Published on Mormon Mommy Blogs

Exciting news! My article To Be? Or Not To Be? That Is The Question was published on Mormon Mommy Blogs August 20, 2013. Read it here

The Right Words

Exciting!
Awesome!
Oh, No!
It's a Girl!
It's a Boy!
That's creepy....
Congratulations!
I got the job!
We regret to inform you...

Some words are wonderful, stirring and meaningful to hear. Others are terrible, sad, and scary. We use different words throughout the day to describe what we are feeling, tasks that need to be accomplished, small and large personal triumphs, frustrations, and communicating with family, friends and co-workers. They can be used to describe our character, our skills and our talents. We speak them, write them, read them, listen to them on the radio and CD, and we occasionally misuse them. None of us are perfect, but there are words that are better left unsaid, unwritten and unread and unheard.

“Put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.”

~Colossians 3:8

“And see that there is no iniquity in the church, neither hardness with each other, neither lying, backbiting, nor evil speaking.” ~Doctrine and Covenants 20:54

 

Let us choose carefully the words we use. You never know who may be listening. The words we think, say, hear, listen to, write and read can have an impact on our future choices and the people we interact with.

 

William Edward Norris said:

“If your lips can keep from slips,

Five things observe with care:

To whom you speak; of whom you speak;

And how, and when, and where."

 

"How forcible are right words." ~Job 6:25

Awakening - The Dragon Valley by Nadja Spath

Book Review 

Awakening—The Dragon Valley by Nadja Spath

The Awakening is full of adventure, magic, elves, dragons, visions, time travel and a hero/heroine combination that you’d never expect! Kathy and Aaronn didn't plan on running into each other at the Sci-Fi and Fantasy convention. In fact, they’d met only one time before and she knew that he definitely didn't remember her. Becoming separated from her friends she wandered around the booths. One of them in particular sparked her interest. The banner above said that there was an artifact on display. As she made her way through the crowd, she heard a man describing an artifact made of an unknown piece of bone. Looking up to see what he was talking about, she was surprised to see Aaronn.  He was listening to the man and holding the artifact.  Then Aaronn noticed Kathy standing there looking at him. When she realized he was looking at her she tried to back up. The man behind her pushed her forward and into Aaronn. Touching the artifact with her outstretched arms was the least of her worries as they were suddenly transported to another place in time—another world. Danger, supernatural abilities, and finding out they were brought to this strange place to save it were not things they had anticipated. All they wanted to do was find a way back home. When that didn't happen they decided to immerse themselves in their quest. Fighting evil, deception, help from unexpected allies, and finding out who they could trust kept me engaged as a reader. I loved it!

John Wayne and the Pledge of Allegiance - presented by William J. Elling...

I am thankful for all the people throughout the history of America that made it possible for me to have the freedoms that I have today. But most I am thankful to God for all of the blessings that I enjoy because I am free to choose.

Developing Trust in Our Children Is Essential

Here is the my most recent blog published by Familius.com

Developing Trust in Our Children Is Essential 

Submitted by Sharee Wanner on 10 Jun,2013

Why do we have such a difficult time allowing children to do what they have agreed to do? We second guess them and create in our mind scenarios of what if this happens or what if so and so says or does this. Because we don’t want them to get hurt or have a difficult situation arise; we make the decision to take matters into our own hands. That decision can come from pressure of family and close friends or our own mind being too creative with ‘what if’ scenarios and thinking of all the things that can go wrong.

Instead we need to turn those negative ‘what if’ scenarios to positive ones. We need to think of all the things that can go right and have faith the desired result will actually be the outcome. By having a positive ‘what if’ in our mind, even when the outcome is not always as we’ve hoped, we can develop trust in their abilities and empower our children as they go through the reasoning process of making choices on their own.

If we continually make decisions for them, they will lose out on all of the opportunities to make mistakes and by so doing, figure out they’ve done so and how to fix those mistakes. We will also deprive them of all the triumphs of making the right choice and building confidence in their reasoning abilities.

Children are very intelligent, they get good grades in school, they have good friends, they have desires to serve others and they are hard workers. As parents we need to let them continue on that path and build a higher level of trust. It’s not easy however, to take this step as our children reach adulthood. By letting go, we can strengthen the relationships that we have with them. They will know that we believe in them and trust them to do what they’ve agree to do.

We can find joy together in their accomplishments and offer support as they make mistakes and learn how to fix them.

Set Fire to the Rain concert with Alex Boye and Maggie Nawyn at the Christensen Academy of Music in Brigham City

This article was in the Box Elder News Journal Wednesday June 19, 2013 about my friend and an amazing young woman, Maggie Nawyn. I had the opportunity to be a part of the video she made with Alex Boye and will be performing at the concert tomorrow night - June 22, 2013 at the Christensen Academy in Brigham City.

Set Fire to the Rain video

Calling in a favor

Singer Alex Boye is performing for a Christensen Academy of Music and Dancing fundraiser because of the efforts of Maggie Nawyn, a 13-year-old classical pianist and founder of the Silver Slipper Symphony.
Four years ago, at age nine, Maggie listened to her older sister play the piano and “thought it sounded kind of cool” and that she wanted to “make that kind of noise.” The talent came quite naturally to her and she excelled quickly. Consequently, her mother decided it would be a good idea to have their piano tuned.
The piano tuner heard Maggie play Phantom of the Opera, which she had taught herself, and suggested that she try out for a program taught by Gary Amano, a classical piano instructor at Utah State University.
After she had played only a few bars of her audition piece, Amano stopped her. Feeling dejected and knowing she had just “blown it,” she prepared to leave when Amano congratulated her and welcomed her into his program.
When Maggie was eleven, she went with her mother Lori Nawyn, an author for Covenant Books, to Salt Lake City on a promotional book tour. A true 11-year-old, Maggie quickly got bored, and Mary Nichols from CBS News offered to walk her around the studio.
On their walk, they ran into Alex Boye. He and Maggie talked at length about her interests and ambitions in music and dance. She had a picture taken with him and, as they parted, he said, “If there is ever anything I can ever do for you, let me know.”
Maggie wanted to be part of a symphonic orchestra and finding there were no opportunities for her, she decided to form her own. Largely by word of mouth and simply asking people if they wanted to join, she founded The Silver Slipper Symphony which she named after the Silver Slipper Ballroom. The 1930’s Bluebird Ballroom (where Maggie’s great-great grandparents met) became the Silver Slipper Ballroom which later became the Academy of Music and Dancing in downtown Brigham City.
Because there has been no venue specific for artistic performances within the community, Maggie became actively involved in fundraising for the Academy. She envisions the restored building as the perfect place to showcase music and dance and enhance cultural experiences for the community.
When the Silver Slipper Symphony was preparing for its first concert, she realized they needed an MC. Maggie thought of Alex Boye and his offer. He was contacted and agreed. Boye didn’t remember his visit with eleven-year-old Maggie until she showed him the picture. She said, “The next time you tell an eleven-year-old, ‘if there’s ever anything I can ever do for you,’ you might want to rethink that question.”
Maggie and Boye have become fast friends and he is very supportive of her musical efforts. As part of her involvement with the Academy, she wanted to make a music video and ran the idea by Boye. She got an email from him on April 30 that told her to get ready . . . they would shoot the video the next week.
Miracles do happen according to Maggie. She was able to pull a choir together over a weekend to perform with the orchestra. Choir and orchestra got the music two days in advance. The result is an incredibly moving and reflective “Set Fire to the Rain” which can be viewed on YouTube.
She hopes the video will raise awareness of the Academy. “The Utah art’s industry doesn’t know about the Academy. Even the community doesn’t know about this historical building.”
Maggie will continue to study at USU, while completing high school. She doesn’t think she will need to go out of state to pursue her musical training because many of her instructors are world-renowned and have been educated in places like Julliard. She can get the benefit of their experience without having to be so far from home.
Maggie says, “People look at me and think I’m crazy. But not enough people are willing to do something different and follow their dreams. I’m not special or different from other people, I was just willing to take the step.”
Taking control of your destiny and creating a reality from your dreams knows no age restrictions. A truth that is exemplified by classical pianist and Silver Slipper Symphony founder Maggie Nawyn.

A Circle of Sisters

I was also very excited to meet JoLyn Brown in person! (She is the author who has compiled visiting teaching stories from various authors ~ including one of mine ~ in a book titled A Circle of Sisters). I came into the Grand Ballroom at the Provo Marriott after I checked in with the conference people and sat down with a couple of ladies I didn't know. I introduced myself and we chatted for a few minutes and exchanged business cards. I saw a friend from my children's book group come in, so I excused myself and went to visit with her for a few minutes. While I was talking to Robyn, I met Sharee. They invited me to come sit with them. I went back to get my things from the other table and saw a new face. Simultaneously we spoke. I saw that her name badge said JoLyn Brown and she'd seen my name on my business card. I said, "JoLyn! I was going to look for you today and here you are at the first table I sat at." She said she sat down with the two women at this table because they are in her book group and recognized my name as A Circle of Sisters author. We talked for a few minutes and then said that she'd chosen the cover and asked if I wanted to see it. Here it is!

She is featuring various authors that have stories in the book on her blog and asked me to write a guest blog! But wait, there is more good news:

I just found out that A Circle of Sisters is now on Goodreads and Walnut Springs is giving away three copies of the book. Go here to get all the details.

Circle of Sisters Giveaway 

LDS Storymakers Conference

What an enlightening adventure! I am so glad that I was able to attend this year's conference - the Saturday session anyway. I learned from some of the best about how to develop and hone my skills as an author:
"Bait and Hook" by Josi S. Kilpack
"Getting Inside the Head of a Middle Grade Kid" by Peggy Eddleman
"Making Your Fantasy Writing Fantastic" by Julie Wright
"The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow: It's High Time" by Alyssa Henkin
"To Be or Not To Be - Reasons for Using a Pen Name" by Janette Rallison
"Story Turns" by John Brown
You know that you've learned the right stuff when you find yourself thinking as you watch a movie with your kids and think there's a 'story turn'. Then you realize you've said it out loud and they laugh and say what?
Thanks to all of the authors who took the time to present and help fill my head with the knowledge I need to make my delusions of grandeur a reality. And to the new friends I made...Sharee C. especially. It's not very often that you meet someone who has your same name in spelling and pronunciation. Everyone I've ever met that spells their name the same as I do pronounces it Sherry. And she used to work with my sister-in-law. What a small world!