Tuesday, August 17, 2021
I Love the Summertime
Friday, January 22, 2021
My Resolution to Write More in 2021
One of my resolutions for 2021 is to write more consistently.
Writing is one of my favorite
things to do. I have had a fresh appetite for adding strings of word to a blank
page ever since I was in the fifth grade. I am hoping this year to write more
boldly, much more often without abandoning the idea. Why? Simply put; because I
am a writer.
One of the things I have
started to do to try to rise to the occasion of consistently writing, is that I
joined a few writing groups that encourage writers to write with a prompt. One
is a short story group which made me realized that the 3000 words that they
encourage you to write, is similar to writing just one chapter in a book. I
love knowing the fact that if I can write a chapter-full of words, there is nothing
stopping me from writing a chap book at some point. I am thankful for that.
The other group is a songwriting circle. The curator of the group gives a weekly prompt to enhance the motivation of the songwriters in the group.
Most of the times when I write songs, I piece together ideas based on what I am reading, watching on television or perhaps by a few chords that I come across when I am in practice mode. To have a guided topic to be influenced by, makes the piecing together of a new original song even that more interesting to do; especially because it challenges me to be more passionate about writing.
This week’s prompt was everything is gonna be alright. I invite
you to check out the song that was written based on this prompt. It is
entitled, “Everything is Gonna Be Alright.” All lyrics, music and vocals are by
Stephanie Jeannot. You can listen to the song on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/songwritersclubsd/everything-is-gonna-be-alright-stephanie-jeannot
If you like the song, let me know what you think. If you think I can improve my writing in some way, please share some encouraging words that might help me along my journey. Thank you so much for checking out my blogpost. Have an amazing day!
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Onward to 2021
Currents of emotion broadened my palette the minute the time square ball reached to the top of 2021.
You can never be too sure if
destiny will allow you to collide with a future date because tomorrow is not
promised. Looking back over 2020 has given me reason to pay attention to that
truth. To be experiencing 2021 firsthand is truly a blessing.
If I was in need of a ray of
light to burst in me hope, it was amplifying my voice to sing “Auld Lang Syne”
that night, as I cheered to the moving image of confetti and kissing couples
celebrating at that Rocking New Year’s party rolling across my television
screen.
I knew that I would be obliged
to find my cadence for this new set of 365. To know of the life altering events
that wreaked havoc over the stretch of the past year, embracing the
uncertainties of the new one still fresh with the grizzly wounds of
circumstance, makes me know that I need to continue to hold on my faith in
God’s miraculous provision over my life.
If I made any resolution at
all, it is devoting my life to muddling along with every spurt of energy that
it takes to tackle each moment. No need to mutter under my breath about how
much I hate wearing the mask on my face or being unable to indulge in my
routinized lifestyle of being out and about. I admit that I am struggling with
the swift currents of these new ways of life. I am craving for the moments when
I can get all dapper and polished again to thrust back into the way things used
to be when the quarantine and the pandemic weren’t a part of our everyday
vocabulary and my world was stuffed with activities. But until then, all I can
do is express my appreciation for the mere fact that I am still here in the
land of the living.
I’m still muddling along. 2020 was not all lost. I teamed up with the cheery and loquacious bassist, John Mueller, who helped to stitch me back together like patchwork with his happy talk and musical ideas that caused positive thoughts to ferment in my brain. We may have been under lock and key in our pandemic prison cells, but the time spent became valuable hours lumped together to come up with a cohesive set of songs that later became our collaborative album, The Stephanie Jeannot & John Mueller Project.
I also found time to dig into books that I had been
If it was never as evident
before, 2020 cultivated an image that God is bigger than all our problems and
that even in despairing circumstances, he still provides reassurance that is
far beyond my comprehension. If 2020 is significant to perfect vision, it gave
me the clarity to see what is important in 2021.
Appreciation is the most
important thing. Sharing love is not something you have to bend over backwards
to do. Not every tremor that is hurled into your life by a foolish skeptic, is
a reason to spark another fight. If you have a dull longing to do something,
make the strategic decision to do it or you might one day be riddled with
regret, especially since tomorrow is not guaranteed. Appreciate God’s
masterpieces of good moments and don’t let those times slip you by without acknowledging
them. Love your family, friends and loved ones with heart and mind because they
can be here today and gone tomorrow. And finally, keep hold to the love of God
because from crisis to crisis, he makes it easier to deal with it all.
If you are interested in
hearing the pandemic album that John Mueller & I created, you can check out
The
Stephanie Jeannot & John Mueller Project on Youtube here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mOpEdeTJ5N9SawA-9FxqwQtt_SR8nty8Q
I pray that your 2021 is
filled with fascinating moments and comes with floods of wonderful blessings to
fill your cup to the brim.