Moulding Glass

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Molding glass Devotional by Mary Tatem The blob of molten glass was fiery orange from the hot furnace. As spectators, we stood at a respectful distance from the glassblowers who worked to create beautiful, useful items from a scorching globule. Before our eyes, the twisting, stretching, and blowing formed colorful bird feeders, glass ornaments, and multicolored handles. We were awed by the speed necessary to perform the quick work before the glass hardened. We were impressed by the skill to know just when to reheat the work for further molding, when to cut, when and how to press the heated…

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The Gargoyles of Life

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The Gargoyles of Life by Mary Tatem We parked in a mall parking garage that overlooked a cathedral. From this viewpoint we could see that the decorative curlicues on the tall towers were not shaped like the gargoyles of European Cathedrals. Gargoyles are an architectural term for decorations of long-necked animal heads or ugly human ones built into a structure to ward off evil spirits or, more practically, drain the water running off the roof away from the mortar of the building to ward off deterioration. The name sounds as strange as these appendages to the churches look. The concrete…

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Blooms Bursting Out

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Blooms Bursting Out by Mary Hamilton Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement. Spring Is Sprung. So goes the saying I remember from my youth. What glorious sights springtime brings us. Masses of flowers blossoming in our yards, along our highways, and over our meadows and hillsides to delight our eyes and scent the air. The season of Spring is well named. Hope and encouragement springs into our hearts and souls with the sight of blossoms changing the barren landscape of winter. Our spirits are renewed. Our sense of expectation rekindled. Our creative energy replenished. Everywhere we look, we see signs…

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Lily Pads

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Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement — Lily Pads The lake teamed with life, both plant and animal life. The interesting view of varied grasses punctuated with groups of lily pads called for us to sit and enjoy the scene. We spotted a crane land and watched him fish for his breakfast. We heard his rasping call. Every morning the large white lily blooms opened to greet me when I slipped past sleeping family and out the door to enjoy the scene. Every evening they closed their petals into a ball resting upon its wide green leaf. The lilies on…

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Your Devotional

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Hello! Maureen Pratt here with my monthly CAN blog. This time, some thoughts on writing the devotional. The devotional is intensely personal, but can also provide tremendous support for many. I've experienced this first-hand. When I was first diagnosed with lupus, I suffered from a number of life-threatening symptoms. None, however, was as confounding as the non-life-threatening phenomenon of lupus brain fog, which is much like looking at the world through a pea-soup fog on a chilly day. It isn't permanent, much like those clouds of fog, and it doesn't cause changes in the brain, per se. But it does make memories…

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Right There, Right Then: Immediacy

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Peace to you! Maureen Pratt here with my monthly blog about specific aspects of the writing process. Today, I thought I'd highlight some suggestions about immediacy in our writing. Whether we're writing fiction or non-fiction, we want our prose to carry the feel of immediacy, or a sense of time and place that draws the reader in to the exclusion of all other distractions and detractions. Compelling central plots do this to a certain extent, of course, but to carry someone along for the duration of a book requires some hooks-within-the-hooks. Immediacy boosts action to a more lively level, and it helps root scene and character…

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LOOKING FOR LOST DONKEYS–By Christine Lindsay

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You’ve heard the old adage, ‘cast your bread upon the waters and wait for it to come back to you’. Well how about the adage, ‘looking for lost donkeys’? Nope? Never heard of that one? Lately I’ve been testing the waters to see what direction I should take with my career. Not being independently wealthy I need to bring in an income. I know, I know, who of us does not have financial difficulties? We all have our crosses to bear. Ooops, there’s another well-worn adage. Thing is, we all have our stresses. And we all reach crossroads at frequent intervals where we have to…

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Speaker Must Do’s…

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 Greetings, Dear Friends! Susie Larson here… I typically post on the last Thursday of each month on building a speaking platform. Please forgive me for being AWOL now and then. I’ve had had an insane travel schedule this spring but we are so thankful to God for His faithfulness in our midst. I want to connect with you today about a number of “Speaker Must Do’s” that I think will help you as you work to build a speaking platform.

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