Making P.L.A.N.S!

WELCOME to today’s guest blogger, Sharon Knudson:

TODAY’S LAUGH: Garrison Keillor talks about shy Norwegian bachelors on his Prairie Home Companion radio show. Well, I’m married to one!

Bob was 50 when we met, and I was grieving the loss of my 30-year marriage, but at someone’s advice I baked some Cherry Macaroon cookies and—long story short, we were married a year later.

That story was published in Guideposts Magazine (Feb. 2005), and an agent asked me to write a book called Starting from Scratch When You’re Single Again.

Now I’m on a speaking circuit and bake cookies to bring along. Sometimes I tease Bob and say, “Look what happened because you ate those Cherry Macaroons!”

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: Life takes unexpected twists and turns, and sometimes derails our PLANS for happiness. My PLAN for a life-long marriage failed, and I had to start over from scratch. Notice the following acronym:

P is for PURPOSE: We all dream of a happy life. We set goals and proceed with purpose, but,

L is for LOSS: Tragedy blind-sides us and can bring horrific loss! Grief and sorrow threaten to stay around forever.

A is for ANALYZE: Our mind goes into overload as we analyze our situation. “What’s going on—this can’t be true! How will I survive?”

N is for NEEDS: We find it necessary to re-assess our needs. “Should I move to a different place? Do I need a new job? Are community resources available? Is my grieving healthy?”

S is for SERENITY: “God – grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” Eventually we’re ready to make new PLANS!

When my 30-year marriage failed, my PLANS for a happy life suddenly changed. But a shy, Norwegian bachelor and those Cherry Macaroon cookies gave me a whole new purpose.

If you are experiencing loss today, be encouraged that with God’s help you can not only survive, but thrive.

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Sharon M. Knudson is the author of  Starting from Scratch When You’re Single Again, in which 23 women share stories, encouragement, recipes, and lessons learned when starting over was all they could do (Strang Communications, 2008). Available at www.StartingFromScratchBooks.com, www.Amazon.com, or wherever fine books are sold.
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AUGUST MELTDOWN BOOK GIVEAWAY: Sharon is giving away FIVE copies of Starting from Scratch When You’re Single Again. To enter the drawing, use the CONTACT MARY link with “SCRATCH” in the subject line.

YOU MAY ENTER ONCE EACH DAY FOR YOURSELF AND ONCE EACH DAY FOR EACH OF YOUR FRIENDS who you think would appreciate Sharon’s book. (US Mailing addresses only please.)

FIVE winners will be drawn on MONDAY AUGUST 10, 2009 at 8:00 PM CDT and winners’ names will be posted on this site on Tuesday August 11, 2009.

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P.S. from Mary:

WISCONSIN WRITERS: SPEND THE WEEK WITH ME!

AUGUST 23-28, 2009 at GREEN LAKE CONFERENCE CENTER

I’ll be teaching “Inspirational Writing” all week, and talking about websites, marketing, humor writing and more! Go to www.glcc.org and click “Conferences>Adults” for more information.

Let’s spend the week together. Would that be fun or what??