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Through the Eyes of a Child

January 11, 2017May 15, 2018Amy Schisler

As I’m finishing up our 2016 photo album, I’ve been looking back over the past year and thinking about all that we did and saw. There were many life-changing events, but the things that make me smile the most are the things, large and small, that bring to mind the phrase, ‘wonder and awe.’ I still remember being in 8th grade, preparing for Confirmation, and learning about the Gift of the Spirits. Sr. Janet told us that the most important gift was wonder and awe, which she described as always seeing life through the eyes of a child, unjaded and full of amazement at all that God does, creates, and gives. Her words have always stuck with me, and I have been reminded of them many times throughout my life.

Over the past year, I was humbled as I knelt before the tomb of our Lord. I cried as I walked through the 9/11 Museum. I laughed at the antics of my girls while we were in Spain. All of these things brought me to a new understanding of whom I am and where I am in my life. But nothing makes me smile like the simple memories – Katie’s eyes as they lit up watching Aladdin’s magic carpet rise above the Broadway stage; the joy on the faces of my children and their friends when they summited a 14,000 foot mountain in Colorado; my mother’s exclamation of pure amazement when she looked through the kids’ Christmas-light 3-D glasses. These small things bring me great joy, and they exemplify the truth in the saying that money doesn’t buy happiness.

So many people spend their lives searching for more: more wealth, more stuff, more power, more friends, more time. You name it, everyone wants more of it. Morgan and I recently listened to a Ted Talk about happiness. It talked about the correlation between having more stuff and feeling less satisfaction. Having more doesn’t mean feeling more unless that feeling is that of being overwhelmed, burdened, disorganized, and dissatisfied. When will people, particularly in the Western World, realize that all we need to feel happy is to be content with what we already have? It’s not about keeping up with the neighbors. It’s about finding joy within yourself and radiating it out to others. It’s not what others give to you but what you give to them that will bring true satisfaction with what you have and who you are.

In 2017, I implore you to look past the stuff and see the simple joys that surround you every day. Laugh at the kids building a snowman in your yard or next door. Delight in the smell of the flowers in your garden this spring. Close your eyes and revel in the feel of the warm sun on your face. Breathe in the crisp, cool fall air. Don’t let a minute of the next year go by without noticing all of the amazing things in this world. Find your sense of wonder of awe, and cherish it. Never stop looking at life through the eyes of a child.

Amy Schisler is an award winning author of both children’s books and novels for readers of all ages. She lives with her husband and three daughters on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Her book, Picture Me, is the recipient of an Illumination Award, placing it among the top three inspirational fiction eBooks of 2015. Her most recent book, Whispering Vines, is now available for purchase; and her next novel, Island of Miracles, will be released in January of 2017.

You may follow Amy on Facebook at http://facebook.com/amyschislerauthor on Twitter @AmySchislerAuth, on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/amyschisler and on her web site http://amyschislerauthor.com.

Amy’s books: Crabbing With Granddad (2013), A Place to Call Home (2014), Picture Me (2015), Whispering Vines (2016)

‘Tis the Season

December 21, 2016May 15, 2018Amy Schisler

‘Tis the season… for exhaustion. And I do it to myself. I can’t remember the last night I had a good night’s sleep, and it’s my own fault. Shopping and wrapping are always done early and not a problem. Even the annual Mother-Daughter Christmas dinner the girls and I host is easy for me. But there are the other things that I put on myself that tend to keep me up at night. I love Christmas letters. I know some people think they’re cheesy, but I love them. I want to know what’s going on with the military family I grew up with and how many grandchildren our elderly relatives now have. I love reading about where people have traveled, what their children are majoring in, and how I can pray for them in the coming year. For years, I wrote my own family Christmas letter and kept copies on the last page of our family albums. Then a few years ago, I started sending our letter electronically, and somehow that morphed into a slideshow complete with Christmas carols. The end product is something we all enjoy watching and sharing, but getting to that end, with everything else we have going on, is sometimes a painstaking endeavor.

Add to that the family Christmas story. Many years ago, when my children and their cousins were very young, I wrote a Christmas story and bound it with a handmade cover. The kids loved it, and my mother-in-law said it made her Christmas. As happens so often, the tale took on a life of it’s own, and every year, I reach into the depths of my mind to create a story that is still fun and whimsical but is relatable to everyone as they get older. It’s no easy task. Writing the story, creating graphics, and putting it together into a book takes longer than all of the wrapping I do for every occasion all year long. But the love and laughter that go along with that Christmas day read-aloud is worth it. As least I think it is. By the time I’m done with everything that I do to prepare for the holidays, I’m positive that I’ll be too tired to really enjoy any of it. But then December 22nd rolls around.

Once we’re at Mom’s and our family is gathered under one roof – the five of us, my parents, my brothers and their families, aunts, uncles, cousins, all of the extended family and closest friends – whatever worries or exhaustion I may have been feeling, just melts away. Amidst the cooking, the football watching, the game playing, and the picture taking, I find my zen, my foundation, my piece of Heaven on Earth. I know that Christmas isn’t about presents, or stories, or letters, or baking, or any of the other things that the world would like us to believe it’s about, but it is about self-sacrifice. It’s about coming into this world to serve others, to put the good of mankind above all, to love your neighbor as yourself, to strive for peace on Earth, and to lay down one’s life for your friends. It’s about all of the good that still exists in this world and the riches and joys of the world to come. It’s about seeing the face of Jesus in others and feeling the love of Jesus in our hearts. I pray that everyone is able to experience the true meaning of Christmas this holiday season. When you feel run-down, overwhelmed, and too exhausted to go, remember,

“unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Luke 2: 11-14

Amy Schisler is an award winning author of both children’s books and novels for readers of all ages. She lives with her husband and three daughters on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Her book, Picture Me, is the recipient of an Illumination Award, placing it among the top three inspirational fiction eBooks of 2015. Her most recent book, Whispering Vines, is available for purchase; and her next novel, Island of Miracles, will be released in January of 2017.

Amy’s books: Crabbing With Granddad (2013), A Place to Call Home (2014), Picture Me (2015), Whispering Vines (2016)

How Do You Measure A Year?

December 7, 2016May 15, 2018Amy Schisler

One year ago this week, Ken and I received the news that we were chosen to go to the Holy Land with a group of pilgrims. As excited as we were, we had no idea how life changing that trip would be. To see the places about which we’ve only read or heard, to walk in the footsteps of our Lord, to stand on the shores of the Jordan River and inside the tomb of the Holy Sepulcher were things that we never imagined being able to do. To top it all off, we made new friends, some of whom have become among the closest friends we have. It’s amazing to me, when I look back over the course of this past year, that one year ago, I had never been to Mount Tabor. I had never looked down at the city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. I didn’t know George or Tammi or either Anne. I had never met Bianca or Mary Ann or either Michelle. How different my life was just a year ago. And that got me thinking…

How different are all of our lives from just a year ago? In the past twelve months, I’ve attended graduations, weddings, christenings, and funerals. I’ve seen my girls go from being just “in high school and college” to being Seniors about to graduate and move on. I’ve traveled to new places and returned to old favorites. In June, I published my third novel, and within a few weeks, I will be publishing another.

As the song asks, “how do you measure a year?” Three-hundred-and-sixty-five days. That’s how we think about a year: a long, drawn out collection of days. But 365 is a small number that is gone in the blink of an eye. It sounds like a lot – five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes. But in less than a year, a baby is conceived and then born, a wedding is planned, a school year is completed and another started, a fine wine ages, a house is built and occupied. And we look back and say, “where did the year go?” How does time get away from us so easily?

So as you begin to think about your New Year’s Resolutions, think about the past as well. Think about all that you did in the past year, the people you met, the places you visited, the things you accomplished. And think about the minutes that got away from you, the tasks left unfinished, the goals left unmet. Don’t think of the future as long and drawn out. Think of it as short and fleeting. Make the most of every day, every minute. There’s much to be seen in the world, many new people to meet, and a lot to be accomplished. And the reality is, there is never enough time in which to do it. But there is enough time to enjoy life. I urge you to start today.

Amy Schisler is an award winning author of both children’s books and novels for readers of all ages. She lives with her husband and three daughters on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Her book, Picture Me, is the recipient of an Illumination Award, placing it among the top three inspirational fiction eBooks of 2015. Her most recent book, Whispering Vines, is available for purchase; and her next novel, Island of Miracles, will be released in January of 2017.

Amy’s books: Crabbing With Granddad (2013), A Place to Call Home (2014), Picture Me (2015), Whispering Vines (2016)

What is the Answer?

November 18, 2015August 5, 2020Amy Schisler

DSCN6495 Let me begin by saying that this is not a political commentary. I think of it as a public introspection, a searching for answers where, perhaps, there is no real answer. I have always tried to act compassionately, to put others needs before myself. I am a passionate defender of the unborn, a believer in the dignity of all human life, and volunteer for social and humanitarian causes; yet today, I find myself at a crossroads. My heart and head are at odds, and I don’t know that there is anyone out there who can help me find the right answers to my questions.

First, I am a student of history and a firm believer in the adage that those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. I also believe that we are currently embroiled in the Third World War. While it is a war of weapons, it is also a war of ideology, not unlike the Cold War during which I was raised. It is a war of name calling, of hatred spewing, and of closed hearts and minds as much as it is a war of physical mass destruction. We are witnessing what our grandfathers and great-grandfathers witnessed with the aggression of Hitler, yet we have no single name to attach to this threat, just an ideology. How do we fight against an aggressive ideology in which nobody knows who the real enemy is? For I do not believe that the enemy is all Muslims.

I’ve known people of Muslim descent and practicing Muslims, and I know that they are not bad people. They are peaceful people who do not subscribe to the beliefs of those such as ISIS; so I wonder, as we’ve all heard others say many times, why do they not speak out? I’m not talking about those in war-ravaged countries or those who are under constant threat or surveillance, but those who are free to stand up and say “this is not right, this is not what we believe.” There are few places like Jordan, where all religions are welcome and where many of the current refugees have been able to flee; so where are the rest of the Muslim countries and their leaders? Read more →