1-24-23, Day 23 In PTL Perrin’s Life
Welcome to day twenty-three of A Day In My Life! Happy Tuesday!
“The pen is mightier than the sword.” This adage was coined by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839 for his play Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy. (Wikipedia) It was meant as a political statement, but that’s not where I’m going with this. I believe what it says, but mighty means a lot of things.
The pen can be a weapon in the hands of some writers, or a comfort in the hands of others. Or perhaps both dagger and hugs from the same writer, depending upon what they’re addressing. We all know that words can be life-changing or life-enriching. Sometimes they’re simply entertaining. I like to surround myself with them.
My favorite mug reminds me that my writing time is alone time. Dire consequences await the person reckless enough to annoy me while I’m in the zone. I have given fair warning.
This sign hangs on a cabinet next to my desk. Visitors, beware! If you’re brave enough to watch me write, then you might find yourself in the story. I won’t promise you’ll like your character.
I love the next one. Since our office is a converted den, we have no doors, so it hangs over the printer, next to the open doorway. It describes our lives since I stopped working at an office quite a few years ago.
Over 25 years ago, we started a home-based business that replaced my work income. While Bill also taught tennis, which is his dream job, we worked our business together and had the best time. We earned some fabulous trips where our company completely spoiled us. The company also sent us around the country and to Canada to train others, and we met many wonderful people during those active years. It set me free from corporate schedules and headaches. Bill’s tennis career was already flexible, and our business only improved his tennis. We’ve since cut back on our activities, but we still have our hand in it, and it provides a nice cushion in these golden years.
The next sign is my favorite one in the office.
It reminds me to keep going, even when I want to give up. On days when my energy is low, I look at this, repeat it out loud, and I feel strength returning. When my eyes lose focus from staring at the screen too long, this draws my attention.
A poster of my first published book, certificates, awards, and Bill’s UF degree, also adorn our office walls. A framed article about this “Jupiter Author.” sporting my blue-haired photo hangs there, too. The one item, pictured below, that is most meaningful to me hangs on the wall just above my computer screen on the right.
In case you can’t read the tag at the bottom, Man of Sorrows was painted in 1929 by a woman whose signature I cannot decipher. She painted it with words, namely every word spoken by Jesus in the Bible.
These words might be the most powerful on the planet, mightier than any weapon, from sword to nuclear arms. They have the power to save, to heal, to challenge, to grow, to protect, and to lead us Home. I’m learning to live by them, and my life has fundamentally changed since I discovered them years ago.
Thanks for joining me on a tour of our home office walls. Do you have inspirational or cheeky sayings you’re fond of, perhaps that you keep close at hand for those moments when you need a reminder? Share them with me!
Here’s my to-do list for today:
- Write my daily blog. (Check!)
- Read the blogs of everyone participating in this challenge and comment. (daily)
- Get serious about crunching numbers!
- Get the ornaments that are now spread out over the living room into their containers. (Getting really specific now.)
- Spend an hour editing my friend’s book.
- Relax with dinner and a movie and Bill.
Thank you for reading my blog today, and please visit my friends and fellow RRBC Bloggers at https://ravereviewsbookclub.wordpress.com/rrbc-member-chat/
Blessings!
Patty Perrin (writing as P.T.L. Perrin)
PTL Perrin Writes... 
Hi Patty! I LOVE all the pictures in your office! Don’t they help to make a house feel like home?? : )
I have a few around my place as well:
“It’s never too late to live happily ever after.”
“The very things that held you down are going to carry you up.” -Dumbo
“The time to be happy is now.”
“Go on adventuring, changing, opening your mind and eyes, refusing to be stamped and stereotyped.” -Virginia Wolf
“Being different isn’t a bad thing. It means your brave enough to be yourself.” – J.K. Rowling
Best wishes,
Donna M. Atwood
D M Atwood
https://www.dmatwood.com
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Those are some great sayings, Donna! Great words to live by. I especially love J.K. Rowling’s saying!
Pictures do make a house feel like home. My daughter calls it “clutter.” I call it uplifting.
Blessings!
Patty
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Your post has made me want an office for my writing. It would be more professional than my bedroom and have fewer distractions like my T.V. set. My dog would have to sit on the floor instead of my bed. He’s already giving me a look. I can dream.
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Maybe he knows you’re thinking about the office, Susanne. My husband and I share the office, so we do sometimes distract each other. I have a laptop I can use in other rooms when he’s in the office and I want to write. My favorite “office” is on the lanai on warm winter days. A card table and kitchen chair do the trick. When I’m in the zone, nothing distracts me.
Blessings!
Patty
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Hi, Patty,
I love your do not enter sign or better more do not disturb when you’re writing, but my favorite is I can do all things through Him that strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 is a verse that I have buried within my heart.
Thank you so much for sharing an intimate part of you. Love it!
Shalom aleichem
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Thanks, Pat. Philippians 4:13 is a verse I rely on daily. My life verse is Proverbs 3:5-6. It reminds me I am NOT in control, and that God has a plan and purpose for me. Thanks for your kind words, my friend.
Blessings!
Patty
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Patty,
I love your life verses. They are powerful and a dynamic challenge to trust God in all things. You are encouraging, Lady. Keep it up!
Shalom aleichem
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Patty, I have copies of the Reiki principles posted in several places around my house. The short version is: “Just for today, thou shalt not anger. Just for today, thou shalt not worry. Be thankful for the many blessings. Earn the living with honest labour. Be kind to thy neighbors.” I like the longer one, which has been converted into positive, not negative statements, because the mind translates those more easily. Thanks for your lovely post and sharing what inspires you!
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Thanks, Maura Beth. I’d love to see your Reiki principles. It sounds like they might have come straight from the Bible! You’re so right about turning negative wording to positive words. Where I see or hear, “Don’t Do That!”, my mind translates it into ,”Do That!” It’s gotten me into trouble more times than I care to remember. Thanks for your kind words and sharing what inspires you!
Blessings!
Patty
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I love your pictures, Patty! The office hours cracked me up. I have a card that sits on my desk that reads, “Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles; it empties today of its strength.” This has helped me many times to refocus my energy. Thanks for sharing your motivational pieces.
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
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I love that saying, Yvette! It’s so true and a great reminder to keep on your desk. The Bible says worrying doesn’t add an inch to your height. In other words, it doesn’t help anything in any way! So what’s the opposite of worry? Faith. Trust. You’ve got this! Thanks for your encouragement.
Blessings!
Patty
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