Why I Love My Mother

So many young people that I know do not appreciate their mother. They have the attitude that mom was put on earth to make life miserable and tough, or that mom doesn't care, doesn't pay attention, or has no clue how hard their life is.

Believe me, I know the feeling. I've been there. I have had that attitude and those thoughts, and I remember them very well.

But the truth is that ALL of the of the young people I know and talk to DO NOT have a mom that hates them, makes their life miserable, or doesn't care. 

Their mother aches when her child suffers. Their mother's heart aches when she must discipline her child, and each mother wishes that she could give her child everything that they want and need.

Each of the young people who have told me that their mother "hates them", "doesn't care", or "has no clue" actually has a very comfortable, easy life that they themselves are making hard and miserable, and their mother is only trying to help make it less miserable. However, these young people like being miserable, because then they can complain to their friends... and because Mom is trying to make life easy, that makes her the automatic bad guy.

Yes. "Mom" is not very well appreciated by many of today's young people.
Again: I know. I've been there. I understand. And I see now why I was wrong in thinking my mom was pent against me and set to make my life miserable.
 To any young people who are reading this and have steam rolling out of their ears while saying "YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND! My mom doesn't do anything for me! She doesn't understand me and never will!"
Just hold it...
Who went through the terrible pain of childbirth to bring you into the world? Who helped raise you and keep you alive up to this point? Who cleaned up your messes when you were young? Who cooked for you and fed you? Who took care of you when you were sick and who got you the medicine to help you get better? Who is letting you sit at the computer right now?
Yes, I do expect some answers to be "dad", but I bet you are answering NONE of them with "me/myself". If so, then YOU are a snot and a brat. Period.
Most of the answers to those questions, however, I can guarantee will be "mom", and I know this because mom does all of those things BEST (no offence to dads). Mom is the only one who can give birth. Mom is better at keeping things and her kids clean. Mom takes care of sick people better. Mom is usually more of a pushover than dad. Mom plays the "mom role" so much better than anyone else, and yet.... so many young people do not appreciate their mom.
No "ifs" or "buts" about it. Short of your mom beating you daily and trying to purposely poison you, your mom does not hate you and is not trying to make your life miserable. And you know what? Most of the kids whose mom actually hate them, love her anyway. They don't usually say mean things about their mom. They are usually GRATEFUL for the times and occasions, no matter how small, when their mother does show some love. Those kids with horrible moms are just the opposite of kids with good moms.
And you know something else? Kids with no mom wish that they could have yours.

So, in honor of Mother's Day, I have made a short list of reasons why I love my mom and appreciate her.

My mom is caring and wants to help fix things. Often this annoys people and makes them angry, but only her immediate family understands that this is just her nature. She feels the pain of others and she wants to fix their troubles for them. This has made her a wonderful mother, because she is willing to help us kids with our troubles, showing us how to remove problems and get past them, and teaching us to keep communication open. She has taught us to be compassionate toward others and not think of ourselves and our problems only.
She has made our family and our home a happy place to be and a comfortable place to hang out at. We all relish in peace and comfort when we spend time as a family. She has helped our family obtain unity in heart and mind, helping us achieve one accord which brings our home the peaceful essence that others outside of our family even enjoy.

She is joyous and 100% encouraging when she sees us following God's Will for us, and she fights vehemently and stands strong, like a dragon, when she sees something that is NOT God's Will for us.
Sometimes her enthusiasm embarrasses me and her fighting makes me angry because it forces me to move out of my comfort zone. But I am glad she does it. I have become a better, stronger person because of her fights and enthusiasm.

No, she is not perfect and she makes mistakes. But just as she helps us correct our mistakes, she in turn is willing to let us help her correct hers.

But, above all, she is zealous for Jesus Christ, follows the laws of YHVH God with passion, and is willing and ready to follow His every command for her life and the life of her family. She spends much time in prayer, searches the Word for understanding and for every answer she needs, and she spends much time learning to better understand the words and laws of God.

For these reasons, and many more, I believe my mother is a wonderful mother to me and my siblings and I love her for it.

And now, what can YOU do for your mother this weekend to make life easier for HER?

Writing - Action Scenes

Recently, a person that I role play with (yes, I am addicted to role playing) mentioned that she was horrible at writing action scenes, specifically those with fighting and battles.
I do quite well at writing action scenes, and she asked me how I do it. So, naturally, this prompted a blog post.
I am not sure how many of you are into writing, and specifically fiction writing (the place where you will find the most creative action scenes), but maybe this will help some passerby or spark some interest in some of you here.
Just a note, these ideas I mention here are just that: my ideas that work for me. There is no guaranteeing that any of them will work for you. We are all different and have different styles and ways of doing things, so if my ideas don't work for you, perhaps they will help you find your own style that works for you.
Don't limit your creativity to someone else's ideas! Broaden your perspective!

1. Grab the popcorn
Before I write a scene, I usually plug in some action music from a movie soundtrack (my favorites are Lord of the Rings soundtrack and The Chronicles of Narnia soundtrack). I think it is referred to as "setting the mood" in the author.

2. Grab the remote
I go through the basics as I get closer to writing the fight scene.
What has led up to this point - this conflict?
How do things look? What sounds are there? How does my character act and react? I create the sounds, the sights, the smells, the basic feelings of my character. Usually, when writing an fighting scene, I don't get much into my character's head and emotions. But I do get physical: what pain, strain, and stress is his body experiencing? What does he see, hear, and smell?
Sometimes, usually at the very beginning of an action scene, I will touch on the very raw emotions of my character. Is he desperate? Is he filled with rage, hate, and blood lust, or fear and confusion? Why is he fighting? What are his very basic feelings and thoughts on the matter?

3. Play the movie
Now for the action to happen. How do I make it work?? I pretend I'm watching a movie... Seriously!
I play my actions scenes in my head, in my imagination, like a movie. I sit down in my Imagination Studio and watch the scene on my huge screen... I close my eyes, or stare off into space, and envision the action in my head, then I transcribe what I see into the written language.
Questions to ask if you are one of those people who have a difficult time envisioning stuff like this: What has happened to cause this conflict? What kind of action would you expect as a result, if this were a movie? What sort of action would elicit a reaction from you in a movie and why? What unexpected things can happen? How does the bad guy think and act? How does the good guy think and act? What can you expect from them? What can happen to cause them pain? What will the characters do to avoid pain and stay alive? What will happen to make the audience cringe, or put them on the edge of their seat?
One thing you must remember when in action, weather in movies, in writing, or in real life: you and/or the characters don't think when in action. You are just doing. The characters are just doing. Everything is happening fast and there is no time to think, only act. There is no time to take in a lot of detail. There is no time to think about how you feel.
This can be a bit tricky, since it is writing and not visuals. The trick with writing is to keep constant suspense and give only the necessary details that keep the action rolling, such as the burn of pain, the thrust of a knife, the gleam of a claw, the giant eye of the bloodthirsty beast, the shock of a punch in the jaw.

Here is an example of a mild action scene, a small excerpt from my soon-to-be-published novel, The Dragon's Son:

  Keegan jolted awake out of a sound sleep, feeling a tiny buzz of electricity shiver down his spine, shaking him.

A dark feeling began creeping up his spine, making him instinctively grab the hilt of his sword: something dangerous was lurking nearby. He could feel its presence.

He sat up silently and tried to adjust his eyes to the darkness. Clouds were in the sky and they concealed the twin moons and the many stars that normally lit the night sky.

I created the setting for the scene. You know basically the time and the place, and you understand the eerie feeling that Keegan has.

A twig snapped and caused Keegan to jump to his feet in one swift movement. He stood still and tried to listen for any other inkling of movement. The hair on the back of his neck began to stand on end, making him loosen his sword in its scabbard.

He gently nudged the still sleeping Saul with his boot. Saul groaned and rolled over then was silent again. Keegan rolled his eyes and kicked Saul in the leg.

Saul groaned and slowly started to sit up “Keegan is something wrong?” He asked groggily.

“Shhhhh!” Keegan whispered.

Saul seemed to blink the sleep away and, seeing that Keegan was disturbed, he slowly and quietly began to stand up.

I am creating the mood and attempting to build suspense, along with the "edgy" feeling.

A low, unearthly growl in the darkness caused both men to freeze, Keegan standing and Saul in a half sitting position.

Suddenly, a tall shadow leapt out from the darkness and lunged for Keegan with a vicious snarl.

Saul quickly rolled out of the way and Keegan jumped off to the side.

The hot, painful twinge of claws breaking through his skin shot up Keegan’s left arm as he jumped away, and he swung his sword blindly at the attacking shadow as he fell to the ground, landing on his back...

Action and harsh conflict always happen suddenly. Spend a little time building suspense and then slam in the action! Envision it as one of those moments in a movie where you jump in your seat because of the sudden and unexpected attack. Of course, you wont get that reaction with the written word, but just envision it and write it out.
Now, after building some more suspense and intrigue by giving a description of the monster attacking them, I move on with the action:

...The beast crouched slightly, curling its clawed fingers, then it roared and lunged for Keegan, aiming its claws for his throat and torso.
Keegan rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet, swinging his sword at the monster.
His sword struck the beast across its rib cage, slicing through unbelievably thick flesh and opening only a small wound in the large monster.
The creature roared in anger and jumped away from Keegan just as the moon light disappeared behind the clouds and plunged everything back into darkness.
Keegan rushed blindly for a nearby tree, hearing the heavy footfalls of the beast as it came after him. He quickly ducked behind the tree, preparing to swing his sword for the beast again.
His boot suddenly caught in a protruding root of the tree as he shifted his position and his foot twisted. His ankle snapped, and pain jolted up his leg. He cried out as he fell to his knees, his ankle unable to bear his weight any longer.
Instantly, Saul jumped over Keegan just as the monster came around the tree with a vicious snarl. The monster looked somewhat surprised by Saul’s sudden appearance, but it recovered quickly enough to dodge Saul’s sword thrust at its abdomen. It grasped Saul by the shoulders, digging its claws into Saul’s muscles, making the tall man buckle under the intense pain, then it flung Saul aside as if he were but a sack of potatoes.

I noted some of the small movements and details, like the curling of the monster's clawed fingers, but not so many that it would slow the action down. Only enough to give the reader the idea of what things look like and to keep the dangerous mood going. The main thing to consider when adding detail to action scenes is to make sure it adds to the action, instead of taking away from it. You MUST have some detail in action scenes, or things will go way to fast and seem rushed. But you want to make sure that your details keep the action going - that they roll with the punches.

A great picture of fast action with some detail:
.. vicious snarls, lips drawn back, teeth exposed, water spraying into the air...

I must admit, the action scene that I used above is not my best nor my favorite action scene from my book because it is not my most active and exciting. I have much, much better ones in other parts of my novel. However, I chose to use it because it fit the present need better than any of my other scenes. So, all that to say: don't judge my novel by the above excerpt. *wink, smile*
If you would like to read some better action scenes, some of them without monsters and bloodshed, then please take a look at my collection of short stories. There are some really good scenes in there!
Of Dragons, Scoundrels, & 8 Year Olds.

Pictures for this post were found on Google

How's my hearing?

"How's your hearing doing?"
I get the question a lot from people. I usually respond with a "Huh? What did you say?" which makes us all laugh....sometimes.
In case some of you don't know, back in September 2010, I suddenly began to loose my hearing. At first, it was just in my left ear. But then, as my left ear hearing grew worse, my right ear hearing quickly began to follow suite. By December 2010, I was 80% deaf. What makes it weird is that no one knows the cause or why it happened... that is, 3 doctors don't know the cause or reason.
So, jumping back to now: I haven't been to a hearing doctor since December 2010, but I am pretty sure all of my hearing in my left ear is gone and my right ear hearing is somewhere in the middle.
I have coped very well with losing my ability to hear. I can still hear some sounds, like nice, strong human voices, and I seem to do well at word recognition. I don't do well, however, in large groups or parties any more, I can only carry on a conversation if it is one-on-one, and if someone turns their back to me while talking, I usually get hopelessly lost.
Most of my family, children included, have learned to LOOK AT ME while talking so that I can read their lips. I lip read quite well, and as long as a person is where I can read their lips, I can carry on a conversation pretty well.
I am ashamed to admit that my family and I haven't been doing much sign language....like, at all. I know ASL, though I am slow, but I just don't like taking the time to remember the signs for words and use it with/teach it to my family. I know, I know: stupid excuse. But it's the only one I got! Don't worry though. It will change....someday.
One of the main challenges for me since loosing my hearing has been music: I LOVE to sing. I always have, ever since I was a wee little person. Keeping my pretty singing voice has been a challenge, and making sure I hit all the right notes has been even more of a challenge. But, with the help of my sister, Kris, and her great musical abilities, I am keeping my singing voice fairly well intact.
However, Kris says that I yell at her a lot more now than I used to.... hmmm... oh well. I thought she would be used to it by now. (Sarcasm)
Since loosing my hearing, I have become more sensitive to vibration and energy output. I can feel when people, especially children, are near because of their energy output. I can tell that a tractor or a truck has started outside, because I can feel the vibration in the floor (at least I can in our old farm house. Not so much in other houses.). I can also sense when someone is talking to me, or that there is music playing, because of soft vibrations that literally tickle my ears.
Since loosing my hearing, I can tune the world out more easily, and I have learned how to focus more intently on one sound or another. My time alone, praying, thinking, and meditating on God's word, is not as easily interrupted by the sounds of the world around me.
However....and that is a big however.... my thoughts and imagination have become much louder now that I am not listening to the world around me. So now when I have quiet time, instead of struggling to tune out the sounds of the world, I have to fight my thoughts and my active imagination: those "little voices in my head" that create short stories, poems, and novels.

The next question that people frequently ask me is "Can anything be done about it?"
Well.... as far as fixing it, no. According to the doctors that I've seen, the answer is no. They don't know what caused my hearing loss, therefore they don't think it can be fixed. However, a hearing aid for my working ear would *supposedly* help me. I'm skeptic, but friends and family are all insistent that a hearing aid would drastically improve many things for me. I guess if it improved my hearing, even if just a little bit, that would be a plus. But, until I can make some money, I'll just do without.

That is the update on my hearing. I have covered everything I can think of on the topic, but I am certain I missed some. So, if you have a question about my hearing (or anything related) that I didn't cover, or you would like some more info on Hearing Loss, just ask in the comments! I will gladly reply with an answer. ☺

Some Music: The Band Perry - If I Die Young

I am having extreme writers block right now.... bleg....
I have been working a lot on my book, trying to get the last two chapters edited so I can start the publishing process (YAYAYAY!). My brain is so focused on my novel right now that I can't get it to switch gears and work on much of anything else.
Anyway, to make up for my absence, I thought I would post a song. I really like The Band Perry, and I like this song. It explains how I would want things to be if I died young, and my current thoughts of life.

♪♫ Springtime! ♪♫

I posted this on the blog that I am a co-author of called Homeschooling In The Boonies. I thought you all would like me to share the information with you too!


Spring time... the time of year when the sun starts shining, the days get warmer, the grass starts growing, mom gets the urge to clean the family nest, and allergies start attacking people.
Awesome time of year.
Well, here are a few tips and ideas to make your spring more enjoyable:

For allergy and sickness preventative, buy red onions (also known as purple onions) from your grocery store. Cut them in half or quarters (use some of it for frying if you wish) and spread the raw cut peices throughout your house: put it on the window sills, on the fire mantle, on the kitchen island.... Sound like a weird superstitious thing? Well, red onions actually absorb sickness! Proven fact: Onion as Medicine and The Mighty Onion
I know for a FACT that red onions do help with allergies and sickness. Just having them lay around helps to absorb sickness, and it helps abate symptoms if sickness or allergies are already rampant throughout the house. Once they dry out, or turn black, replace them with another raw cut piece!Another thing that will certainly help with sickness, and get the family into the mood of spring, is Spring Cleaning.
You know: dusting the ceiling fans, light fixtures and under the furniture that hasn't been moved for months. Vacuuming under the couch and behind the piano. Scrubbing the bathroom and kitchen walls... all that fun stuff.
It can really be overwhelming if you start looking around at your house and see all the stuff that hasn't been cleaned in forever....or the stuff that should have been taken care of last week, but got forgotten, like the week before, and the week before that... or all the things that the toddler has tried to help clean, but it has chocolate smears and finger prints all over it.
Yeah, you get the point: overwhelming.
Well, here are a few lists and ideas that will help you break it down, complete it step-by-step, and get it done! It can really take a load off your shoulders to have a clean house:
A Thorough Spring Cleaning Checklist - from Imperfect homemaking
A list of 10 ingredients for homemade house cleaners
4 steps to organize and de-clutter