The Night Before Christmas

I love these lyrics that so beautifully capture the beauty of the Holy Birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Be blessed and Merry CHRISTmas.


 

Teaching Moment: Why Jesus?

Over a century ago, there was one man who began to speak of the “virtues” of Hinduism in the United States. As the decades rolled by, more gurus came and developed huge followings. Today, interest in eastern ideas in western culture seems to be at an all time high. Is Jesus still the answer even in this climate? Find out this week on Let My People Think as Ravi Zacharias discusses his book, Why Jesus?
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/let-my-people-think/player/why-jesus-251352.html

Review: Love Under the Bubble Wrap

Wow! I'm so honored when someone takes time to write a review and post it on Amazon. And when it says such nice things, my day is made! Here's a snippet of what Mary Busha said about Love Under the Bubble Wrap - a novelette:

I love the way Donna wove humor, disappointment, deep love, and even sarcasm into her story. Her characters are so real they seem to step right out of her story and intersect with the lives of her readers.

Thank you, Mary. I'm tickled pink you liked it.

Joyful Moment: James Taylor and Yo-Yo Ma

Two of my favorites together in one lovely performance. Enjoy.

Just for Fun - This is Einstein!

Today's post might be fun to share with the kids - or kids at heart, like me!

Devo: Even at MY Age!

Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness. - Proverbs 16:31 NIV

In the grocery the other day, I commented on the high price of blueberries to a woman about my age or slightly older. She looked at me like I might mug her, turned her cart and practically ran.

Then, when I looked like I couldn't find something in another aisle (and couldn't! Where DO they hide coconut flour?) a young couple volunteered to help me find the item and asked if they could get anything else for me.

So what does this mean? Am I the old lady that youngsters (yes - I said youngsters, so that proves my point!) help now? Or did I simply run across some exceptionally sweet people who happened to be younger than me? Sometimes older people will lament how rude this 'younger generation' is, but I have not found that to be the case. In my experience that day, the older (I think...) woman was the rude one.

On Facebook, I posted a picture that said, "Live your life and forget your age." Most of the time, I don't think about age or aging. I'm the absolute worst at guessing someone's age, usually guessing far younger. But when the young couple jumped to help me, I did momentarily ponder whether they thought of me as a dotty old women wondering the aisles of the grocery store looking for odd things. Like coconut flour!

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My Tips for Writers Using Pinterest

What is Pinterest? Here's the official definition from Pinterest:

"Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests."

Here are my top ten tips for writers in particular, although many will apply to anyone learning to use Pinterest.

1. Post your favorite books on your personal Pinterest page by adding images
of all the books you love in your life.

You will probably want to have one board devoted to your books. That's fine, but be sure to have other boards devoted to books and authors you like and different topics that interest you. Avoid giving the impression that your Pinterest profile is being used solely to promote yourself. Be sure to follow the site's rule: "Pinterest is designed to curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or project you're proud of, pin away! However, try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion."

2. Find other writers on Pinterest and follow their examples. Use a board for characters, clothing, research, and scenes.

3. Someone said a Pinterest board is like your high school locker (remember those?) as it is a way to show your readers what interests and inspires you as well as what you're working on right now. 

4. Look for book recommendations or comment on other boards in the Film, Music & Books section.

5. Share writing tools, stationery, journals, books and writing-related items in the "Gifts" section.

6. Use #hashtags and keywords. Much like on Twitter, tagging your pins with trending hashtags or keywords will help you find new followers. Searching for other pins and boards using hashtags will also help you find similar brands on Pinterest to follow.

7. Add the Pinterest bookmarklet to your browser's bookmarks bar. This is a time-saver, because it allows you to easily pin things you find while browsing without going to the Pinterest website first. To get it, visit the Pinterest "Goodies" page and drag the "Pin It" button to your browser toolbar. Now, when you see something you want to pin, click the bookmarklet and you'll be prompted to create a new pin. Be sure to scroll to the correct board for each pin.

Another vital tip from Pinterest - "If you notice that a pin is not sourced correctly, leave a comment so the original pinner can update the source. Finding the original source is always preferable to a secondary source such as Google Image Search or a blog entry."

8. This tip has saved me a lot of time. If you're pinning an image from a website using the Pinterest bookmarklet, you can highlight some of the text on that page before you hit "Pin It" and the text will automatically show up in the description box. Still edit and add hashtags.

9. You can also tag other Pinterest users by using the @ symbol with their Pinterest user name. You have to be following at least one of their boards. That user will see the pin, and it will link to their Pinterest profile. Use this tip to help promote each other on Pinterest.

10. And finally, follow me! I'm at http://pinterest.com/donnashepherd. My boards are a hodgepodge of recipes, crafts, interesting and funny pictures (Bonus tip - funny pins gets re-pinned more often!), and of course, a couple are dedicated to my books. I have links to wonderful inspirational and Bible quotes, too. I hope you'll check them out.