River of Thoughts

Christine Royse Niles — Changing the world one word at a time

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Being a writer can get overwhelming, can’t it?

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Scorpions

I recently read a blog post from Jon Acuff (all the greatest ideas are sparked by his blog.  If you don’t read it, you need to) about being “glass half full” vs. “glass half empty.”  In the post, he commented that he’s a “glass half full of scorpions” person. Funny, but I can totally relate.   More than connecting with the post itself, though, was a comment that really hit me where I needed it.  In his response, David from Denver commented: “I’m only just finding the people around me that have helped me take the scorpions out of the glass.” That got […]

Seven Things I’ve Learned About Social Media

I used to be a geek. I spent hours and days playing with new technology and drawing diagrams of our home media setup. Eventually, I got old.  I lost interest in keeping up as things changed.  I got tired of always fighting some new technology for the privilege of remaining productive.  I started viewing technology a a tool to get things done instead of a cool thing in and of itself. Then came social media. One of the biggest game changers so far. It took me a while to really settle in.  I got on Facbook as a preemptive strike…I […]

Love

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. While most people focus on the candy and flowers, I prefer to focus on love. This Valentine’s Day, I am grateful for the love that I receive every day from my amazing husband, Mark.  I am grateful for the love I have for my two amazing daughters.  I am grateful for the love of my extended family and friends. But most of all, I’m grateful for the love of my Father, who forgives all the crazy stupid things I do every day, and loves me just the same. Happy Valentine’s Day! *Photo Credit:  Ron Doke

Love Song for a Conference

It’s been a long couple of weeks. My writing time last weekend was spent whittling my work emails down from 1,600 to Inbox Zero. I have been at my desk, working, before 5:30 every day this week. I fell asleep, fully dressed and glasses on, at 8:00 the other night. My writing has suffered. But it’s all worth it.  Because this morning, I am hitting the road to Jon Acuff’s second Quitter Conference in Nashville! You might have seen that I attended the first Quitter Conference last July.  In fact, if you ‘re reading this blog (which, well, you kinda […]

I Still Love The Colts (or Why Loyalty Is Important)

I’m a Colts fan. Not one of those crazy stand-in-the-snow and paint your body blue and white kind of fans.  But I do own a Colts Snuggie.  And I am NOT sharing a photo of that! Truth is, this year was rough for the Colts.  In Week 7, we tied the Dolphins for the third worst loss in NFL history.  62-7.  At the end of the season, we ranked 28th in both offense and defense, and Special Teams came in dead last in the league. But I’m still a fan. Why?  Loyalty. Loyalty is important to me. For a long […]