Once Again Time for Shamelessly Plugging My Books in a Rhyme

T’was four weeks afore Christmas and it was once again time
for shamelessly plugging my goods in a rhyme.
There were books about Dad, and madcap books for you,
books of celebration, and books of poetry, too.

I wrote two books about the drives and adventures I had with my centenarian father, Dee Molenaar, a well-known mountaineer and artist. Are You Taking Me Home Now? Adventures with Dad, and The Second Hundred Years: Further Adventures with Dad can be purchased on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and through any of your favorite bookstores. The books have five stars on Amazon.
In her Amazon review, Heidi writes:
“This is a delightful book and Karen is a gifted writer. She lets us listen in to the conversations she and her 100 year old Dad have on their car trips, which had me laughing and crying. Interspersed are memories of earlier times. Having a relationship with an older person whose body and brain don’t work as well as it used to requires patience, humor and love. As someone else here said, ‘Karen shows us how to do it right.’ I enjoyed reading this very much. I highly recommend this book and will be giving it out for gifts.”

There’s a related book to this series, called Finding the Rainbows: Lessons from Dad and Mom.

My Cosmic Celebration series includes two books: Cosmic Connections: Sharing the Joy and Cosmic Kinship: Celebrating Community. These books can be purchased on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and through your favorite bookstore. They currently have five stars on Amazon.
C Meares writes:
Cosmic Connections follows the excursions of an extraverted author and photographer who befriends nearly every person who crosses her path. This uplifting read highlights life’s small moments of connection — with strangers, old friends she meets by chance, the hapless, friendly dogs and former students. The author uses brief anecdotes—one or two pages—to show how much goodness permeates life. One entry describes meeting a stranger, only to find out she is the daughter of the minister who married her and her husband (in another part of the state) 30 years before. Her warm writing style and enthusiasm for life is infectious.”

In 2005, I published my first book, Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist. It currently has 4.5 stars and 45 ratings on Amazon.
VoIP – Dragon User writes:
“OK, after reading the reviews, I thought this might make a nice Christmas present for a friend. When it arrived I decided to ‘peek’ at a few pages, but couldn’t put it down. I finished reading it in one sitting. But how to review the book is a challenge. It leaves you with such a joyful uplifted feeling and one of appreciation and relevance. At first I found myself saying, ‘I want to know this woman’ and after I finished the book I felt I did.

“Karen brings very positive reinforcement into the reader’s experience and the easy flowing style just melts in your mouth like comfort food. I found dozens of instances where I saw a parallel in my own life, that were entertaining and inspirational in a down to earth sort of way.

“I’m wearing a smile having read this and can’t think of a better way to pass an evening than this quick roller-coaster ride through another’s eyes of refreshing gratitude.

“It touched my heart and soul. Highly recommended.”

I now have four books in the Madcap Christian Scientist series – the last one, Looking Forward: More Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist was published last spring.

There’s also a fifth book related to the series called The Madcap Christian Scientist’s Christmas book.
In his review for The Madcap Christian Scientist’s Christmas Book, Jeff Chase writes:
“It’s my second Christmas with this book, and I think I’m enjoying it more this year, perhaps because it’s already feeling like a tradition. Karen’s stories, poems, and musings are full of warmth, humor, and love. There’s much to relate to here. I find myself recalling my own Christmas stories from years past. This book is a gem, made for relaxing. Enjoy!”

These Madcap Christian Scientist books can be purchased on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and your favorite bookstore.

I have three books of poetry: A Poem Lives on My Windowsill, The Brush of Angel Wings, and Since Then. These books can all be purchased on Amazon, and through your favorite bookstore.
In her Amazon review of The Brush of Angel Wings, Nikki writes:
“The author of “The Brush of Angel Wings” never fails to disappoint me. The poetry in her latest book causes a wide range of emotions in the reader, from joy to sadness, happiness to grief, humor to acceptance. Every poem is unique, yet the author’s distinct style can be found in each one. I enjoyed seeing glimpses of the author’s life through her poetry. I can’t wait for her next book to be released.”

I also published a book about 2020. 2020 seemed to me to deserve a book all of its own. That book is titled Scrapbook of a Year and a Day: January 19, 2020 to January 20, 2021.
In her Goodreads review, Maryjmetz writes:

“Karen Molenaar Terrell’s Scrapbook of a Year and a Day is, essentially, a compilation of Facebook posts written between January 19, 2020 and January 20, 2021. If I were to collect my FB posts, it would be very, very dull indeed, but Karen eliminated the silly cat videos, if she ever posted any, and has instead put together a moving and coherent account of the tumultuous year we all lived through and her personal experience of the year following the death of her father, Dee Molenaar. What I particularly love about Karen–and this book–is her perspective on things and her constant striving to live up to her ideals.

“I’m really not a dog-earrer–I find it a vile habit–and yet I folded down the corners on several pages.”

***

Thank you for letting me shamelessly plug here. It brings me such joy to connect with others through my writing.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell

A Prayer of Peace

Love is all-powerful, ever-present, all-wise, ever Good.
Feel the force of infinite Life unfolding, unfettered,
unrestrained, unhampered, untouched by hate
and war, vengeance and ego and human history.
Love and Life are All,
and we all are of Love and Life, and everything Good –
created for Good, by Good, of Good.

Amen.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell

Am I Done Now?

podcast link:https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/karen-molenaar-terrell/episodes/Am-I-Done-Now-e2fog2o

“Am I done now?” I ask.
Half-hoping yes. Half-hoping no.
“I’ve taught my students,
raised fine sons until they were grown,
written my books,
taken my photos,
lived through the highs,
and survived the lows.
I’ve climbed enough mountains
and seen my share of rainbows.
So am I done now?” I ask.
“I want to know.”

And Love answers:
“There’s no end to Me 
and so there’s no end to you.
You’re where you’ll always be –
in Love unchanging, always new.
You will never be done
reflecting Love’s love –
whether you’re in the valley below
or flying in clouds above.
So don’t worry about what’s next.
You’re where you need to be now –
enjoy these moments you have here –
beyond the when or what or how.”
-Karen Molenaar Terrell

Bellingham, WA. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.

The Baby Spider and the Cup Sleeve

baby spider pressed against my windshield
as I drive down country roads
with a 50 mph speed limit
and soon I will be on the freeway
where the speed limit is 70

I pull over and look around in my car
for something I can use to lift the baby
off my windshield
I find an old cardboard cup sleeve
and push it under the little spider
until he climbs on
then I take him to the side of the road
and dangle him over a dandelion leaf
I watch as he lowers himself onto the leaf
with his spider string
and then I get back in my car
and head for the freeway

sometimes it’s handy to have a car
littered with cardboard cup sleeves

-Karen Molenaar Terrell

I Need No Other

Principle is my foundation.
Mind is my guide.
Soul is my music.
Life is my friend
in whom I abide.
Truth is my protector.
Love is my mother.
Spirit is my reality.
I need no other.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell

Today I Chose Joy

I woke up to find out that someone(s) had attempted to steal from me – long story involving trickery and someone posing as me in an email. Anyway. At first I was freaked out by this. But then this weird thing happened. I felt this kind of detached calm about it all. I took the steps I needed to take to to try to fix the problem, and then got in my car and drove up to Bellingham for a nice walk on the boardwalk. The sky still had pink in it when I got up there. There were goldeneye ducks and seagulls and cool patterns in the bay. Everyone I passed gave me a friendly smile for a smile. It was lovely.

I stopped at the Colophon and as soon as I walked in the hostess/server asked me if I’d like my favorite peach Arnold Palmer drink – she recognized me! And then she led me back to my favorite seat in the corner. I ordered some avocado toast and sipped my peach tea and just soaked up the happy vibes.

It came to me that I was in control of how I was going to feel. The person who had attempted to steal from me wasn’t the boss of me, and had no say in how I was going to feel about my day.

The server gave me another peach tea to take with me when I left, and I left a big tip in appreciation for the friendly kindness I’d felt at the restaurant – a reminder of all the good folks in the world with me.

Shakespeare wrote: “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” And I saw how true that was today. I could choose to be all ruffled and affronted at the way my morning had started. Or I could choose to find joy for myself.

Life isn’t “out to get me.” Life is good.

(Photo below is of a goldeneye duck on Bellingham Bay this morning. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.)

Affronted by Life

affronted by life
like it’s some spiteful human
bent on attacking

it flows on, heedless
while I grapple with
the human woes we

all experience
“Nothing is either good or
bad, but thinking makes

it so.” I choose how
I’ll respond to what comes my
way and what I’ll feel

– Karen Molenaar Terrell

Little by Little

“Old age” comes little by little, I think –
little surrenders of who we are
to the experts and authorities,
to convenience and comfort –
someone tells us we need to stay out
of the sun, to eat only certain foods,
to travel only at the right times
and to the right places,
and to wash our hands after every
handshake and human touch –
and we listen and obey.

And so we spend our days in “preventative”
exams – counting the pills into our trays –
hoping to increase the number of our days.
And little by little we relinquish
the small pleasures that make life
meaningful –  the joy of adventure,
noon-time lunch  with our faces turned
towards the sun,  whipped cream on
our cocoa, shaking hands  with new friends,
and listening to our own hearts to create lives
worth living.

And we lose our lives in a fear of death.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
(Originally published January 8, 2017)

I Hear You

Sometimes there just aren’t words.
But I’ll try.

I hear you.
I feel the pain you’re feeling
and want to fold you into a fierce hug
and absorb the pain into my own body
and relieve you of it.

I hear you.
I feel the joy you’re feeling
and want to dance and spin with you
under the stars until we drop together
from happy exhaustion.

I hear you.
I hear your weeping.
I hear your laughter.
I hear the music of your heart.
And I want you to know
you’re not alone in any of it.

We’re all in this symphony of life
together.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell

(Originally published in September 2021.)

Karen in her twirly dress.

In the Body of Life

sustained
and maintained
by the body of Life –
we are nothing less
than the whole
perfection
projection
reflection
affection
of Love
held in the never-ending
connection
with all that is Good
-Karen Molenaar Terrell

Blue Cosmos by Karen Molenaar Terrell