Every morning, I open one of my bibles and read a bible verse.
​Here is one of my favorite bible verses: "Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Philippians 4: 8 NRSV).
I know life can be difficult. Whenever I'm stuck in traffic, I try not to think about the traffic situation. If my car cannot move forward, I instead look around and am thankful for the nice scenery. I also sometimes just look at the cars and trucks while thinking about which one(s) I like the best. While traffic situations and redlights seem to last for a long time, I also will look at my car's clock and realize that only one or two minutes have elapsed. I also will be thankful for the extra minute or more that I will be spending in my car, listening to music while looking at beautiful scenery.

I love Thanksgiving because it makes me think about how I am thankful for so much in my life. Here is one of my poems. Its title is "A Thankful Prayer on Thanksgiving (Fourth Thursday of November)," and it is on pages 151-52 of Amazing Holiday Paws:

Dear Lord,
I’m thankful, Lord, for your help in my life.
Especially when I’m encountering strife
and praying for your helpful, loving care,
many miracles do happen every year.
 
These miracles happen in the ways you think
are best to make my problems shrink,
so my blessed life improves even more
with each solution you bring to my door.
 
Doing my shopping last night was not a chore.
I found long lines at the grocery store,
but was really thankful to see lots of food
being bought by people in multitude.
 
When loving my family while we’re meeting
on Thanksgiving Day for fun while eating,
we all are happy to have relaxing time
to spend with each other, which is sublime.
 
Our dogs are yelping now for more good food,
and our cats are all in a turkey mood;
we’re thankful to spend some additional time
with loving pets that into our laps do climb.
 
We love the bible’s words that help us each day
to connect to you every time when we pray;
we try to understand your suggested ways
to enhance our journeys with peace always.
 
“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7 NRSV).
 
Thank you, Lord, for giving each of us a life,
for forgiving us for errors in strife,
for giving us so much inside our lives,
and for uplifting us forever when eternity arrives.
 
In Jesus’s name, we pray
to you today and each day,
Amen.

​On January 6, 2020, I loved my trip to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. I learned some information about the history of religion while looking at many beautiful paintings, exhibits, statues, stained-glass windows, displays, and examples of bibles. In Amazing Holiday Paws, the poem "Choosing Photos on National Photo Day (Second Sunday of March)" references a photo of Jesus that was taken while a family was visiting the Museum of the Bible. During my own visit to this museum, I obviously took many photos of indoor exhibits; I also loved taking photos of the outside of this museum. My reality is often directly connected in one or more specific ways to the content of my writing.

With so many people having coronavirus, there has been a need to wash our hands more often. Before Easter this year, I was singing "Happy Birthday" at least three times whenever I needed to wash my hands. I know much of the information said to sing once or twice, but I was singing quickly and silently, so I decided to always sing three times.
Then on Easter Sunday, I changed my song to "Happy Easter" and started singing "Happy Easter to you, Happy Easter to you, Happy Easter to Jesus, Happy Easter to you." Especially with my hands moving and touching each other, I often felt like I was praying. Washing my hands then became a much more positive experience. Yes, I'm still singing "Happy Easter" silently for three times whenever I'm washing my hands. 

​On Thanksgiving, I'm always so thankful to God for the many positive parts of my life: my family, pets, friends, author events, and jobs as the Writing Center Coordinator and Adjunct Faculty member at the Community College of Rhode Island. I also have all of the essentials of life: lots of good food, a small inexpensive home that's easy to clean, a car, lots of credit-card debt, still lots of student-loan debt, and enough money to pay my most-important bills. I love being able to pray at least twice a day: once in the morning and once at night. While I often ask for too much while I pray, I sometimes also apologize for asking. I also try to include something I'm thankful for in every prayer.