AND YET AGAIN, ANOTHER SEASON BEGINS

I love the different seasons of the years as they pass. Of course, every one's favorite time of the year is summer. The warm sun on your back, the beautiful blue skies, waters of the beautiful Puget Sound in the summer. It just does not get much better than that.

Well, maybe Spring and Summer. In the Spring we have the showers and the warmth, that brings on spring flowers, and the fragrance that goes with freshly tilled soil, and new plants in the garden.

Let's not forget the Fall season, when the sun is lazy in the sky, and in the warm sun the grasshoppers can be heard, the crickets in the evening , cool nights, crisp "football weather", bright lights in a stadium. Ah, those days , those warm colors of turning leaves. Thanksgiving is one of the favorite holidays, with good food, warm fires and family gatherings.

So that brings us to winter. Well, here are the rains , sometimes snow. It is cold and blustery , and the leaves fall away and we are left with bare trees that once showed the beautiful green buds of spring. But Winter also comes with Christmas lights, and decorations, and the hustle bustle of last minute shopping. You have choir and music rehearsals for our church celebrations of the birth of Christ. Now, again we can say, It just does not get any better than this.

The seasons we go through every year have their own value, their own special place in our hearts . Maybe we all like the coming seasons for their own special virtues, their own special meanings. I believe it is also like that in our personal lives. We have all read articles or poems that talk about the different turns of each season, the positive and the negatives. And I believe that each project we undertake has different seasons.

The beginning , or idea stage, or planning stage, call it what you might. The work stage, where you are putting into action the plans you have made. The harvest stage where you see the fruits of all your planning and hard work, and the cooling down stage, when you have completed your hard work, time to mellow out and chill, bask in the time of reflection of what you have accomplished.

I am in what I might call the "fall" of the book I have written. I planned, I accomplished, and now the marketing "season". You see, in the writing industry, for the most part, the author of the works has to do the majority of the promtion of the work. Not like the old days when the publisher schedules, sponsers, makes happen the magic of book signings, and tours. Now, with the age of compters, the internet, the close proximity of country to country, the work of promotion also falls on the shoulders of the author. Open the Facebook or Twitter or Linked account, talk about your book, (not hard to do) spread the interest of what is going on, schedule the book signings, fax or e mail the press releases, etc. And you know, I like this season of the book as much as the spring and summer of it. The excitement spreads to your family and friends, to your friends neighbors who are so supportive, and talk it up in their gatherings. It is a great time or so called season.

Now, I can't wait for the winter of this book, the time to sit back and reflect, and bask in front of the warm fire of accomplishments. Envision the birth of yet another season to come, another project for the spring, another book to write, another seed to plant.

I love all seasons! They each bring on such promise and hope and joy. Thank you Heavenly Father for the gift of each season to us. May we see them, enjoy them and bask in them as we do YOU.

I AM A BOOK AUTHOR

I have a book in hand. We have turned the pages of "The Fly Away Balloon". This is such a trip! It will be released within 10 days to two weeks for sale to bookstores, Amazon.com , and other bookstores. The press releases are prepared, and the web site is being built. When the site is finished, momentarily, the business of selling the book begins. The book process , begining to the end, is complete. OR IS IT?





Just like many things in life, we feel we have set a goal, worked hard to reach the goal, and we are now done. I have learned thru this process, and many other processes in life, that setting and reaching goals is just the begining for the next stage. I wanted to have a book published, and it is. But, now that this is completed, the next line of business is getting the book out there, letting people know it is there, not just locally, but nationally , internationally? The process changes... immediate goals reached, but the next "phase" begins. Only God can know how far this can go. Keep striving to do more.








I believe it is that way with our personal lives, in the interchange with other people, with your faith in God. You set a goal, you reach a goal, and then discover that God has yet another phase for you . Okay, so you attended a service, heard a good word, that was your goal for the morning. Goal reached, BUT, what are you going to do with the word . Do you apply what you heard? The next phase is just starting, and these lessons , unless put into practice, are just good words. Do the "Chevy Chase shoulder head bob", and move on. You must take action and enter the next phase. It is not enough to just hear the words, and walk away. Have you ever listened to something so profound, and said to someone, boy I wish "so and so" could hear this. It is "so for them"... and never apply the lesson to yourself?! We all have said or thought this.








Reach for the next stage of your goal! Apply what you have learned. Go forward to the next phase. Don't let it fall to the wayside. If I was doing that, only my family and friends would ever hear about the book. The immediate goal of publishing would be met, but spreading the news is the next phase.








Just as with our Faith, we must learn, listen, and spread the news. It is another wonderfilled phase of your life.