WHERE AM I?

This picture verifies I'm near Lake Tionesta in Pennsylvania, but on my Facebook page it welcomed me to Nebraska. Huh! Mr. Zuckerman, or whoever runs your business, needs to learn their geography.

I thought it strange they'd place me in the Midwestern state, but it also got me thinking how our pesky GPS seems to send us on roads less traveled or quits working entirely...right when we needed it the most.

Recalculating…

Rerouting…

Rediculous…

Hubby’s response to MapQuest, “You better get us back on track or I’m tossing you out the window.”

He doesn’t follow through, even when the screen continues to say the annoying words. But I know he wants to. Instead, he tells me to put the directions in my phone and in short order we’re off on the road again.

I wonder if that’s how the Lord feels about us. He tries to talk to us and what do we do?

We recalculate.

We reason He couldn’t be telling us to go in that direction.

We assume He’d never ask us to go talk to a complete stranger.

Maybe instead of recalculating, we need to be still and listen for His small voice. 

I'm certain He’ll take us in the RIGHT direction.

Blessings!

Janetta

PS: If you haven't read my debut novel, Early Birds. Click on:

https://goo.gl/qCkT45

FRIENDSHIPS ALONG THE WAY

While boondocking on a driveway in Virginia, my eyes were opened. I found out we’re not on the road to sell books (yes, that’s important too), but hubby and I are traveling the highways and byways to meet people (and their pets - see Mattie and Maggie below). 

We're on the road:

To interact with men, women and children the Lord put on our path.

To bless them anyway we can (tightening a loose gate, talking about old times or laughing at how much we’re alike in our differences).

To enjoy the blessing they’ve been to our lives, even for a short time.

And, speaking of blessing – have a blessed day!!!

Janetta
www.janettafudgemessmer.com
 

PS: Definition of Boondocking (if you’re interested): It is free camping, normally out in the boondocks. Sometimes someone will let you park on their property. Most times there are no hookups, just a place to stay at no charge. 

HOW TO ALWAYS ENJOY THE JOURNEY

Most of you know my hubby, pooch and I live in an RV for a good part of the year. And we’ve done it now for almost four years.

I’m certain some of you are saying, “How have you done it without inflicting bodily harm on the person who occupies the teeny tiny square footage with you? I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have lasted a week.”

Yes, living in close quarters can be difficult. But I think I’ve found a solution. One day I had a thought. Was I looking at this all wrong? Was there a solution to our size-challenged abode? Could it be as simple as changing my attitude in my place of residence?

I believe a change in attitude IS the answer - wherever you live. In an RV, an apartment or ginormous mansion. For me, I asked the Lord for an ample supply of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and an extra measure of self-control.

Adding these attributes made our journey much more joyful. And as you can see – this advice will work for whatever size home you live in.  

Blessings!

Janetta

PS: Always enjoy the journey. Yep, I think I’ll adopt this as our new motto. What do you think???
PSS: My new book, Early Birds, is available at: https://goo.gl/qCkT45 

I'M SEEING THINGS!

At first, I didn’t think much about the strange sightings I’d seen on TV. Or the date they occurred. But a few days later, I began to think the weird happenings might be tied to me spending too much time on technology.

Let me tell you what happened. Last week, while watching Jeopardy, I saw a couple of odd things popping up on the screen. I wouldn’t call them apparitions, but they were most peculiar.

The first one was when Alex Trebek walked out on stage. Instead of seeing him donned in the well-tailored suit he normally wore, he came out wearing only the top half of his ensemble. His PANTS were missing.

What?

I’m certain the laugh track would sound and Alex would chime in and tell us why he was pantless. He didn’t and it appeared business as usual. The cameraman (or woman) panned the contestants then came back to Alex and he was fully clothed.

I blinked a couple of times and realized I had imagined Mr. Trebek’s missing pantaloons. But strangeness happened again. One of the brainiacs rung in to answer, but Ken Jennings (Jeopardy’s contestant who won lots of money years ago) stood in his place.

This time I rubbed my eyes to get them to focus. When I took a gander at the screen again, that day’s contestant stood there. Ken, he's long gone. Since I’m all alone in my living room when the two marvels took place, I do what any normal person would do. I shout, “Yes, I’m officially NUTS.”

I finished watching Jeopardy and no more oddities appeared. But I did wonder what the sightings meant. In the end I could only come up with one answer to my seeing things. I’m spending way too much time on my computer and phone.

Yes, it’s time to take a break and go take a walk. Meet my neighbors. Tell them about my book (couldn’t resist getting a plug in). After a half hour or so, I’ll come back and be ready to sit down and write again. Eyes and mind rested once again.

However, I still have one problem: How do I erase the image of Alex’s bare legs from my psyche?

  

Blessings!

Janetta

PS: I had this blog already written and when I read it to Ray, he Googled “Alex Trebek without pants”. There on the screen were all the shenanigans they’d pulled off on the April 1^st show. I thought, Thank You, Lord, I’m NOT nuts after all. I have to admit I was a tad worried. :)

COPING WITH CHANGE

            My homework for my Florida writing class told me to write about coping with change. I said, “Nary a problem. I like change. Those new adventures. Look at me, I live in an RV for most of the year. In the wintertime – I’m in a park model in the Sunshine State.

Doesn’t get any better than that, does it?

Change. I’m coping just fine. Or so I thought…

January 2016 changed my thinking on how well I cope with change. And the GREAT news I received ripped me out of my comfort zone. Limb, by limb, by ever-loving limb.

I’m hearing the words I’ve longed to hear that a publisher wanted my manuscript, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to let it go and told my hubby, “Ray, I can’t send it yet. I have to go through it one more time. Do that Find and Replace thing with those extra words I’m not supposed to use. Example: was, that, think—”

“Hon, I get the idea. As Moses said, “Let my people go. In your case it’s ‘let your manuscript go.’”

As most of you know I did ‘let my book go’. But the whirlwind since Early Birds came out has made me realize I’m not as outgoing as I once thought. Hocking my wares (books) in front of people at craft fairs and stepping out to do the ‘Publishdom’ Party at the park we live in Florida has almost sent me over the edge.

But through all of fear of putting myself out in front of people and telling them about my book I’ve realized three things:

1)      It hasn’t killed me.

2)      I haven’t lost any limbs.

3)      I’m having the time of my life.

Guess you can say I’m coping with change and loving the journey the Lord has put me (us) on.

Blessings!
Janetta

See Links for my website and my book!

   
PS: And if any of you have marketing ideas on ways to sell books, let me know – I’ll consider everything.