A Brand New Year

Hello Fellow Writers - 

So, we've all been a little (lot) busy over the last little while, but we are done with Christmas now...and having babies (for now)...etc...and hopefully, we can squeeze in a little bit more time for writing in 2009.

You know I try to keep things simple here, so the first writing prompt of the new year is fairly straight-forward:

What do you want 2009 to be about for you?  (Yes, it's goal-setting time!)  Instead of writing about specific goals...I want you to write (in whatever format you deem appropriate) about your vision for yourself in the new year.  Think big picture, here.

For example:  I have chosen a "theme" for my new year.  That way I can keep my goals focused on accomplishing my one big idea.  Honestly, I sort of borrowed my theme from a song called "Say Yes" that I downloaded from the new church Youth website "A Brand New Year".

Many of you are probably already thinking along these lines anyway, so this will just be a continuation of your thought process.  Now get blogging/journaling/creating/writing...and hopefully this will mark the end of radio silence on here! :)  Happy New Year!

The sad passing of Martha, our friend

Sadly, Martha Marie Pilling passed away yesterday while bungee jumping from the Eiffel tower. She was 88 years old. Apparently after spending the week water skiing on Lake Powell, touring Europe, and visiting with her 184 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, her heart had enough excitement and stopped. She wanted us to be grateful for this happy occasion, and pray for her that she makes it through the pearly gates. That girl is gonna require a whole lot of prayin', people! But, at her request, her friends and family threw a party in her honor to celebrate the hope that she will live happily ever after.
Martha could talk the ear off a mule, but she loved people and strived to be a good friend. Listening was not her strength, but if you ever wanted a highly entertaining (and fairly one-sided) conversation, she was the girl for the job. Her house was never clean, but she tried very hard to serve her family and others, and loved spending her time uplifting others. Her patience was very thin while raising her young family, but fortunately, she did gain some as they grew, and as a grandma and great-grandma, actually (finally) learned to speak in a softer, gentler voice, and to not sweat the small stuff.
Martha loved serving the children in Primary, and spent many, many years of her life serving in that capacity. She'd always say she learned more from them than they ever learned from her. She fit right in Primary since she was a boisterous, rambunctious big kid herself.
Martha was always grateful to have the blessing of staying home with her children as they grew, in spite of all the challenges it presented. She strived to make her home a refuge from the storm, as imperfect as she was, but her family knows she loves them dearly and counts them as her greatest treasures. She will be missed by many, and still many others will wonder why it's suddenly so quiet.

Be Bold, Brave, Stubborn, and Smart...

First, I'd like to recommend a book, one of my favorite books, in fact: Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Halse Anderson. (Click here to find it at Amazon or check it out at your local library.)
I loved reading this lively and inspirational picture book for the first time when my baby Guy was just a year old. It's about a real woman who used her most powerful weapon (a Pen!) to make things happen in the world. She was bold, brave, stubborn, and smart...and she created a great movement to make sure Thanksgiving was celebrated as a national holiday. The illustrations and writing are fantastic. And it reminds me every time I read it how powerful we can be when we are brave enough to share our opinions in writing. This would be a great book to share with your children...especially your little girls!

Have you ever written a letter to a governing body, an elected official, or even a newspaper to express your concerns about something? I once wrote a letter to my Representative in Congress asking him to stop allowing some much nuclear waste to travel through Ohio. All I got back was a form letter informing me of why this had to be. It was something, I guess.

I recently read in my Grandmother's personal history that she once lead a letter-writing campaign to get the TV show The Three Stooges taken off the air, because it added nothing to the moral characters of viewers. She didn't get anywhere with that obviously, but it's the act of speaking out and being a part of public dialog that really counts.

Last year around this time, we saw lots of commentary in political circles debating whether or not Mormons were "Christian". As a result, a few members of the local LDS community wrote in to The Daily Item opinion page to express their testimony of Jesus Christ. Cheyenne's was particularly touching and read (in part) as follows: "I am a Mormon and I am indeed a Christian. I believe that Jesus is the Christ....He is my Savior and redeemer...I know that He loves me and everyone on this earth." This was printed on December 17, 2007 in The Daily Item. I wonder how many people read this wonderful testimony that ended in well-wishes to people of every faith...and how many people were touched because Cheyenne cared enough to make her voice heard through simple, clear, honest writing. (Way to go, Cheyenne!)

Now it is your turn to be "bold, brave, stubborn, and smart" by writing about something you care about and putting it out there for our local community to read. You can comment on anything you wish (i.e. the elections, the Thanksgiving holiday, your faith, the local schools, even thank someone for doing something nice, etc.)

The only suggestion is that you keep your comments on the positive side, since many letters to the editor are negative in nature. Below, you can find guidelines for submitting letters-to-the editor to the Daily Item, but you can send your writing in to any publication you want. Keep your comments to 300 words or less and remember to post here AND send it in to a publication. If you want help proof-reading your work before sending it in, just say so in your entry here or you can email it to me separately if you'd like! (jocelyn.christensen@gmail.com)

Now GET WRITING! And Happy Thanksgiving (a bit early!)

Instructions for sending letters to The Daily Item Opinion Section:

"Please include your full name, address and a telephone number where you can be reached during daytime hours for verification and content questions. Letters should be 300 words or less and address a single topic. All submissions become the property of the Daily Item."
Submissions by email: letters@dailyitem.com
By web: www.dailyitem.com...click help desk, then "Submit letter to the editor" under "Contact Us" list.

It is with great sadness we report the death of Britten Ling Wheeler. Britten passed peacefully from this life to the next on June 25^th 2075 in Salt Lake City, Utah next to her husband. Both died of natural causes due to age.
Britten was born on May 9^th, 1982 as a mother’s day present to Ron and Debbie Nelson in Salt Lake City, Utah.
She attended Welby Elementary School, Copper Hills High School and graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelors of Science degree.

She married Daniel Ryan Wheeler from Tucson, Arizona on December 16, 2000 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. Britten is survived by her wonderful children. She is also survived by several grandchildren and great grandchildren and one great great grandchild.

Britten was active in the LDS Church; she served for the church in many callings throughout her life. With each calling she would serve with love and enthusiasm. Britten had a veracious passion for life. Her infectious personality touched everyone she met. She gathered many lifelong friends along her way. God gave Britten many talents, all in which she shared with those she met. Some of her talents included her ability to learn and figure problems out. She was able to learn new skills easily and efficiently. Britten was creative and her ability to see what could be and not what is was something she used. Not only in material things, but in people as well. Britten had the ability to listen to others and council them in times of need. She was a rock for many friends that came to her for guidance. But throughout her life and despite all the many talents she had, her lifelong goal was to be a mother. Britten always felt that this was her most important calling in life.

“The noblest calling in the world is motherhood. True motherhood is the most beautiful of all the arts, the greatest of all professions. She who can paint a masterpiece, or who can write a book that will influence millions, deserves the admiration and plaudits of mankind; but she who rears successfully a family of healthy, beautiful sons and daughters, whose immortal souls will exert an influence throughout the ages long after paintings shall have faded, and books and statues shall have decayed or have been destroyed, deserves the highest honor that man can give, and the choicest blessings of God.” ~ Pathways to Happiness, Llewelyn R. McKay

Britten’s life was full of love and laughter, her spirit lives on in her children and her legacy will live on in all those that knew her.

Her services will be held on…..

Give Me Good Writing or Give Me Death...

Topic: Write your own obituary
Style: Autobiographical/Journalism/Obit/Poetry...It's up to you!
Given by: Jocelyn

Is it too morbid to talk about your own death? A few months ago, I listened to this wonderful interview on NPR with journalist Ann Wroe who has gained prestige for her ability to write great obituaries! I was quite intrigued. She has made quite a career out of writing about people's lives and deaths and to hear her talk about it makes it sound like quite an art. This month, in honor of Halloween, we are going to write obituaries for our writing prompt. You can decide whether you want to write it about yourself (oh, come on now, be brave!) or another person...whether you will write a witty tombstone to accompany it or just a blurb that might end up in the paper in the days following your passing. I know this might be a scary assignment for...well for all of us writers who are still living! But it could also be fun. You can take a serious approach or a comical twist...dig deep and just enjoy the process and see what you come up with!

Things to think about: Just how will you die, exactly? Are you the type who will die during a bungee jump at age 89? Or will you die of hysteria while laughing at yourself? Or will you drift away peacefully, watching your fave re-run of The Golden Girls? Who will be at your side when you pass? How old will you be? How would you describe yourself? What will be your proudest accomplishment or biggest regret? Where would you like to be buried? Funeral arrangements? Do you have a message for the people you will leave behind? Will you leave any special gifts to anyone?

I have included a few witty tombstones sayings that I found online as well as a link to a site where you can actually make your own virtual tombstone - to post along with your finished writing sample! Good luck everyone! (Please post by the 15th, which happens to be my birthday...your posts will be the perfect gift!)

To generate your own tombstone free online click here.

NPR Interview with Ann Wroe: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17821504

For more inspiration and how-to tips go to The Blog of Death. (I like the "who's dead and who's alive" section)

First a Cough

Carried Me Off

Then a Coffin

They Carried Me Off In

Boston, Massachusetts

I told you that I was sick!
-- Georgia Cemetary, USA

Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake; Stepped on the gas instead of the brake.
-- Pennsylvania Tombstone, USA

Remember man, as you walk by, As you are now, so once was I, As I am now, so shall you be, Remember this and follow me.
-- Tombstone in England

Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake; Stepped on the gas instead of the brake.
-- Pennsylvania Tombstone, USA

Falkirk, England

1690

Here lie the bones of Joseph Jones

Who ate while he was able.

But once overfed, he dropt down dead

And fell beneath the table.

When from the tomb, to meet his doom,

He arises amidst sinners.

Since he must dwell in heaven or hell,

Take him - whichever gives the best dinners.

My Relationship with Writing

I don’t dream about vampires, wizards or elves. My imagination creates nothing original. It’s just a borrowed collection of things I’ve heard or seen before twisted to my own perception or liking. Because of this, I’ve never felt the need to have others read my writing. I write for me.

I began writing in my journal when I was eight years old. At first, my journal entries were written in the dark, scribbled on a small spiral notebook because of the two sisters I shared a room with who didn’t want the light left on. I had been taught to keep a journal and I very much enjoyed reading and learning about my ancestors, so I decided then to write daily. In the years since then I have filled four more journals, each one bigger than the last and much more detailed. It’s fun for me to go back and look at the person I was compared to who I am now, though it is hard for me to imagine anyone else enjoying the entries as much as I do.

Writing allows me to express myself in ways that I never would with the spoken word. In school I was able to get near perfect scores on book reports after never having read the books--which is surprising now, because I am always reading—so I guess I have some talent for embellishing! Though I have never written anything nearly good enough for publication, I look forward to the chance to develop a skill in writing along with the rest of the writing group.

-Heidi Parkinson

Writing and Remembering

Tucked deeply inside one of my dusty storage boxes is a folder full of yellowing pages—short stories I penned once upon a time as a youngster. One in particular stands out in my memory: Mr. Green Jeans, a story about a horse and a little girl. I can also claim authorship to a good many “Readers’ Theaters” (remember those?), of which my teachers were always way too kind to allow my friends and me to perform in front of the whole class. Oh, I get red-faced just thinking about it! Thinking back on those embarrassing elementary school writing days, I guess I could say that I have always dreamed of being a writer.

My inspiration usually comes while I am running the vacuum or mowing the lawn. Maybe that is because as the mother of three children, I have very few other quiet times to think! Once the vacuum is tucked back into the closet or the mower is shoved back into the shed, I rush to the computer to type out my thoughts for the day.

Writing allows me to feel somewhat intelligent among the diapers and duties of a stay-at-home mom. I love being a woman and a mother; however, sometimes my world feels very small. But, I am confident that every person has an interesting story to tell, and truthfully, I am interested in everyone’s story. The written word opens the door to an endless array of interesting persons and places.

I fuel my passion by reading everything I can get my hands on. I enjoy everything from classics to cereal boxes. In my efforts to devour the written word, I have gained access to the thoughts of so many different types of people. They inspire me. And, because I love reading so much, I am driven to write as well. I particularly enjoy writing essays about everyday life and sprinkling lots of sentimental mush into my stories. Of course, anytime one writes about life with a husband and young children, humor seems to be a fitting theme as well.

As my days roll into years, I am always grateful for the little tidbits I have written about our family. Memories are preserved—my version, anyway—and stories are saved. The children love to hear about themselves and, of course, I love to read to them. I cherish my many journals. Those are the most important, but someday I’ll finish the novel I’m working on…someday…

Writing is the welcome mat into one's world. I write to give back. I write for my children. I write to welcome others into my world. Those who write, remember. And, those who have written are remembered.