Archive by Author

12 Months in Florida

13 Jun

My Take

DiVoran Lites

On the first of January, the New Year begins. 

She makes resolutions and repents of her sins.

On the first of February, the cardinal sings

And flashes to his mate on crimson wings.

On the first of March, she goes wild for seeds

And tries to think what a farmer needs.

On the first of April, she tells fool jokes,

 But they’re never are funny as other folks’

On the first of May, she declares it’s summer! 

Not always, though, and that’s a bummer.

On the first of June, she forgets her plants

And they are eaten by tiny ants.

On the first of July, she’s ready for joy 

Coming to visit: grandgirl and grandboy!

On the first of August, she’s sweltering hot

And wants to go back to a cooler spot.

On the first of September, pampas grass blooms

Down the hill from the school, a bicycle zooms. 

On the first of October, she celebrates age

A birthday is coming, so now turn the page.

On the first of November, she thinks about gifts

She goes to the church, and her loving heart lifts.

On the first of December, she turns on the songs

And listens to Christmas because it belongs.

Pictures by Pixabay

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

One Answer

30 May

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Credit Photo: Pixabay

Keep on praising

Keep on raising 

Asking God in Song.

Keep on thanking

Keep on banking

Joy by suffering long

Never weary of the journey 

Jesus is our great attorney

Always keen and strong. 

Praise Song

23 May

My Take

DiVoran Lites

God, you want our heartfelt praise

You want to guide us through our days.

When times are hard or very sad,

You’ll always be the God we’ve had. 

You don’t want to hear us fuss.

You only want two things from us

You want to know we love and trust

And live on with you as we must.    

For evil comes around these days

And we must be here in our praise

All the evil will be bound 

As we hear the angels’ sound. 

Please help me to recover 

From all my gaffs and slips.

Tell me please just when to speak

And keep me holy meek 

For all the chances we have had

For being drawn away from bad. 

You’ve done it all for us, dear Lord

And we pray to live in one accord.

WE WILL PRAISE

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

The Hummingbird

9 May

A Few Thoughts

Patricia Franklin

My delight for today was a little hummingbird that perched on the branch outside my window and said.  “Hi! I’m back for the summer and ready for you to put out my feeder.”  (Even though it is pretty cold out there, I guess he knows best, so I am listening to God’s little messenger and will get busy on this task).😊

Patricia Franklin

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

May

2 May

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Photo credit:Pixabay

Nowadays, we pick up our phones to see what to expect from the weather. Most days and nights are filled with the fragrances of jasmine, gardenias, and mysterious smells that we can’t put a name to. Usually, every year, there would be one day when you start to put away your winter clothes and get out your summer ones. You dress and go, and it turns into a cold day for which you are not prepared. I think that’s just a little joke the angels play to show they have a sense of humor. 

Bill and I try to walk one mile a day. If the weather is good, we walk outside, I with my trekking sticks so I won’t trip on an uneven sidewalk, and Bill with his iPhone in his pocket playing lovely music for both of us. If it’s cold outside or too awfully hot, we walk around the island inside our house until we have accomplished the mile goal. 

Today we walked up a sidewalk hill. I’m always looking out for critters of all kinds. I looked at the edge of the grass and saw what I thought was a thin/black earthworm squirming to get into the cool grass. Looking closer, Bill decided it was a baby snake. It looked like the cement was taking his skin off while tiny sugar ants were biting him. He wiggled as though he was in terrible pain. Bill got him onto a blade and into the grass, and I took a deep breath of relief. 

Photo credit:Pixabay

A lovely young woman in soft pants and a top that floated in the wind came out of the house and asked what we were doing. She wasn’t annoyed. She said her dog was barking, so she thought she’d come out and see what was bothering him. We told her about the baby snake rescue, and she began to talk about all the wildlife she and her husband have had at their house. 

This lovely young lady works at home. It seemed she was glad to get out for a while. We enjoyed chatting with her. She said we’d fit right in with the couple across the street. They were ninety and very spry. She tried to see that they got enough to eat, but they seemed to be able to feed themselves. I think that was a giveaway that she was one of our Lord’s cherished ones. 

It feels funny, but people comment on our age now that we have aged just a bit. Last week, Bill negotiated with the lady at the window at Kentucky Fried Chicken. I peeked around him, and she said, “Hi, Mama.” Well, it was weird but friendly. New ways for new days. That’s okay. Jesus loves me; this I know. 

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

The Days Go By

25 Apr

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Image by Prettysleepy from Pixabay

Books surround me. I like novels for women and Christian books that give me a deeper walk with our dear Lord. I would have thousands of books if I had kept them all, but thank heaven, I learned that you have to take the clutter down at least a bit, or you go bonkers.

I have a collection of Maeve Binchy’s books, another collection of Gene Stratton-Porter, and one of D. E. Stevenson. I have the four novels I wrote and published with Amazon. 

Today I was at the church Book Chat. This church has a lovely small library, and we read books and get to talk about them and ourselves once a month. Some of us are hard of hearing, and others can’t remember the words they want to say. It has been a life-saver even though only four ladies were attending during the worst times of the Covid. Today we had nine, and we filled the whole hour with our opinions on the characters and how they might relate to our own lives. 

It’s common knowledge that when you are elderly, you need to keep your spirits up by getting out and meeting with people. 

Image by Q K from Pixabay

Writing in a journal is one way to sort things out and cheer up.

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

Next week we plan to visit a restaurant that hosts Mariachis and supplies Tex/Mex food. I like 1 Taco. Bill likes other things and usually brings home enough for two more meals.

At home, we have a yard with a yardman who does us the honor of coming to weed and help us with our yard. He now has a big black dog that was left alone out in a field for a large part of her life. She is sweet. When she comes over with him, we keep her in the backyard so she won’t get into any trouble, but one thing has been difficult, she loves to dig and has done quite a bit of it. We have replaced the dirt, and we think we have found out why she needed those holes. They are cool when you are big and need a nap, so you make your bed in them. We now have a plant to let her sleep the morning away in our airconditioned shed.

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

The Blues

18 Apr

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Photo credit:Pixabay

Something has to get me going

Nothing makes me want to work.

Not the thought of books or reading

Oh, I feel like such a jerk.

Stop

No matter what may come your way.

You’re always better off than “they.”

Hear a mockingbird sing his song.

And bright red cardinals sing along.

You know what should be done

Take the love of everyone.

Take the cold along with hot.

Says thanks to God for what you’ve got.

Photo credit:Pixabay

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

From the Pit to Salvation

11 Apr

My Take

DiVoran Lites

My bones burn like wood in the fire.

My days dissipate like smoke.

I listen for Christ’s voice.

And flee to the heights of God’s Light:

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

Our Parents-Love Locked

4 Apr

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Ivan

1922, Ivan and Dora meet at a dance held by The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks 

Both families came from somewhere else.

The children play together, first grade, Washington School.

1930, Dora falls in love with Ivan. He has curly hair.

He works, fishes hunts, and gets into mischief.

Dora waits and dates Benny, a sweet, penniless orphan, but she waits for Ivan.

Dates Harold, who adores her,  but she waits for Ivan.

1937 Still the depression, Ivan leaves Canon City and moves to Lovelock, Nevada, to work as a butcher.

1937 Ivan needs somebody and sends money for Dora to come.

She buys the rose gold, three-diamond-hearts wedding ring they discussed in a letter once. 

And departs on the first Trailways bus, ever, through Canon, City, Colorado.

 She gets off the bus and turns expectantly to the sound of Ivan’s whistle.

She works with Black Foot Indian Women at the laundry.  

He works for Safeway. She walks him home from work on payday so he won’t linger.

Lingering, she says, is no way to get ahead.

For better, for worse, infighting and in peace, for richer or poorer.

She never takes off the ring.

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

Holy Spirit

28 Mar

My Take

DiVoran Lites

I satisfy your soul with good things 

So that you become an ember of light

And warmth to those who need love and attention.

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”