Emilie Richards's Blog, page 16
March 26, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: Resolve to be tender…
“Resolve to be tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged,
sympathetic with the striving
and tolerant with the weak and wrong.
Sometime in your life,
you will have been all of these.”
-author unknown
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March 20, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: When I despair
“When I despair,
I remember that all through history
the way of truth and love have always won.
There have been tyrants and murderers,
and for a time, they can seem invincible,
but in the end, they always fall.
Think of it–always.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
I dedicate these wise and prophetic words to the brave men and women battling Vladimir Putin, a tyrant who will eventually fall.
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March 12, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: An Irish Blessing
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, I’m sharing a favorite Irish Blessing and a photo of me in Ireland when I was researching The Parting Glass.
As someone who has a significant amount of Irish blood flowing through my veins, I appreciate blessings in our lives no matter where they come from.
May we bless the world every day with our love.
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March 5, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: Do you want to fast?
DO YOU WANT TO FAST THIS LENT?
In the words of Pope Francis
• Fast from hurting words and say kind words.
• Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude.
• Fast from anger and be filled with patience.
• Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope.
• Fast from worries and have trust in God.
• Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity.
• Fast from pressures and be prayerful.
• Fast from bitterness and fill your hearts with joy.
• Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others.
• Fast from grudges and be reconciled.
• Fast from words and be silent so you can listen
-from the Celtic Christian Tradition
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February 26, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: Let there be peace!
“I refuse to accept the view
that mankind is so tragically bound
to the starless midnight of racism and war
that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood
can never become a reality…
I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love
will have the final word.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine, who are being ruthlessly attacked by the Russian military. It’s so hard for me to understand the depth of egomania and greed that drives people to use violence against an innocent people.
Or in any way to defend it.
May Putin’s aggression be met by courage and resilience on the part of the Ukrainian people and their allies.
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February 20, 2022
Getting Started
What haven’t you started? Is today the day?The post Getting Started appeared first on Emilie Richards.
February 12, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: Happy Valentine’s Day!
“Lots of people want to ride with you
in the limo,
but what you want
is someone who will take the bus with you
when the limo breaks down.”
— Oprah Winfrey
So many inspiring quotes for Valentine’s Day, we found it hard to choose. But in the end we liked this quote from Oprah because it gets right to the heart of true love and commitment.
I wish for you a joyful and wondrous Valentine’s Day every day of your life.
May you be surrounded by love and may you surround others with your love. Hold hands on that bus!
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February 5, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: Buried Treasure
Surely something wonderful is sheltered inside you.
I say this with all confidence,
because I happen to believe we are all walking repositories of buried treasure.
I believe this is one of the oldest and most generous tricks the universe plays on us human beings,
both for its own amusement and for ours:
The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all,
and then stands back to see if we can find them.
Elizabeth Gilbert
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January 30, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: Dignity can’t be negotiated!
I saw this on the internet recently, and I found it thought provoking. I can’t find information about the author, and I’ve seen this quoted on websites from both sides of the aisles. It’s clear we can always argue about what an injustice is or isn’t. But let’s not argue, let’s read this story with an open mind and think about what we each hold so dear we’d stand up for justice no matter what.
What do you think?
First day of class, the law teacher walked in. The first thing he did was ask for the name of a student sitting in the front row:
– What’s your name?
– My name is Nelson.
– Get out of my class and never come back! he ordered him.
Nelson was confused. The teacher was heading towards him, he got up quickly, packed up his stuff and left the classroom.
Everyone was scared and outraged but no one was talking.
– Very Good! Let’s get it started. What are laws for? asked the teacher.
The students were still scared, but slowly they started answering the question.
– To have order in our society.
– No!
– So that people pay for their actions.
– No! Does anyone know the answer to this question?
– For justice to be done, spoke shy a young girl.
– Finally! Justice! But what is justice?
Everyone was starting to get mad at the teachers attitude. However, they kept answering.
– To protect the rights of the people.
– Okay. But still?
– To differentiate good from bad, to reward those who do good.
– Okay, so answer this question: Did I act correctly when I kicked Nelson out of class?
Everyone was silent, no one responded.
– I want an unanimous answer!
– NO! They answered with one voice.
– Could we say I committed an injustice?
– Yes!
– And why has nobody done anything about it? Why do we want laws and rules if we don’t have the will to practice them? Each of you is obliged to speak up when you witness an injustice. All of you. Don’t ever stay quiet again! Go and get Nelson. After all, he is the teacher, I’m from another period.
You know, when we don’t stand up for our rights, dignity is lost, and dignity can’t be negotiated.”
– Doris Carrier
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January 26, 2022
2022: A Year of Peaks and Valleys
Peaks and Valleys was published at the beginning of this month, and is now available as both an ebook and a paperback. Click on the cover to go to my website for bookstore links for both, as well as an excerpt and a peek into each of the three short novels included in the collection.
I’ll admit I’m not a whiz at promoting my books. I wrote the novellas over a period of years, at first for fun and later with an eye to sharing them with you. After all, because you enjoyed the series and asked for more, you have a stake in what happens to the good quilters of Toms Brook, VA. Yes, that’s who the collection focuses on, along with a few new characters to pique your interest.
So I wrote the stories, engaged a wonderful cover artist, and managed, with Proman’s help, to publish the books at all the major online stores. What did I forget to do?
Tell you!
Okay, I did announce the book in my newsletter. Check. And I did put it on my Author Facebook Page. Check. I even added it to my website book page under Shenandoah Album novels. Check. But did I put it here? Nope.
Now that I have, come meet Connor and Rebecca, Kate and Bejoy, Cathy and Alf. See why the Shenandoah Community Church Bee is creating a Peaks and Valleys quilt and find out how Helen Henry figures in (as she does in every Shenandoah Album novel because I love Helen.)
As in all the books in the series, the title of each novella is a quilt pattern that symbolizes the struggles of the characters.
I hope you’ll visit my webpage to find out more, but let me end with a snippet of a review from The Book Date on January 19th. (Check Kathryn’s other reviews while you’re there to find more books to try.)
I fell in love with all the characters – some already known, some new. It is not often I even read a novella and very rare for me to fall for three in a row and award five stars at the end. A winner. Shenandoah series fans will love this one and even if you have never read that series, this is quite a stand alone, so go try a sample of life in Toms Valley.
I hope you’ll take Kathryn’s advice.
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