Change I Can Live With

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

I don’t like change. Period. And what is life but one change followed by another and then another. Nothing ever stays the same.

When I was in college I took a psychology class in which we were given a test to determine certain aspects of our personalities. Don’t ask me what the test was called because that was a lifetime ago. But I do remember that on one question about change, I ranked in the ninety-nine percent of those who hate change. I could have told them that without the benefit of the test.

I’ve had a lot of changes in my life in the past four or five years. Some of the changes were by choice, but some were not. My husband and I are about to experience another pretty big change in our lives. We are moving for the fourth time in less than five years. That’s a lot of moving─ especially for people our age. I’m trying to look on the bright side and adjust to the change.

Claim Your Domain

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

I got a notice in my inbox that it’s time to renew my domain names at GoDaddy. I’m glad they sent me a notice, even though it is a bit early. It won’t renew until March. Maybe it’s a good thing they told me early as my credit card numbers have changed since I purchased the sites two years ago.

This prompted me to ask if you have purchased your domain name. Even if you are just an aspiring author or business owner, chances are, someone out there shares your name. Mine isn’t all that common, especially when my maiden name is thrown in there, but I have run across someone with my name. Even the spelling of Debra as I spell it.

If you are a new customer, odds are, you won’t have to pay too high a price for your name, but if you are renewing, you can expect the cost to rise. Then, you have to consider if you want to purchase just a dot com, a dot net, or a dot org, or perhaps all three. Maybe I didn’t need to do so, but I went ahead and purchased all three, using Debra DuPree Williams in each one.

It's National What Day?

By Debra DuPree @DDuPreeWilliamsWilliams

Here it is, January 3^rd and I’m already behind for the year. Seriously. I was sitting here working on my WIP (work in progress) and it suddenly hit me that today is Wednesday and I have a blog due tomorrow. Yikes! What on earth am I going to write about?

Then it occurred to me that I could write about already being behind. After vowing that I’d stay on top of things this year and not let busyness keep me from the things I need to do, here I am. Already running behind. But that’s a pretty boring topic. It would only depress me and probably you, too.

Lucky for me, I’m a follower of Edie Melson’s blog, The Write Conversation, and as such, I got her list of blog ideas for the first half of 2018. I just pulled that out and printed it.

A New Year A New You

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliaims

I think we’ve all made that New Year’s resolution. You know the one I’m talking about. Where we put away all those things we don’t like about ourselves and work at becoming the person we truly wish we were. The most popular of these has to be to lose that extra weight we gained during the past year.

Believe me, I’m in that boat with you, sailing down (or is it up?) that river of fat. Not a pretty picture at all is it? Not from where I’m sitting. And I will admit, that is definitely one of the things on my new me list for this next new year. I was pretty successful last year. I began on New Year’s Day and by May, I had lost about twenty to thirty pounds, depending on the day of the week and how cantankerous my scales wished to be on any given day.

Somehow, at least half of those lost pounds managed to become found within the past few months. All that hard work, for nothing. Not quite, but almost right back to my starting place.

This year, I hope to do things differently. My family is joining me in this venture and I think that with support for one another, we may all succeed. All prayers for success are greatly appreciated.

The Magnificat--Mary's Song of Praise

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is called The Magnificat. In sung Latin, this is pronounced mahn-yee-fee-kaht, emphasis on the second syllable. The words are found in Luke 1:46-55. These are the recorded words of Mary at learning that she is to be the mother of the Son of God.

I cannot imagine being the very young Mary and hearing that she has been chosen from among all the women on the face of the earth to carry within her, God’s only Son, the Savior of the world, the long-awaited Messiah. Her words are so beautiful, I am in awe of her ability to express so eloquently what she felt at the time.

Seeing Jesus With the Eyes of My Heart

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Many of you know that I recently underwent cataract surgery. While I can see things that are close-up, things more than four or five feet away are blurry. Forget seeing those things that are in the far distance. Many return visits to the doctor’s office confirm that I was left with a not-so-unusual problem, but one that doesn’t normally occur this soon after surgery. Most people who develop this do not do so until one to five years post-surgery. Leave it to me to have it right after. Par for the course, if you knew me.

One of the major issues accompanying this problem─blurriness on the new lenses─is that lights halo and starburst so much that I cannot see at night. My vision is just the pits once the sun goes down and car lights, street lights, and this season, Christmas lights, go on. They all spread to the point of distortion, causing discomfort in my eyes. I even have difficulty reading on my Kindle and working on my computer screen. Not good for a writer.

Missing in the Manger

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the Williams home. We’re in Florida for Christmas this year. After more than thirty years down here, it doesn’t seem odd any more to see Christmas lights on palm trees. As a matter of fact, it can be quite beautiful. But this year, I’ve noticed a flamboyance of flamingos wearing little Santa hats. I have to say, that’s not my style, but my best friend, no doubt, has one.

We live in a little villa, perfect for those of us who are of a certain age. The kids are grown, and if you’re lucky, out on their own. One of ours is living with us, and while we are delighted to be able to give him temporary housing, it does make things a bit more cramped than we had anticipated. Especially in a small space.