Cecelia Earl's Blog

Never Too Late

ive toyed with the idea of blogging my way through a bible in a year and then i hit day 48 and thought, wait, it’s a little late. but i chided myself. it’s ONLY day 48. i have almost 300 days to go!

it’s never too late.

how many things can that be said for? obviously some things, but not this.

so day by day i’d like to share a thought or two as i make my way through the Bible.

i’m excited and hopeful. i can’t believe that by the end of the year i will have read through the entire Bible AND will UNDERSTAND it.

(Obviously I’m up earlier than normal. Pardon my lazy lowercase writing as I warmed up this morning!)

I already feel I know God better than ever before, and the other night, at Ash Wednesday Mass, Father said to be a good ambassador of Christ, and of His Father, we need to truly KNOW Him. Not guess or assume about Him. I’m coming to believe we have grown so far away from Him. So many people THINK they know what Jesus wants because they know one or two things about Him, hold fast to those couple of verses or Bible stories they know. And it’s GOOD we know those and obviously those are some of the most important details about Christ–He wants us to LOVE and be CHARITABLE and NON-JUDGMENTAL. But that’s NOT ALL. And even those have context. Not even just the context of the four Gospels but all of salvation history starting with Adam. And even THEN we DO need to look at what came AFTER and WHY the early church fathers proceeded as they did.

I’d been thinking yesterday, before listening to DAY 49, how surprised i was that God is such a particular God. I was amazed at how SPECIFIC he was when instructing the Israelites how to WORSHIP, down to the finest details on how a priest should dress to the way to fasten the curtains of the TABERNACLE and TEMPLE. (Even though many posted images in the Ascension Presents Facebook page, I’m still a little confused on how that was all meant to look. And I’m in awe of churches and cathedrals today that replicate the design!)

I’d been thinking about how we absolutely need to change (read: I need to change) how we attend Mass. We need to worship the way GOD instructed, the way He DESERVES to be worshipped, not the way we FEEL He should or the way WE want to. He gave directions, shouldn’t we listen?

But then, Fr. Mike turned those thoughts on their head yesterday, DAY 49, when he said God DOESN’T need to be worshipped any certain way. IT’S NOT FOR HIM BUT FOR US HE GAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS AND THESE RULES AND DIRECTIVES. These instructions and specifics and details are because HE KNOWS US. He know what WE NEED to LOVE HIM the best we can.

Throughout the Bible and SALVATION HISTORY we have been a ritualistic and liturgical people. God meant for us to worship Him a certain way, not the way we feel like approaching him based on our loose interpretations of our impressions of who He is, but who HE TRULY IS.

I’m maybe 15 % of the way through the Bible and I feel I know Him so much better and yet my fluctuation of understanding from one day to the next shows I have A LONG WAYS TO GO.

I’m so excited to continue!

XOXO

Cecelia

Making it Happen

When I lie in bed at night falling asleep, or between one and three o’clock when I suffer from insomnia, I am very motivated in my imaginings for what I will accomplish the next day. Namely, how I will wake up early when the house is quiet and dark and work out and write and pray and journal or blog.

Unfortunately, the insomnia means I do NOT wake up early because most nights I then don’t fall back asleep until four or five when I’d like to have gotten up!

That being said, I feel more accomplished on days when I work out. Yesterday, I did not work out, though I was still sore from a ballet workout I did on December 31, if I want to make an excuse. Even so, I cleaned the floors, did laundry, made a bed after having washed three sets the last day of 2020 bought snow boots for two of three children after finding out they’d been borrowing the neighbors (embarrassing) even after I asked a month ago whether or not they needed larger ones this year, went grocery shopping, and visited my dad outside his assisted living apartment window. I had tacos ready for the gang when they returned from ice fishing and got about fifty pages read in My Plain Jane. I did not write, though I worked through reformatting a couple of chapters in TWENTY-SEVEN DAISIES (in Vellum).

Today I ran about 2 3/4 miles, got two of three sons’ hair cut and made it to US Cellular with the eldest son for his and my husband’s new phones and protective cases. This last trip is what made my royal name turn out to be —

Lady Lily Bruschetta of US Cellular, less beautiful and more practical, don’t you think?

What would yours be, based on the Facebook meme (Is this really a meme?):

Lady or Lordname of your petlast thing you atelast place you shopped

This morning I woke up to two emails reminding me I signed up for Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year Podcast. So after searching for, and finding, my mom’s egg quiche recipe, making said quiche and pancakes for the family (a belated in honor of my mom we used to do this December 26 every year meal — and that should all be hyphenated), we listened to the introduction and Jan 1 and Jan 2nd’s podcasts. Our questions for the beginning of Genesis remain: Where did all the other people besides Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, and Seth come from?

This, then, leads me to the main focus of this Jan. 2 entry: What will my resolutions for 2021 be?

My neighbor set her running mile goals for 2020 to be 1000 miles and she surpassed it. I considered 500 miles for 2021 which would mean 12-13 per week. I would’ve been able to do that easy(ish) if I were not also now including FIT ON (free workout app that I adore– You should try it.) several times a week to include cardio, STRENGTH, and workouts that are something OTHER than running since that was my focus for so many years. And, let’s face it, after forty, we need STRENGTH and FLEXIBILITY and ballet and dance and OTHER for motivation, am I right?

So. I’m still contemplating.

6-12 miles per week and/or 150 minutes per week, therefore 7800 minutes in 2021. This leaves me the flexibility of 15 miles ran each week and/or other workouts. At least I’ll be active!Writing 500-1000 words per day, five days per week. Even at 500 words for 260 days =130,000 words per year, which for me is about two novels… not enough for the two series I want to put out! 260,000 would get me about four shorter-than-80,000 word novels… Gotta go for 1k per day, five days per week.Listen to podcast each morning, possibly during breakfast half hour so kids can come and go from the kitchen to also catch a majority of the twenty minute faith time…Go to be earlier and get up to WRITE. To journal/blog here and WRITE my words (as mentioned in #2)There’s also an instagrammer I follow who steps outside barefoot to pray ground herself each day and I love this part of a morning routine. I might try it? Does she living in a wintry climate like WI like I do? I can’t remember and will look into this and get back to you and this goal.

What are your resolutions for this new year? I would say a very important new year for goal setting after making it through last year. I had lazy moments last year, no matter how difficult life was, I expect better from myself.

I will definitely be making it happen this year.

8 fictitious (ish) worlds to visit (when you can’t leave your house)

Paris ~ Ah, city of love–er, lights. Either way, head off to school and fall in love with the city and the characters.

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Isla de los Sueños ~ Did you receive an invitation to Caraval? Pack a bag and prepare for the vacation of a lifetime on Legend’s private island. Will you win the circus-like game to receive a wish or will you succumb to the fantastical performances and live out your worst nightmare?

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Gatlon ~ Visit this fictional city to find out whether or not you would have been born with superpowers. Be warned. The city is in a shambles, being rebuilt after a civil war between the Renegades and the Anarchists. Whose side will you be on?

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The Republic ~ Be wary if you choose to visit the futuristic sinister western United States. Who should you trust? Will you uncover the truth?

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New Beijing ~ Do your best to stay healthy in this futuristic, cyborg, fairytale world.

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Mercy Falls, Minnesota ~ Fight to stay human, especially in the wintertime.

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Shady Creek, Wisconsin ~ Don’t forget your demon-hunting weaponry, or else find yourself an angel to keep you safe. If all else fails, find a necklace with protective powers.

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France, Netherlands, England, United States ~ Take a year-long journey to find true love.

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3 tips for the reluctant journaler

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If you’re like me, you have several beautiful journals and a couple of fancy purple pens that are just lying around waiting to fill the pages marked with golden lines and nothing more.

No words.

Because you can’t for the life of you think of what words to write on them, and you dislike your handwriting and fear your scrawling scribbles will mar the beauty of … what? The blankness?

Seriously.

Who cares? Your handwriting is you and you are beautiful and your words will be too, even if they’re not.

Tip # 1: Let go. Let go of the worry and the fear and just write. Let go of the rules, the shoulds. What you think you should write or what it should look like written down. Don’t think. Write whatever comes to mind without considering its meaning, its spelling, whether to print or to write in cursive. Skip lines, write on the lines, write over the lines so that they cross through the center of your words, smash your words together omitting spaces, ignore punctuation and capitalization, turn the journal sideways and string words perpendicular to the lines, drape your sentences in hilly waves that meander across two pages, not just one. Let your thoughts ramble, frolic, be nonsensical whimsy.

Try it: Let letters and words flow for two minutes for starters. Try this for a couple of days and see what happens. Maybe your fear will dissipate. Maybe journaling will be freeing. The way it’s meant to be, not stifling the way we’ve been making it out to be.

Or maybe time is of the essence and you can’t find the time to journal. Or you feel guilty setting aside time for yourself.

Tip # 2:  You don’t need to spend an elaborate moment journaling each day. Don’t make it a job. The point is not to feel it’s demanding something of you. Rather, you want to feel freer because you’re taking a couple of minutes for yourself to explore the world around you. Jot down basic observations without too much thought. Look out the window and write down objective descriptions of what you see, hear, feel. Or look inside your house and do the same. Eat something slowly and consider your five senses and jot them down. At the end of each brief observation, reserve a moment to scribble down an emotion or thought attached to them.

Try it: Set aside a couple of minutes to try observation/sensory journaling every day for a week. Try to be consistent. Perhaps you write five minutes after you wake up each day or five minutes before you go to bed each night. Add the journaling time into your schedule and gift yourself the luxury of taking that time for yourself. You deserve it.

Uncertainty may be what’s holding you back. Or, perhaps you get bored easily and need to change up your journaling topics, or, maybe you don’t want a journal filled with random thoughts.

Tip #3: Before journaling, decide on a theme for your beautifully bound blank pages. Maybe it’s a Mom Memory journal where you write about your experiences with your children each day. Perhaps it’s a Workout Log where you keep track of your workout experiences and thoughts about them each day (intensity levels, stress levels pre- and post-workout, motivation levels, what, how much, when, etc.). You could keep a travel journal, a food journal, journal about restaurants you visit, parks, vacations, a prayer journal, a journal about daily hopes, dreams, or worries, etc.

Or, before journaling, create a list of writing prompts. Then, each day, go down the list and write to the prompt of the day. You could even write the prompts at the top of each page in your journal and follow the topics as you move through the journal. Prompt suggestions: What’s your favorite day of the week and why? Which season is most important to you and why? What’s your favorite part of the weekend? Which person in your life do you hold in the highest esteem and why? What personality trait do you admire most and why? What most disappoints you? Where do you find joy in simple moments?

Or, try something new. Write poetically. Explore your inner poet. You could write poetry with figurative language, alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia, similes, rhyme, music, metaphors, repetition, etc. You could write Haiku poetry, limericks,  sonnets, villanelles, acrostic poems, cinquains, etc.

Try it: Learn more about poetry and types of poems here or here. Here or here. Or here.

Ready? Let’s get started. Let me know if you’re willing to give it a go. We could challenge each other. Leave me a comment and let me know which tip you’d like to try. Meet back here in a week and we can update each other on how our first few days of journaling went. Or, email me author@ceceliaearl.com

(And if you don’t have a journal, or you truly don’t want to write longhand, open a new word document and type away on your laptop! Or try voice to text to make it even easier to let your thoughts flow onto the screen.)

PS And I’d love to see those beautiful journals of yours! Tag me in an Instagram or Twitter post featuring your bound pages that won’t be blank for long!

4 family games to play when you can’t go out and nobody else can come in

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Stuck at home with your family for days on end? Kids can’t play with the neighbors? Everyone going a bit stir crazy? Here are some games that children and parents alike will enjoy.

Lego Wars: Team up, or have every member build on her own. Set the clock for your desired time limit. (We set ours for 20 minutes the first time, but it wasn’t enough time. I suggest at least 40 minutes.) Choose a theme: castles, airplanes, spaceships, houses, etc. Decide on a judge or criteria for scoring. Begin building. When the timer goes off, determine whose lego creation wins. Shower that person/team with hugs, kisses, or candy. Or perhaps the winner determines the family movie that evening.
Jolly Rancher Poker: Divvy up a package of jolly rancher candies (wrappers on) so that each player gets at least ten pieces. Then, engage in a friendly game of Five Card Draw. (Find rules and directions here.) (No jolly ranchers? No big deal. Use any candy, coin, plastic chip or playing pieces you have handy!)
Tennis ball Golf: Head outside. Make sure each family member has a tennis ball. Then, name a tree that’s at least half a length of a house away or even one on the other side of the house that’s not visible from where you stand. Agree on par for that tree (hole). Then, one at a time, throw your ball trying to get it as close to the tree as possible. Continue until all players have reached their mark (the woodchips/stones/area around the base of the trunk). Be sure to count your throws (ie. putts)! Then designate another tree around the house and continue to play in the same manner. Play for nine trees/holes (or until you all grow too cold (I live in Wisconsin, and it’s still cold this spring.) or bored or begin to argue (competitive personalities lend themselves well to this at times). Then, head in for another suggested activity. Or quiet reading time, my personal preference.
Catan: This is not a creative, make-it-at-home, free kind of game. But, it’s a favorite board game my children were gifted during birthdays this past year. I love it. I never win it, but I love it and I think all families should own it and play it monthly. Check it out and have it delivered! Target. Amazon. Walmart. Catan.

7 steps (and 28 minutes) to a healthier lifestyle

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Start your day with these seven simple steps that will take you just 28 minutes to complete.

7. Take a seven-minute walk outside. Fresh air and exercise will clear your head and get your blood pumping making you more energized and your entire day more productive.

6. Spend six minutes doing these exercises for 30 seconds each: burpees, push-ups, squats, plank, repeat. You’ll do three rounds during the six minutes. These are cardio exercises to get your heart pumping but will also strengthen your muscles by targeting your core, arms, glutes, and legs. Burn off some calories, tone your muscles, and increase your heart health!

5. Pray for five minutes. Spend two or three minutes reading the scripture readings and meditation for the day. (I suggest finding them here.) Then, spend one minute talking to God: Praise Him, thank Him, apologize for offending Him, ask Him for help, pray for others. Finish by spending one minute in silence listening to God. The quiet reflection will provide your mind with the peace needed to face the day, not to mention arm you with spiritual warfare to ward off negativity and help you face the day without losing your temper or using harsh words (or even thinking harshly about others).

4. Give yourself four minutes to do whatever you want. Sit near a window with a warm cup of tea or coffee. Read a chapter from the book you can’t put down. Turn on the TV to see what’s happening in the world. Watch your children sleep. Snuggle with your significant other. Lie down and stare at the ceiling. Listen to your favorite song. Draw. Eat something delicious.

3. Journal or write for three minutes. Spend three minutes putting words on paper without worrying about what you’ll think of them later.

2. Spend two minutes sending an uplifting message. Text or email a positive, loving or thankful message to someone. Or take a beautiful picture to send to a loved one.

1.  Sit down with a piece of paper and a pen for one minute. Make a prioritized list stating what you want to accomplish during the day. Don’t just make a mental to-do list. Write it down so you can physically check off the tasks as you complete them. At the end of the day, look at the items you completed and congratulate yourself on your productivity. Be thankful for another day to complete anything yet unfinished.

5 things NOT to do while under a stay-at-home order

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Don’t agree to dogsit a rambunctious seven-month-old dog who jumps like a kangaroo and won’t learn the word “no”.
If over the age of 70 and weak and ill and a little foggy-minded, don’t decide to do your own plumbing, ie. Don’t try to rig up your own washing machine in a closet upstairs.
Don’t finish an exciting, page-turning trilogy too quickly, lest you’ll be forced to actually write your own series and you’ll be plagued with memories of said trilogy and feel your own scenes will never measure up.
Don’t put your newly washed rug out on the deck railing to dry when the forecast says rain, even if it doesn’t look like it’s actually going to. It will. It really, really will.
Don’t buy a beef brisket to smoke on the grill on Easter when your husband says tenderloin. Even if he said brisket to start, if he changes his mind to tenderloin, drop the brisket and go and find the tenderloin instead.

Three Year Anniversary & My Birthday

I can’t believe it but three years ago today I released WHEN ASH RAINS DOWN! Since then I released two more full-length novels and three companion stories–one short and two novella length, from the points of view of minor–and yet favorite–characters, Kari, Mila, and Cole. I wish I had more to show for the three years, but since releasing Cole’s story, AFTER THE SMOKE, I haven’t written more than 40,000 words–and that’s for two different novels.

That said, I have high hopes that I’ll release three novels this year and three in 2021. I’m working on two trilogies: a royal academy series and a fairy tale retelling series (MAGICAL REFORMATION TRILOGY).

This year, I also plan to release something special for those of you who loved my first series but have yet to read everything, or who would love to read it all again with a different spin. Or, if you haven’t checked out my first series yet, you’ll be able to read the entire series at once, in one book. My highest hope is to rewrite the series, called THE LEGEND OF SHADY CREEK, in third person past, incorporating all the characters’ points of views, characters from the full-length novels and companion stories, into three main parts of one long story, rather than just putting all the stories together, as they already are, in order, into a cohesive binding, which is another option. Does that make sense?

We shall see how my motivation and time work with my hopes, dreams, and goals!

Here’s to a productive and creative 2020! (Don’t forget to check out my BOOK SALE in honor of 2020 and my birthday!

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Cheers and Happy New Year!

Cecelia

Writing Update: #amwriting in 2020

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I failed miserably at NaNoWriMo (20k words) and then I failed again when I tried to set a December writing goal using the NaNoWriMo goal tracker, but I will not give up! I am re-setting the writing goal graph once again for Jan-Feb to finish novel one in my Magical Reformation series with the hopes that I’ll be able to finish all three by summer for a 2020 release! Here’s the blurb in progress:

IN THE WAKE OF THE MAGICAL REFORMATION, there are three things a being will bargain for, steal, or kill for: a secret, a memory, or magic.

Elves, shifters, and humans are magicless and without memories of their lives before but for trinkets or flashes of images they assume must be visions of who they used to be. Nobody knows who stole their lives and their magic from them, but there are those who are willing to do anything to uncover the truth and reclaim what is rightfully theirs.

Ruby is bound for life to a shifter pack of wolves who hunt by night to claim more beings for their pack. Led by a vile beast who hopes to restore magic by taking it by force, he drives his pack to grow his army.

Hateful of the violence, Ruby longs for her freedom from the pack. Plus, Ruby knows there’s someone out there she used to love who needs her. Even though all she has from her past is a ruby necklace with her name inscribed on it and a satchel concealing a vial of medicine. She knows she must’ve loved the person who needs it and she needs to recover her memories in time to save him or her before it’s too late.

She has no secrets and no magic to entice a fairy to help her. And she can’t venture far enough to find a mage due to the Mark of the Red Wolves that will burn on her neck if she leaves the Enchanted Forest. When she finds a sly elf willing to grant her freedom for a price, will she be able to part with her one memory to pay it?

MARK OF THE RED WOLVES is a loose retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and is the first in the Magical Reformation trilogy. Look for its subsequent retellings of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty when Ruby joins with more characters in KISS OF THE ICE FAIRY and MAGES OF MIRROR CITY (titles subject to change).

 

What are your 2020 writing or reading goals? What do you do to keep yourself on track?

I’m celebrating 2020 by putting my entire series ON SALE!

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~ HUGE BOOK SALE! ~ **HAPPY 2020!** ~ NEW YEAR’S SERIES SALE ~