Finding my smile…

I had a super-grouchy day a couple of days ago. For me, the bright spot about crab-cake days is they’re often followed up by spots of sunshine, a little touch of joy breaking through the emotional clouds. Here are a few things that made my smile break through.

• The sun shining through the brightly-colored fall leaves. Isn’t this the best season of all? 

• My weekly critique group. These ladies are AWESOME. I brought a brand new chapter and was a little nervous about presenting my new baby for criticism. Their kindness overwhelmed me. Of course, there are things to fix (aren’t there always?), but at least I know the story contains a valuable spark of life. Plus, reading all of their amazing submissions got me so excited for the future of Christian writing. Such talent in one room is overwhelming! 

• Halloween–I know this is a controversial holiday for many Christians, but I love seeing little kids all dressed up. And now you see toddlers sporting costumes days ahead of time. What is cuter than a two-year-old dressed as Little Bo Peep? 

Woo-hoo!!!

• Finding dry ice on sale for my budding young chemist who decided if he’s too old to trick-or-treat, at least he can have steaming pumpkins at the front door. 

• As I was running errands on Halloween, the radio played the song, “Sugar, Sugar” followed by “Oh, oh, oh, it’s magic.” The DJ must have a sense of humor. 

Pumpkin Spice Latte?

• Playing with sharp knives–I carved the image of a coffee cup into one of our pumpkins, filled it with dry ice and watched the mist pour out the top of the cup. Too fun! Of course, most of the mist got stuck in the bottom, so I had to rig up a foot pump, attach the hose to the back of the pumpkin and use it to blow the cloudy vapor out. But that was even more fun. My kids had fun stepping on the pump and showing their friends how the coffee cup could really steam. 

• Seeing the clerk at my grocery store dressed up as a roll of lifesavers and the clerk at McDonald’s as a prisoner–complete with black & white striped uniform. 

• And best of all? Realizing the Hope Chronicles Blog Hop starts this Monday! 5 heroines, 5 Letters, 1 Journal. Each heroine is also giving away a special prize bundle. I will be following the hop starting on Monday with Regina Jennings blog. Everyone will be “hopping” over here on Thursday. I can’t wait to see you all then! Stay tuned to read the special letter my heroine (Abby of Shaken, 1905-06) penned for this event and see the prize package you can win. To win the grand prize–the hand-made journal inscribed by each of the five authors–enter on the main Hope Chronicles site.  

So, what made YOU smile today?

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