A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

I Resolve... Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? When I was in third or fourth grade, I received a paint by number set for Christmas. Uncle Ralph said something like, “You won’t be able to finish that this year.” I thought he was crazy. A few days later, I started painting. I had a whole year. Well, not really. I had less than a week. My goal to paint it before the new year was unrealistic.  I remember as a little girl pouring over a possible list of New Year’s Resolutions. I learned from my paint by number fiasco the difference between goals and objectives. Even if I didn’t use those words.  Goals are long range and often, at least when you are young, rather lofty and maybe out of reach. Objectives are short, attainable pieces that serve as stairsteps, if you will, toward reaching those lofty goals. For example, I have met many people who tell me they want to write a book. That is a goal. Outlining a book, writing a premise, or perhaps crafting character sketches would be obj...

  Joy to the World! I’ve been thinking about the message of hope we seek in what we call the Christmas story. The real story of hope is not that a baby was born in a manger. The real story is that God came to earth so that our relationship to Him—our relationship  with  Him could be restored. "Peace on earth, good will to men." We read daily of wars and shootings –of evil slinking through our streets and attacking us from all sides. We see our leaders in government making poor decisions to save seats in congress and our judges appointed by presidents making unilateral decisions for us all without our voice. We quiver and cringe. Peace on earth? We shake our heads and sadly whisper, “Not here.” But Peace did come to earth and His name is Jesus.  Not the peace perhaps as we would have designed it. Not a peace that blankets the earth like a soft white snow on Christmas. We probably would have made peace look like a Disney movie with singing and birds flitting about and ...

  It's All About   Community Community is the word that came to mind for my blog post this week.  Let me explain.  Mike and I enjoy going to car shows. Through the activity, we’ve met a lot of people and made many new friends.  A local restaurant in our community,  The Diner , hosts a pretty nice car show. They have five to six shows a year during the winter months. Welcome to the Diner Mike and I have been to that particular show several times. The food at the restaurant is excellent. The conversation is great. And the cars? There is a bit of everything present. Every car, old and new. Every color of car, from bright white to pitch black with  everything  in between.  But what I appreciate most about the car shows at  The Diner  are the people. I’ll start with the people who work at the restaurant itself. Service is great, yes. The food is excellent. But, moreover, this is a community minded group. If someone in the area has a...

  Cowboy Country Festival Howdy, Y’all! This past week, we attended the Cowboy Country Festival in Brooksville, Florida. The event was sponsored by our church, Stable Faith Cowboy Church. Now isn’t that a great name for a cowboy church? Stable Faith. Mike and I have been attending this church since moving to our home in Inverness. We like it there. Not simply because it is a Cowboy Church, complete with all the western flair…including a lot of cowboy boot clad members, wagon wheels, saddles and such. No, we like the church because it is a place where the Gospel…Good News…of Jesus Christ is taught. Shared. Breathed. So, when our church sponsored a Cowboy Festival for the community, we donned our cowpoke clothes and attended. There were vendors, events, and activities for everyone.  Of course Santa wears Cowboy Boots and a Cowboy hat! Children could get their faces painted, learn to rope a steer, participate in a Stick Pony barrel race, and sit on Santa’s lap.  Okay, adults...

  Judy Blume.  You may have heard of her.  She is the author of more than twenty-six novels including  Tales of Fourth Grade Nothing, Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret,  and  Superfudge,  …to name a few of her children’s and young adult titles.  She has also written some adult fiction. But now? Now in her eighties, Judy Blume is living her dream. I know. She told me.  Yep, that's me with Judy Blume. A couple of weeks ago, Mike and I headed to Key West to catch a ferry to the Dry Tortugas. If you missed that post, CLICK HERE. The day before our venture, we took in some of the sites and enjoyed some great food on Mallory Square, but the biggie for me that day was visiting Books and Books at the Studios of Key West, a local bookstore.  I had done my research. Books and Books is owned by Judy Blume and her husband. I also learned she spends much of her time in the store.  We parked the car and headed down Eaton Street. And there, righ...

Thankful for a Summer Date with Mike...  in November When I mapped out my blog posts through the end of the year, I simply wrote “Thankful” on my calendar for this week. I even considered reposting one of my Thanksgiving memories from years past.  I have much for which to be thankful.   Mostly, I am thankful God came to earth to die on a cross for  ME .  Well, for you, too, if you accept His gracious offering.  And I am thankful for my family here and away. I am thankful for…the list could exceed my word count, so I’ll get right to business. This holiday I want to share with my readers how thankful I am for a man named Mike. My husband. I have often shared Mike is a good man. It’s true.  Last week, Mike and I took a little day trip south of Tampa. It was initially to be an errand but turned into a date. I love those kinds of moments.  Manatee Viewing Center at TECO's Big Bend Station in Apollo Beach, FL Our errand took us near the plant where Mike...

  Check One Off the Bucket List…Sort Of… Last week I shared that Mike and I were scratching something off our “Bucket List.” If you read that post you know we already addressed our desire to relive our teen years by eating at the original Frisch’s Big Boy Restaurant. There were a few more items on that list, including  ·        Visiting the Corvette Museum in Kentucky ·        Taking in the Kentucky Horse Park, also in Kentucky ·        Visiting the Dry Tortugas about 70 miles off of Key West ·        Taking a Trip to Alaska Well, we did it! We checked off one of those items and loved it! We visited Fort Jefferson located in the Dry Tortugas. AND IT WAS WONDERFUL . Fort Jefferson was established as a fort, a point of protection, yes, but served as a prison during the Civil War. I first became intrigued with the history of the place when I encountered the stor...