A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

A Restful Moment... Because We All Need One About Now The hubbub of the holiday season will soon be over. We breathe a bit easier now that the big family meal is over, the gifts have been opened, and the wrapping paper is bagged and put out to the curbside.  A few weeks ago, a fellow writer sent me a gentle story of a trip to the shores of Lake Michigan. A warmer season. A restful moment when the real treasures are found in spending time with someone you love and taking time to discover something new and wonderful in the blue waters of the lake.  I invited Bill to share this bit of writing with my readers today as a gift...a sweet reminder of sunshine and water and the amazing creation God has given us. Enjoy!   Petoskey Stones by William Morrow A lazy red sun greets Jane and I as it rises over the hilly countryside surrounding our motel breakfast table – certainly a good start to a morning looking for Petoskey stones.  After breakfast it is only a short drive t...

  The Sound of…                You thought I was going to write about the  Sound of Music  didn’t you? I watched that memorable musical a few nights ago, singing along with Julie Andrews at the top of my lungs.                But no, this post is about Christmas music.         I love the sounds of Christmas. I once had a collection of record albums filled with Christmas music. As a teen, I played them over and over throughout the season. Now I simply ask Alexa to play Christmas music and she obliges.         Music is the universal language. As Alexa played  Silent Night , I was reminded of a story that took place in World War II. I don’t remember all of the details, but in 2002, Hollywood came out with a movie based loosely on the true story.        It is reported that d...

A Scattered Sort of Christmas   We see images on television of people coming down the stairs to open gifts on Christmas morning. Some people do that, yet in reality, many open gifts on Christmas Eve.    And if you are part of my family, you open gifts whenever you can get people together.   Take this Christmas. Most of my family opened Christmas presents during our “ThanksChristmas” gathering in November. Most.    My mother wasn’t feeling well so she was not part of the festivities. Instead, she sent her gifts for everyone to my house.    It wasn’t a lot of heavy lifting. My mom gives everyone money for Christmas. It’s her version of “one size fits all” and takes joy in her claim “No one ever returns it.”   Yet because she wasn’t here, we had to make other arrangements for her to receive her gifts.    My middle daughter, Danielle, and her family stopped by my mom’s house on their way back to Wisconsin to give her their presents...

 More Than Stroll on the Literary Trail   For the past several years, my mother’s Christmas gift to me has been an Ohio membership for the automobile club called AAA. (Triple A)  Good thing. There was the time my battery died. The time I had a flat tire. And of course the time I was at a restaurant with a friend and she locked her keys in her car. Yep, they came and helped us then, too.   The organization sends me their magazine as well. I enjoy the articles and tips. Because I live in Ohio, the magazine always has articles about the best places to visit in “the Buckeye State.”    I save the stories I find most interesting.   I am a member of the Ohio Chapter of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). I served as the president for a couple of years. My last year to serve was 2021. That year, I proposed we accept the challenge to visit sites on the Ohio Literary Trail. I pulled out my AAA Magazine and shared the article I’d read about it. The Ohio Li...