Empowering Myself

EMPOWERING MYSELF
 By Terri Andersen
 Everything we use needs a source of power: our appliances need to be plugged into an electric socket, flashlights and other devices need batteries, a car needs gasoline to keep it running, a gas grill needs propane gas, etc., etc. Isn't it amazing that human beings don't have to be plugged in to anything yet their hearts keep pumping blood throughout their bodies and their lungs keep breathing without any visible source of power. So where does our power come from? We read in the Bible that after God made the first human being, he breathed life into him. Evidently that activated man’s life for as long as he lives on this earth and then goes on to provide life for all the seeds of procreation that follow. I think that’s amazing. When I marveled at that thought not too long ago, the friend I was speaking to sort of refuted what I said by saying that actually the food we take into our bodies is what keeps us alive. “True.” I agreed, “but who created the food supply in the first place? And who made it possible for a food's seed to procreate itself indefinitely? Just recently I heard a research scientist on TV admit that man has not yet been able to invent a seed. He might be able to clone something from the original, but the original is still a mystery man has not been able to produce.” So how do I empower myself? By using that wonderful gift God gave us that reflects His own image in us, namely, the mind. And being the wonderful, loving being He is, He also gave us a free will. We can choose to adore Him or reject Him. I feel I can empower myself by how I think and what I choose to do. When I stay connected with my source and live my life in tune with His laws I feel empowered. If anyone needs concrete proof in how that empowers me, when my family needed a new place to live about 35 years ago and money was extremely tight, I brought the problem to God and went so far as to specify what kind of house it would be nice for us to have, namely five bedrooms and a big yard for our children to play in. When I mentioned this to my husband, he scoffed and said, "Yeah, right, how could we possibly be able to afford a house with five bedrooms?” Well, just before our fifth child was due and we had to be out of the 2-bedroom apartment we were renting because the complex was sold and the new owner wanted to renovate to condos, guess what we found? A house with five bedrooms and a beautiful back yard for the kids, at a reasonable price that we could afford. Need another example? When a company I worked for was moving out of New Milford, I asked God if He could find me another job I could walk to, since I didn't have a car and didn't drive. About a week later when I was passing a building I had passed for 16 years without ever considering it a place for me to work in, I suddenly stopped in my tracks and decided to see if any jobs were available there. Would you believe, the Personnel lady asked me how I heard about the opening; they had been looking for a Secretary for four months, and I was hired. It turned out to be the best job I ever had. Any doubts about who sent me there? I rest my case.

Why I Write

WHY I WRITE - By Terri Andersen
In a writing class I once attended, we were asked to answer the question "Why do I want to write?" Good question. I've often asked myself exactly that and haven't really come up with a good answer. It seems there's something driving me to want to write, yet I seem to have a tendency to be lazy about it and usually don't get around to writing something until I have an assignment of some kind or a deadline. Often I don't have the confidence that I could write anything worthwhile, so why does my mind keep telling me to do it? When I actually do get something written, something seems to come alive in me and I guess that's what keeps me trying to do it. At this stage of my life, although the thrill of seeing something I wrote in print is a spirit lifter, another reason I want to write is to be able to earn some extra money to live on in retirement. "What do I want to write?" was another question asked that I didn't really have an answer for. I thought I would like to write short stories or mysteries, because I enjoy reading them so much, but I can't imagine ever being able to do it. I think what I'd really like to write is something inspirational that might help people. But so far, all I've written are articles for the local newspapers. Actually, I had a few articles written before I ever worked for a newspaper, just for fun, I guess, and when the first one was actually published, I was about as thrilled as I could be, even though I didn't get paid for it. I was working as a typesetter at the local paper at the time and an editor needed something to fill some pages, so I told her I had some things written at home and she told me to go get them, which I did. I left them with her and had no idea if she could use them or not, but when I saw two of my pieces in the paper the next day (by-line and all), I was absolutely ecstatic. It seemed people liked the articles and the editor told me I could bring more in if I wanted, which led to a monthly column for me. (No pay at first, but later they even decided to pay me to keep writing them. ) I felt like a celebrity when someone would tell me they liked my article and by now I must have written over a hundred articles, if not more. When I left the publishing business to work for the state I figured my writing days were over. But even at the State, if some company publication came out and asked for contributions from employees, I always had to put my two cents in and they always used what I wrote. Since I retired eight years ago, I got articles published in the local papers On a regular basis, and would like to do even more writing, but there's still that procrastination habit in me. A few years ago I got together once a week with two very wonderful friends who wrote and we motivated each other to get something written for magazine publication, but as often happens, little by little one thing or another kept us from meeting and that was the end of my magazine ambitions. No, I can't really say that. I still would like to write something that a magazine would print. But you know what they say about writers. . . everyone wants to be a writer but doesn't make writing the priority it takes to succeed at it. I guess that includes me.