Have Courage and Be Kind

A few weeks ago, the kids and I were watching Cinderella. As we’re entering the holiday season, I’ve had this one scene in the back of my mind. It’s the one where Cinderella’s mother tells her to have courage and be kind.

I believe we all need a little courage when times get tough and in those moments it’s easy for us to forget to be kind to one another. There is always a little piece of backstory you’ll never know about someone else’s lives.

Be kind.

Treat one another the way you’d want someone to treat you, even when you’re not feeling it.

I like to believe we are all like the Whos living in Whoville, singing and joyous for this coming of Christmas. I’d like to believe everyone has a giving heart and looks out for their fellow man. When you grow up in a small town, you develop this sense of always finding the good in people. As well as you should!

But what I really want to share today is there are people this holiday season who are not feeling the joy vibe like you are. There are those who are estranged from family, alone and grieving for the loss of someone dear. There are those struggling financially and struggling to hold hope when what they really feel is desperate and despair. There are those who are depressed and struggle with the ups and downs of holding onto hope and joy; to all of you, I say, “Have Courage and Be Kind.”

Kindness doesn’t take much time to share. It doesn’t cost much in comparison to the other gifts you’ll give and receive this year. It’s the price of a smile or a simple word. Tell the clerk at the shop “thank you” even if they’re just doing their job, everyone needs to feel appreciated.

Have courage.

Be Kind.

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Silver Wind Equine Rescue Romance Book 3 - Silver Stirrups Releasing soon

For those of you in my newsletter list, the chapter excerpt went out in last month’s newsletter and I know some of you are as excited as I am to see this book coming out.

Silver Stirrups is the 3rd book in the Silver Wind Equine Rescue Romance Series. Originally the Silver Wind Trilogy it wouldn’t be a trilogy without a third book, but I’ve since renamed it and thanks to finding my old written notes in notebooks from our move a few years ago and the flooding of our home a few years ago, I’ve been able to bring Josh and Alison’s story to you.

Can a little faith, a whole lot of trust, and a second chance help Josh and Alison find what they’re both missing?

After a streak of bad luck hits Windy Knoll farms, Alison finds herself without a horse, and the Silver Stirrups Riding Club is without a trail master. While Alison expects foul play where the disappearance of her horse is concerned, she can’t prove her ex had anything to do with it.

Josh vowed he’d stay out of trouble after a few bad decisions put him in debt to his brother-in-law, but he owes a bigger debt to Alison for walking away from their relationship years ago without an explanation. Josh volunteers as the new trail master while using his connections through the Silver Wind Horse Rescue to help find Alison’s horse.

All the evidence leads to Josh’s guilt, but can Alison trust him enough to let a horse lead them down the right trail?

Silver Stirrups will be available on November 26, 2019. 

 You can ensure your copy on release by clicking here.

As a special treat for the release, book 1, Forgotten Reins is FREE this weekend and Book 2, Unbridled is only 99 cents!

Make Time to be Thankful

Sometimes in life, it is easy to take many things for granted. We do it every day without thinking about it. We come to expect things from people and places that have always done what they do for us without ever considering that those things are not a given. They don’t have to be there or do what they do.

There are so many times we exhaust ourselves trying to do for others until we get burnt out. The fuel to keeping us going isn’t always rest or monetary value. It can be as simple as words of appreciation and gratitude.

The other day, I had too many places to be and things to do. One of my children stepped up and took care of preparing supper. They didn’t ask if I wanted help, they asked where to find what they needed and did what was needed to make a meal. That child told me that I go out of my way so much to make sure they get where they need to go and they wanted to show their appreciation by helping me out. Otherwise, supper would have been late and rushed and I appreciated that extra hand of help immensely.

How many times have you told someone thank you for doing what they do every day? How many times have you done something that needs to be done on your spouse’s or family or friend’s list to be a blessing in their day? Could they have done it, of course, but doing it would give them one less thing on their list or an extra five minutes to be still.

We try to teach our kids grace and appreciation at the same time as teaching them not to allow someone to take advantage of them or vise versa. In our busy world, it is easy to go along our day without noticing others or the little details that are combined for the bigger picture.

This time of year we get plenty of reminders to counting our blessings. We start gratitude journals, and like New Year’s resolutions, they get put to the wayside as other things overtake the priority of our mindfulness.

Taking the time to be thankful shouldn’t go to the wayside after November. What if we all try to be mindful of the little things and take the time to be thankful every day rather than just for the holiday? I’m cutting down on my schedule to take it slower and notice more things around my world.

How about you? How will you make time to be thankful for this day forward?

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Don’t forget to tell someone Thank You today. @susanlower (Click to Tweet)

Making a space for your creativity

It’s always neat to look to see what other people’s offices and studios

look like. It gives one ideas and a new perspective into other creative processes and where that happens. Or at least for me, it does. Or maybe I’ve been watching too many shows on HGTV.

What does your creative space look like?

We all have different spaces and different forms of creativity. My writing space isn’t always a coffee shop or a quiet corner in the library. It’s my laptop on my lap in the car waiting for kids or sitting on bleachers for a sports event. But when I am home I like to have a place that’s just mine. It’s where I go that I know I won’t be disturbed, okay mostly not disturbed.

I can honestly say, I miss our last house. I had a small room with a door that I could go in and focus on writing and it was my space. In our new home, that space is the far corner of the ‘Lower Dungeon’ or downstairs family room.

Who knows in the future there might be a ‘she shed’ in the future for me. Until then, this is where I retreat to work on my stories.

My creative space has evolved several times to meet the needs of the season of my creativity. Like a blank canvas or an unwritten page you can see I’m still personalizing and updating my little corner I claim as my own. When I’m not writing or chasing after my family, I enjoy paper crafts and bookbinding.

The bookcase and desk came from Walmart.com while the pendant light came from Amazon.com as well as my ergonomic keyboard.

When you are creating a space for creativity it needs to work for you. Nor does it have to be fancy or top of the line in the latest trends. It should be a place of joy that you want to go to often.

To make a space that is yours, choose and put things in there that help inspire your creativity while giving you the tools and functionality you need to create.

I have wall hangings with words on my bookcase. I’m a lover of words and those positive quotes help spur my creativity. I have books, that I love to read and ones that I use for resources.

What kind of things inspire you?

I ‘ve been collecting old books to make a wall art above my desk and eventually I’ll replace the kitchen chair with a desk chair… or not. I also trade-off and sit on an exercise ball some days. And there are days when I like to stand while I create.

This is my old space on the other side of the room, I had to give it up for my kids doing homework and online education. When they aren’t using it, my husband uses this space for working. One half of the family room has become a ‘office’ space for our family in constant need of using a computer.

While back to back in the same room, these two different spaces in the house are used for similar purposes, only one belongs to me and the other is for the rest of the house. Needless to say, when you create a space to inspire your creativity it doesn’t need to look like either of the ones I’ve shown you.

Your creative space should be set up in a way that works for you. The things my space includes are things that inspire me, bring me joy, and help me to express my creativity.

Not everything to build your creative space needs to be brand new. That writing desk is a treasure I found at a yard sale years ago. It’s my favorite. And the countertop was given to me as is the shelf with paper on top. Creative and repurposing things can be fun and another way to make your creative space unique to you.

What does your creative space look like? CLICK TO TWEET

Make Time for Traditions

Did you know Fruitcake was initially a wedding cake? Yep, that holiday dreaded sweet we think of now was once part of a different kind of tradition.

What was once popular and valued hundreds of years ago, has been either forgotten or considered ‘too old fashioned’ for today’s modern society.

While I don’t suggest going out and baking a fruitcake unless you like fruitcake or love baking and try to put your own twist on it, I do want to encourage you to find one old tradition in your family’s history and keep it alive.

Can you imagine the sight and scents of white roses and lavender instead of gingerbread and evergreens? Colonial Virginians preserved their roses for this very occasion. Christmas with roses? I’m in! Although I prefer mine raspberry tipped, and the image of roses in these unpredictable seasons, thanks to global warming has my mind spinning with the possibilities.

Do you invite people over for a party for holidays and celebrations? Too busy with your day job and everyday life to stress about getting it all coordinated this year? Well, friend. When in Roman, do what the Romans do, right? In which, I refer to ‘Saturnalia,’ a Roman tradition where a child plans the party. Give your pre-teen or teen a little extra responsibility this year and promote them to party planner—with your final approval of course.

Craving a little Humble Pie, unlike the fruitcake, the humble pie started as a stable at Christmas in the 1600s. It was filled with a deer’s ‘humbles,’ you know heart, liver, brains, and other neglected organs, which is where it got its name. Whereas nowadays, serving up a little humble pie is much sweeter and has a much different meaning. I think I’ll pass on the humble pie and stick with rose petals and fruitcake.

And let us not forget the giving of gifts. It’s a tradition linked to so many occasions and puts us back to the Roman’s ‘Saturnalia’ and another tradition that most writers and lovers of words can appreciate it. The Romans wrote poetry on their gift tags. It makes you think of love and Valentine’s traditions, which also include roses, sweet words, and possibly cake. Preferably chocolate.

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Old or new, our traditions blend and evolve, but the ones we keep and the ones we make are what our families come to value and remember in the next generations to come.

What old or new traditions do you make time for?