Grace – Karen Creamer Author, Coach, Speaker

Be an overcomer

October 31, 2017 by Karen, posted in Being BRAVE, Catching women being brave, Clarity, Grace, health, Music, no fear

We all have things happen to us in life. Some are wonderful. Some aren’t. It’s how we respond to adversity that makes all the difference.

We can succumb…or we can overcome.

Most of what happens in our daily life is probably fairly benign. It’s when the big things, the unexpected, the often unwanted things happen that test us and help us remember that we can respond or react. The choice is ours. Often, a fair amount of grace is required to help us not succumb, to support us to overcome the adversity and carry on hopefully stronger and even better than before. Even if at first we don’t realize it.

I think Mandisa captures the essence of this magnificently in her song and her video, Overcomer.

Maybe you’ve heard her song before, but if you’ve never watched the video that accompanies it, then you’re missing out. I am posting it right here below.

And here is my challenge to you:

Listen to the song and watch the video. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to do this so you can see what I mean. It’s something you will feel in your body as the music and images play out. Please watch it to the end, and then post your thoughts in the comment section below.

MyOneWord 2017

December 24, 2016December 24, 2016 by Karen, posted in my one word

As has happened in the past, I have had my one word for 2017 picked out since about October: COMFORT. I was happy, comfortable even 🙂 , with my choice. Thinking ahead, I could see all sorts of ways that I could be welcoming my new word into my life. Comfy clothes! Comfy shoes! Comfort foods! Warm in front of the wood stove in the winter! Only putting myself in comfortable situations!

And then a different word snuck into the periphery of my psyche. Actually, snuck isn’t really the right word…slammed is more like it. I was just sitting there, minding my own business, when it hit: CHANNEL.

Channel.

I don’t know. It’s kind of growing on me.

I think that comfort, although a very nice idea, wouldn’t push me to grow in ways that channel, like 2015’s brave, might.

I just have a feeling.

Because this year’s word, grace, although lovely, didn’t push me like brave did. As a matter of fact, there have been reverberations of brave all throughout 2016, even though it was the prior year’s word.

Maybe you’ll choose one word to focus on for the entire year this year. There is a word finder to help you choose on myoneword.org.

Disclaimer: Nothing is set in stone. I reserve the right to change my mind at the last minute. I work best under pressure. 🙂

Humble

December 7, 2016December 7, 2016 by Karen, posted in books, Grace, local fun, writing

Today I was so excited to get a copy of the York Weekly newspaper that my husband and I braved the ice and snow and rode down to the York Hannaford to pick it up before work. After I ascertained that the article did, in fact, run this week (there was a photo of me and of my book cover right there on page B3 of the Living Section!), I folded the paper back up. I didn’t read it on the way home.

This was a do-over chance. The first article that was written in the newspaper about me publishing my first novel had many errors (including the name of the main character! Her name is NOT Bebe Kristen Davis!) and so was very disappointing.
I had high hopes for this time around.

When we got home, I had to go right to work, so my husband started reading it. “I found something that you’re not going to be happy about,” he began.

Seriously?
Here is the line: “…she is a registered nurse, a health coach, weight gain teacher and author.

Guess which part is wrong? Was it that stupid autocorrect?

Now the irony here is that I was just commiserating with a friend yesterday about how I had lost 30 lbs on Weight Watchers several years ago and then gained some of it back–talk about adding insult to injury!

Also, lesson learned. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I should have asked if I could give it a once over before the story ran.

And then I remembered myoneword for 2016: GRACE. I could just accept this with grace. I have made plenty of errors in my own writing, and have always felt terrible when I noticed them (or they were gracefully pointed out to me by others) after the fact.

Here is the article (it has since been corrected): Wells Author will Speak at York Library

This came to mind after the events of this morning, so I’m sharing it with you all:

BOOK REVIEW: A Couple by Peter Raymond UPDATED

July 21, 2016August 4, 2016 by Karen, posted in author, books, Brave books, family, Grace, local fun, my one word

There are so many wonderful books that have come into my life as a result of my book, One Brave Thing.

This book, a couple by Peter Raymond, I discovered at the Kennebunk Community Market. I brought it home and stood it up on my kitchen table. I then began emptying my car of all the flotsam and jetsam from my author table at the market (note to self: streamline this author table deconstruction process already).

My daughter came in and right away she made a bee-line for the book. “What’s this?” she said, and then plopped herself down in a chair and began reading it. “It’s a picture book,” I said.

“It’s a nice book,” she said.

I stopped what I was doing and sat down to read it with her.
There is a picture that includes the word “GRACE“, which is ‘my one word’ this year. That got my attention right away. It felt like a sign that I was supposed to be reading this book, at this time, with my daughter. Next, I saw a picture of a heron. Hello? I have been seeing the heron everywhere lately. When you see a symbol of any kind repeatedly, that means there is a message there for you.

I’ll stop there, because I don’t want to tell you the entire book before you get to read it yourself! Come to the Kennebunk Community Market and get your own copy!

UPDATE: Peter’s work is also available at his online shop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/peterraymondimages

My 8th day of my first 100 days of Grace

February 7, 2016February 7, 2016 by Karen, posted in Grace, Meditation, my one word

Days 1-4 were amazing. Days 5-7? The Grace was there, but I had to look harder for it. I had to look harder, but it was there.

So…Thank you, God. Today is my 8th day of my first 100 days of Grace. As I was getting in the shower today, I was saying my affirmation and thinking about what would happen today.

After I got out, the pink bottle that contains my shower gel caught my eye. I originally bought it because, in addition to truly excellent shower gel, it contains the name of my word for 2016:

Amazing Grace.

I decided to read the label again. Here is part of what it says:

“being a humble person can, and being a helpful person can guide you through your days with grace and gratitude.”

Ah. So. Grace can show up in unexpected places.

Amazing.

🙂

My first 100 Days of Grace

February 3, 2016February 3, 2016 by Karen, posted in Angels, family, friends, good grief, He and me, Meditation

I was wondering once again this past Sunday why the heck I had chosen Grace to be my word–or more accurately, Grace had chosen me to be its person –this year. Brave, my word last year, was a

great word! A word you can sink your teeth into! Get your mind around! Get a grip on! Grace is…not. It’s elusive. Ephemeral. Unknown. Unfixed…kind of like me.

So my old friend Jane and my new friend Lisa and I were talking about this on Sunday, when they told me about the 100 day project they had started. They invited me to join, so I did.

Every day I say:

Thank you, God. I am in day ____ of my first 100 days of Grace.

Here is what’s happened during my first 3 days of my first 100 days of Grace:

Day 1 Grace: Jane introduced me to Lisa, who told me about her company Cosmic Tonic and T shirts that say Limitless on them (written in a special way). The song Limitless had been in my head all morning, and I had posted a link to it on one of my Facebook pages, The Metaphysical Nurse, right before I met her. (I know, right?!)
Day 2 Grace: Bill, my husband, finished reading the first book I wrote and he told me he loved it. One thing about my husband: He never lies, especially not to spare my feelings. YAY!
Day 3 Grace: The song King of the Road was in my head, and a brief flash of a memory of my mother singing it. A visitation? It felt like it was. A gift. The 20th anniversary of her death is this month, February 29.

That’s it so far.

Consider trying this for yourself!

**Here’s a clip of the song King of the Road being sung by one of my mother’s favorite singers, Dean Martin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZWvi0MaIZs

**Here is the link to some of the many posts I’ve written about My One Word. https://kwrites.com/category/my-one-word/

**I gave meditation a hundred days last year. Here is the link the Give it 100 website, which really helped me succeed: https://giveit100.com/

Ho no!

January 2, 2016July 21, 2016 by Karen, posted in my one word, yoga

I got some unwelcome news today that my beloved Holy Yoga (HoYo) Saturday morning class is ending. Moving to Tuesday evenings. When I am at work.

My first thought was, OH NO!!! Then the Big Sad descended. I paused. I breathed (it was yoga class, after all). I could still enjoy this class, today. I could still Be Here Now.

I did my best.

My next thought was this: now there is room for something else to come in. I wonder what it will be?

There are some parting gifts. A new song that I am listening to now by an artist, with whom I was unfamiliar but with whom now I am virtual BFF’s-JJ Heller. See her Christmas song here-I know! It’s late! But better late than never.

But the biggest gift is this: as I am standing here in my kitchen, consoling myself with a Nonni’s Biscotti and Spicy Eggnog coffee, I checked out the annvoscamp.com website and as I was scrolling around, I saw this quote: