When This is Over

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Those four words are the ones I’ve heard over and over in the past few weeks. I’m sure you’ve heard them, too. Perhaps you’ve even spoken them. I have.

Just four little words. Not profound unto themselves, and yet they say so much. They point to an equally little word. Another with four letters, but one which holds so much promise.

Hope.

Without hope, there would be no utterance of when this is over. There would be only despair and grim acceptance that this is the way life will be from this point forward. There would be no more family gatherings, no more hugs. No more dinner with friends. No more play-dates for our kids. No more life as we knew it.

Overwhelmed? There's Help

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Do you ever get overwhelmed? I think most of us do from time to time. Right now, I’m working on all those things that must be done to market a book. Yes, I know. It hasn’t even been published yet. But here’s what I didn’t realize and maybe you don’t know either. The marketing begins the minute you have the idea for the book.

So, let’s consider that I’m about thirty years behind. That’s how long ago I began thinking about writing this story. I had no clue what marketing was back then. I had no clue I was a writer.

A New Year, A New You

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

It’s hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone. Three of our kids left for home on the twenty-seventh, the fourth left on the twenty-eighth. It’s been a long time since we’ve had all our kids and grands here for Christmas. 2015 was the last year for all of them to be at our home. They have no idea what a gift their presence is to their Dad and me.

As I write this, it is our youngest son’s birthday and the new year is two days away. As I look at our sons, daughter-in-love, and our granddaughters, I wonder what the new year will bring for all of them. We discussed plans during their visit and I can tell you that a lot of change is ahead for each of them. But isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?

Giving Thanks--Generation to Generation

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Y’all know that one of my favorite things is genealogy. Finding my ancestors has become not just a hobby, but a life-long quest for my sister and me.

Sis and I talk every day, first thing in the morning, which for us is usually somewhere between eight and nine. I am not an early morning person unless I have to be. Of course, we always talk about our kids and our grandkids, and in her case, her soon-to-be eight great-grands. Wow!

Another thing you know about me is that this November, for the first time, I am participating in NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, the object of which is to get fifty-thousand words written—a good start for a novel. I got a bit of a late start, but I’ve managed to have somewhere around forty-thousand words in book two of my Charlotte Graves series, when you add my NaNo words to my already-written words.

But, while I’ve been writing a novel, many of you have been writing about things you are thankful for. I’ve really enjoyed reading your posts. Among those of you doing this is my niece, Shelly Foshee. She is my sister’s daughter-in-love. Shelly is an amazing woman, one whom I wish all of you could know. She is daughter, wife, mother, and now, Nana. Add to those, student, nurse, teacher, mentor, intercessor, prayer-warrior. You get the picture. Busy.

NaNoWriMo-If I Can, You Can

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams 

I’ve been in the middle of something for the past nine days I never thought I’d do. I joined those working on NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. The idea is to get 50,000 words on the page during the month of November.

While I have no clue whose original idea this was, it isn’t a bad one. There are many people out there who feel they have a book inside them, but they don’t have the initiative to get it done. Or to even begin. NaNoWriMo offers them an opportunity to join the many who do this each year. NaNo as I call it, offers words of support, badges of achievement, and even personalized closed groups one may join that will be comprised of people you know all cheering you on.

Got Plans? I Know Someone Who Does

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

My children will tell you, the verse I quote to each of them most often is Jeremiah 29:11. I know you know it, but for those who may not be as familiar here is what it says—For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope. (NASB)

Every time one of our kids is going through a rough patch, a time of critical decision-making, times of uncertainty, I quote this to them. Just this week, I’ve quoted it to two of our sons, the eldest and the youngest. If you read my blog posts regularly, you will likely see that it is my most-referenced scripture verse.

A Plan? Don't I Wish

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Today my husband and I tackled a chore that we had completed a couple of days earlier. Yes, you read that correctly. We had finished this job earlier in the week. Yet, here we were redoing it. Why? You may ask. Well, we didn’t have a plan. Do you know the quote, "A goal without a plan is just a wish?”  How I wish we had made a plan.

It’s amazing how one little four letter word can make such a huge difference. If we had had a plan to begin with, we could have simply sat back and enjoyed the fruits of our labor. Instead, we found ourselves working at least as hard as if not harder than we had the first time.

We moved into our condo about eighteen months ago. We knew that our backyard needed to be revamped but we decided to wait until we came up full time to tackle that job. 

Conquering the Curves

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

How often have you set out with a goal in mind, a destination, if you will, and things just didn’t work out as planned? Maybe it's a big goal such as becoming a published author. Maybe it's just a nice drive not far from home. We had that happen to us today. 

When we left our home, we had planned on a leisurely day of driving through the countryside to take photos of churches, old barns, and anything that caught our attention.

I still don’t know my way around our area so J drives everywhere we go. He likes to joke and tell everyone he’s driving Miss Debbie. Well, he is, for sure.

He asked what I had in mind and he made some suggestions. I just answered with that sounds fine, where ever you think as I don’t know one direction from another. So off we went.

Dreams Do Come True

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

When is the last time you thought about your hopes and dreams? Have they come to be? Are you still pursuing them?

I’m here to tell you—don’t ever give up on those dreams. You never know when a door will open and all you will have to do is walk through. That happened to me this year and it recently happened for one son.

Trust and Prepare

We may think that we are  too old or too young, not qualified, not whatever enough. But you must remember that God has the last word. If you trust in him with all your heart and you do your best to prepare yourself for your dreams, then you sit back and watch God at work.

God is Always Up to Something

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Man am I pooped! I need some of Lucy’s Vitameatavegamin. I don’t think it would do me any good as I am just way too pooped to pop out at parties. Those of you of a certain age will know exactly what I’m talking about.

Not this past weekend, but the one before that, my husband drove our son and all of his belongings to Texas. Now, from Tampa, that’s a long, long trip. Two full days of driving only to arrive to find that the apartment isn’t ready and son couldn’t move in. He finally got to do so this past Friday, a week later than promised. Heavy sigh.

Change-Packed with Blessings

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Confession—I don’t like change. I like settling into my life and getting comfy—like a favorite pair of old shoes.

But life has never been meant to remain stagnant. Like the water that word brings to mind, it begins to smell. When we sit too long without changing, without growing, without adding to the world around us, we too, become stagnant.

In the past few months, years even, my life has had more changes than I felt prepared to deal with. Yes, bad sentence structure, but that is how jumbled things have been. Seemingly all out of order.

Another God-Incidence

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

A few months ago, I wrote a blog post about God-incidences. I firmly believe the scripture that tells us that God directs our steps (Proverbs 16:9). I also cling to Jeremiah 29:11 which tells us that God knows the plans He has for us.

This week I experienced one of those God-incidences. I couldn’t have in any way, done things to make these two events coincide. My only task in this was to be obedient. And believe me when I tell you that wasn’t and hasn’t been easy.

Post Number One-Hundred!

As you read this, you are reading my one-hundredth blog post. It doesn’t seem possible, but here it is. Blogs are one of those things that writers are expected to do. I happen to enjoy writing these posts and sharing things with you, events from my life to which I hope you can relate.

Happy New Year--2019

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Here it is, yet another new year. It seems we are surprised that they come so quickly—yet, they arrive at the same rate every year—unless it’s a leap year.

Many of my friends are writers, but many are not. Most of my writer-friends choose a word for the coming year. I generally have one that keeps repeating during the year, but I rarely, if ever, post it. I’m going to do that this year.

My Word

This year, my word is hope. I think this could actually be a lifetime word, not just my word for the year. It seems I’m always praying and hoping for one thing or another.

Merriam-Webster defines hope as an intransitive verb: to cherish a desire with anticipation, to want something to be true. Or, as a transitive verb: to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment. I think my hope lies in the transitive category. Although, I’m sure that some of my hopes fall into the intransitive category as well.

Your True Colors - Are They Masked?

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

My husband and I love to take long drives on the Blue Ridge Parkway. One of the perks of living in the gorgeous mountains of western North Carolina is getting to experience the glorious colors presented by the change of seasons. Rhododendron in the spring or red, yellow, and orange leaves announcing the arrival of fall. We are among the ranks of those who proclaim that fall is our favorite of the seasons.

On any given day of the week, you could find us out and about, seeking that perfect photo-op. Now, neither of us will ever declare ourselves to be photographers. That title belongs to others.

Turning Worry Junkies into Journal Junkies

I’m touched that so many of you stopped by to read my blog about Edie Melson’s Soul Care. I hope that you went over to our Facebook group, Soulful Ink, and joined in on the fun and worship. If you haven’t done that yet, it still isn’t too late. Edie’s videos are available right on the site, along with all of the fabulous print-outs she’s made available to us.

Last night, Edie talked about worry. I don’t know about y’all, but I am an award-winning worrier. Yes, I know, it isn’t exactly what I should be doing, but, hey, I’m human just like you. Plus—I’m a bit of a control freak.

I cannot believe that I just admitted that . . . but it’s true. I know what I would do in most situations (until it comes to my own life), but our four sons seem to have minds of their own, and they don’t always listen, or even want to listen, to Mama any more. Insert heavy sigh here.

Mothers of Boys - You've Got This

by Debra DuPree Williams  @DDuPreeWilliams

December 2012, Indian Rocks Beach, FL

If you’ve read my bio, you know that I am the mother of four boys. Well, they’re all grown men now, thanks be to God. And I don’t say that lightly.

My nephew and his wife have five sons and two daughters. I have a lot of friends who are the mothers of boys. It seems as if we gravitate to one another like one of those earth magnets that has super-strong pull. Maybe there’s something within us that silently calls to one another, “You can do this!”  Or maybe just a simple, “Help!” seems to be written across our foreheads. I’m here to tell you, you will survive and, God willing, so will they.

It's Not a Coincidence, It's a God-Incidence

Indian Rocks Beach, Path from our Home There

  by Debra DuPree Williams
 @DDuPreeWilliams

I quote Jeremiah 29:11 and Proverbs 3:6, to my children all the time. If they remember nothing else of their mother, I know they’ll remember these two verses. Both of these scriptures speak of putting your faith and trust in God and following the paths He has set forth for your life.

Childhood Dreams

I never dreamed of the places I’ve been or the relationships I’ve formed over the past four years. I’m talking about in the writing world. When I was in the seventh grade in Andalusia, Alabama, I began writing a novel. Every night before I turned off my lights, time was spent putting another chapter into my idea of The Great American Novel. Let me tell you, it was pitiful. But a friend waited daily to read what I had written the previous night. Thank you, Anne Evers Mount Brown. I don’t know what happened to that great achievement.