Gratitude isn't just for Thanksgiving

Reaching one thousand in my gratitude journal!

Hi Everyone, Danica Favorite here, and I wanted to share about a subject very important to me. I love Thanksgiving, because it makes us stop and think about all the things we're grateful for. But it bothers me that many of us only take one day a year to sit down and express all the things we're truly thankful for.

Almost two years ago, I started a journaling practice that really changed my life. I keep a gratitude journal. Every day I write down ten things I'm grateful for. When I first started, the rule was I couldn't be grateful for the same thing twice, but now that I have over a thousand things on my list, I've given myself a little more room to double up, as long as I don't do it too often!

Sometimes I skip a day or two, but I find that if I go more than a couple of days without writing in my journal, I don't feel as good or have as good of a day. It's easy to focus on the hard things in life, but when I take time to remember the good, and to count my many blessings, it's amazing to see how much better my life looks. In fact, the easiest way for me to turn any bad day around is to look at that journal, and see how, despite whatever bump I've hit, I have a pretty amazing life.

I'm always skeptical of claims of things that supposedly change people's lives, but can I let you in on a little secret about my life? Ever since I started keeping my gratitude journal, everything in my life has gotten better. It didn't happen overnight, and I can't point to a specific link between the two, but despite having the same ups and downs of life, some higher ups, and some lower downs, I have to say that overall, I am a much happier person. My life is a thousand times better.

It's not that everything bad in my life magically disappeared. I've had some really bad days. Crushing disappointments. But I think I handle them better. And sometimes, in the midst of those bad things, when I can still find things to be grateful for, I can't see the bad anymore. As for the good, I find so many small things to celebrate, from the snow glistening on the trees, to enjoying a peaceful moment with my tea, to hugs from my daughter, and a thousand (literally!) other things in between, I know that I have an incredible life. Even when I'm not writing things down, I often stop and pause in gratitude throughout my day because I know that I have so much to be grateful for!

How about you? Have you ever kept a gratitude journal? How can you add a little gratitude to your day?

Help for Christmas Shopping from Cheryl Wyatt

Hello all! How many of you went Black Friday shopping this morning? I stayed home and shopped online. LOL! Didn't want to brave the crowds.

Did you have a good Thanksgiving yesterday? Last year was tough for us because we'd just lost my grandmother a few weeks prior to Thanksgiving. This year, God gave us the grace to laugh and the mood was lighter. My heart is always soft toward those for whom the holidays are hard. If that's you, know you're in my prayers...and you are definitely in God's thoughts. He is very near to the brokenhearted.

For this post, I'd love to tell you about the newsletter sign-up incentive I'm hosting right now. On December 1, 2015, I'll be giving away ten $25.00 Amazon gift cards. So, if you'd love the opportunity to win one of those, sign up for my newsletter here:

http://bit.ly/CherylWyattNewsletterSignup

If you'd like an extra entry, visit my Facebook page ww.facebook.com/CherylWyattAuthor, read the pinned post and see the three ways you can add an extra entry. 

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Cheryl Wyatt

My Writing buddy by Leann Harris

Recently, I had my son's dog spend the week. He's a wonderful dog and planted himself next to my computer. He enjoyed stretching out next to me. He didn't give me any input, but slept through my furious working.

Happy National Adoption Month!

More details here!

Hello friends! Proud adoptive mom Lee Tobin McClain here. November is National Adoption month, and since I think adoption is one fantastic way to form a family, I feature it often in my novels... including my upcoming Love Inspired novel, His Secret Child, coming in January.

My funny, smart, feisty daughter came into my life and my heart at age one in a hotel room in Chengdu, China. Raising her has been, and continues to be, a wonderful journey. I'm grabbing this opportunity to share a few of our family moments with you

Raising Funds to Help Kids in China

Easter Eggs!

Visit to the Great Wall

Beach Vacation

My daughter is fourteen now, an athletic, social high schooler... where did the time go? I'm so proud of all she's accomplished and of the young woman she's becoming. She has been a real blessing to both her father and me. She is running toward the future at breakneck speed, growing up and building a life of her own, but she will always be my baby!

Varsity Cross Country Runner as a Freshman!

To read more about my books and my adoption journey, visit my website or follow me on Facebook. I'd love to connect with you!

Sometimes we get to realize an old dream.

Jenna Mindel here considering the mysteries of God's little blessings.   This past weekend I was part of a fundraiser fashion show.  I had been asked to fill in for someone who couldn't make it, and so I accepted.  I gave it my all and had a blast.

on the catwalk

Backstage in one of two outfits

Little did they know that when I was a teen, I had considered entering the fashion world.  I was hooked on fashion magazines and Rene Russo had been my favorite model at the time.  I  had checked into various schools offering fashion merchandising degrees.  My mom and I made the trip to NYC to meet with one of those schools and boy, I wanted to go.   I'd always dreamed of becoming a model, but knew at 5' 7, I wasn't tall enough.  Even though I didn't need glasses back then, my looks weren't right either.   I'd tried out for some local modeling gigs that I didn't get but was able to participate in a department store modeling course that ended with a big holiday fashion show.  Okay, so I wasn't that great on the run-way.  (I almost fell off the stage)

God had other plans for me though, and I remember knowing deep inside as graduation drew closer  the world of fashion wasn't the right one for me.  Too bad it took me so long to figure out that writing was where I belonged.  But it's funny how God works, giving me this opportunity out the blue eons later.   It was fun.  And I didn't fall! 

Are there dreams of your youth that you've given up on that might be worth taking another look?  If so, what are they? Have you given them a try?


www.jennamindel.com or find me on Facebook

Book Signings and Discounts from Gail Gaymer Martin

Welcome from Gail Gaymer Martin to the Love Inspired blog on this lovely autumn day. I've had the pleasure of writing for Love Inspired for the past 15 years. My first novel, Upon A Midnight Clear, was published in 2000. Today I have written approximately 30 LI novels. That's a lot of writing, but I've enjoyed it through the years.

After the early excitement of writing novels when I did multiple book signings  each year,
I decided to slow down, and today as life gets fuller and harder to keep up with my book deadlines and many parts of being a writer, I rarely do a signing unless it's a personal request, signing with a group of authors or at a special event as the one pictured here. This is Writers on the River in Monroe, MI and it's an amazing event.    Here I'm pictured with a faithful reader who comes every year to purchase my latest novels - and she always wants the Love Inspired books.

You can look for a number of my latest novels available here.
Romance By Design (humorous romance),  Treasures of Her Heart (romantic mystery) and a Christmas novella, Yuletide Treasures

And speaking of books, Harlequin is celebrating it's 10th year of providing eBooks for readers and 10,000 novels are now on sale for $1.99 including 20 of mine which includes my very first novel, Upon A Midnight Clear.  If you click the link below, you can go to the list of books on sale. By typing my name into the blank space, you will find all of my available eBooks on sale now. I hope you enjoy this chance to find books from your favorite authors. Click here for the list.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Allie Pleiter on Snickers Bar Salad Day!

Guess what I had for breakfast recently?

Long-time Allie fans know November 1 calls for only one thing for breakfast: Snickers Bar Salad.  For over ten years I've been giving fans the perfect way to use up all those Halloween fun-sized Snickers Bars in the world's most indulgent breakfast.  Or lunch.  Or mid day snack. Or hey, all three--I won't judge.  

Why shouldn't you get in on the fun?  Here's the super-easy recipe:

Snickers Bar Salad

6 (or more--go ahead, you've earned it...) fun-sized Snickers bars, chopped into small bits
3 Granny Smith Apples, diced
one 5-oz package vanilla instant pudding mix
8 oz cool whip
1 c. milk

In a bowl, mix pudding mix and milk. Fold in Cool Whip. Mix in
apples and Snicker Bars. Cool and enjoy.

If you like, you can munch on this while you enjoy my upcoming release, A RANGER FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

THE GIFT OF TIME OFF by Marta Perry

Once in awhile even the most dedicated writer needs a break. Well, why not? Workers in other fields take vacations from their daily work schedule. Why not writers?

The problem is that writers work in their imaginations, so that even while we can remove ourselves physically from our keyboards (sometimes with the forceful persuasions of our long-suffering spouses!) we can't turn off our busy brains.

Still, this can be a blessing, even though we may not see it that way. The writer's imagination, freed from the everyday routine, may come back refreshed and renewed. Or, even better, it may be spinning away under the surface while we're taking photos and exclaiming over exotic vistas, picking up bits and pieces that will enrich the current work or inspire a new story.

Even as you're ready this, I am going ashore in Belize, intent on a day of shopping, sampling local cuisine, and exploring local crafts. After a traumatic month this fall with my husband's hospitalization for complications following the flu, we're ready for some rest and recreation.

But what will I find in Belize or Honduras that could possibly relate to the Amish stories I write? Well, people are people no matter where they live. The tenderness of a mother with a child is the same whether the woman is a suburban mom, a Amish farm wife, or a Honduran native. And then, of course, there are always one's fellow travelers. Writers are inveterate eavesdroppers, I fear. A spat between spouses about the cost of something sounds much the same no matter where they are, and traveling can sometimes bring out unexpected insights even into people we think we know very well.

So while I sit in the sun with my husband and go exploring with my sister-in-law, I know I'll be storing up bits and pieces that will, at some time, come into play with my writing. Bon Voyage!

What Love Inspired Authors Do For Fun….

Pamela Tracy here, and what do we do for fun?

We write!

These past two months I've been priviledged to participate in an eharlequin venture for November.

My novella is Heart of a Hero on the 16th.

If you're ready to celebrate the month of Thanksgiving - go ahead and check on these online reads.  Most author are doing giveaways and more.

If you'd like to read about it, here's the url for Prism Tours.  http://prismbooktours.blogspot.ca