A Bright Future.

(Grandpa came over today.  Oh, how we love him.  Can you tell?)

How often do you find yourself doing nothing because there's so much you want to do?  Guilty.  Oh, my list of things I want to do is endless.  I'm not talking about jobs on a checklist.  I'm talking about life.  Then frustration sets in because I think too much about what I want to do or hope to accomplish and I end up letting the things go that I should do, like making a good dinner, or visiting with a friend.  In other words, playing a proactive role in my day to day life. 

But, I read something yesterday that I'm hoping will set me back on track.  Do you mind if I share [you can read the whole thing here]?

Your future is not determined by the conditions around you.  It is determined by your faith, your choices, and your efforts. . . .  Some people dream about the future but don't do much to move into it with power [I love that].  They don't realize that what they do--or don't do--now will profoundly affect their future. . . .  You are here on earth at this time for a reason.  You have what it takes. You have skills, knowledge, and natural talents given to you from God.  --Elder Paul V. Johnson 

So, yes, I'm trying to write a book.  I'm hoping to write books.  However, first and foremost, I am a mother THEN an aspiring author of pulitzer prize-winning fiction [ha, ha].  I'm learning to balance my mothering with my writing.  I'm figuring out how to not be bitter when I can't write, because I struggle with that.  By spending time one on one with my kids, they are content to let me write for a while.  Not the other way around.  Kids THEN writing.  I'm taking seriously the words above, that "what [I] do--or don't do--now will profoundly affect [my] future."  To me, that means what I offer to my kids as their mother right now.  I can't help but think of the scripture [loose translation], "what doth it profit a man if he gaineth the whole world and loseth his soul [or his children]?  Food for thought. 

So wish me luck.  And to all of you with your fantastic dreams, I say, GO!