Twenty-fifth Year of National Poetry Month, #Nationalpoetrymonth, #Earthday

 

Happy Earth Day!!
Photo courtesy of canva.com

Even the smallest act of picking up trash, turning off the light in a room when noone is there

and/or recycling helps our world. The Earth thanks you.

Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of National Poetry Month

Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story blog!

According to the poets.org website, "Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month reminds the public that poets have an integral role to play in our culture and that poetry matters."

The month has inspired me to get back to writing poetry. At least scribbling my deep, inner thoughts on paper or maybe a journal. How about you? 

Just for fun, I made up this image-A Poem from my Mom

A Spring Poem--by my mother every spring!

"Spring has sprung.

This grass is riz.

I wonder where the flowers iz."

Okay, granted it's kinda corny and fun, but I delight in remembering her with her blue eyes sparkling as she recited it.

Let me introduce you to a real poet, my friend Sue Werner.

Sue has released a series of poetry books accompanied by beautiful images. She describes her poems as "A journey in verse to discover the presence of God in our lives by seeing the ordinary as extraordinary." She began by writing her own poems every day and then felt the call to record them in these beautiful eBooks and print book. Celebrate Poetry month with Sue Werner's inspirational poems.

Click here to download the eBook or order the print book.

***

PLEASE NOTE: As I understand it, Blogger will no longer be sending emails from bloggers to their subscribers to notify them when a new blog article has been posted. I post every Wednesday on this blog, so if you don't get a notification from me, it's not because I have not posted. Check-in on Wednesdays. I will also use Instagram and Facebook to announce new posts. (If I can figure out IG soon!!!) 

You can keep up to date with me when you subscribe to my once-a-month newsletter. It will arrive in your inbox automatically if you sign-up below. Thank you for your continuing support.

Click here to download your copy of Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women now during the special 99 cent sale during Launch Week! Thursday, April 22 is the last day for the sale. Time is running out!!

Click here to sign up to receive the articles, freebies, photos and fun in the Rose Courier.

THANK YOU for your kind words, reviews and shouting about the 2, yes 2, new releases this year! You are the best!!

 

Both books are available for download at major online booksellers. 

Arranging a Dream is available in print at amazon and bn.com. 

 

Sue has released a series of poetry books accompanied by beautiful images. She describes her poems as "A journey in verse to discover the presence of God in our lives by seeing the ordinary as extraordinary."

She began by writing her own poems every day and then felt the call to record them in these beautiful eBooks and print book.

Celebrate Poetry month with Sue Werner's inspirational poems.

Things Change, This Week, Earth Day, Giveaway

No my peonies are not blooming, but they are budded up
and the tulips and daffs have pushed their way out of the ground. Spring is coming!!

We enjoyed a lovely spring day for Easter yesterday. Our kids and grandkids came over for breakfast at our house, then we attended the contemporary service at our church.

Yes, contemporary service means rockin' songs with a praise band and a nod to the young folks in our church. Lots of energy and spirit. You should have been there to sing Christ the Lord is Risen Today with a rock n roll beat and the alleleuia with a kick. LOL. I loved it and love the modern songs that speak to the people of today.

Things change. There's no way the message of God's love and forgiveness would be understood if we were still singing Gregorian chants at church! I appreciate the old hymns too and enjoy singing the oldies, but the oldies just don't capture the interest or make sense to the new generation.

Do you remember Easters when you were a kid? Women wore their hats--Easter bonnets--and white gloves and black patent leather shoes. Men wore their suits and ties. Colorful corsages adorned the dresses or coats of the ladies. No longer. Although things change, Easter remains a celebration of the resurrection of Christ, never losing the power of mystery and the awe-inspiring vastness of God's love.

####

This Week:


Tuesday, April 22--Earth Day--Be mindful of taking care of our environment. 

Thursday, April 23--Author Conda Douglas visits with her story of inspiration for her writing. And Conda is giving away a copy of her mystery, Starke Naked Dead. I"ll see ya' then!

Do you notice changes from generation to generation? Has anything stayed the same for you?

Earth Day is April 22--Earth Day Giveaway!

Every April 22, the world stops to recognize Earth Day. In 1970 the first Earth Day was initiated to stop the destruction of our environment and to preserve our world for future generations. Instead of factories belching black, toxic smoke into the air, factories dumping toxic waste into our water systems, the unlimited use of pesticides, and the destruction of the wilderness and loss of wildlife, people took a stand to stop this savage destruction.

People today are more environmentally conscious and schools make a big push to educate our children to care for our earth. Even the simplest thing as not littering makes a big difference and is an easy lesson for our kids and for us to learn and do.

E-books are environmentally friendly. We can save our trees and gas, and eliminate trash by downloading e-books. Thousands of books can be stored digitally on e-readers and reading devices. (At this time there is some concern about what will happen to the obsolete e-reading devices.)

I am recognizing Earth Day by giving away my mystery/suspense e-book, Sunshine Boulevard, to a commenter on this blog via a random drawing. Just leave an idea on how we can help save our environment in our own way. For instance, we turn off lights when we leave the room. How about you? Winner will be chosen Monday April 23 at 9 pm. 

We will all be winners if we have a healthy environment!