Blogging out of turn today so Nancy can get her editing done. This was a thought for the day to my children a few years ago. Think I'll use it in my Laurel class, and may have to post it on my computer to remind me of this good advice.
The story was told of a young woman whose mother had died when she was two or three years old. As a teen-ager who was having problems with self-esteem and seemed headed down the wrong path on the run, she longed to know what her mother was like. One day her aunt brought her her mother's diary and told her niece she thought she would enjoy learning what kind of woman her mother had been.
As she left, she told the girl, "She had such an aura of excellence about her." From that moment forth, the life of this young woman changed as she began to put on that aura of excellence her mother was known for, and set goals to help her attain what her mother had hoped her daughter would become. Her mother's journal in which she listed her hopes and dreams for her daughter became the focus of this young woman - her reminder of what she needed to make of herself.
Don't trade what you want MOST for what you want AT THE MOMENT. It is often hard to keep our goals in front of us each moment, But find some way to remind yourself what your ultimate goal is - whether for that hour, that day, or that week. We'll forget, we'll relapse, but each morning we can rededicate that day and renew our focus so that in the end, we CAN have what we want most and are willing to work hardest for.
Smile today and help make someone else's day as good as you want yours to be.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Christmas - Ready or not, here it comes!
The holidays are upon us. And upon each other. Debates of whether it is wrong to use up store shelf space for both Halloween and Christmas decorations abound. Some say, "Yes! It's easier to shop for both at the same time." Others say, "I wish we could enjoy the holidays one at a time." No matter where you stand on the issue, trick-or-treaters will soon be at your door, then you'll be carving a turkey and eating pumpkin pie, and then "tis the season to be jolly."
My 11 year-old has already submitted her Christmas list to me. Today it snowed. No matter how much I don't want to have the stress of shopping for the holidays, I can't stop Christmas from coming. (Sound like any beloved Christmas character?)
One of the best parts of the holidays is being with family. Family traditions are a big part of Christmas. Every family has their own way of celebrating the season. One thing our family enjoys is popping popcorn and watching Christmas movies. The following is a list of the top Christmas movies of all time. At the bottom I'm adding some of the Bell Family favorites. If you feel so inclined, please post a fun tradition you have at your house!
1.
Babes in Toyland, or March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934)
2.
The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)
3.
The Bishop's Wife (1947)
4.
A Christmas Carol
5.
A Christmas Story (1983)
6.
Frosty the Snowman (1969)
7.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
8.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
9.
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
10.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer(1964)
11.
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (1970)
12.
White Christmas (1954)
BELL FAMILY FAVORITES:
Elf
Home Alone 1 and 2
Jingle All the Way
My 11 year-old has already submitted her Christmas list to me. Today it snowed. No matter how much I don't want to have the stress of shopping for the holidays, I can't stop Christmas from coming. (Sound like any beloved Christmas character?)
One of the best parts of the holidays is being with family. Family traditions are a big part of Christmas. Every family has their own way of celebrating the season. One thing our family enjoys is popping popcorn and watching Christmas movies. The following is a list of the top Christmas movies of all time. At the bottom I'm adding some of the Bell Family favorites. If you feel so inclined, please post a fun tradition you have at your house!
1.
Babes in Toyland, or March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934)
2.
The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)
3.
The Bishop's Wife (1947)
4.
A Christmas Carol
5.
A Christmas Story (1983)
6.
Frosty the Snowman (1969)
7.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
8.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
9.
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
10.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer(1964)
11.
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (1970)
12.
White Christmas (1954)
BELL FAMILY FAVORITES:
Elf
Home Alone 1 and 2
Jingle All the Way
Monday, October 25, 2010
Something New for Your Brain
Through a series of rather interesting events, I am now working at KBYU on their program Thinking Aloud. It's a terrific place to be with fun people, and fortunately for all of us, their programs are all available on their website. Interested in E-books and the fate of print? There's a 30-minute interview on it. Did you grow up inspired by Florence Nightingale because you read books about early nurses? There's a program on her. There are programs on Chopin, To Kill a Mockingbird, and memory and the brain.
Thinking Aloud is a 30-minute interview program that airs four times a week (Tuesday is BYU's devotional) at 11 am and 8 pm. It's just fun to listen to and a good way to keep your brain churning with ideas--especially all you writers out there. Check it out.
http://www.classical89.org/thinkingaloud/archive/
Thinking Aloud is a 30-minute interview program that airs four times a week (Tuesday is BYU's devotional) at 11 am and 8 pm. It's just fun to listen to and a good way to keep your brain churning with ideas--especially all you writers out there. Check it out.
http://www.classical89.org/thinkingaloud/archive/
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Procrastination
Yesterday was my turn to blog. I had been thinking about my subject for a week and found a great topic in a something sent to me on We, the People. I agreed with its tenets and made a couple of quick notes on thoughts it generated: We are intelligent enough to make our own decisions. We do not need the government to make them for us. Freedom of choice is one of our most cherished ideals in America. We believe that self-reliance and individual achievement are necessary to make our way in this world.
Then I received another e-mail from a former counselor when I was Relief Society president, so she had good reason to forward this particular column written by Janice Kapp Perry. (She knows me well.) I thought that would be the perfect subject since I think we all share some of those feelings.
Sister Perry told of writing "Do Not Run Faster" and experiences with that song. The first verse goes like this:
I thought that I could do it all
Complete each task, accept each call
I never felt my work was done
Until I had pleased everyone
I told myself I must be strong
Be there for all to lean upon
But in the end I came to see
That's more than God requires of me. He has said:
Do not run faster than you have strength
If you grow weary, what have you gained?
You will have wisdom and strength enough
If first you remember to fill your own cup. Comforting words of the Master: Do Not run faster than you have strength.
As I am vacillating between those subjects, I continue working on my to-do list, go visiting teaching, run errands, put groceries away, fix lunch for my husband. The blog deadline is weighing heavily upon my mind, but I received a special offer from Shutterfly for 30% off a photo book, buy one and get one 50% off. I'd never seen that great deal before. I ought to take advantage of it to make a book of our family reunion in Bear Lake and give one to my daughter. But I needed to download my pictures from a camera clip (hadn't done it yet since I needed some help from my daughter, Shelley, to undo what she had done to my picture file.)
My good husband said he would see if he would figure out how to put it back the way I had it, so we spent an hour working on it. Finally succeeded in tweaking it so I could put my pictures, Nikki's, and Glenn's sister's pictures in one file, then discovered the thumb drive on which I had copied Nikki and Nancy's pictures also contained over 3500 pictures from our China trip. How did that happen?
Computer expert that I am (NOT) I spent the next two hours working on separating the files and getting the pictures where I could work with them on Shutterfly. And suddenly it was 3:30 and time to fix dinner. (Our dinner hour is 4:00 as we are very early risers - my breakfast is at 6:00.) Now my day is gone. I accomplish very little after dinner because that is time with my husband. And I'm still burdened with the blog I haven't written - or even decided upon the subject.
I won't mention that I'm a couple of days behind on my journal, have a stack of requests for money (political, charitable, etc.) that is unbelievable, practice the songs for a baptism and the hymns for Sunday, and five other things on my to-do list that I REALLY needed to accomplish before the sun went down (which is way too early these days!)
As I lay in bed at 4:00 this morning, I thought how wonderful it would be to just stay there, snuggled under the blankets and go back to sleep. I could procrastinate doing the blog another couple of hours - since I hadn't made up my mind yet which worthy topic I should tackle. But I knew I'd be at least a week behind on my to-do list if I didn't get this done this morning before everything else crowded in. So I crawled out of bed reluctantly, did my scripture study, and as I turned to my desk to face the dreaded task, the word PROCRASTINATOR came to mind. That was it!
Elder Neal A. Maxwell called it one of the most cruel games one can play with yourself - the "not yet" game. He also said, "One can play upon the harp strings of hesitations and reservations just so long."
Don Marquis, an American poet and journalist in the early 1900's, said: "Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." Oh, yes!
And finally, Proverbs tells us that "Procrastination is the thief of time."
I might also add that it is the thief of peace of mind. There. Now I am done and I can finish preparing my Laurel lesson for tomorrow and get to the rest of my list. How good it feels to not be procrastinating any longer!
Then I received another e-mail from a former counselor when I was Relief Society president, so she had good reason to forward this particular column written by Janice Kapp Perry. (She knows me well.) I thought that would be the perfect subject since I think we all share some of those feelings.
Sister Perry told of writing "Do Not Run Faster" and experiences with that song. The first verse goes like this:
I thought that I could do it all
Complete each task, accept each call
I never felt my work was done
Until I had pleased everyone
I told myself I must be strong
Be there for all to lean upon
But in the end I came to see
That's more than God requires of me. He has said:
Do not run faster than you have strength
If you grow weary, what have you gained?
You will have wisdom and strength enough
If first you remember to fill your own cup. Comforting words of the Master: Do Not run faster than you have strength.
As I am vacillating between those subjects, I continue working on my to-do list, go visiting teaching, run errands, put groceries away, fix lunch for my husband. The blog deadline is weighing heavily upon my mind, but I received a special offer from Shutterfly for 30% off a photo book, buy one and get one 50% off. I'd never seen that great deal before. I ought to take advantage of it to make a book of our family reunion in Bear Lake and give one to my daughter. But I needed to download my pictures from a camera clip (hadn't done it yet since I needed some help from my daughter, Shelley, to undo what she had done to my picture file.)
My good husband said he would see if he would figure out how to put it back the way I had it, so we spent an hour working on it. Finally succeeded in tweaking it so I could put my pictures, Nikki's, and Glenn's sister's pictures in one file, then discovered the thumb drive on which I had copied Nikki and Nancy's pictures also contained over 3500 pictures from our China trip. How did that happen?
Computer expert that I am (NOT) I spent the next two hours working on separating the files and getting the pictures where I could work with them on Shutterfly. And suddenly it was 3:30 and time to fix dinner. (Our dinner hour is 4:00 as we are very early risers - my breakfast is at 6:00.) Now my day is gone. I accomplish very little after dinner because that is time with my husband. And I'm still burdened with the blog I haven't written - or even decided upon the subject.
I won't mention that I'm a couple of days behind on my journal, have a stack of requests for money (political, charitable, etc.) that is unbelievable, practice the songs for a baptism and the hymns for Sunday, and five other things on my to-do list that I REALLY needed to accomplish before the sun went down (which is way too early these days!)
As I lay in bed at 4:00 this morning, I thought how wonderful it would be to just stay there, snuggled under the blankets and go back to sleep. I could procrastinate doing the blog another couple of hours - since I hadn't made up my mind yet which worthy topic I should tackle. But I knew I'd be at least a week behind on my to-do list if I didn't get this done this morning before everything else crowded in. So I crawled out of bed reluctantly, did my scripture study, and as I turned to my desk to face the dreaded task, the word PROCRASTINATOR came to mind. That was it!
Elder Neal A. Maxwell called it one of the most cruel games one can play with yourself - the "not yet" game. He also said, "One can play upon the harp strings of hesitations and reservations just so long."
Don Marquis, an American poet and journalist in the early 1900's, said: "Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." Oh, yes!
And finally, Proverbs tells us that "Procrastination is the thief of time."
I might also add that it is the thief of peace of mind. There. Now I am done and I can finish preparing my Laurel lesson for tomorrow and get to the rest of my list. How good it feels to not be procrastinating any longer!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Good People
I just returned from a trip to Logan, Utah, where I gave a book talk to a gathering of some fifty good women. I could tell they were good women by their smiles, sensible clothing, and gracious welcome. I'm always nervous prior to giving a book talk, (or any talk for that matter) so their kindness put me at ease. It was a night filled with laughter, tears, and astute questions.
When I was in college, (and I really hate to admit this) I liked to pal around with my peers in the theater department. They were cool and clever, and I felt cool and clever when I was with them. We were witty and outgoing, and we felt sorry for the Math and Science Nerds.
Then I fell in love with a Math Nerd. I found myself admiring his calm ways and his thoughtfulness. I felt better when I was around him. The banter and slick talk of the theater gang began to annoy me, and I relished the time spent with unassuming, good people.
Years after my husband and I were married, I came across this statement by Richard L. Evans, which accurately sums up my social transformation. I share it with you.
"Years ago I preferred clever people. There was a joy in beholding a mind bearing thoughts quickly translated into words, or ideas expressed in a new way. I find now my taste has changed. Verbal fireworks often bore me. They seem motivated by self-assertion and self-display. I now prefer another type of person; one who is considerate, understanding of others, careful not to break down another person's self-respect. My preferred person today is one who is always aware of the needs of others--their pain, fear, and unhappiness, and their search for self-respect. I once liked clever people. Now I like good people."
Amen.
When I was in college, (and I really hate to admit this) I liked to pal around with my peers in the theater department. They were cool and clever, and I felt cool and clever when I was with them. We were witty and outgoing, and we felt sorry for the Math and Science Nerds.
Then I fell in love with a Math Nerd. I found myself admiring his calm ways and his thoughtfulness. I felt better when I was around him. The banter and slick talk of the theater gang began to annoy me, and I relished the time spent with unassuming, good people.
Years after my husband and I were married, I came across this statement by Richard L. Evans, which accurately sums up my social transformation. I share it with you.
"Years ago I preferred clever people. There was a joy in beholding a mind bearing thoughts quickly translated into words, or ideas expressed in a new way. I find now my taste has changed. Verbal fireworks often bore me. They seem motivated by self-assertion and self-display. I now prefer another type of person; one who is considerate, understanding of others, careful not to break down another person's self-respect. My preferred person today is one who is always aware of the needs of others--their pain, fear, and unhappiness, and their search for self-respect. I once liked clever people. Now I like good people."
Amen.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Happy Fall For All
With a crazy work schedule today, my husband was sweet enough to write a blog for me. So, introducing my guest blogger for the day, my better half, Brad...
For many people, Fall is their most favorite time of the year. There are many great reasons for that. The weather begins to cool, the canyons are on fire with the changing colors of nature, of course there is the harvest, and for some, they look forward to the hunting season. My reasons for loving this time of year are far more simple, but in my opinion every bit as exciting.
Walter Camp is the one that can be blamed for this. He is the one that came up with the idea of a line of scrimmage, and the down and distance rule. Many others have made their contributions along the way, but Mr. Camp is widely considered the father of American Football. So I need to say thank you Walter for helping to make this time of year my favorite.
So what is it that makes this such a great time of the year for me? Football is a violent, almost gladiator like contest. It involves great preparation, strategy and execution. Those that participate at the highest levels are incredible athletes. I believe there is no other sport that requires more team effort than football. And while I enjoy these aspects of the sport, there are other things that are outside of the actual game that I also enjoy. What other sport do you show up for on game day 4 hours before the game starts? Not sure who the founder of tailgating was, but he is a genius. Hanging out with friends and family, throwing around a ball and just hanging out are a great part of the game. At least it is in my family. I have a son that doesn’t like sports all that much, but he rarely misses a game, because he knows it is important to me, and it is a chance for he and I to spend some time together. I appreciate that more then he will ever know.
Football has given me a chance to see several areas of the country as my brothers and I, along with our dad have had the good fortune to travel to many away games. That has been a great chance for us emotionally closed men to bond. I have to remember that because I love Saturday football games in the Fall, it isn’t for everyone. I should have never “surprised” Jeri with a trip to Rice/Eccles stadium and a game time bratwurst for her birthday one year. In my defense it was our first year of marriage and she didn’t have a chance to properly train me. However this year she got the same “birthday surprise”, what a great women to put up with me for 20 years with surprises like that! Jeri has also learned that there is more to the game then a bunch of over sized sweaty guys running into each other and hugging.
So by way of advice let me say a few things.
Season tickets to your favorite team is a great birthday gift, if you’re a guy.
Stadiums are the only place on earth where all the favorite “guy” food can be found in one place, that alone makes it a truly special place to be.
Spending $52 dollars for donuts for a weekend road game is totally reasonable.
We guys really do need a different team shirt for each day of the week.
Occasionally a foam finger, painted belly, or even a cheese head are acceptable fashion statements in the right setting.
Thanks for listening……Brad
For many people, Fall is their most favorite time of the year. There are many great reasons for that. The weather begins to cool, the canyons are on fire with the changing colors of nature, of course there is the harvest, and for some, they look forward to the hunting season. My reasons for loving this time of year are far more simple, but in my opinion every bit as exciting.
Walter Camp is the one that can be blamed for this. He is the one that came up with the idea of a line of scrimmage, and the down and distance rule. Many others have made their contributions along the way, but Mr. Camp is widely considered the father of American Football. So I need to say thank you Walter for helping to make this time of year my favorite.
So what is it that makes this such a great time of the year for me? Football is a violent, almost gladiator like contest. It involves great preparation, strategy and execution. Those that participate at the highest levels are incredible athletes. I believe there is no other sport that requires more team effort than football. And while I enjoy these aspects of the sport, there are other things that are outside of the actual game that I also enjoy. What other sport do you show up for on game day 4 hours before the game starts? Not sure who the founder of tailgating was, but he is a genius. Hanging out with friends and family, throwing around a ball and just hanging out are a great part of the game. At least it is in my family. I have a son that doesn’t like sports all that much, but he rarely misses a game, because he knows it is important to me, and it is a chance for he and I to spend some time together. I appreciate that more then he will ever know.
Football has given me a chance to see several areas of the country as my brothers and I, along with our dad have had the good fortune to travel to many away games. That has been a great chance for us emotionally closed men to bond. I have to remember that because I love Saturday football games in the Fall, it isn’t for everyone. I should have never “surprised” Jeri with a trip to Rice/Eccles stadium and a game time bratwurst for her birthday one year. In my defense it was our first year of marriage and she didn’t have a chance to properly train me. However this year she got the same “birthday surprise”, what a great women to put up with me for 20 years with surprises like that! Jeri has also learned that there is more to the game then a bunch of over sized sweaty guys running into each other and hugging.
So by way of advice let me say a few things.
Season tickets to your favorite team is a great birthday gift, if you’re a guy.
Stadiums are the only place on earth where all the favorite “guy” food can be found in one place, that alone makes it a truly special place to be.
Spending $52 dollars for donuts for a weekend road game is totally reasonable.
We guys really do need a different team shirt for each day of the week.
Occasionally a foam finger, painted belly, or even a cheese head are acceptable fashion statements in the right setting.
Thanks for listening……Brad
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Why I Write for the Mormon Market
Yesterday I received an email from my publishers attaching the cover of my forthcoming book. I'm quite delighted with it, and excited to see and hold the final product. It's my fourth LDS book, in that the main characters in it are LDS and it's being published by an LDS publisher primarily for the LDS market.
Recently I was asked why I write for the Mormon market rather than writing books which might appeal to a wider national - and international - readership. If I'm honest, the reason I initially started writing for the LDS market was because I was hoping to get a foot-in-the-door with "real" publishers and that national market.
My problem was this: If you write a novel and send it to a publisher, or an agent, the chances are they won't even read it. Almost certainly they will simply reply with a standard rejection letter. Various journalists have tested this theory by sending in the text of Booker Prize winning novels or literary classics, only to have them rejected by the oblivious acqusitions editor.
For a new writer, it's extremely difficult to get published because you don't get taken seriously. You're a new commodity, an unknown, and even as the market was in 1998 (when I started writing seriously), publishers are very wary of investing in unknowns.
My theory was that if I could get a book or two published in the fairly small, niche and friendly LDS market then I could send my Magnum Opus to a "real" publisher or agent with a covering letter explaining how both my previous books had been bestsellers in their genre (I would probably fail to mention that that genre was religious fiction) and I had received armfuls of accolades and floods of fan mail. Maybe then they'd take me seriously enough to actually read my manuscript.
In 2002 the time was right. Both my books had made the Deseret Book top ten, and I had received accolades and fanmail. It was the ideal time for me to make my assault on the "real" publishers.
And yet I then wrote four more manuscripts for the LDS market, Easterfield (published 2008), Honeymoon Heist (due February 2011) Christmas at Haven, and Landscape in Oils (under consideration). Why? Had I had a crisis of confidence? Abandoned my ambition?
It wasn't even a conscious decision, I think. Looking back, I suspect I just found I liked the LDS market and felt comfortable writing the sort of thing my established fans wanted to read. Maybe I recognised that whatever talent I had was God-given and I owed Him a little more back before I exploited it for personal glory.
Perhaps too, I realised that I couldn't write certain explicit scenes which are expected in the national market. I take the view that intimate behaviour should always remain private between the (married) couple concerned, even when that couple is fictional, and I refuse to write anything I wouldn't want my children, or my parents, to read. Most mainstream books (at least in the genre of women's fiction) are expected to be peppered with the type of scenes I would class as literary pornography.
I also believe that LDS literature is as good as anything in the national market. In Stephanie Black, Kerry Blair, Robison Wells, Chris Heimerdinger and many others (such as the ladies who share this blog), the LDS market can hold its head high and I am proud to be associated with it and share shelf space with such talent. Stephenie Meyer, the most successful author since JK Rowling, is LDS.
LDS publishers are also as good as - even better than - the bigger publishing houses which market to the public at large. All my previous books have been beautifully produced and professionally distributed, and the editors have been approachable and pleasant to work with.
The LDS fiction market is an exciting place to be right now. Jennie Hansen wrote an excellent article on how it has changed in recent years (http://www.meridianmagazine.com/article/6230?ac=1) and it continues to develop with LDS publishers now looking to break into the general market with clean, quality literature which is moral but not religious. I want to be part of that.
I haven't forgotten my ambition. I am currently writing a fantasy novel which I will market to UK agents in due course. But I love the LDS market and an happy and proud to be part of it.
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