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Light, Love, Hope

Light in the Darkness Surrounded by Love with Hope for those in need.

Gregory Johnson

About Gregory Johnson

http://www.studiofyra.com

Gregory C. Johnson, aka The Quiet Computer Guy, handles all technical aspects behind the scenes here at Light Love Hope. He gifted the design and hosting of the site to Shirley to encourage her to write again after the tragic death of her sister. A shy, yet devoted, friend til the end of time.

Posts by Gregory Johnson:

Fascinating

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I was a bit shocked that I had gotten a response. My expectation was the opposite as this was a place, a community, that was designed for women. I was expecting to be considered an invader upon a sacred place and this would be a one-time visit for me. Again, I wondered why there wasn’t a topic concerning what I thought would be of interest to women. At least not until now, after I had asked why wasn’t there a topic on… Romance.

Maybe it was my obsession with reading history that led me to develop the ideals of chivalry and honour I tried to grasp. I devoured books while growing up. I spent countless hours reading of Knights and tournaments, Ivanhoe and King Arthur, but finally settling on my favorite style of tale, The Three Musketeers and Cyrano De Bergerac.

Now here I was, looking at the newly created Romance topic with a single post. Should I post something? Or should I just do my usual response and fade away. Instead, I decided to see what kind of person it was that responded to me. I casually scanned through the topics looking for posts of this someone. I was not disappointed. There she was, and there again. With each line read, there was something, something that I couldn’t describe. Something that was calling. Calling for me to follow and read more. As I glanced through her postings, I began to realize, there was something here that was special about her; something totally… fascinating.

Wonderful

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It was a usual morning. I didn’t want to get out of bed. It would be so much easier just to roll over and block out all the things I had to do that day that I didn’t want to do. The thing is that you never know when a normal day will turn into something not so normal.

After the usual day at work, I felt burned out and didn’t want to do anything. I sat there just staring at my computer when a thought crossed my mind. A friend of mine had been talking up a place online where people would talk about all sorts of topics. I usually just ignored the comments but that night something just poked at the back of my head, Maybe I should check it out.

I found the site, created an account, and checked out the message board. There was such a variety of topics I didn’t know where to start. Then I noticed something. There was a topic missing that I thought should be there that in my mind was completely related to the subject matter of the message board.

Do I dare say something in a post about? I struggled with that for a while because my intention was just to read and never post anything. You see I am very shy and socially awkward. It was and is something I fight with constantly. For some reason, I felt compelled to say something.

I thought and thought how what to say. Then decided to keep it simple. A few simple words in a question, why wasn’t there a topic to discuss this? I just had to know. I watched the screen. Nothing. I watched a little more. Still nothing. That is par for the course, me getting ignored.

I went back to the main page listing the topics and wait. Could it be? Was I seeing things? The topic I asked about was there. I popped in to see who had written something and little did I know that single moment, that brief second would turn into something wonderful.

#write28days

Sometimes it is just better to remain silent…

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and smile. This came across my Facebook feed today and it truly hit home with the way I am feeling right now. I am torn between laying out my feelings and just keeping my mouth shut. If I open up and let it all out, I am sure it would cause hurt; maybe even more than what I am feeling now. So here I am writing about this to try to help calm myself so that I don’t say things I may regret later.

Here is he situation. It was my birthday this past Thursday; one of those that is considered a milestone birthday. I was forgotten about by those that I hold dear to my heart, my family. Not a word of out them. This is the second year that this has happened. I will be honest, it hurts, and it makes me feel that they don’t think much of me.

Normally, as I did last year, I would just distance myself from them for a while and I would somewhat get over it and go on with things. However, with everything that is going on with this virus pandemic I feel the need to check on them. I feel like I am being selfish for having these feelings with all that is going on. I have always been the kind of person that just takes any hurt that I am dealt and buries inside. And I will probably do that in this case.

I do know that I will never stoop to their level and act as they have to me. But it is really hard to keep this all bottled up at the moment; but it is probably the best thing to do.

Always try to think before you speak or act. Though it is not always easy doing that being the emotional beings that we are.

For anyone reading this, thanks for listening and letting me vent. It did help writing all this out.

 

Stay safe and healthy during all that is going on.

BookBrushLogo

Book Brush – Easy Ad Creation for Authors

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Book Brush Ad Creation ToolYour book is done. You want to get the word out. Social media is the place to start. What image sizes do I use for Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? How about Pinterest? Amazon? You start thinking that it could take hours to find all the information you need to put together an ad for your book.  Not so with Book Brush. 

Book Brush is a tool to help you get an ad created in a minimal amount of time for use on any social media platform or as a website banner ad. It has an easy to use interface.

First, you will need to create an account. Book Brush has two levels; limited and plus. The limited account is free. You can create three images a month. The Plus plan is $8.00 a month and gives you full access to all the templates, stamps and fonts available. Each plan has access to a huge selection of background images. You can even upload your own. 

I used the cover from a desktop publishing assignment I am working on to create my first Book Brush image. Click on the Custom Creator button in the top menu. The first thing you will pick is the ad size you want. This is where Book Brush is invaluable. They have ad sizes for all the major social media platforms, Amazon, web banner ads, and a business card size.

They only set up three website banner ad sizes; 300px x 200px, 600px x 300px and 728px x 90px. There are several other standard sizes:

250 x 250 – Square

200 x 200 – Small Square

468 x 60 – Banner

300 x 250 – Inline Rectangle

336 x 280 – Large Rectangle

120 x 600 – Skyscraper

160 x 600 – Wide Skyscraper

Even though these are not preset up for you, you can make custom ad sizes. 

Next, you may pick a pre-built template. Book Brush offers nicely done pre-made templates for you to use. You can also create your own templates from a finished ad. The next step is to choose a background image or upload one of your own. Then, you get to choose a book template. I love this section.  You just click how you would like your book displayed and then upload the image of your book. Please note: the image of your book must be a minimum of 1000px in height and not more than 3mb in file size.

Once your book is placed on the background you can move it anywhere on the background. There are several editing tools you can use. Click on the “Tips button” to access instructions. Next, add some text, and finally, you may add some stamps to the image.  Once you are finished, click Download in the top menu to save your ad to your computer. If you want to keep your ad, click on “Save as Template.”

Book Brush Sample AdThat is a brief run through on how to use Book Brush. I created my first ad (shown right) in about five minutes. This is extremely fast. I work at an ad agency using tools like Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign every day. I was able to put a nice-looking ad together in Book Brush much faster than using any of those tools. 

To sum up things:  Book Brush is a great tool to create ads for promoting your publications. I highly recommend it. Check it out at bookbrush.com.

 

 

 

“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing the product/product information. Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did/will receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

The Magic of Music

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I have been thinking about this quite a bit after seeing the movie Bohemian Rhapsody. For those of you that may not know about this movie, it is a loose biographical story of Freddie Mercury and the band Queen through their performance at the Live Aid concert in 1985 and to the untimely death of Freddie due to Aids. If you have never heard of Queen, I can guarantee you have heard at least one of their songs.

The part that stood out for me was the Live Aid concert sequence. I admit that I had never seen it before though I have been a fan of Queen from their early days. Queen was not in the original line-up of bands scheduled to play. When they were added to the show, tickets had already sold out. The crowd was there for groups like U2, David Bowie, Dire Straits and so on; not for Queen. I was so taken in with this part of the movie that I have watched the real performance on YouTube several times.

This is where you see the magic of music. During their performance the crowd of 80,000 at Wembley Stadium comes together and sings along to several of Queen’s songs. Music touches that hearts of all of us; even though some of us may not admit it. This was a perfect example of that. All those things that divide us in life were gone. There was only the music. Music unifying the diversity of the crowd.

Music can be a great healer to us when our hearts are troubled. Music can help to ease those times in our lives when things seem impossible to handle. Yet, using music like this is not something we think about and we should.

In the coming weeks and months, I will be relying on music more to help get through some very difficult times. I don’t have anyone that I can call anytime to help talk me through things any more. I will be relying on music to get me through. Just as it can for you too. When you are feeling down and lost; listen to some of your favorite songs that have brought joy into your heart.

Resolutions

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As it is New Year’s Eve, that time we say good-bye to the current year and welcome in the new year. It can be a time of reflection of things happening not only in the past year, but in years long past.

For some, it is a time for making resolutions. Those things we wish to make happen in our lives in the coming year. I have heard that people will resolve to do the diet they have been thinking about or save up for that special item they have always wanted. I have never really considered making resolutions because for me I have always felt I would have no ability to stick to them.

However, sitting here this evening and thinking about all that has and is happening in my life, I have found one thing that I resolve to do this coming year. I think a little background would be helpful before I disclose my “New Year’s Resolution.” I am the kind of person that gives of themselves for others. It is something that brings me joy and happiness. It is done with no expectation of anything in return except for a thank you. That is truly all that I need.

At times, I give of myself to the point of placing myself in rather precarious situations. It is always of my choice to do this and I have never regretted it. However, of late, I have been questioning myself as to whether I should be much more cautious in stepping up to offer help to others. I have run into certain situations where it feels that my generosity and caring for others is being taken advantage of. I could be wrong as I can only see one side of this, my side; but that doesn’t help to push that feeling away.

So, in 2019, I resolve to think before offering my help. As I write that, it sounds like of selfish. But we really need to take care of ourselves as well as taking care of others. I will still do what I have done over the years; just not as much anymore. I need to do a lot of things for myself that have been pushed to the wayside because of how much I help others.

As you go into this new year, I wish you love, health and happiness.

Happy New Year.

The Last Family Christmas

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We had our last family Christmas today. It was a nice gathering; good food, good fellowship. It is hard to accept that there won’t be a Christmas like this again. You see, my aunt, who has always brought us together each year won’t be here next year. She was diagnosed with cancer in multiple areas last Thursday.

We didn’t dwell on that today. We just enjoyed having everyone around the dinner table chatting about this and that. Then we played games as we always do every holiday; laughing and carrying on as if what we know is inevitable wasn’t going to happen. But deep inside we know it is. We just enjoyed the moment and made more memories for us to have in our hearts for the years to come.

As you celebrate with your families the birth of Jesus, I hope that you had a joyous and wonderful day filled with love and memories for you to treasure in the years to come as we did today. Those that have passed on are never gone; they are always in our hearts each and every day whether we realize it or not.

Merry Christmas.

It’s a Wonderful Life… or is it?

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As we roll into the holiday season, I have been contemplating one of my favorite holiday movies; It’s a Wonderful Life. For those that may not have seen this Christmas classic, it is the story of George Bailey who is visited by an angel named Clarence who gives George the gift of seeing how life would be in his hometown if he never existed.

What I have been thinking about is how things in my life might have been different if I had made different choices in life. Even the smallest choice you make can significantly change things. How would my life be if I had never met certain people? Would I be happier in life or would I have become a grumpy old man? Would I have done some of the things I have done, or not? Would I have found some of the things I have longed for or would I still be where I am today.

I have always believed that my path has been steered to where God wants me to be at that very moment in time. The hardest part at times is for me to understand why he has put me where I am and why I am in the situations that I experience. There is a purpose, but at times I don’t know what it is. So, I trust in God that I am following the path that is meant for me as he guides me through life and that I will become the person that he wants me to be.

Truth

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Since I rather enjoyed writing to a single prompt word, I thought I would create my own relating to a current situation.

I have always tried very hard to think about other’s feelings before I speak. There are times when I, shall we say, avoid speaking the truth. I am struggling with this as I am in a situation where I must respond to someone. My dilemma is whether or not I should truly speak my mind. Being that this is public forum, I can’t really share what the situation is with all of you.

Let me explain it like this. Let’s say you go to a job interview that you really want. You meet the people there and they are very nice. You get a tour of the facilities and an explanation of the responsibilities. You immediately see a red flag that lets you know that you could never take this job. Now I could just say the I am not interested. However, I could give an explanation that may help them see where something is seriously wrong that could easily be fixed to make things much better. However, in doing that I would probably hurt the feelings of some people there. Not everyone can take criticism. Many people take things very personally. This is where I am fighting with myself on what to do.

I have run into situations like this before and I have always taken the easy way out by making up some simple excuse or some such thing like that. But over the summer, I was witness to a situation where a person was told by many of their friends that there were very good at something and in reality they were not. Because this person was not told the truth, they put themselves in a situation where they were humiliated.

So I ask, is it always the best thing to save someone’s feelings by hiding the truth or is it better to just let it all out?

Day 18 – Search

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We all search for things in our life. It might be a new home, a new car, a new job or something that is not really a physical item such as kindness, comfort or love. There is a lot of time and energy that can go into your search. What I wonder is if people are really searching for what really matters to them. So I ask you, what do you really want? I am not talking about the superficial things like a car, a house, a job. I am talking about what is truly deep in your heart. What do you REALLY want? It is a hard question that many people overshadow with things they think they want. For me there is only one thing I really want. I know what that is. But after all these years of searching, it still continues to elude me. I may never get what I really want and I am okay with that. But I can always hold it in my heart as a dream for the future.

Day 17 – Pause

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Pause. This is something that we all should do at various times in our lives. We are all so busy that we get wrapped up in everything going on that we can miss out on a lot. Think about this. If we would just pause for a minute. If we would take a breath for a minute. We might just discover something we would normally have let pass right by. You see we all have things that we want in our lives. They might be right there in front of us but we are wrapped up so much in being busy with everything we just can’t see that a thing that we have always wanted is right there in front of us. So we should pause for a moment or two and take a good look around us and really see what is there. We might be surprised at what we find. We might just find that one thing that we have always wanted. So pause, take a deep breath, look out at the sky at the wonder and beauty of this earth that God gave us. You never know what you may find.

Day One & Two

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Day One – Story

Everyone creates a story with each day. It’s our story. Sometimes it’s sad, sometimes its happy. With each choice, with each word, with each action we are crafting our story. It is our choice what we write with our lives as all our memories become our history. How do you want your story to turn out? It is your choice. You make the decisions on how your life story is being written out. Are you happy with your story? Does your story make you sad? You have the power to change your story and make it what you want. Have faith in yourself and turn yourself into the great American novel. It’s your story.

Day Two – Afraid

I have a very personal relationship with this word; afraid. You see I have been afraid all my life of various things. Not everything, mind you, but many important things. By being afraid I have lost a great love. By being afraid, I have lost a great career opportunity. And I still fight the feeling of being afraid. It can cripple me as I am sure it does that to other people as well. You see being afraid causes me to not have faith in myself or believe that I am worthy of many things in life. I causes me to pause and not take actions where I should. It is something that I fight with every day. But I know deep in my heart that I can’t let it win. I must be strong. I must have faith. I must know that God will take care of me and lead me in the right direction. I cannot let myself be afraid anymore.

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