What will you do to celebrate Independence Day?

Louise M. Gouge here, waving my flag to celebrate my country.

 

During this Independence Day week, while enjoying hot dogs and fireworks, we all should be setting aside time to remember what our Founding Fathers did for us on July 4, 1776. So many people I talk to haven’t even read the Declaration of Independence or haven’t since high school. To read the entire text, click on the hyperlink. As you’ll easily see, this is NOT a dusty, old, out-of-date document!

As a college English instructor, I have my students read this great document every semester. They are often surprised to see how wisely Thomas Jefferson and his fellow authors set out their arguments against the British king, George III, giving all the reasons the colonies were severing their ties with England and her despotic ruler.

When I read the document aloud in class, rare is the time when I don’t get choked up reading the last few lines: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” This was not an idle comment or “finish with a flourish” conclusion. The signers did throw everything into the fight. Some of them did lose their lives. Some did lose their fortunes. But none of the signers lost their sacred honor throughout the entire Revolutionary War. As a result, we have a nation that affords us more freedoms and opportunities than any other nation in history.

Many things are happening in the United States today that cause concern. All the more reason for you to read the Declaration so you can see why our founders risked everything to create this nation. Then consider your part in maintaining our freedoms.

May God continue to bless the United States of America.

Visit my website at http://blog.Louisemgouge.com for an opportunity to win a copy of my July 2013 release, A Lady of Quality.

Get back to work!

I'm giving you an advance warning of the irony of this blog. Because as you are reading this blog, I am going to tell you to stop reading this blog and get back to work. Stop reading about writing and get back to writing.

If you're still reading this, you haven't taken my advice, but I'm hoping that by continuing to read, you will get a few tools that will make it easier to take my advice. Got it?

The internet is my greatest tool and my greatest enemy. Living where I do, at the corner of No and Where, I use it to connect with people I can't see face to face. I use it to brainstorm with my writing partner. I use it to discover facts that I need right now that I normally wouldn't have access too (see above) - as in, how does a doctor do a triple bypass and what is a bypass anyway?

And here comes the HOWEVER. When God sent Adam out of the Garden he put a curse on the earth. So every blessing has a downside. Every light casts a shadow. And in the case of the internet the shadow can be large, looming and hard to ignore. You'll be writing along, hit a snag and 'hey, have I gotten any e-mail lately?' or 'I wonder if anything new has been posted on that writing forum' or, my own current personal nemesis, 'how's that cricut cartridge doing on e-bay?' - which I shouldn't have even allowed to enter my mind because I promised myself I would get this blog post done before I do anything else.

These are only the distractions I could think of as I was typing this. I'm sure each of you have your own guilty pleasures. I look for distractions because writing is hard work. I like the finished product, but I don't like getting there. Even after publishing thirty some odd books, I still struggle with this. But I've also noticed that the more I force myself to stay on task, the easier it gets. I get more writing done in a day than I used to. And the reason? I've stayed away, as much as possible, from the busy work of writing. Checking e-mail every five minutes. Surfing the 'net. Do I have amazing willpower?

Nope. I have programs. Now I run a Mac so for those of you who do as well, here are some wonderful tools I use. One is a ridiculously simple program called Freedom (http://macfreedom.com/) What it does is turn off the internet for however long you decide. It's wonderful. Another one I really like is called Concentrate (getconcentrating.com) It not only shuts off the internet, it turns off any application that might be a distraction for you. Plus it sends out a message every ten minutes that you can customize. Mine is a growly voice that encourages me to 'keep writing'. Also great.

For you PC users, I can't testify to how these work, but I did find these programs.

http://lifehacker.com/245774/lifehacker-code-dropcloth-windows

Another place I found was this one:

http://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Skrommel/#MinimOther

If you scroll down and do some looking you can find programs that will shut down programs, put them aside, whatever your heart desires.

Sometimes we need willpower, sometimes we need help. I need help. However, there is a proviso to using these programs. They only work if you turn them on! And sometimes that can be just as hard to do as to get writing. But once they are on, you might be amazed at how much more you can do when you get rid of the biggest distraction for writers. The internet. Which you are using right now to read this blog.

So check out these programs and get back to work!

For Freedom

With the patriotic holiday approaching, I've been thinking about what the day actually means. We, as a country, are celebrating our independence.



Every time I think of freedom, I think of our military and my heart goes out to those serving and to their families. There are some great ways to support the troops. Here are a few:

--Pray for them and for their families
--Send cards or care packages
--Visit military blogs to stay in touch with what our men and women are facing and sacrificing for the sake of your/our freedom.

One of my favorite sites is Sarah Horn's A Greater Freedom. She has a lot of links there that are also great. Hope you will drop by there and give Sarah a shout-out and let her know you appreciate all she's doing to honor the military. www.agreaterfreedom.com

That's one reason I feature military heroes and heroines. I wish to honor them. It's my way of giving back while they risk and sacrifice for my freedom.


TWO MULTI-GENERATIONAL WIA (WOUNDED IN ACTION) WAR VETS EMBRACING

Another great organization is Freedom Alliance.

There is also Soldier's Angels. They help soldiers with care packages. There are a gazillion other organizations that reach out to soldiers.

If you know of more, I hope you will mention them in the comment section. Also, if you or someone in your family served or is serving, God bless you! I hope you will leave a comment letting us know where they serve/d so we can honor them here by saying thanks.

Have a fun, safe holiday. With the men and women serving, we're one of the safest nations on earth. I'm thankful for that.

Have a great 4th of July holiday...and don't forget to tell us about the heroes in your lives if you have a moment. Regardless, thank a vet today.