And So, I Write

By Kristine John

I am a writer.
It is something I have known, deep within myself, for my entire life.
The gift I have been given, as a writer, came with me to this life, from the pre-existence.
That reality reverberates within my heart each time I contemplate the truth of that statement.
For me, the question that I desire to answer is not "Will I write?", instead, the answer I seek is "WHAT will I write?".
My days are filled with searching, seeking the words that put my feelings, my thoughts, my impressions, into the world in a way that others can understand and relate to.
Amid the routines (and the surprises) that caring for a large family bring to my life, I see words that jump out at me, sentences that replay themselves in my mind, and phrases that warm my heart.
And so I write.
I write sporadically, in various places.
Sometimes a scribbled note in a margin of a book, or on a loose paper is enough to suffice, to quell the desire to create, for a time.
Other times, the words spill out, flowing easily from my mind, coming out just so, and reflecting the thoughts of my mind perfectly.
And sometimes, I sit, waiting for the words to come forth.
Struggling to get the thoughts to flow and piece themselves together in some order, some semblance of order that will make sense to myself, and perhaps, eventually, to others.
And sometimes, the words don't come.
Yet still, I write.
Haltingly,
unsure of the direction I should go,
following the impression, no, more than that, following the certainty, the assuredness I have within...
the certainty that despite my weaknesses and my insecurities,
I am a writer.
Yesterday,
Today,
and Tomorrow.
Seeking my voice, desirous to know what it is exactly I need to do with this God-given talent and knowledge.
Hoping that the journey and the detours it will present will reveal answers to my mind and to my soul and help me find the voice, the story that needs to be told.

I am a writer.
And so, I write.







*As a mother to 7 children (ages 12 years to 5 months) I find my time to write limited. I love the fact that ANWA gives each of us the opportunity to embrace the writer within, and discover the words that long to come forth from each of us.*

Out of the Mouths of Babes

By Kari Diane Pike

During the Thanksgiving holiday, I spent an entire week with my three-year-old grandson, Welsy, and his little brother Travis. A new baby brother was expected soon and I looked forward to experiencing once again the amazing adventures, menacing monsters, and tender truths that make up a young child’s world.

The first night of my visit, I sat on the couch to read a story with both boys snuggled in my lap. Their hair, still curly and damp from their nightly bath, smelled of lavender and the warmth of their little bodies wrapped around my heart. Each boy held one side of the book in a chubby fist, eager to help turn the pages. Since a new baby was coming, I had purchased the book, Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch. It has been a family favorite for years. The story is about a mother and the love she has for her baby boy as he grows to adulthood. Every night, when she knows he is really asleep (yes, even after he becomes a grown man and lives across town), she sneaks into his room and rocks him back and forth and sings him this song:

“I’ll love you forever,

I’ll like you for always,

As long as I’m living,

My baby you’ll be.”

I made up a tune for the words to sing to my own children, changing the ending to:

“Forever, and ever, my [baby- or say the name of the child] you’ll be.”

The boys loved the story and I read it to them three or four times before they were tucked tightly in their beds.

Later that night, I awoke to the sound of Wesly screaming in fright. Knowing he regularly experiences night terrors, I rushed up the stairs to try to comfort him. I found Wesly standing in the middle of his room holding one index finger in the air as he cried out,

“G-g-gamma!” he sobbed, hiccupping between syllables. “I f-found a b-boogie!”

I gently wiped his finger and his nose and rocked him back and forth and sang our song to him again.

Early the next morning, baby brother Nathan made his debut. I don’t know how to describe the joy that filled the hospital room when these little boys came to meet their new brother. Wesly and Travis shouted in excitement the moment they saw Mom.

“Hi Mom!”

Then Wesly spotted Dad sitting in the corner, holding a blanketed bundle. Mom asked,

“Wesly, who is Daddy holding?”

Wesly made that noise of wonder that happens when you suck in all the air in the room. He ran across the room to his dad exclaiming,

“Oh, my baby brother! He came out! Can I hold him?”

After Wesly and Travis took a peek at Nathan, I helped them climb onto the bed next to Mom. Dad gently placed Nathan in Wesly’s lap and showed him how to support the baby’s head. Nathan squirmed a bit and started to fuss. Wesly placed his face next to Nathan’s and made a shushing noise.

“S’okay, baby. S’okay.”

Then he patted Nathan’s tummy and began to sing in his three-year-old voice,

“I love you forever,

I like you for always,

Forever and ever,

My baby brother…you came out!”

Alma 32:23 says, “And now, he imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also. Now this is not all; little children do have words given unto them many times, which confound the wise and the learned.”

To that, I must say, Amen and Amen.

Broken Resolutions, Repentance, Fear, Faith

By Anna Laurene Arnett
(I know most of you don't know my middle name, but it's still mine. My maiden name is even more unique--Liljenquist, with the 'j' pronounced as a 'y'.)

This is only the second day of a new year, and I’ve already broken my No. 1 resolution. I should have followed Rene’s lead and set only one goal—to put the Kingdom of God first. Instead, I’ve been beset by a determination to bring more order into my life, and to keep the commandments found in D & C 88:124, especially the part that says, ‘retire to thy bed early’. I kept that pretty well during my younger years, but since I became an octogenarian, I’ve failed miserably. Oh, I retire early if you consider one or two or three o’clock in the morning as early. Maybe half a dozen or so times I’ve actually not gone to bed all night, which is utter stupidity. I’ve often gone for weeks averaging four or five hours sleep per night. How dumb can one get?

So, taking a cue from Benjamin Franklin, I determined this year to work on one fault at a time until doing it right becomes habitual. My first concern is go to bed by around ten every night, and get up by six.

Before even getting this goal down in writing, on New Years Eve I found myself at two in the morning trying to catch up on my email. Even so, I still awoke at six, saying, ‘tonight, I’ll retire on time’. And I almost did. By ten I donned my nightgown, and headed for bed. Before dropping to my knees, I remembered I had not reported my writing and editing time for the day, and opened the e-mail. I had 27 unread messages! I simply had to read them first. Forgetting all about time, I even checked a couple or three of the personal blogsites I’d missed. After finally posting my report, I remembered I’d planned to read daily in scriptures other than the BofM, so read in Matthew and the Ensign. I retired two hours late! Worse still, I slept until nine this morning!

Is there any hope for me? Because I’d re-read Elder Quentin L. Cook’s conference talk on living by faith instead of fear, I decided not to give up. I remember as a child quoting a jingle, ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Besides, what’s so special about New Years Day? Isn’t every day of our life new to us? Isn’t every breath we take in essence a new beginning? So go ahead, Anna. Post this. Yes, it’s already past noon, but there’s always another chance to be early, or at least on time.

So I say to all (but especially to me) never give up on worthwhile projects. Fear not, but learn from both failure and success. Hang in there, keep writing, keep smiling, and have a prolific, profitable, peaceful, productive, proficient, persistent, and almost perfectly Happy New Year.

Welcome to 2008

Hello, Gentle Readers. We've enjoyed your association so much during the last year. Now a new one is upon us, and a few changes have been made in our list of contributors.

We're saying goodbye to Donna Hatch and Valerie Steimle. They've been great bloggers, and have shared insightful posts with us all. We thank them for their service.

Now we have four new members of our blogging team: Kristine John, Christine Thackeray, Rebecca Talley, and Margaret Turley. This brings our team up to fourteen, and yes, we'll be blogging seven days a week.

I'm looking forward to a wonderful New Year, and I know I can speak for the team in saying we hope yours will be awesome!

Marsha Ward
ANWA Founder