Category Archives: Family

Calling All Valentines Procrastinators

Leave a comment

“Every problem has a gift for you in its hands.”  ~Richard Bach

You knew you shouldn’t have, but you did it anyway, right? You’ve waited to the last minute to think about what to give to your loved one for Valentine’s Day. It’s tomorrow!

“Oh, no,” you say, “time got away!”

You can place your order today and have Short Stories: Lessons of Heart and Soul delivered within minutes as a gift for a loved one since it’s an e-book. It’s perfect for ages twelve and up. A little humor that is family friendly and a wonderful hero with subtle messages are all inside the storyline.

IMG_20150110_153738_111 resized 50%Have a great weekend, everyone. See you back here on All Things Fulfilling on Monday. This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.

 

Colored Me Beautifully

3 Comments

Do you remember back when civilty and common courtesy ruled? Please understand I share this story as an example of those times, not for self-serving purposes. I mean that.

My mother recently went through her hope chest, and sent some wonderful things that she had been saving for me. I couldn’t believe what she held on to for so many years.

In 1974, when I was 19 years old, I had a car accident. It was nothing more than a small fender bender and I think my Dad paid for the damages out of his pocket they were so minimal. At the time I thought it was the biggest tragedy that had ever befallen me. Never did it occur to me that I had been through much worse than that and survived the experience.

My twin sister was in the passenger seat and there were no injuries other than to the spirit. I was beside myself. (You know how teenage girls tend to over react, right?) I felt awful I had damaged someone else’s car and my parent’s vehicle.

I couldn’t believe the kindness the man that I rammed into showed me. He offered to come home with me to help me tell my parents because I was such a wreck. My sister can testify that the man upheld his offer.

Furthermore, after it was all done and over, the wife of the man I rammed into sent this note to my parents to let him know their car had been repaired and all was well. No hard feelings.

note about my car accident when 19 correct position

(Truthfully, I don’t have any clue what I said or did to warrant the comments on this note.)

Today’s message on All Things Fulfilling is for all parents. I want to share what John Locke once said, “We are like cameleons, we take our color and our hue of our moral character, from those who are around us.” ~ John Locke

Paint a picture of people

Thank you, Mom & Dad. I am so glad I grew up in an era of old-fashioned civilty and you raised me to have a strong moral compass. According to Locke, your colors must have rubbed off on me.  I hope I always stay true to my values.

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul, Sue Batton Leonard.

 

 

 

 

Library Browser Finds

2 Comments

“I took my time, running my fingers along the spines of books, stopping to pull a title from the shelf and inspect it. A sense of well-being flowed through me ….” ~ Beth Pattillo

I’m truly convinced it’s time well-spent allowing oneself a lengthy browse in a library. The other day I came across a book that if you read only one book this year, The Awakening of Miss Prim should be it. In my opinion, this publication that I randomly came across should be front and center of any library. For a short time, it probably was. But books, even the best, quickly get backlisted.

Old world libraryBriefly, the storyline goes like this. A woman takes a job as a private librarian in the small town of San Ireneo de Arnois. When she arrives she finds that the community, an enclave of sorts, is filled with villagers from the baker to the florist to shoemaker to bookstore owner who have fled from other places to settle where there is something special, “it’s unusually harmonious.” Most believe that by “returning to the old ideals of a simple, traditional, family-based economy” it is what is best for society.

Hailed as “an ode to the simple joys of life,” by Huffington Post, through this impeccably rendered fictional story one comes to understand why books, art, culture, civilty and philosophy matters. Without these things entire generations of people’s values and relationships with one another are altered.

This International Bestseller by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera “set against a backdrop of steaming cups of tea, freshly baked cakes and lovely company” is a short, charming, and deeply thoughtful story. A treasure to behold for all readers.

An interesting side note: This debut novel was originally published in Spanish in 2013. In 2014 it was re-published in paperback, and in English.

This blog is brought to you by award-winning, debut author Sue Batton Leonard.

Keeping Sunday Special

Leave a comment

Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week ~Joseph Addison

Is there anything in your life that makes Sunday special? Or for you is Sunday the same routine as very other day of the week?

father and daughterEvery Sunday: A Father & Daughters’ Enduring Connection by Donna W Dearborn is a story about a promise kept and treasured. The story goes like this –  when Dearborn left home for college, she promised her father she would write to him every Sunday and her father promised the same to her. Well beyond college, for thirty two years, the practice endured.

As the author’s father aged, the letters became even more important to keep his memories alive of all the fun he and his daughter had  together in large part through an active lifestyle.  You see, they’d been hiking companions throughout Donna’s growing up. Spending quality time together was put high on the priority list when Donna was a young child and it remained at the top to the credit of both parties. The two obviously enjoyed being together.

Do you have a “Sunday story” you’d like to tell? Writing is an important way to preserve culture. Not every relationship is joyful and happy, but there are lessons to be learned from all stories. With the ability to publish independently in this digital world we live in, memoirs and autobiographies are becoming an ever more popular genre of writing. Here is a good article about why memoirs are important not just for the writer but also for the reader. Jane Friedman talks about the up-tick in memoir writing in her article.

For those who are interested in writing stories of faith, here is another article about the importance of storytelling for future generations.

Here is a writing prompt to get you started on writing your story of faith.  Sunday is a day like no other because it allows us to (fill in your thoughts!)

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.

 

Thirsty Thursday: A Barber’s Message

Leave a comment

Children, after all, are not just adults-in-the-making. They are people whose current needs and rights and experiences must be taken seriously. – Alfie Kohn

Books, inspiration and a motivational message from a man who cuts hair for a living is what today’s message is all about. This barber is reaching “rock star status” among youth with his passion for sharing his views on the importance of education and finishing school.

Take just two minutes to watch this video. This story is not hot off the press but, maybe you haven’t yet seen it. You’ll be impressed!

Come on back on Friday to All Things Fulfilling. We will see what else we can share that will be of interest in helping you to provide important messages to the youth in your life.

This blog is brought to you by the author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.

 

Learning from a Protagonist

Leave a comment

What is a protagonist? According to Dictionary.com, a protagonist is the leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work.

“What characteristics then,” I’ve been asked, “does your protagonist have that makes her a leading character in your two publications, Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul?

I’ll give you a little insight into Fanny,  the very special character in both books. Not only did she bring humor to an entire family,

character in story

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author, Sue Batton Leonard. See you on Monday on All Things Fulfilling.com.

Valuing the Right Things

Leave a comment

Planning is bringing the future into the present, so you can do something about it now. ~ Alan Lakein

Happy February 1st! You know what that means. Valentine’s Day is around the corner – just two weeks away and the pressure is on to find the perfect present.

Valentine’s Day is not just for adults. If you have children who are twelve or older, sometimes finding a token of love to give them for Valentine Day is even more of a challenge. Especially if you are looking for something that will fuel your offspring’s understanding of love rather than provide fuel for a sugar high or fuel the idea that love is all about some high priced item.

If you are a parent who is attempting to raise children who will have their values in the right place in life, the ten stories in Lessons of Heart and Soul are very appropriate for ages 12+. They give a jumping off point to handling those important conversations you have been meaning to have with your children. There is nothing that helps get a conversation started better than humor – that’s inside it!

The cost of the e-book is less than the cost of cards in retail stores. So you don’t need to make a big financial investment. Your children’s understanding of relationships might be substantially different after reading Lessons of Heart and Soul.

Lessons of Heart V4 Cover JPEG 50% resized

P.S. Did you know 46% of all children have already read e-books? You can even download a Kindle on a computer. No need to go to great expense until you and your family decide if you like reading from a tech gadget.

Consider this: About Creativity

Leave a comment

Wow!  Fact or Fiction? Hmmm… consider it. State your opinion.

creativeadult

 

 

These simple words could bring very deep thoughts. Happy Simple Pleasures Week, everybody. Ponder it, reflect on it and share your ideas with others on this site about this thing we call “creativity.” Post your comment.

This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard. For information on her award-winning memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul, please go to http://www.allthingsfulfilling.com/about-the-book/.

Film Friday: Outdoors Adventure

Leave a comment

Thanks to a posting I saw on www.cruxcollective.com I became aware of a documentary film of interest in the outdoor adventure movie category.

valley uprising2

Valley Uprising http://reelrocktour.com/ is a film about extreme athletes who climb to explore massive cliffs, crags, boulders and rocks in Yosemite National Park in high up places. They are a whole culture of adventurous souls who are the next generation of outdoorsmen who flock to this area and find their “religion and fulfillment” in rock climbing.

Red Bull Magazine says it’s “The best climbing film ever made.”

It won the Grand Prize at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Just one award among several others.

Worthy of attention, I am sure, although I have yet to see it.  I am putting this film on my 2015 list of films not to miss! Sounds like a nice evening of adventure from the comfort of my living room. Yet, Yosemite is on my National Park Wish List to see upclose some day.

Valley Uprising

This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard. For information on her award-winning publication Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and her new book of stories Lessons of Heart and Soul,

visit this website http://www.allthingsfulfilling.com/about-the-book/.

Committing it to Writing

2 Comments

“So let it be written, so let it be done.” ~ Cecil B DeMille from Ten Commandments

I love blogging on a daily basis. It’s my form of journaling. A crafting of sorts – putting together a blurb with a quotation and an image that helps tell the story.

In this new year, I aim to do something a little different on All Things Fulfilling. Every week I’ll attempt to track down a short story from another source that I feel needs to be shared with others. To my way of thinking, by sharing narratives with “sunny sides” to them, I am making a contribution to “the art of living positively” with our readers around the world.

Can I meet my goal throughout the year? I like to think of myself as an eternal optimist, so I feel that my commitment will be accomplished.

ScarvesHere is the first story of the year that I would like to share with you. It’s about providing warmth to those who need it. http://bit.ly/1AhozMR.

Stay tuned every “Thirsty Thursday.” It will be one day of the week on All Things Fulfilling when your desire for good news will be quenched.

 

This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, the award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and Short Stories: Lessons of Heart & Soul.