Journaling is always worth our time!

I'm looking forward to comparing my entries from the first time I completed these journaling exercises to this second time!

Mari McCarthy's PEACE OF MIND AND BODY:  27 DAYS OF JOURNALING TO HEALTH AND HAPPINESS has been very good for me as was the grief journal I completed prior to doing this one.  I have discovered some things about myself that I wasn't aware of--or at least not fully conscious of.  I still have some work to do , of course.  I've also been able to put some things into words that I must have thought, but hadn't taken them any further.

I plan on sharing some of my journal entries with my counselors.

I don't do a lot of journaling with guided prompts--I typically already have my own thoughts to write about.  But when I do use guided topics, I've usually found to be great at helping me discover things about myself that I'm not aware of until it comes out in my journal.

From here, I'm going to begin--probably--the journaling Manifesto (also by Mari).  I also have the 53-week one by Mari to work on, but I think I'll wait to begin that one after our trip to Disney next week.

Of course, I'll also continue doing my Night Notes!

1st read:  June 10, 2013 to July 24, 2013
2nd read:  January 3, 2014 to January 28, 2014

Tedious, yet Enjoyable

Whew!  I plowed through and finished George R. R. Martin's A FEAST FOR CROWS in just under a month!  UGH!  It doesn't typically take me so long to read a book, but this series is kicking my butt!  As I've said before about this series, there are some really great parts in the books, but on the whole, it is so incredibly tediously descriptive.  I applaud Martin's ability to keep everything straight--characters, names, interactions of characters, who is dead, who isn't dead but is supposed to be dead, who is related to whom, what everyone's sigil is, and on and on and on!  I'm wishing I had some sort of large chart (poster) hanging beside me that I could refer to every so often to be sure I have everything in order and all the details straight!

I admit that I pride myself on remembering authors' names, titles of the books, names of characters, as well as specific details of almost every book I've ever read--even books I read more than forty years ago.  (Wow, I'm getting older!)  I love to read, so remembering what I've read comes very easy to me.  I liken it to folks who love sports so much, they can tell you who played in and who won the fourth Super Bowl--and what year it was in, as well as the names of coaches, players, and even the final score!  We remember what's important to us.

But....GOOD GRIEF, George R. R. Martin!  You're overwhelming with the MASSIVENESS of this tome!!!!  I am determined to get through this series, though, and begin watching the series--finally!  What I really can't believe is that even though five books (all right at a thousand pages in length), he still has at least two books in the series--unless he decides to add more to it!!!!!

I can't wait to find out what happens to Brienne.  I can't believe I find myself wanting her and Jamie to get together.  Jeez!  I want to hear the WHOLE story of what has happened since Catelyn Stark had her throat slit at the Red Wedding.  I can't wait to get back to Jon at the Wall.  I love Jon.  Samwell is one of my favorites, too.  I just don't like how everyone has to comment on his weight.  I can't wait to see if this is Cercei's end!  I can't stand her, so I'm looking forward to seeing her demise.  (I know--I'm a terrible person.)  I've lost interest in Sansa Stark (Alayne) as she plays nursemaid to the big baby "Sweetrobin" and allows Littlefinger to kiss and caress her and treat her as more than a natural-born daughter.  That's just creepy.  I love Arya and I can't wait to see what happens with her, too.  She's becoming quite the little killer!!!!

I am starting to see many of the connections coming together, but it is tedious (and yet enjoyable at the same time) getting there!!!!

Joyful Mourning

I started reading JOY COMES WITH THE MOURNING by Holly Besser because I found it on the internet and, like many women who have gone through the loss of a child, I read as many books about child loss as I can.  Part of it is a shared community--knowing I'm not the only one.  A part of it is probably morbid and that I still every single with the sadness of my losses.  But another part of it is wanting to know how others who have been through child loss deal with the pain that is with us each and every day, no matter where we go, no matter what we do.

JCWM definitely met my expectations for a book about child loss.  I do find, though, that when I do read such books that my depression tends to come back in full force and no amount of medication makes it better.  The sadness can be overwhelming.  I have to be very careful when I read books like this and make sure that I don't let "it" take over.

If I have anything negative to say about this book (and I don't see it so much as negative so much as it was distracting), it would have to be the "other testimonies of God's grace, peace, and joy, after the loss of a child."  The book is mostly about Holly Besser's story and adding in the stories/testimonies of others made it confusing for me as to whose story I was reading about.  Now that I'm finished with the book, I'm not sure which parts were Holly's and which were the testimonies--they're all running together as one entity in my head.  It's a great idea to add the stories of others, but I found it to be distracting rather than encouraging.

Still worth the read if you want to read inspirational stories of other women who have suffered child loss.

What Brings PollyAnna Joy

By way of reviewing BLISS LIFESTYLE:  CHOOSING JOY OVER FOOD by Dr. Judith McKay, I am going to share my Bliss List--what brings Polly joy.  I would love to hear what brings You joy....

1.  Reading
2.  Samuel--being with him--just Samuel
3.  Writing--whether that be journaling, writing for pleasure, writing for work--any & all writing
4.  Looking at beautiful pictures
5.  Disney World--all things Disney
6.  Watching movies
7.  Playing the piano
8.  Seeing God's amazing creation
9.  Being with family & friends
10. Singing--worship songs in particular, but any great song

JOY

"God, your God, has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than anyone else."  Psalm 45:7 & Hebrews 1:9

I just wrote a whole response to Carol McLeod's DEFIANT JOY and lost it!  I'm just going to go on....oh well.

I am attempting to do a thorough study on JOY, so I am reading everything I can get my hands on about JOY.  One thing that I am finding disappointing is that of every book I've read about JOY so far, not one single book (so far) uses strictly JOY verses.  There are something like 200 (I don't know the exact count at this moment in time) verses in the Bible that use the word JOY.  I am surprised that the books I've been reading about JOY don't make more use of those verses.  The authors reference a handful of verses with JOY, but then use a large number of various other verses in their discussion of JOY.

Needless to say, don't be surprised if you one day learn that I have written a book that uses as many of the verses on JOY as possible!!!!