Month: April 2019

Life Minus Stuff Equals Simplify

On By Betty OwensIn Betty Thomason Owens4 Comments

Hello, Thursday Morning friends! I’m off coffee for a few more days, so have a cup for me. I am enjoying a cup of green tea, however. It’s not quite the same, but better than hot water.

This week, I’m making plans to simplify my life. No, I haven’t been watching that popular show. We had to make room for some repairmen to come and when we did that, I decided that stuff is not going back. Some of it hadn’t seen the light of day in years. Obviously, I don’t need it.

In ancient times, when I was still at home with the parents, my mom kept me always de-cluttering. I didn’t understand the need. I could still stuff things in my closet and they didn’t fall out when I opened it. Not usually, anyway. She was such a tyrant. She even made me change my sheets every week. EVERY week. And my bed had to be made every morning. She could’ve been a drill sergeant.

Today, if you pop in for a visit early in the morning, my bed is made. Well, unless someone is still in it. He tends to sleep late on weekends. And every Friday morning, the sheets come off and the clean ones go on. I still hear Mom’s voice in my head. “You’re not going anywhere until that bed’s made.”

Why did the uncluttered closet not stick so well? I look at that empty cardboard box and think, “Hey, I might need that.” In it goes. Those ancient magazines filled with outdated recipes and whatnot—you know as soon as I toss those out, I’m going to need whatever it was inside, even though I have Google. I can look up anything on there. And all those old recipes? Someone has kindly loaded them on Pinterest.

My husband is a fool for tools. He has everything you can think of stuffed away in there. The trouble is, when he needs a particular tool, he can’t find it, so goes out and buys another one. So, we have multiples. We found those while moving things for the repairs. We had to laugh about it, but when does it stop?

So, simplification. It makes perfect sense. Give it away, throw it away. Pack it in a box and see if you can do without it. If so, give it away.

My clothes closet is a good example. I have a pair of jeans in mint condition that I haven’t been able to wear for fifteen years. But I might someday. I love those jeans. They’re probably gonna stay. 🙂

I took a gander at the things hanging in my closet and realized I’ve been uni-color for too long. Everything in there is black. Or very dark. It’s like my closet is in mourning! A shopping trip is long overdue. But first, I need to clear out all those dark things. Because it’s spring and we need color!

I don’t have an abundance of cabinet space in my kitchen, so I keep those cleaned out. At least I feel they are. Somewhat. And our refrigerator’s recent near-death experience left us with a sparkling, clean fridge with no ancient unidentifiable blobs in the freezer. So, we’re good in the kitchen. Until you get to the china cabinet. The part underneath, hidden behind cabinet doors. So that’s on my list. Scary place. ⇒

Now you know one of my darkest secrets. I’m a mini-hoarder of things I may someday need. Spring is time for renewal and junk off-loading. It’s amazing how good I feel, having rid myself of too much baggage. And that was just my junk drawer. Closet, here I come.

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Life Minus Stuff Equals Simplify – It makes perfect sense. Give it away, throw it away. Pack it in a box and see if you can do without it. If so, give it away.

The Promise of Easter

On By Betty OwensIn Betty Thomason Owens

coffee, cup, laptop, memeHello, Thursday Morning! I hope you’re having a wonderful Holy Week. A time of remembrance and thankfulness. Sing Hosanna!

We are a joyful people at times, especially when we remember the sacrifice. And the ongoing sacrifices of those around us, who give of themselves on a daily basis to keep the message strong and vital. He is risen!

I’m looking forward to Sunday’s special service. But this is also a time of remembrance for me. I keep recalling my cousin’s sweet but silly telephone greeting, “Happy Easter Egg!” Whenever anyone called on Easter, he’d greet them in that way. This is his first Easter in Heaven, thus the reason for my reflections.

The joy of sacrifice. We’ve all been there, especially if you’re a mom or a spouse. Sometimes you’re called upon to give up something, like your leisure time, or that last cookie that had your name on it. Many of you give up something important for Lent. It’s a time to think and pray and remember the greatest sacrifice of all. The One who gave up everything but gained the greatest thing of all. Life everlasting, not only for himself, but for all who believed in Him.

So, Easter is a celebration, but it’s also a time for reflection. I hope it’s a reset for you, like when you reboot the computer or your phone. A renewal that will set the tone for the rest of your year and maybe the rest of your life.

In the final chapters of the last book in my Kinsman Redeemer series, Annabelle Cross gets a lesson in renewal and a second chance. She alone has the power to change her life going forward. In the book, she sings the beautiful hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness. God never changes, His compassions never fail. His mercies are new every morning. And as Annabelle sings the final verse, something truly special happens. To find out what that is, you’ll have to read the book. 🙂

Pardon for sin
And a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer
And to guide
Strength for today
and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside
Great is Thy faithfulness…

P.S.: As promised, a bit of exciting news! The final book in the Kinsman Redeemer series has a name! Yes, Annabelle’s Joy joins Annabelle’s Ruth, and Sutter’s Landing to complete the series. Expected release date is August, 2019.

Also, I am signing a contract with Write Integrity Press for another series. This one will be suspense. Tentative series title: Journey Home, Book 1 title, Illusion. Possible release date for Illusion is Fall, 2020.

A Great Thought

On By Betty OwensIn Betty Thomason Owens

Who inspires you? Who has planted that great thought that changed your life or way of thinking about something?

coffee, cup, laptop, memeHello, Thursday Morning readers! Welcome. I hope you’ll leave here this morning, encouraged to go out and make a difference in the world.

One easy way to do that is to let joy shine out from you.

Here’s a simple truth: If you have joy inside, it will find a way to show off. 🙂 Sometimes a smile is all it takes. A heartfelt one is especially effective.

Notice how the light flows through this open window? Imagine the dark room as your neighbor, a coworker, or friend who’s going through a difficult time. You can be the source of that light.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 says this:

“We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.”

Who inspires me?

I have a couple of dear friends who are going through tremendous difficulty. Yet, whenever I see them, they’re smiling. Not the bland, forced smile, either. The all-out, joy-down-in-my-heart smiles.

I’m smiling right now at the memory! Whenever I’m tempted to feel sorry for myself, I think about them and the countless others who endure daily pain and tribulation.

I’m most inspired by the Word of God that gives me daily strength and inspiration.

You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;—Psalm 16:11

So, make someone’s day better today. If you make the effort and are rewarded with a smile, that will make your day better too.

Big news next week! See you then.

Hello Again Annabelle

On By Betty OwensIn Betty Thomason Owens2 Comments

Hello, Thursday Morning! It’s Spring Break in my area of the country, and oh, what a busy week. We’ve had beautiful weather so far. Today, I’m taking a break after spending too many hours on the computer finishing the final book in the Kinsman Redeemer series, due for release in August. So, I thought I would run a reprint of the original post for the first book in the series, Annabelle’s Ruth.

Annabelle’s Ruth, Book 1 Kinsman Redeemer Series – the book of my heart.

My mother and father had a “meet-cute” — an event that brings a “fated” couple together for the first time, usually in a cute, romantic way. She worked at the candy counter in a movie theater in Seattle. He was a cocky, slightly inebriated sailor, just in from Korea.

He flirted with Mom’s best friend, who already had a steady boyfriend, one who was due to walk through the door at any moment. Mom to the rescue. What are best friends for? She stepped over and distracted the handsome but too happy young sailor. Her mission accomplished, she felt pretty good. When the young sailor sobered up, he came back. Several times. And then they eloped.

They eloped all the way to Biloxi, Mississippi. At the end of Dad’s furlough, he left Mom with his family in West Tennessee. My dad was not totally honest and up front with his young bride (she was only seventeen, he was nineteen). He talked long about his home (as in long, tall tale). He told Mom that his mother and step-dad lived on a ranch in the rolling, green hills of West Tennessee. They had horses and cattle.

IMG_4622In actuality, they were sharecroppers who lived in a rickety house. The cows weren’t theirs, and the horses–work horses that pulled a plow. And that house–no indoor plumbing. A fireplace for heat. Bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Grandma cooked on a wood stove. And they raised cotton and corn and everything they needed to live. They worked hard all day long, every day.

No rolling, green hills either. Flat. Dirty. Muddy. Mosquitoes. Snakes. Yuck.

My Mom was from a broken home. She lived with her Mom in urban Seattle and spent summers at her Dad’s in urban L.A. They were middle class. She dressed well, ate well, and was popular in school.

Culture shock. Dad went back to the Navy. Mom stayed with his eldest sister and her husband and young daughter, in a slightly better abode closer to town. With summer came heat and humidity the likes of which, Mom had never experienced. And she was pregnant.

I’ve wanted to tell this story for a long time. I’ve wanted to write it, but each time I tried, I failed. Not long ago, after I had finished re-reading the Book of Ruth, an idea popped into my head–a “what-if.” What if this happened in more modern times. What if I set it in West Tennessee…in the 1950’s? I could combine the two stories I loved so well.

I talked about it–a lot–to everyone I knew. Mom shared more memories. My older brother (the baby in the above narrative), helped me research it. I got excited about it then sat down and began to write.

But wait–I don’t want to leave you with a negative idea of West Tennessee. Seen through Mom’s young eyes, it was not her favorite place, but she spent most of her life there and ended up loving it. My dad could never be far away from it, especially while his mother lived. And its roots are deep in my heart. I don’t live there anymore. I live in Kentucky with my husband of more than forty years. I love it here, but I still like to visit West Tennessee, where I have family still. The place holds precious memories of Grandma, Uncle Bud, the aunts, and numerous cousins.

It gets under the skin of my heroine in Annabelle’s Ruth, too. She finds a reason to love it, sets down roots, and stays.

I hope you’ll love the story I’ve woven from these two threads.

Sutter’s Landing continues the story begun in Book 1. Soon, I’ll announce Book 3 (as yet untitled), the final in the series.