Category: Inspirational Writings

Inspirational Writings

What’s in Your Book of Life?

jskinnell

NOTE: I wrote this originally in July of 2016 on my other blog site, The Rambling Quilter, and thought it was interesting that it is still relevant today. This isn’t meant to be a religious discussion—more of something for you to ponder as you live your life. What is in your Book of Life? How can you make your Book of Life more of what you’d like your life to be? Are you waiting until “the right time” to do something or see something or go somewhere you’ve always wanted?

If so, this post may make you rethink that decision to wait. We aren’t guaranteed the next minute, let alone “the right time”. Make sure your Book of Life is full of everything you’ve wanted to experience.

What would your Book of Life be like?

From The Rambling Quilter, July 2016

Recently I saw a show about how the Smithsonian Museum is restoring the Jefferson Bible. I had not heard of the Jefferson Bible, and I found this program completely fascinating. Jefferson painstakingly cut apart bibles in several different languages to create his version of Jesus’ life without all the miracles and his ascension.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Book of Life were like that—only in reverse? We could keep all the happy and wonderful parts and discard all the bad.

I had a chance meeting with my aunt and uncle at Panera for breakfast. I’ll never forget the huge hug she gave me or her telling me that she wanted all her nieces and nephews to connect. It never crossed our mind that she’d pass away after a tragic car accident a couple of weeks later.

She got her wish. For two days we gathered, reminiscing about growing up with our beloved aunt and catching up on what our families were doing. Many of us realized that we hadn’t seen each other in twenty years or more. We all had families of our own and time really got away from us. It was so nice reconnecting and remembering that my family was so much bigger than just those I spent the most time with. That part I would keep in my Book of Life.

At the same time, though, we were saying goodbye to an aunt we all truly loved. I saw my mom, aunt, and uncle say goodbye to their baby sister. I saw my three cousins say goodbye to their mom. And I saw my uncle say goodbye to the love of his life of forty years. I would love to cut this part out of my Book of Life.

There are so many good things going on in the world that are too often overshadowed by events we have absolutely no control over.

I realize that it is totally unrealistic to have a Book of Life that is only happy, wonderful events. We’ve all heard that God doesn’t give us more than we can handle. Well, right now I’d say he must think we are some pretty strong people because he’s giving us a lot.

Even though my Book of Life is still overflowing with wonderful moments, these are the occasional events that God thinks I can handle that really test me.

My aunt’s family’s wish in lieu of flowers was that we hug our loved ones every day. As we witnessed, life is short and you just don’t know when it will be the last page of your own personal Book of Life.

As I said before, I wrote this back in 2016 right after my beloved aunt’s funeral. Since then, I’ve written six novels, and many blog posts, and my husband and I have sold our home and begun traveling the country in our RV. We work from the road and do, see, and go everywhere we can to experience as much as we can. We chose NOT to wait until “the right time.”

I’d love to hear your thoughts. My hope is this post inspires you to experience something new, even if it’s right outside your front door.

How will your Book of Life read? Make it amazing!

Inspirational Writings

Time for A Change

jskinnell

Sometimes you just have to admit when it’s time for a change. Age and limitations are factors that come into play when deciding if it’s time. These two things played a big role in the decision I recently made. I’d been kicking this change around for a while, and I finally decided it was time.

New career? New phone? New husband?

No, not a new husband! I’m talking about a new bike.

My Trusty Pearl

My beloved Pearl. She’s a Trek FX-4

I’ve had my Pearl for years (and over 2,000 memorable miles), and while she has served me well, I just wasn’t able to ride her for as long or keep up with my husband on our rides.

We would start out together, but then he’d start coasting as I was struggling to keep up. His bike made this clicking sound when he was coasting, and when I was trying hard to keep up, this was the “most annoying sound in the world.”

Eventually, I would send him off to ride on his own so he could get in a good workout while I kept my own pace.

This was fine for trails we rode a lot, but once we would move to a new location in our RV, I didn’t want to ride unfamiliar trails alone. I wanted to ride with him so we could experience new places together.

My Hesitation

I’m going to confess that for many years I was one of those people who said that anyone with an e-bike was cheating. I would see these people go past me coasting while I was struggling.

Then I started investigating the different types of e-bikes. There are basically two types:

  • Pedal-assist requires that you actually pedal in order for the bike to move and you have different speeds to help you along (I’ll get into those in a minute.); or
  • the other kind (where you have a throttle that you can turn and the bike will start moving even if you aren’t peddling).

Don’t get me wrong—both of these are great options depending on your needs. I needed to be able to get a good workout in, burn some serious calories, and keep up with my husband.

My New Bike

Ellie the e-bike. My Trek Verve+ 3

I chose to go with the pedal-assist model. As I said, I still have to pedal this bike, but I do have four “speeds” to help me.

  • Eco – I use this the most because it saves battery, and so far we’ve been on relatively flat trails
  • Touring – When I have a small incline, I switch to this mode. We were on a trail that had switchbacks and this mode worked great.
  • Sport – When the incline is a little longer, and when Mike is pulling away from me, I switch to this and catch up quickly
  • Turbo – I’m going to call this “getting away from the chasing dog” mode because that is when I used it and it worked great!

My Wins

For a 25-mile ride, I’ve burned over 800 calories, so I call that a win. (I’ve already logged over 80 miles in 3 rides)

I can ride longer and more comfortably, so I call that a win.

The biggest win is that I can keep up with Mike, he gets his good workout in, and we enjoy riding together.

Conclusion

No matter what type of exercise you choose, the important thing is to choose something you’ll enjoy for years to come.

Kudos to the team at three different Bike World locations in San Antonio who helped me get the right bike for me. Also, thank you Trek for designing such a great line of e-bikes for every rider.

Jennifer Skinnell
Jennifer Skinnell

Jennifer Skinnell is the author of the Hope Springs Romance Series available on Amazon. When she’s not writing novels, Jennifer is documenting her travels around the country with her husband in their RV. Her travel blog, The Rambling Quilter, can be found at www.theramblingquilter.com.

Amazon Author Page
christmas tree with baubles
Inspirational Writings

Christmas Memories & That Little Silver Tree

jskinnell
Grandma Myrt’s Silver Tree
Photo Cred Ani Fete

What holiday memory do you cherish most? At this time of year, more than at any other time, we reach for those memories like a lifeline to the past, to bring us joy, comfort, and peace. This is the story of one of my favorite memories.

My cousin, Ani, recently posted this picture of one of my Grandma Myrt’s trees. Grandma Myrt had two Christmas trees—a traditional one and a definitely non-traditional tree.

She collected many blue and silver beer cans from my relatives, and along with some ribbon, decorated a tree that was quite memorable.

For many years, this metallic silver tree stood proudly in the corner of her small kitchen decorated with these beer cans, large pretzels, and at times red ribbon for a touch of color.

While it wasn’t the “normal” tree, it was uniquely Grandma Myrt.

It wasn’t the tree that we all gathered around to sing Christmas carols while Grandma played her organ, and it wasn’t the tree under which we put all our gift exchange presents. But this little tree was as unique and memorable as Grandma herself. It was one of a kind.

And while the tree itself was memorable, it was what happened one Christmas that I remember most.

One of the grandchildren, I’m not sure which, but it was one of the younger ones, decided to get a closer look at one of the ornaments on the tree. Of course, the tree wasn’t giving up its decoration easily, and the entire tree toppled over. The force of the fall caused the aluminum cans to fall off and go rolling across Grandma’s old linoleum floor.

Quite the noise, to be sure!

And quite memorable.

Decades have passed, and I can’t even remember what gifts I received that year, but this memory is still vivid, just like it was yesterday.

I hope you make a special memory this holiday season that you’ll remember for years to come.

frozen wave against sunlight
Inspirational Writings

Don’t Ignore God’s Nudge

jskinnell

We’ve all had them. You know the ones. Those times we feel compelled to do something or call someone, and we don’t understand why. I call them “God’s Nudges,” and I never took them seriously until five years ago this week.

This particular nudge was one of the most significant nudges I’d ever received, and it made me see life in a whole new way. All because God nudged me to go to Panera for a free bagel. This may sound inconsequential, but trust me, it was a pretty big nudge in my life.

I was so moved about all that had happened in that short two-week span in July five years ago that I wrote a post about it. Once again, I feel the nudge to share this post so that others may act when God nudges them.

Read on, and you’ll see what I mean.

We’ve all heard about intuition and “just having that feeling.” Sometimes we act on this, but more often than not, we ignore it. Then later, we realize we should not have done that because God was trying to tell us something.

Two weeks ago, my husband and I were visiting our family in Ohio. Our extended family lives in Northeast Ohio, so we stopped to see them for a few days before heading down to Columbus to see our daughter and son-in-law. Our parents live about forty-five minutes apart, so we usually spent time with each of them individually.

While I was staying with my parents, I woke up Friday morning to find an email from Panera Bread that I could get a free bagel every day for the entire month of July.  Awesome!  I’d have to take advantage of that when I got back home.

However, as I was getting ready for the day, I kept having “the feeling” that I needed to go to Panera that morning.  My mom had Cheerios and other things I could have had for breakfast, but I felt God “nudging” me toward coffee and my free bagel.  My mom put in an order for a bear claw and cinnamon roll, and off I went to Panera.

I walked into the restaurant and was wonderfully surprised to see my aunt and uncle standing there ordering their breakfast. (I must say here that when we make our quick trips to Ohio, we don’t have the time to see everyone, and this was one of those times.) I called my mom and told her that their breakfast delivery would be a little late because I was going to stay and have breakfast with my aunt and uncle. I hadn’t seen them since my daughter’s wedding in February 2015.

We had a wonderful hour of catching up on how everyone was and what everyone was doing. My uncle has been researching our genealogy and told me we actually had relatives in Canada and Scotland. They talked of how they would like to make a trip to Scotland to meet them someday.  

My aunt had worked for Avon Book Publishing, so I told her how I’ve started writing my first novel. She said most of her contacts were probably retired, but if I needed an editor, she’d be happy to take a look at my book. We talked about how self-publishing was the way to go now, and again she offered her assistance in any way she could to make my dream a reality.

After we finished our breakfast, we had hugs all around and promised to see each other again when we went up to Ohio, or they came down our way.

Fast forward to yesterday, and I didn’t know how much God’s nudge meant until the phone call I received from my mom last night. My aunt passed away yesterday in a car accident.  As I am writing this, I still cannot believe it. We will soon be heading back to Ohio to say goodbye to my aunt and to support my uncle and three cousins left behind. No amount of comfort and words can ease their pain, but we will all gather around them and support them as best we can.

My aunt was the youngest of six children. Two of my uncles had already passed, and she said to me on that Friday that she felt it would be her responsibility to look after all of us cousins and keep us in contact with each other as her older siblings began to pass. I know that most of us will be together to say goodbye to her this week, but I’m sure this “contact” is not what she had in mind.

So, for now, I hold on to the fact that if God had not “nudged” me to go to Panera that day, I would not have had a wonderful breakfast with my aunt and uncle. Rest in Peace, Aunt Jetta, until we meet again.

As you can see, this was a huge nudge that God gave me, even though it didn’t feel like it at the time. If I hadn’t followed through, I would have missed out on that special breakfast with my aunt and uncle.

July 12, 2021, will mark five years since her passing. On the day of her funeral, twenty of the twenty-one cousins were there. She met her goal, just not in the way she’d planned.

I have since gone to complete my Hope Springs Romance Series, and I am now experiencing the nudge from God to alter my plan once again. I’m feeling called to help other up-and-coming authors realize their dream of becoming an indie author through my business, JLSkinnell Editing & Proofing.

Don’t ignore God’s nudges. He does this for a reason.

Inspirational Writings

What Children Can Teach Us About Diversity

jskinnell

NOTE: I published this blog in June 2016 on my other site, The Rambling Quilter, before I began writing travel blogs, and five years later it’s still relevant.

Lessons Adults Can Learn From Children

Another year of preschool is over for many children.  It brought me back to last year when I finished my last year of teaching after nine years.  I let my mind wander over those nine years and what I learned.  I’m sure I learned more from the kids than they learned from me.  I taught three-year-olds.  This was their first experience with school, and for many, it was their first experience away from their parents.

Our school was very diverse in cultures, backgrounds, and languages spoken.  I often wondered how a child must feel leaving their parent(s) for the first time to come to an often unfamiliar place.  And if they couldn’t understand a word the teacher was saying, no matter how comforting, it must have been even scarier.  But I was humbled that the parents thought enough of us to trust us with their little one.

The speech I gave the parents at the beginning of the year was that we would be teaching their children life skills like how to walk in a line, be responsible for their own area, sit and listen to a story quietly, and be respectful of others’ property and feelings.  We also introduced the academics through play and our daily projects.  By the end of the year, most children knew some, if not all letters, could count, could cut with scissors, and were working on writing their own name.

However, some of the most important skills the children learned didn’t come from me or my assistant.  They came from each other.  They learned to tolerate each other’s differences.  Here are some examples.

There Are No Language Barriers With Children

One year we had two little girls who just happened to be the smallest in our class by about a foot!  We called them our little peanuts.  One little girl spoke English and the other spoke Spanish.  They couldn’t understand the other’s language.  But somehow, over the course of the year, they were able to communicate with each other through drawing, playing, and other cues only they understood.  We, and the other children, had no idea what they were communicating to each other, but they did.

Handicaps Don’t Exist With Children

Another year, we had a little boy who had severe spina bifida.  He used a walker to get from class to class, but in the classroom, he was able to move around without it, although he was a little unsteady on his feet. The other children in the room had most likely not seen a child with a walker before.  But that didn’t matter to them.  They helped him if he needed something, got his walker if he needed it, and made sure there was nothing in his way as he moved around the room.  They wanted to make sure he didn’t fall.  He moved during Christmas break to another state, and when we all came back to school, they all wanted to know where he was because they missed him. The time he was in our classroom, the children all learned compassion for another who may not be like them.

Children Have Compassion

One year, on the first day, we had a little boy who was having a hard time separating from his mommy.  We tried everything we could to console him and try to take his mind off missing his mommy.  Unfortunately, there was a language barrier, so he couldn’t really understand what we were saying.  One of our little girls, who also didn’t speak his language, asked me why he was crying.  I told her he missed his mommy.  She went over to him and sat beside him.  She started rubbing his arm and quietly told him, “it’s okay, our mommies are going to come back for us.”  She stayed there rubbing his arm until he finally fell asleep on the pillow.  Compassion at its finest.

Children Don’t See Skin Color

We had two little boys in our class who both happened to be of the same skin color.  One of the boys was born here in America, but the other one had been adopted from Uganda.  They hit it off right away and played together most of the time.  One day I was putting up pictures I had taken of the children as they did different activities around the classroom.  One picture I had taken was of these two children helping each other complete a puzzle.  They looked at the picture, and then one said to the other “hey, we have the same color skin!”  They had played together for months, but it took a picture for them to realize this!

The Lesson From The Kids

People are people, no matter what.  Kids get that.  Something we should all think about.