Goodbye September... in motion!

"The difficulties of life are 

meant to make us better,

not bitter."

 John C. Maxwell

This past month has been a blurr... I am so glad it is over and the change of the season is finally here. Our days have been just beautiful for about a week now. October is just around the corner and I will dance on it's first day, yes I will, I promised myself.  

I am going to borrow an idea from Linda over at LINDA'S LIFE JOURNAL  and light a special candle, play some special music, and just CELEBRATE! I will probably bake a cake, make a pot of stew and some homemade rolls. That is my favorite kind of day.

For today, I want to join in on a photo challenge

A PERSONAL PHOTO CHALLENGE BLOG

This months challenge is "movement". 

This past month I did not have time to go out 

and look for movement so

I found some photos in my photo library 

that I had taken over the summer.

Below is my attempt/try at

"Movement" with my camera.

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Rain, during a passing morning  early spring, 

looking out our front door.  

Then edited in picmonkey (cropped, back edges applied).

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Our just-turned-2-years-old grandson running to his

Papa's tractor. Edited in Picmonkey.

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A day at the Lake, looking back from our boat on a sunny day.

Edited in Picmonkey, many times, and had a ball playing with some new Picmonkey features. 

For info on Picmonkey go to www.picmonky.com.

It is free but I pay a yearly fee to be able to use their upgraded features. It makes me happy when I work/play with it!

I do so enjoy the monthly photo challenge!

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I have so much to be grateful for in my little world.

Thanks for coming by!

 

As life goes...

Doctor thinks he got all of my Mother's cancerous tumor removed; thehubs 2 year cancer checkup found no cancer; the EPA has totally cleaned up the acre across the street and taken many, many soil tests to ease our minds; I am still wearing my "bone growth stimulator machine" after disc replacement surgery and am feeling great. Prayers are answered!

Karen check your mail!

All the names were placed in the bowl...

And one was chosen...

The book goes to Karen@BakingInATornado! 

I love her blog and have been a follower for some time now.

Baking in a Tornado

So this morning, I popped over to read her latest post and I almost fell to the floor laughing.  Is this a coincidence?  That she would write a post about her trials and tribulations with her mail carrier?  I thought I was reliving a scene from the movie "Funny Farm" with Chevy Chase.  Remember their crazy mailman?  He would try to run them down and then throw their mail out his window and it would fly everywhere! Makes me laugh each time I think about that movie.

So I read her post again, and I am still laughing. And I will probably laugh throughout my day. Sorry Karen!  How did you know I woke up tired of this Missouri Flu and was dreading my day of blowing my nose and trying to breathe. 

How did you know I needed to laugh,

and laugh hard, this morning?

You have probably heard about it on the news.  Thehubs and I are calling it the "Missouri flu" but it's official name is EV-D68. I am in my 5th week of it and the hubs is in his 4th week. After steroids and anti-biotics, we are still blowing our noses and dealing with sinus pressure behind our eyes. It is just what the news says it is, a bad summer cold that won't go away. 

So Karen, the book is yours!

Thank you to everyone who read and commented on my last post. Thank you to Revelle Books and Holly Gerth for the book.  It is one of my favorites and is available in hard back and Kindle versions at Amazon.com. I signed up for emails at www.holleygerth.com and am enjoying her posts.

Thanks for stopping by!

for the Hard Days...

I have days... hard days... just like anyone else. 

That is my life, probably your's too.

"So pull up a chair if you're feeling tired, if you're discouraged, or if you just feel a little empty inside." Holley

Holley Gerth, author of the book

What Your Heart Needs for the Hard Days

is an easy writer to follow.  A couple of weeks ago, I received her new Book and began reading it that night. I kept it on my night stand and began reading it before I went to sleep. 

After the first few days, I found myself also picking it up and reading it in the morning. I enjoyed it. I looked forward to each new chapter. I even went back and re-read a chapter or two, just because I enjoyed them. My days seemed to be clearer, maybe a little brighter. I looked forward to my time with this book.

Chapter 18 is just one of my many favorites. It begins with:

She stands alone after the service ends".  I walk up next to her and gently ask "How are you?".  She answers "It is well with my Soul".  I nod because I know she is telling the truth. This isn't a cliche offered  like a Band-aid to protect her heart. She means it.

What Your Heart Needs for the Hard Days has 52 entries or chapters. Each chapter ends with a prayer with a few lines for you to journal your thoughts.

There is also space for you to journal what you are hearing. Yes, that is right, a space for you to journal what YOU ARE hearing. I found that challenging, because at first I didn't quite understand. But after I had tried it a couple of times, I realized how much I had learned about myself just by thinking about what I was hearing. 

What Your Heart Needs for the Hard Days, by Holley Gerth is available for purchase on September 2, for $13.99. You may purchase it on Amazon.com in both hardback or Kindle Reader versions. It is published by Revelle Books, a great company with a long history of good books.

It is a great gift idea especially with the holidays fast approaching. I hope you will order it and get one for yourself. I honestly think anyone who reads this book will enjoy it and find it a blessing of words in their everyday life.

Holley has written several other books and they are also available. You can follow Holley Gerth on facebook, twitter, instagram, google+, pinterest and email. Just go to her website and check her out!

www.holleygerth.com

Thanks for stopping by!

GIVE AWAY!
I loved this book so much
I want to give you one!
All you have to do is leave a comment! All comments left on my blog this week will be entered to receive this awesome book!
A winner will be chosen in 7 days so please check back next Monday to see who it is! 

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Disclosure: I enjoy reading! I always have and always will! 

My review of this book is just that, my own opinion of how I liked or disliked this book. I received a free copy of this book from the Publisher in exchange for my review. However, all opinions and summaries expressed are my own, without any influence, and are copyright protected.