Category Archives: Bronte Brown Blog Post

Drive: How to fix a flat.

Have you ever been on a drive and then had a flat?

Writing picture books seems like that afternoon drive on the Natchez Trace. Car windows down, tree limbs hanging over the payment, casting shadows with intermittent sunlight, driving down the road, chatting and laughing with your best friend without any worries.

Road down the Natchez Trace Parkway in fall

Boom! Screech, and you wheel off to the side of the road. FLAT Tire!

Sometimes, your best dreams get flattened, goals you have struggled with go awry, and you get another rejection letter.
What do you do?
You fix the flat, sometimes with help from a critique group, talking to a friend, and listening to the positives more intently. Discover what is good about your dreams and hold on for the ride. Achieving your dreams is hard work. Drive and perseverance go hand in hand.
Then, work on your dream, fix the flat(s) in your stories, and resume your drive down the Natchez Trace. Happy Writing!

Sometimes you have to persuade yourself to keep moving forward and the best way is to rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance that comes when you get still and listen. Being sidelined has it purpose. When God sends that next person along, listen, anticipate a word from the Holy Spirit and be ready to move on.

Quiet is when I can hear myself think!

Photo by Simon Berger on Pexels.com

My brain is always rushing with a to-do list, assignments, tasks, programs, and appointments.

Quiet is a time when noise is silent around me.

Quiet is when my mind rest from busyness.

Quiet is when my mind can unscramble.

Quiet is an undisturbed morning routine.

Quiet is sitting in the cool of evening.

Quiet is sorting out precious thoughts and memories.

Quiet is when I can contemplate, consider and reason.

Quiet is not complaining.

Quiet is waiting.

Quiet is when I listen, and God’s Word speaks to me.

Psalms 23: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.

Jeremiah 17: 7-8 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. He will be like a tree planted by the water that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes, but its leaves will remain green. And it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.

Psalms 123: My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip. He who keeps you will not slumber.

Habakkuk 3:19 He has made my feet like hinds’ feet and makes me walk in high places.

When quiet time is over, I can walk with hind’s feet in high places.

LIFT

Lift is the force that directly opposes the weight of despair and holds you up in the air.

Lift is generated by every part of your being, your words, your heart, your soul, your physical state, your mental well-being.

Lift is the aerodynamic force that produces motion as you trust your soul to Jesus.

The power of your words can build you up or tear you and others down.

The depth of your forgiveness sets you free from internalizing other people’s opinions.

The feelings of hurt and despair are natural, but the roots of bitterness don’t have to grow. I grew up hearing a bird flies overhead, but they don’t have to make a nest in your hair.

Jesus said on the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” In other words, God’s forgiveness doesn’t rest with me but in the depth of His love for me and you.

5 responses to “LIFT”

  1. willowbentleysmama Avatar
    willowbentleysmama

    Amen. Well said. There was so much in this that I went back and read it a second time. And then a third. And I really thought about it. My favorite, if I had to pick one, is about being hurt and filled with despair without letting roots of bitterness grow. Very wise words indeed.
    ❤️Terri
    #10 FMF

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  2. willowbentleysmama Avatar
    willowbentleysmama

    I loved this! My favorite line was the hurt and despair without bitterness. Beautiful. I tried to make a comment already but I do not see my comment posted here so I am making a second comment. Let’s see if this one works..
    ❤️Terri D

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  3. Lisa Blair Avatar
    Lisa Blair

    This is so true, “God’s forgiveness doesn’t rest with me but in the depth of His love for me and you.”

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  4. Amanda Dzimianski Avatar
    Amanda Dzimianski

    Such a good angle on this prompt! Thank you, Rhonda! Forgiveness does certainly feel like being lifted.

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  5. Andrew Budek-Schmeisser Avatar
    Andrew Budek-Schmeisser

    It’s lift that lets the sparrows fly,
    it’s lift that lets the eagles soar
    and keeps the pigeons in the sky
    and makes each fighter jock a bore.
    He’s standing there in Ray-Ban shades,
    a shiny Rolex on the wrist,
    and tells you of each flight he’s made,
    “Just listen, dude, listen to THIS!”
    He maybe flies an F-16,
    or drove Thuds in Viet Nam;
    I hope that I do not seem mean,
    but seems to me the Great I Am
    gave flying powers to the birds
    that can’t be matched by human words.

    I know a lot of fighter pilots, and love ’em.

    Old joke: How do you know you’re talking to a fighter pilot?
    He’ll tell you.

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How to Disagree

Don’t hide behind others,

Don’t hide behind social media posts,

Don’t hide in a gossip mills or behind rumors,

Don’t vent uncontrollable and hide behind false anger.

Don’t spew angry words.

Don’t internalize their hurtful words.

BUT INSTEAD…

Do wait before spewing angry words

Do Inhale deeply then exhale swiftly

Try again…

Do inhale deeply on the count to four-

Hold for two and

exhale slowly- 4..3..2..1.

Go again,

Do give yourself a butterfly hug with cross taps.

Cross your hands, tapping the opposite arm or shoulder. The right-hand taps the left side and says, “Hello, mate. Let’s settle down.” The left-hand taps the right side and says, “Yep, we’re better together.”  Tapping back and forth, calms your brain. Sounds silly, I know, but it works. It’s like a hug from a butterfly that sets your mind free to think. (excerpt from WITT the anteater, WIP)

Do Think of strategies that follow the golden rule.

Do for others as you would have them do for you.

Growlers, howlers and whiners throw fits, Thinkers of all kind use their wits.

WITT: Wait, Inhale, Tap, Think (copyright RLBrown)

Ps. 133.1 “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” 

John14: 27…”…My peace I give you….Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

Rushing Through the Middle

Photo by Ena Marinkovic on Pexels.com

I’ve often read the beginning and end of the book to see how it starts and how it will end. I’ve even put a book back on the shelf if I didn’t like the ending. I’ve rushed through the middle of a book and stayed up all night just to get to the end.

Life before 18 seemed like an eternity. I couldn’t wait to be 18. Oh, the joy of being 18 again and the wisdom to know what to do with it. ( I would stop rushing around like a grasshopper and never looking up…God’s description of man.) It seems I’ve been in the middle all my life as:

  • The middle child
  • Middle of the sandwich generation
  • Center of my family negotiating
  • Middle-grade teacher
  • Middle of mid-life crisis

Even in retirement, I am still in the middle of my husband’s surgeries. I guess life is really lived in the middle. The best part of any book or life is in the middle: happy moments, life events, friendships new and old, and life. Life is lived in the middle of whatever stage you are in.

So, my advice to myself is to slow down and make sure I’m walking in the middle with Jesus. It will be messy but a much better story with Him in it.

Isaiah 40: 26 Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number. He call them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power not one of them is missing.

I’m an like a star, in the middle of His creation and I am not missing. I am not missing in the middle of a messy life. Jesus is stuck in the middle with you…and me.

Familiarity with the gospel

Familiarity with the gospel often keeps us from seeing the Glory of God. Sometimes we search for things that tickle our ears instead of trusting God’s Word. If we don’t dig our roots deep, then we are caught off guard by subtle deceptions.

Colossians 2:9 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world rather than according to Christ.

Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Voddie Bachman, the black-white divide is not a real divide that God established. God’s Word will take care of the false divide that men create. Tenants of Critical Race Theory: First, that racism is everywhere. White people are incapable of righteous action (convergence theory), Antifa liberalism rejects objectivity or enlightens knowledge, and knowledge is socially constructed. They say listen to them, not God. Listen to their stories and not the truth.

But facts are relevant to truth.

The Bible is sufficient for everyone, -red and yellow, black and white. Feelings are not the arborator of truth. God’s Word is the plumb-line for Truth. I have many brothers and sisters in Christ of many colors, and ethnic backgrounds, from around the world.

People need to be delivered from sin not liberation theology. Marxism is a death trap.

Permission to Love Your Soul like the Soil Loves the Tree.

Photo by RL Brown, Edinburgh, Scotland

How many times have you started your day like you were already behind? Your list of things to do is long, necessary, and mundane. You pulled into the driveway on auto-drive and didn’t pick up the milk. In the Bible, there is a reference to people being like grasshoppers. The grasshopper never looks up.

Maybe today, you take a long way home and slow down, knowing your destination will always be there. Raising a family is for the long haul, but you are here right now. Give yourself permission to enjoy the ride, take time to look at your moments, and write them down.

Love your soul like the soil loves the tree and gives it all the space it needs. (That is not my metaphor. It is by Dovan Beck; my niece, Chloe, sent it to me through FB) I’m borrowing his metaphor with a different application.

Colossians 2:6 speaks of being rooted in faith, growing in knowledge, and overflowing with gratitude- one faith, one hope, one Lord.

Colossians 2:6: Having been firmly rooted, and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed and overflowing with gratitude.

God’s Word is the soil where we root our faith. The soil (God’s Word) loves the tree (me) and gives the tree (you and me) all the space it needs to grow. Give yourself permission to look up and take the rest your soul needs.

4 responses to “Permission to Love Your Soul like the Soil Loves the Tree.”

  1. Anita Ojeda Avatar
    Anita Ojeda

    What a beautiful reminder to live in the moment and to give thanks always! So glad you’re my neighbor today at FMF!

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  2. Deirdre Young Avatar
    Deirdre Young

    The second reminder to me that my soul needs the word daily. Thank you for reminding me. Deirdre FMF #1

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  3. Andrew Budek-Schmeisser Avatar
    Andrew Budek-Schmeisser

    Sometimes it’s a matter of allowing ourselves to BE loved…

    God asks that He may love my soul
    as the soil doth love the tree,
    to give me space that makes me whole
    within His family.
    But sometimes I can’t give that grace
    to the God of all creation,
    and turn from His tear-stained face
    in silent protestation,
    for I think I know me best;
    I know what I have done,
    and will not at His behest
    (nor that of His son)
    leave my dank and squalid hide,
    my self-abnegating pride.

    Liked by 1 person

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  4. FMF Post August | brontebrown2 Avatar
    FMF Post August | brontebrown2

    […] Permission to Love Your Soul like the Soil Loves the Tree. […]

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Picture Books for Today

Today’s picture book market is very different from when I was a child. The book market is more selective. There exits an underlying pc culture. Very few publishers like in the past take direct submissions from new authors. So now you have written a children’s book, but does it cut the mustard (meet current standards)? 

The first step is to compare your book to what’s currently written. Go to your library and read. Read in your genre, then read books out of your genre. But read current books. Water is Water by Miranda Paul is a perfect example of a nonfiction narrative that varies vastly from the expository/factual nature of picture books in the past. Books like I Talk Like a River explore the world of a stutter and address personal issues that kids face beyond friendship or bullying. So, read and find your mentor texts. 

The second step is to know your craft before sending the query letter. Editors and agents get so many manuscripts that if they are not near perfect, they toss them. It’s like a resume filled with grammatical errors or false information. Research your agent, editor, or publishers. Make sure they are open to submissions in your genre. 

The third step is to use the tools at hand. Microsoft Word has a review function that reads your work out loud. Use Grammarly or one such program to edited your work. Don’t pay someone like I did to take the extra space from behind the period when you can do it yourself. Crtl A copies, and Crtl H brings up a dialog box to make edits all at once. 

Lastly, participate in a good critique group. Not an online, never see your face type but a Zoom group. It makes people accountable for what they say and why. A picture book must allow the reader to see for themselves what you are trying to say, not telling them what you think. For young readers, you are helping to develop their imagination. A mind free to think will imagine, reason, and then decide to act. (My synopsis line from a CS Lewis study with Hillsdale college.)

I will end by saying I had made every newbie mistake in the book by sending my manuscript out before it was ready. Take your time, learn the process, research, get your work ready, then submit. 

Freedom Lost in ignorance by RL Brown

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is cropped-img_0312.jpg
Photo by R. Brown
Niagara Falls

Stupid is now an offensive word, but impugn, denigrate, or besmirch a political opponent with expletives, and they praise you for your lack of articulate skills. When stirred by hate-filled rhetoric, acrimony becomes a course for action by parroting the hegemony media. The ensuing incompetence best describes those so full of discord that they seethe and bathe in malice until reasonable or contemplated thought perishes. The result is not free speech but a distilled compilation of whiny, immature thinkers who do not possess an original opinion. (Yes, this is a negative first paragraph).

Critical thinking is essential to free speech, and losing the ability to form an opinion based on facts is the loss of free speech. Our Founding Fathers truly understood the concept of freedom of speech. It comes with a depth of knowledge and personal responsibility to ponder your words, weigh them, and speak for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Equality doesn’t mean equal, nor does it mean taking what others have earned. The pursuit of happiness does not mean life is fair. It isn’t.
My point is to step over or away from those people and pursue your dream(s). Freedom means the right to be responsible for yourself, your words, and your actions. Know and understand what freedom of speech means, learn your history, and grasp the value of the Electoral College for the individual voter. Discover the truth, weigh your words, and then speak.


meaningless deceptions 
by the hegemony media
parroting the same song

redundant talking points
nailed to your brain
dulls the mind--

Leaves one screaming, 
"You can't handle the TRUTH."
Yet, truth is easier to swallow 
than a quagmire of lies. 
Hegemony media parrots the same song

Observant: Epic Event and a Water Droplet

Snow blanketed the landscape with deep, powdery white flakes. This was not the typical crusty flurries that barely make a snowman, but perfectly delicate snow so fluffy and light that it beckoned you to step out and play. The trepidation about a significant winter event melted away by a sense of wonder at the beauty of this rare snowfall. The air was filled with the crisp scent of fresh snow.

Birds swirled and swooped, forming a collective. A round of robins landed in the backyard. An echo of mockingbirds congregate on the limbs of an old River Birch tree out front. A conclave of cardinals sat along the fence row, as a cloud of blackbirds landed in the trees behind the fence.

It was a sight that piqued my curiosity- birds gathering in unusual clusters. Yet, they seemed to be ignoring the scattered birdseed. Why? The snow-covered ground was devoid of food, a rare sight indeed. It was as unusual as a fifteen-inch snowfall for hungry birds not to eat. This was fascinating to watch. Clueless as to why the birds waited, the answer came suddenly.

From the window, I watch a robin swoop in to catch a water droplet from an icicle in mid-flight. The birds were thirsty.

With their usual water sources frozen, birds migrated in flocks, searching for water. As I filled water trays and scattered them around the yard, I saw a bigger picture of nature’s workings. A simple solution to the problem was provided. Still, it was a rare moment to witness the shared struggle for survival in the face of adversity. The birds drank, ate, and then disappeared.

Even though I was clueless at first, God was not. Seeing a bird catch a water droplet in mid-air was fantastic and incredible. But more importantly, it was my clue to see the bigger picture.

Still, cold,
 frozen white
 icicle glistening.

 Droplets drip
 amid a frozen field,
Nature’s water fountain.