Be hungry for life

Be hungry for life. I meet too many people who lack a hunger for life and I always think it’s so sad. They don’t live life. They don’t experience life. They just go on, day to day, getting up in the morning and going to bed at night and filling the hours in between with a nothingness that leaves their hearts empty. I met a guy recently and he was lost. Very lost.  He thought maybe he should do this or maybe he should do that and he ended up doing nothing at all. Maybe he feared failure. Or rejection. Maybe he didn’t have the confidence to try and so instead he stayed in the hole he had so carefully dug because there he felt safe and secure. But all it took was an outstretched hand to pull him out of the hole and be the light he needed to find his way. If you feel like the guy in the hole, my hand is reaching toward you. You are important. You do matter. People do care. Believe in yourself and allow others to believe in you, too.  Life is too precious to not live it with everything you’ve got. Life is good and bad and happy and sad and tough and easy. But when you have a hunger for life, when you live it and breathe it with every ounce of your soul, you will feel gloriously alive. And that, my friend, is a grand thing. As Grandma D always said: Live life. Don’t watch it from the sidelines. Get in the game and play your best. The winner is not always the brightest or the best but the one who, despite all the obstacles, doesn’t quit. Be hungry for life – always.    

Have a Happy Halloween!



Quote of the day

"Sit down every day and DO IT. Writing is a self-taught craft; the more you work at it, the more skilled you become. And when you're not writing, READ." --Lois Duncan

What is one thing you wrote that you are really proud of?

Contest alert: YA

Here's a great opportunity for those of you who write YA. Serendipity Literary Agency, along with Sourcebooks and Gotham Writers' Workshop, is holding its second Young Adult Novel Discovery Competition. Get the skinny here. And good luck to all who enter.

The Forest for the Trees

"[I]t's the child writer who has figured out, early on, that writing is about saving your soul." — Betsy Lerner (Forest For The Trees)

I just bought Lerner's revised and updated book and can't wait to read it. Have you read it? If you have, did you like it?

Quote of the day

"Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures,

but of the success that may come tomorrow.

You have set yourselves a difficult task,

but you will succeed if you persevere;

and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles.

Remember, no effort that we make

to attain something beautiful is ever lost."

--Helen Keller

I couldn't have said it any better myself.

You make a difference

Pastor Greg had a great sermon Sunday. He asked if we had to write our life story, what would we say? Would we say that we led a good life? Helped people? Made a difference in this world?
Pastor talked about the apostle Paul and his difficult journey. This dude (my words, not his) went from persecuting Christians to becoming what many consider the most influential evangelist in history. So how did Paul deal with the result of his conversion? He was probably treated like crap by those he had been after, and yet he kept going.
I wanted to share with you a little bit about what Pastor Greg said because I think that we can apply it to our own lives. So, here’s my attempt at summarizing what I remember from his sermon.
1. Pastor said that people without a purpose are people without a destination. Whether your purpose is to be a mother or a teacher or a writer, a purpose gives you a reason to keep going because you know it’s the right thing to do. Paul clearly had a purpose. I think if you’re reading this blog, you do, too.
2. Pastor said that you can make a difference. Don’t listen to the naysayers of this world. Listen to your heart and listen to what God is telling you. You are a child of God. You have a purpose. You make a difference. You never know whose life you’re going to change or how they might change your life.
3. Accept your weaknesses. Where we can’t do, God picks up. Let God be your strength. Pastor Greg said to remember that “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.” Let God be part of your life. You never know what will happen. You never know that when you’re saving someone’s life, they might be saving your’s. That’s the adventure of living the Gospel, he says.

So Sharon and Sheri and Nat and Candyland and Marissa and Martina and Marcy and Lanita and ALL of my other friends who bless me with your kind words and support, I think that each of you has a purpose. That you do make a difference. And that the world is a better place because you're in it. Have a terrific week and I hope it brings good things to everyone.

Have a terrific weekend

I've been thinking Hobbes --"

"On a weekend?"

"Well, it wasn't on purpose..."

--Calvin & Hobbes

Hope you have a happy weekend!

Charity auction update

And the great books from area authors keep coming.Just received from the awesome James McClure two autographed copies of In the Thick of the Fight and the entire local history series that includes: East of Gettysburg, Almost Forgotten, In the Thick of the Fight, Nine Months in York Town and Never to be Forgotten.Thanks Jim. Previous charity posts here and here.

You can also find posts from me:

Hey peeps, here are some of the other places you can find me. I would love to have you follow or become a fan of these Facebook pages and Twitter accounts.

FACEBOOK (included some posts below)
http://www.facebook.com/buffy.andrews
http://www.facebook.com/letseatpa
http://www.facebook.com/smartmamapa

TWITTER

@Buffyandrews
@Grandma_Dorothy
@letseatpa
@smartmamapa
@flipsidepa

Two of my posts from Smartmama Facebook:
1. Hubs and I are going to renew our vows next year for our 25th anniversary (Yeah, I know. Can't believe he survived my quirkiness all those years!). We're considering doing it at Disney (which we love) at the Polynesian or the Grand Floridian. Or, maybe a cruise (which we also love). Our sons will be going, too. I want ...them to be a part of this. Hubs says it's up to me (great guy!) So, what would you choose? --Buffy
2. So I was at a meeting last night and they were talking about students dancing inappropriately at a school sponsored event. What is it with grinding anyway? Seriously, there's no place for this overtly sexual style of dancing at a school function. Do you agree? Or do you think it's the in trend, like jitterbug and disco... were? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Am I just too old-fashion? --Buffy

Two of my posts from Letseatpa Facebook:
1. So I come home after working out at the Y and it's almost 9 and all I can think about is sipping a Bud Light Lime. Something tells me that's not a good idea, though, so instead I eat a bowl of Cheerios and two pieces of 15-grain bread ... AND then I drink the beer. --Buffy
2. So the Oreos are calling my name. "Just one," they say. I'm like, "but I can't because if I eat one then I'll eat 2 and 3 and..." What I need are some low calorie snacks that taste good and are filling when the Oreos start partying in the bag and want me to join in. So tell me, what snacks do you have that are low in ...calories but satisfy my sweet tooth? --Buffy
 
Oh, forgot to mention, we run Twitter and Facebook contests with really cool prizes.

Contest alert

The seventh Dear Lucky Agent contest of the Guide to Literary Agents blog is for young adult. Woo-hoo! Here are the details and good luck to all who enter. Contest ends Nov. 3.

Quote of the day

"Read, read, read. Read everything—trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the most. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out the window." -William Faulkner

I'll end the week with this great quote. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.  Oh, and in case you missed my Facebook post about getting an Ipad, here it is:

So, hubs got me an Ipad for Christmas. (Happy dance) Well, technically, I bought the Ipad. And Christmas seemed like a good excuse. And hubs was like, "Get one if you want one." And I'm like, "Oh, yeah, I will." Ordered it one day and it came the next. Then I called hubs and told him thanks and he says, "glad you like it." Gotta love that man. Anyway...--Buffy