Sunday Morning Moments

"Sunday Morning Moments" by Christine Graves via NightCafe Studio

Hello, my darlings. I hope you are all well on this beautiful Sunday morning. Happy Father's Day to all the dads--and father figures. Also, happy Solstice. Yes, it's the first day of summer, and you know what that means, right? Yep, Christmas is right around the corner. Can you believe we're officially halfway through this year? 

I had a new idea for the site I'd like to try, and I hope you'll enjoy it. I want to start working on doing a weekly post that is all about light, love, and finding peace within yourself. A way to face the coming week with a positive attitude and a peaceful vibe in your heart.

The first thing you'll see is a quote from the Bible. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I am a firm believer in God. Religion as a whole? Not so much. I also believe that the Universe is a living, breathing entity. I've often said that the Universe speaks to me. No, I'm not a nutjob, and this isn't something I'll be trying to ram down anyone's throat.

Along with the weekly Bible verse, I'll also be giving you a week's worth of positive affirmations. A chance to start each day with a quick shot of positivity to get you on your way. It's non-fattening and filled with vitamins such as Humorousness, Sarcasm, and Shenanigans. It's not just to make you feel good, but to make you giggle a little as well. 

So, let's give this a shot, shall we? 

Sunday Morning Moments---June 21, 2026

Happy Father's Day and First Day of Summer. I hope it's a beautiful day wherever you may be. 

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Proverbs 17:6 — "Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children."

I'm a grandmother, and nothing makes me happier. I have four grandchildren, but only get to see two of them, as the other two live on the other side of the country. They are all part of my "crown". They give me a reason to keep going, even though I don't see them very often. I raise one of my grandbabies, one lives just down the street, but the other two I only see when we video chat.

I try to be the parent/grandparent that my children and grandchildren can be proud of. I work hard, keep myself out of trouble (for the most part), and live by the rules I set for others. I try not to be a "do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do" person. I want my kids and grandkids to know that it's okay to be yourself, but treat others the way you'd like to be treated. Accept responsibility for your own actions, but don't accept disrespect you haven't earned. 

On this Father's Day, I wish you and your families the same. I pray you enjoy the love and joy that can only be found in our children and grandchildren. I pray your children/grandchildren love and respect you and are proud to be part of your life. And I pray that even when negative issues appear, you find a way to get past them, learn from them, and keep your love alive.

Weekly Affirmations (June 21-27)

Happy Solstice. As we take our first steps into a new season, I thought this would be the perfect time to bring in some new ideas. These affirmations are meant to give you a reason to smile, no matter what day of the week it is. Whether convincing yourself to go back to work after a long weekend, or a mid-week boost to keep you going. Start each day with a fresh outlook in your mind and a little peace in your heart. 

Sunday: "I welcome the light of the solstice. I anchor myself in quiet peace, knowing my spirit is constantly being refueled by a boundless, loving source."

Monday: "As the busy week begins, I move with grace and steady focus. My strength is deeper than any demand placed upon me."

Tuesday: "I protect my inner sanctuary. No matter how chaotic the environment around me, the center of my mind remains calm and grounded."

Wednesday: "I am proud of the hard work I do, but I am defined by the peace I keep. I am capable, resilient, and sustained."

Thursday: "I give myself permission to take micro-moments of rest today. A deep breath, a warm cup of coffee, a quiet thought—these are my sacred resets."

Friday: "I celebrate my capacity to handle big things, and I honor my body’s need to slow down. I am carried by a strength that does not fail."

Saturday: "The weekend is here, and I reclaim my time. I let go of the rush, refill my creative well, and rest in the knowledge that I am enough."

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Yep, that's it. I hope you find something in here to bring a smile to your face and a song to your heart. Happy Father's Day and enjoy your first day of summer. Remember, tomorrow is another day and it's all what you make of it.

Until next time,
Mom Graves!!!!!

Treasures from the Past

 

"Distant Memories" by Christine Graves via NightCafe Studio

So, an amazing thing happened to me this past week. I found a bunch of old articles and websites/blogs I'd created in the early 2000s. I even went so far as to find one of the very first HTML sites I put together back in 2001. I was gobsmacked, and I never even knew what that term actually meant.

As I've mentioned before, I've been doing this old-school blogging thing since the late 90s. My very first "computer" was a gadget that hooked up to my television called Web TV. I could only use it after 7pm when the long-distance phone rates dropped. Yeah, I'm that old.

My first two websites were FindingtheFather.com and PlantLore.com. Both sites were hosted through a place called Webseed.com. It wasn't anything fancy back then, and now that I look at them, I realize just how far we've come. I spent about three weeks locked in my bedroom, teaching myself how to do HTML, and was so proud of myself when I'd built my first sites. I thought I was the coolest person in my little one-horse hick town.

Once I'd found those sites, I found one I'd done called The Prompt Writer. The very first website I owned, made specifically for creating writing prompts. I did that one in 2007. I'll be going over that site and pulling all my old writing prompts and giving them new life.

I also found one called Creative Writing through a writing community called Today.com. To be honest, I didn't even remember doing that one. I need to really go through that site just to see what I wrote. I have no idea what's in there.

The one that really blew me away was finding a page for ChristineSenter.com. Yep, that was me back in the day. From the late 90s through 2013, I wrote under my former married name of Senter. I got remarried in December of 2013 and in January of 2014, I was writing as Christine Graves. 

I also found two Blogger blogs I'd forgotten I had. One was called Redhead Rants and the other was Must Write Again. The first one was started in 2007 and I have a lot of posts on it. At that time, I was doing a lot of "mommy blogging" and entering blog contests. I had a blast. That was back in the days of Blog Carnivals and Link Swaps. That got me into writing ad copy and it didn't take long for me to learn how to make money writing ad content on my blogs. 

Must Write Again came along between the end of marriage number 1 and number 2. I wasn't in a very good place mentally and that site was created simply to try and force myself to get back to normal. Didn't work very well. I abandoned that site fairly quickly, though I did go back in 2018 and tried again. Not very successfully, I might add.

So, what is a girl to do with all this old-school blogging fodder? You use to your advantage, that's what you do. LOL

I'll be going through all the old articles I found and breathing some new life into them, or at least the ones that are worth a damn. I'm sure there are some that are better left where they lie. I'll also be grabbing all those old writing prompts and giving them a new purpose. I'm kind of excited about those. 

As for the two Blogger blogs I found, I'm completely revamping them. Redhead Rants is now called A Mug of Musings and I'm still working on a plan for that one. However, I'm turning Must Write Again into a place I can be proud of, and am calling it Graves Tales. I'm going to be adding my fiction and poetry over there. I actually have a plan for that site.

Since I'm no longer writing on Medium, I'm planning on putting all my heart and soul into my blogs. I've always said I wanted to try and keep old-school blogging alive, and I think this is my sign to do so. It's been some time since I felt like I was writing for myself rather than writing to make someone else happy. 

No, this isn't something that's going to happen overnight. It's going to take some work, and I'm okay with that. I feel like this is the culmination of a lifetime of trial and error. And I've been given the chance to have all that work at my fingertips once again.

I hope you'll come along and see where we go from here. Let's bring back old-school blogging and enjoy writing again.

Until next time,
Mom Graves!!!!!

I've Said Farewell to Medium

 

Yes, it's true, I've parted ways with Medium.com. Okay, maybe that's a bit too strong. I haven't so much parted ways as I've opted out of the subscription service and won't be writing much on the site anymore. I don't want to say I won't be writing at all, as I'll end up making a liar out of myself. 

I began writing on Medium in 2018. It was a great place to write fiction, and there was a huge short-fiction community. I had a blast. But that all changed. There was a big change up in management, and those of us who wrote fiction saw a drastic drop in both views and monetization. I know it shouldn't be all about the money, but I went from earning an average of $30-$50 per month to less than $20 per year. That's not even enough to cover my subscription fee.

I will be leaving most of my work on the site, but I will be taking a lot of my stories and serials down, reworking them, and either publishing them as quick reads on Amazon or on my Ko-Fi site. Even if I only make a few pennies here and there, it's still more than they're making me on Medium.

Now, I'm not totally bashing Medium. They're still an amazing place for writers, but it's geared more toward non-fiction and opinion pieces. More power to those who write in that genre. I've done it, and it's not easy. 

I'm going to leave all my writing prompt posts on the site. You never know when someone might stray in and need something to write about. I'll also be leaving a few of my other posts, simply because they were posted in other people's publications. I would never pull something from their sites without letting them know first, and there are just way too many of them.

As I won't be posting on Medium anymore, I will be updating all my personal blogs a bit more. I'd like to say a lot more, but we all know that's not true. However, not having the pressure on me to be Medium worthy, I can let my creative side out a little more.

I haven't come up with a "posting" plan yet. I'm thinking that this blog will be for my fiction, poetry, and personal posts, and Graves Publications will be for all my writing-related posts and any other form of non-fiction I come up with.

Mystic Realms will be where I post about history and mythology. I'll always have a place in my heart for histories, mysteries, and mythologies. The ancient world was one of my earliest obsessions. And a lot of history has changed (thanks to archaeology) since I was a kid.

I'm not sure where I'm going to put my serial fiction. I have a short series started on Amazon, and I might do the same with some of my others. I haven't made up my mind on that one yet. I might just publish a few of them myself and sell them from my site. Can't do any worse than they're doing right now.

Though I'm still working on the final scene, I've already begun the journey. I hope you'll come along to see where this path takes us. If nothing else, it should be good for a laugh. 

Until next time,
Miss Chris!!!