means to smite
All those who like strange sex or are not white.”

But wait – I’m hearing none of that from Don.
He’s spoken only peace since he has won.
But, on the other hand, I’m hearing hate
From liberals all around – in such a state!

For every day since Don was made our choice
I’ve heard this harsh, discriminating voice.
It’s spewed out venom, vitriol most vile.
And it’s coming from the Liberals; that’s their style.
It seems they’ve been the seat of hatred all the while.

 

 

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Destiny

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

 

road-uphill-w-credits-w-bloom-color

 

My destiny is to successfully complete everything I put my hand to.

My destiny is to get up every single time I fall, then continue moving forward.

My destiny is to fulfill the desires of my heart.

My destiny is to experience my dreams coming true.

My destiny is to be everything God wants me to be.

In fact, my destiny is to be exactly like Jesus Christ.

Because the Lord tells me in His Word, “… for whom He did foreknow, He also did predestine to be conformed to the image of His Son.” (Romans 8:29)  And He also assures me, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13.)

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Thank You, God!

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

flag-on-ship-stretched-sharpened

Thank You, God! Thank You, God! Thank You, God!  It’s about all I can say right now. I’ll have other things to say about yesterday’s election in my nation, but for right now, I am so overwhelmed with gratitude that we finally put a president and scores of congressmen into office who will work AGAINST murdering millions of innocent children every day that I am almost speechless. That stand for the unborn was THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE AT HAND, because nothing else will ever be right in our country until we stop deliberately murdering God’s children.  I can add one more thing: God has given us one more chance to turn things around and get back to being the nation that He originally intended us to be, and we’d better all buckle down and work hard at doing just that.

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What Time Is It Really???

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

clock-w-question-marks

Attention all citizens of the United States:

Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour at 2:00 a.m. tomorrow, November 6, 2016. Well, that is unless you live in the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, or Arizona. Of course, if you’re part of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, you do have to set your clocks back like all the rest of us, because you’re on daylight saving time even though the rest of Arizona is not. Whew! There really is no one correct answer to the question in my picture.

From what I understand, we may actually have good ol’ Benjamin Franklin to (thank/blame???) for first coming up with the idea of daylight saving time, which he suggested while on a trip to Paris. But since there was no standard for time keeping throughout Europe, his ideas didn’t get off the ground. Then in the 1900’s, a British gentleman by the name of William Willett suggested the possibility of a time change but was laughed out of Parliament.

The U.S. didn’t actually implement a change legally until during WWI. It was very unpopular, and after the war, the time returned to normal throughout the year. Then with the onset of WWII, the Germans established daylight saving time in order to conserve energy for their war effort, and shorty thereafter, both England and the U.S. followed suit. However, there has been great disagreement among so-called experts about whether the change actually saves energy at all.

It certainly remained unpopular in the U.S. after WWII —  especially with farmers — and was again dropped and not instituted on a consistent basis until 1966. Even then some parts of the U.S. refused to comply. The places I’ve named in the first paragraph are still resistant to making the change, and the state of Indiana was in that group until 2006, with only some counties in the state making the change to DST and the rest of the counties remaining on standard time. Since 2006, the whole state changes with the rest of the country, but it is still a contested matter among the citizens of that state.

Then back in the 1970’s someone (probably one of our overpaid government problem children)  came up with the ‘bright’ idea of keeping the time change throughout the whole year. Well, that certainly was a big bummer. So the following year we went back to changing in the spring and fall.

But that wasn’t good enough, because a few years ago, some other government official with nothing else to do suggested we change the dates on which the changes occur. And, of course, we did because  — well — change is good, right? So now what we really have is one big mess. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if we’ve even confused God. He’s probably sitting up there scratching His head saying, “Now, when was it I told the sun to rise originally?????”

 

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Daily Post Prompt: Eerie

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

sad_face-sweat-greenToday’s prompt — eerie — is defined as strange, frightening, and unnatural.

I have to say that I find some recent attitudes in our society extremely eerie. I have heard complaints recently — particularly in my part of the country — from people who have been dissatisfied with the local city Halloween celebrations. Because some towns have restricted “trick or treating” to one specific night and strongly encouraged parents to take children to a city-wide event instead of letting them traipse all over town after dark — primarily for safety reasons — some of our adults are complaining.

The problem — as these people see it — is that the kids don’t get to ring all the doorbells in town and beg for sweets from every Tom, Dick, and Harry. Instead they go to one event where townspeople and business owners provide treats of various kinds for all the children equally. But suddenly, adults are up in arms over what they see as a “serious” problem in our community.  And, to be sure, they have some strong arguments on their side. For example, one of the primary complaints has been that at one of these local events, “very little candy was given out.”

Now, I don’t know what these individual’s definition of “very little” is, but my question is, what on earth difference does it make? Are these people afraid these kids are going to starve because they left the event without their little beggar-bags overflowing with sugar???

But that complaint itself is not what I find eeria (strange, frightening, and unnatural). What I find eerie is the fact that most of these complaints are coming from people who have repeatedly — and will again on November 8th — put into office every single politician who pushes and works with all his might to promote and support abortion on demand. These people are making sure that the men and women in office will keep our nation murdering innocent children by the millions every day for the next four years, and yet they are crying over the fact that 5 and 6-year-olds are not being given enough candy in their halloween goody bags. They see such measures as ill treatment of kids.

How much more strange, frightening, and unnatural a scenario could one imagine???  I don’t even want to ask if there’s anyone out there who can’t see the catastrophic problem here, because, if every honest, intelligent human being cannot see it, then this world is truly beyond hope.

 

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SoWhat’s the Big Fuss About the Toilets???

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

TOILET STOOLMy original plan was to stay out of this discussion (except for one tiny cinquain) because I figured it would eventually blow over and settle to virtually nothing concrete happening as a result of our new law. However, I just may have been wrong about it blowing over without causing any actual problems, so maybe it’s time I spoke out loud about where I am on this issue.

A:  I’ve never had a problem with seeing an individual go into a toilet marked for the opposite sex because he/she needed to help a child — or an aging parent — or a person who was handicapped. And, in fact, I’ve had to do so personally when helping handicapped people. That situation does not bother me at all, nor does it bother any other person I’ve ever known in all my 60+ years of using public toilets. And I have no problem with public places even providing an extra “Unisex” toilet for that purpose if they can afford to do so. But we have never needed a law to allow for those situations and circumstances.

B:  What I DO have a problem with is people who deliberately force through laws that require the entire public to allow that access to every person who just WANTS to spend time in the bathroom of the opposite sex in order to ogle the private parts of other individuals, hit on innocent children or teens for sexual purposes, or rape a woman or child alone in a secluded space. (And yes, folks, there are a bunch of people out there who do those things.)

We DO NOT NEED a law to allow for A.
And we need to HANG OUR HEADS IN SHAME for allowing a law that provides for B.

And while I’m sounding off, let me just add that the men are few and far between in this world who bother to make sure they do not drip all over the rim and front of the toilet bowl — causing a particularly unsanitary situation for ladies and little kids who must use that toilet immediately afterwards. Just sayin’ ……

 

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