Read, wRite, Relax

Reading, wRiting and Research

I'm starting the year off Right,

focusing on Reading, wRiting, and Relaxing.

Walking more, Worrying less.

Focusing on Faith For Forgotten dreams, Family, and Friends.

less Tv, more Trivia and Thoughtfulness.

less Facebook, more FaceTime

no Resolutions, more Random thoughts.

Cafe Chartier, my cozy writing corner.

There. I think that's enough to get the year kick-started.  Rob will be going back to work next week, after his shoulder surgery two months ago.  I'll miss him, but hopefully I will become more organized.  Hmm, scratch that.  I've always been a spur-of-the-moment kind of gal, so why change now?



Lady and the Sea is staying afloat, but I'm doing some marketing research and praying circles around her, thanks to the book I'm reading, The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.  I'm excited to hear that Lady and the Sea is being sold in Sweden and Norway.  Friends say that I need to talk more about Lady, mention her more on Facebook, blogs, and such.  My dilemma is I don't want to 'overkill' anyone.  However, Valentine's Day is coming up and Lady would be a perfect gift for a wife, girlfriend (or co-worker who is having a birthday).  There, I did it!  That wasn't so bad, was it?

Stay on course and keep dreaming, and always beLeaf.

...Skate more...
My winter tree filled with ice skating ornaments

I'm Drawing Circles ... not to be confused with running around in circles!

Dream ... and BeLeaf!

I'm beginning the new year by reading The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.  I read Chapter One this morning, but I stopped dead in my tracks after reading the first sentence of Chapter Two:

Every book has a backstory.  There is a moment when an idea is conceived in the imagination of an author and this idea is destined to become a book. 

All you writers and authors can relate to this statement, but the concept is for all of us who are alive and well on planet earth.  The backstory of our lives--what has happened up until now--is an important part of who we are today.  Good or bad, happy or sad, those choices we made yesterday make up our character--and believe me, some of us are real characters--and who we are today.


Mark's words were yet another confirmation to me that I made the right decision to keep my backstory in the novel, Lady and the Sea.  After all, the book is based on my true story.  This past year, readers have told me how they related to the ups and downs, the pain and the happiness of my life.  That is what Lady is all about ... touching lives for the better ...  finding faith for forgotten dreams.

What is your backstory?  I know some of you have experienced a failed marriage, the loss of a loved one, a serious illness.  My heart goes out to you.  Like you, I don't have all the answers.  But I do know that each time I sought the Lord ... He heard me.  He was there for me, and led me through to the light at the end of each tunnel.  He still does today.

I can't wait to delve into The Circle Maker.  But I'm more excited about delving into this coming year, knowing that our backstories are behind, and a promising future is ahead.

Dreams can come true.  Pray circles around them, and see what happens!

The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road.

The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. 

 Psalm 19:7-8 The Message

www.sharonleaf.com

Dreams do come true!

Extreme makeover by granddaughter, Destinee
(make-up artist for Mac Cosmetics)

Happy 2013!

My year began with a dream of long ago coming true!  A silly dream for sure, but still, a teen-ager's dream that transpired in her 66th year.  I'm telling you this to encourage you that those dreams you forgot about and buried deep in a hole somewhere still have time to transpire!  Let me tell you my story in a few random thoughts.

When I was in ninth grade I tried out along with fifty other girls for a school fashion show.  Long runway in the auditorium, bright lights, the works.  I was a shy teen-ager, but something inside of me whispered, go for it.  So the next day, shaking from head to toe, I made my way down the runway in front of three women from Bobbie Lynn's Dress Shop.  
Note: I didn't realize until after the fashion show that the women were looking for specific measurements for the clothes to fit perfectly.  I had the right numbers:  34-26-34!  
Confession: This was the only time in my life that I was thankful for small boobs.  

The following week, as I strutted down that runway wearing four beautiful ensembles, focusing on holding my shoulders back, smiling big, and making sure I didn't trip, my mind was telling me, Sharon, you were born to be a model!  That night in my bedroom, I declared in my diary, Some day I shall model again!

... fast forward fifty-three years ...

Last month my neighbors invited me to the annual Golden Hills Garden Club Christmas dinner.  I joined the club, and two days later I received a phone call, asking if I would be one of the models in their annual January Fashion Show.  My heart raced as I answered, "I would LOVE to!"  I hung up, looked at the calendar and sighed, "I have three weeks to lose twenty pounds."  Yeah, right.

Last week at Mae's on Main,  I proudly pranced down the aisle towards a room full of sophisticated garden gals, and I tripped.  I quickly composed myself, smiled, and said, "Doesn't every famous model trip up once in awhile?"  And so the fun began ... I was living yet another dream.

I hope this year will be a time for buried dreams to rise up to the surface of your lives.  Old dreams, new dreams, God's dreams.  Some times we have to step out and take a chance, even if we trip up ... hopefully not in a room full of people.  I've learned over the years that laughter is the best medicine and not to take ourselves too seriously.  It was worth the little trip for me to see those women's faces light up and to hear their laughter.  And so it continued throughout the evening.

Being a runway model is exhausting!

Life is short and we never have enough time for gladdening the hearts of those who travel the way with us.  Oh, be swift to love, and make haste to be kind.

The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you: to do right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8 NLT


www.sharonleaf.com

Waving farewell to 2012!

MS Restoration sailing from the Black Sea to Israel in 1995

Let Christ navigate you through 2013

May this year be the year you wave farewell to your safe shore,

and dive into a new ocean of dreams that will lead you to your God-given destiny.

Through rough seas or silky waters, your Captain will guide you to safe harbors.

I wish you smooth sailing and oceans of blessings for the New Year!

MS Restoration crossing the Atlantic in 1994
(from Seattle, WA to Stockholm, Sweden)

(photos by Julie Langaker)

A Few Days after Christmas

Not a perfect Christmas tree, not a perfect Grama

The Christmas season comes and goes like a whirlwind, and before you know it, you're sitting by the fire with your empty coffee mug and wondering, Where did the time go?  I wanted to have my neighbors over for some Christmas cheer; I couldn't wait to go to the annual "Christmas Lights at the Zoo"; I looked forward to a road trip to Charleston to see their Christmas festivities; I had every intention of mailing a few Christmas cards ... the list goes on.  Didn't happen.  Perhaps next year.

I was drawn to my iMac to write down a few random thoughts after Rob and I saw "The Guilt Trip" with Barbra Streisand, and "Parental Guidance" with Bette Midler.  I'm not a movie critic, but for me, both movies had themes that most women my age (40+) could relate to.

Two topics that resonated from both movies--for me anyway--were respect and we're the other grandparents.  Listen to me, no matter how perfect we try to be, we all have quirks*, from the grandparents, to the parents, to the children.  Most of our family quirks we learn to ignore and even laugh at.  Some cut a little deeper.  (*If you don't know the definition of quirk, look it up on google)

As our kids turn into adults, we slowly turn loose of them so they can become who they are destined to be.  Even so, we still want them in our lives.  A simple phone call now and then brightens our day, sprinkles sunshine on the challenges we face in our own lives.  We don't have to agree on much, but a phone call means more than any present money could buy.  You don't have to agree with me, but please, respect me for who I am, your mother, your grandmother.  Now I can hear those amens coming through the wi-fi wires, loud and clear.  Not from the kids so much, but from you mothers and grandma's.

The other topic.  We need to stop comparing ourselves with the other grandparents.  After talking with a few of my friends, I realize that now and then we all go through the comparison thing.  My Mother always felt bad because she couldn't give expensive Christmas gifts like the other grandparents, but her grandkids didn't love her any less.  It was her laughter and silliness that we all remember about Mama Cook.  That's what I'm hoping my kids and grandkids remember about me.

So lets begin this year with this decision: I will not compare myself with anyone.  I will let go, and be me!  I will continue to respect my parents for who they are, and hopefully my children will respect me for who I am.  Like my friend told me, "When our family gets together for the holidays, its a madhouse!  But we're family, and that's who we are."  Well, said, dear anonymous friend.

So there.  That's all I wanted to say for now.  I wish you smooth sailing and oceans of blessings for the New Year!

www.sharonleaf.com