Tag Archives: Writing Prompts

99 Things That Make Me Happy

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Contentment and gratitude can come from some pretty simple things. Sometimes we just need to take stock. Not that you care about my life so much, but perhaps my list will provide the nudge you need to make your own. Mine is just short of 100. Yours can include as many as you like. And we can always add to them, can’t we?

What makes you happy? Here’s my list, not necessarily in order.

  1. Knowing I can be happy
  2. Belonging to a church community
  3. Serving others
  4. Hearing my son’s deep bass chuckle
  5. Watching my granddaughter dance
  6. Drinking a hot cup of tea
  7. Telling a joke well
  8. Laughing when someone tells a good joke
  9. Fresh sheets on the bed
  10. Being satisfied with what I have
  11. Farmer’s markets
  12. Eating dark chocolate
  13. Being in the groove when writing
  14. Reading the start of a new book
  15. Thunderstorms
  16. Experimenting with recipes
  17. When the recipe turns out
  18. Baking just about anything
  19. A good chick flick
  20. Drinking strong coffee
  21. The smell of coffee brewing
  22. Cuddling with my bunny
  23. Watching my bunny hop and run fast
  24. Receiving personal mail. You know, a card or letter
  25. Stargazing
  26. The scent of freshly mown grass
  27. Watching fireflies in the dark
  28. Browsing bookstores
  29. Browsing office supply stores
  30. Picking out just the right card for someone
  31. Receiving a card that’s just right for me
  32. Swimming leisurely
  33. Playing Scrabble
  34. Playing euchre
  35. Wearing cool bracelets
  36. Wearing any kind of earrings
  37. Getting a good haircut
  38. Reading my Bible
  39. That ozone smell after the rain
  40. When the movie screenplay comes out so close to the book
  41. Eating a quality steak cooked just right (a not-too-bloody pink)
  42. Waking up without pain
  43. Watching a herd of deer in a field
  44. Watching wild turkeys cross the road
  45. Encounters with any sort of wild critter
  46. Discovering something new on Netflix
  47. Discovering a good foreign film
  48. Recycling all that I can
  49. Watching a well-done documentary
  50. The smell of a quality lotion on my skin
  51. Sincere hugs
  52. Listening to Mozart
  53. Discovering a new musician whose music I like
  54. Sleeping in when I can
  55. Naps on Sunday after church
  56. Watching my blue betta swim around in his bowl
  57. Learning something new
  58. A cuddly sweater
  59. Things being in order
  60. Snagging a great photo
  61. Singing
  62. The sound of my mantel clock chiming
  63. Campfires
  64. S’mores at the campfire
  65. All my nails the same length
  66. My nails painted with no mistakes
  67. 75-degree weather with no humidity
  68. Worshiping God through prayer
  69. Going to a classical music concert
  70. Listening to “Carmina Burana”
  71. String quartets
  72. Carrying a cloth handkerchief in my purse
  73. Being within budget
  74. Increasing my vocabulary
  75. Watching blue herons
  76. Hearing children giggle, especially babies
  77. Wearing my multi-colored animal print dress
  78. The sight of storm clouds rolling in
  79. Watching bats circle overhead
  80. Finding a bargain
  81. When the bargain is something I need
  82. Writing with a pen that feels good in my hand
  83. Using doilies
  84. Listening to the Detroit Tigers on the radio
  85. Watching the Tigers play at Comerica Park
  86. A successful workout
  87. Employing active verbs in my writing
  88. Finishing a long book
  89. When a book has a satisfying end
  90. Someone returning a smile
  91. When an editor says, “Yes”
  92. The availability of subtitles in a DVD movie “setup”
  93. Meeting with my mentor
  94. Solitude and silence when I need it
  95. My grandson’s youthful wisdom
  96. “Reunions” resulting from Facebook connections
  97. My general practitioner’s sense of humor
  98. Entertaining friends in my home
  99. Knowing my eternal destiny is secured

Be a blessing to someone today.

Stars Shine in Sunshine

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A fellow blogger has offered a writing challenge. Bukkypraiz has requested we write a haiku poem.

Haiku is a Japanese style of poetry with strict forms. While there are other ways to write a haiku, this form is most recognizable and popular. Three lines in which the first line has five syllables; second line, seven syllables; and third line, five syllables.

Haiku poetry most often is distinguished by appealing to the senses. They create a word picture and are written in the present tense. Here is my offering for the challenge, which required using the word “Shine.”

big and little dippers

Stars Shine in Sunshine

Stars come out at night

but also shine secretly

concealed by sunlight.

Here’s a bonus haiku of mine written many years ago.

River Talk

Slow river murmurs

secrets to the shore, and in

the reeds it giggles.

Treasures

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Let me tell you about my little Bible with the bonded leather cover.

It was one of the first Bibles I purchased for myself when I finally decided to go back to church and get serious about following Christ. Mom might not have approved of my scribblings in the margins or the highlighting and underlining, but this surely has helped me to make this Bible a Treasure.

Obviously, this little Bible has seen a lot of use. In fact, I’ve used it so much and marked it up so much that I’m sometimes stymied to find a passage unless I have this one in front of me. Measuring 6 5/8 inches x 4 3/8 inches, the type is pretty small. That’s okay; I can still read it with my old lady reading glasses.

Treasure-Bible

My “treasure,” which is the subject of today’s blogging photo challenge, was with me in a near-fatal auto accident thirteen years ago next month. It has brown stains from transmission fluid on some of the pages. That’s okay too. A  couple of years following the accident, I decided I’d better have the strap sewn back on by a local tailor before it fell off. It was hanging on by a thread as a result of the beating it took. When I mentioned that feature to a friend she said, “Kind of like you were.” She knew the details of the accident and how blessed I was to be alive.

For this photo, my Bible is open to John chapters 15-17. Chapter 17 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible because Jesus prays for us. To think that Jesus knew he was going to his death and wanted to talk to his Father about us sometimes makes me weep.

Those words are treasures to me.

 

Happiness Challenge 101

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Recently a fellow blogger, StephJ, invited me to take part in a blogging challenge–”Happiness: 101 Simple Things.” I’m probably way behind everyone else who participated. Anyway, here’s my list. My life is more or less a joyful one. Here and there, I can identify things that make me happy too.

How about you? Maybe some of the things on my list make you happy too. So-called simple things count. In fact, it’s probably the simple things that make happiness go on and on. They’re usually low-cost as well.

101 Things That Make Me Happy

  1. Knowing I can be happy
  2. Belonging to a church community
  3. Serving others
  4. Hearing my son’s deep bass chuckle
  5. Watching my granddaughter dance
  6. Drinking a hot cup of tea
  7. Telling a joke well
  8. Laughing when someone tells a good joke
  9. Fresh sheets on the bed
  10. Being satisfied with what I have
  11. Farmer’s markets
  12. Eating dark chocolate
  13. Being in the groove when writing
  14. Reading the start of a new bookchocolate covered cherries
  15. Thunderstorms
  16. Experimenting with recipes
  17. When the recipe turns out
  18. Baking just about anything
  19. A good chick flick
  20. Drinking strong coffee
  21. The smell of coffee brewing
  22. Cuddling with my bunny
  23. Watching my bunny hop and run fast
  24. Receiving personal mail. You know, a card or letter
  25. Stargazing
  26. The scent of fresh-mown grass
  27. Watching fireflies in the dark
  28. Browsing bookstores
  29. Browsing office supply stores
  30. Picking out just the right card for someone
  31. Receiving a card that’s just right for me
  32. Swimming leisurely
  33. Playing Scrabble
  34. Playing euchre
  35. Wearing cool bracelets
  36. Wearing all kinds of earrings
  37. Getting a good haircut
  38. Reading my Bible
  39. That ozone smell after the rain
  40. When the movie comes out so close to the book
  41. Eating a quality steak cooked just right
  42. Waking up without pain
  43. Watching a herd of deer in a field
  44. Watching wild turkeys cross the road
  45. Discovering a new show on Netflix
  46. Discovering a good foreign film
  47. Recycling all that I can
  48. Watching a well-done documentary
  49. The smell of a quality lotion on my skin
  50. Sincere hugswolfgang-amadeus-mozart
  51. Listening to music by Mozart
  52. Discovering a new musician whose music I like
  53. Sleeping in when I can
  54. Naps on Sunday after church
  55. Watching my blue betta swim around in his bowl
  56. Learning something new
  57. A cuddly sweater
  58. Things being in order
  59. Snagging a great photo
  60. Singing
  61. The sound of my mantel clock chiming
  62. Campfires
  63. S’mores at the campfire
  64. All my nails the same length
  65. My nails painted with no mistakes
  66. 75-degree weather with no humidity
  67. Worshiping God through prayer
  68. Going to a classical music concert
  69. Listening to “Carmina Burana”
  70. String quartets
  71. Carrying a cloth handkerchief in my purse
  72. Being within budget
  73. Increasing my vocabulary
  74. Watching blue herons
  75. Wearing my multi-colored animal print dress
  76. The sight of storm clouds rolling in
  77. Watching bats circle overhead
  78. Finding a bargain
  79. When the bargain is something I need
  80. Writing with a pen that feels good in my hand
  81. Using doilies
  82. Listening to the Detroit Tigers on the radio
  83. Watching the Tigers play at Comerica ParkComerica scoreboard
  84. A successful workout
  85. Employing active verbs in my writing
  86. Finishing a long book
  87. When a book has a satisfying end
  88. Someone returning a smile
  89. When an editor says, “Yes”
  90. The availability of subtitles in a DVD movie “setup”
  91. Journaling
  92. Meeting with my mentor
  93. Solitude and silence when I need it
  94. My grandson’s youthful wisdom
  95. “Reunions” resulting from Facebook connections
  96. My general practitioner’s sense of humor
  97. Entertaining friends in my home
  98. Going to the movies with Gina
  99. Shopping at the thrift store with my sister
  100. Hearing children giggle, especially babies
  101. Knowing my eternal destiny is secure

laughin w toddler

 

 

 

 

 

 

101 simple things that make me happy is a long list, but I could probably think of more. It doesn’t take much to make me happy. I enjoy many things. Let me know in your comments what makes you happy.

That would make me happy today.

And remember to be a blessing to someone today.

(Late) Great Comebacks

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Tell a story. People love stories. We can all identify with stories like this one: “Why didn’t I say…?”

One day, while using the computer at the local library to work on the internet, I nibbled almonds from a snack-sized zipper bag. It was the rest of my lunch, which I’d been eating on the run.

Our library–both branches–hires Library Police, security guards who cruise around trying to catch anyone not following rules. (Whatever those are.)

There were three or four almonds left in the bag when Mr. Library Policeman came up behind me and said in a soft voice, “Ma’am, there’s no eating in the library.”

My problems with authority are diminishing, so I put the almonds in my purse instead of saying what I wanted to say: “Well, apparently there is because I’m doing it.”

As I walked out of the branch library that day, it occurred to me that perhaps I could have made Mr. Library Police (that guy who has a grim face at all times) smile if I’d said,

“Oh, nuts!”

Ode To A Wintry Day

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I offered this post earlier this year when WordPress prompted us to write an ode to someone or something we love. (Extra points if it was poetry!) I happen to love the way snow falls and lies like a blanket on open fields. I’ve seen snow fall so heavily it seems to be sugar-coating the rows and rows of pines in that open field.

So here’s the poem I wrote years ago to describe what I saw. It seems especially appropriate since today is the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere.

Snow Man
By Paula Geister

Step by step, a monstrous form
All arms and legs and head,
Takes his silent walk to the woods
To rest a bit, to find a bed.

The hulk takes giant steps tonightSnow covered forest of pine trees
On creaking snow like Styrofoam.
His breath is frozen in his beard,
But he presses on toward home.

Winter’s king all alone, he takes
The gloom from shrouded nights.
Stepping into the woods, he makes
The trees absorb his light.

River Language

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The elements for today’s Writing 201 poetry assignment:

  • ‘Water’ as the prompt
  • Haiku as the form
  • Simile as the device

Haiku takes several forms, with each form defined by how many lines it contains and how many syllables are in each line. This poem takes the three-line 5-7-5 form. I chose a river because I’ve always enjoyed the experience of watching and listening to the movement of a river, whether large or small. There is no obvious simile in this poem.

shot-of-reeds-growing-in-water-1

 

 

River Language

Slow river murmurs

secrets to the shore, and in

the reeds, it giggles