40-Day Card Challenge

I love Lent.

I grew up in the Catholic Church and the idea of giving up chocolate or sweets while I was growing up, made me feel like I was doing something important for GOD. That I could sacrifice a little something of myself for Him.

Of course, as I grew older, and my faith grew more mature, my 'sacrifice' became slightly different.  I learned that good behaviour and good acts do not solidify your position in heaven, and perhaps I should change my outlook on what I would do for those 40 days.

This year, it is the 40-Day Card Challenge.

Which means, that every day, during my quiet time, I try my best to allow GOD to choose whom I should pray for. Then during my Bible reading, I would write out the best verse I thought to encourage that person. I would then type it out in lovely font, tape it to a lovely card, and then write some kind words, cover the envelope in pretty stickers and then send it in the mail. These people would be friends, acquaintances, and even a few people whom I knew didn't like me (I just didn't put my name or return address on it).

I used to send cards all the time. I love sending cards. I would get such a thrill walking up and down the stationary stores and choose out the pretties cards, the coolest colours of envelopes, the sweetest stickers. I had a carousel of coloured felt-tip pens. I loved to do it, and I used to do it all the time.

Until I stopped.

Wasn't anything serious, it just slowly and gradually stopped. 
Maybe it was because I stopped hearing a 'Thank you', or a, 'You really made my day'.  
I wasn't doing it for the acknowledgement, to be sure, but at some point...you lose...the joy in doing it.  Even my closer friends, whom I know needed a card of encouragement, they wouldn't say a thing. And made me feel badly about our relationship.

Isn't that awful?

I am in full agreement that relationships are not what they used to be. It is extremely difficult to get friends to talk to you on the phone. I sometimes miss being sixteen, with my long curly phone cord winding its way around my room as I would gab for hours, my parents yelling at me to stop tying up the line.  I can't remember the last time I had a long conversation with someone on the phone. I kind of miss it, you know?

This tells me, that in our fast-moving, technologically-advanced age, that we need more cards in the mail.  I love getting cards, who doesn't?  Especially encouraging ones that say, 'Hey. I'm praying for you right now, and you didn't even ask me to.'

That is a wonderful 'sacrifice' that I am willing to make. And maybe after 40 days, the habit will stick, and I will keep doing it.  Because even though most of my relationships are through Facebook now, I can do my part by sending GOD's love through the mail. And that, to me, is a wonderful challenge.

And lets me buy more pretty greeting cards.

Jenn Kelly is a farmer who is getting back into writing. Slowly. If you would like a card in the mail, you can reach her at jennkelly@jennkelly.com. She will do her best to make sure you get an envelope with rooster stickers.

GO AHEAD AND QUIT!

Janice L Dick

Canada

During the first week of January, I received an email from a dear writer friend. She admitted to having trouble getting back into the groove after taking time off from her writing during the Christmas season. She said, “Sometimes I just want to quit.”

Have you ever felt that way? Yeah. So have I. Considering my experience, you’d think I would offer a verbal pat on the shoulder and encourage her to persevere. Offer to pray for her.

But I didn’t. Not right away. Instead, what popped onto the return email page was, “Go ahead and quit! See how long you last.”

I said this because, like my writing-weary friend, I’ve been there. There are times I just want to go shopping with my daughter without thinking about deadlines and edits, or clean out the closet without thinking about how many blogs are waiting to be written. Or even just read a book or watch a movie without guilt. I haven’t ever completely quit because I’m a finisher by nature, but I have certainly slacked off.

However, if I’m away from my computer for too long, I get itchy fingers. I need to get back to recording my ideas, to reviewing that great book I just read, to sharing some writerly bit of information with those who are kind enough to read my blog.

So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by life and not zealous about writing, or underwhelmed by the process of creating fiction, don’t despair. Take a break, be good to yourself, talk to a friend who understands. And then, when your fingers start to itch for the keys or the ideas begin to tumble through your mind as you’re cleaning the closet, run back to your computer and write.

If you need someone to pray you through it, let me know. I pray for my friend daily, and she knows it. There are many of us who understand. We’re in your corner. And so is the dear God who uses our words to do His work.

Devotion: Rescued!

No matter what you're facing, here are some truthes for you to stand by...

The LORD hears his people when they call to him for help. 

He rescues them from all their troubles.

Psalm 34:17

And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac.

Galatians 4:28

The night is far gone; the day is at hand. 

So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Romans 13:12

Dianne J. Wilson writes novels from her hometown in East London, South Africa, where she lives with her husband and three daughters. She has just signed a three book contract for a YA series, Spirit Walker, with Pelican / Watershed.

Finding Mia is available from Amazon, Pelican / Harbourlight, Barnes & Noble and other bookstores.

Shackles is available as a free ebook from Amazon & Smashwords.

Find her on Facebook, Twitter and her sporadic blog Doodles.

Give yourself permission to write rubbish!

Photo courtesy of photostock/
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’m continually in awe of authors (some whom I regard as friends) who manage to keep churning out new material every few months. Besides the work ethic, the idea factory they have in their mind, I’m staggered how they manage to write a good story in their first draft. They must right? That or they don’t sleep or eat or do anything else.

It’s my dream to one-day reach that point. Be so good at my process and handle of the craft that I can deliver 80% of the story first time every time.

Practice makes perfect

Yep, we’ve all heard it. It’s true. And those authors that I’m referring to above have done the work. Yes they have.

But that doesn’t make it any easier for them. Many authors tell me that their latest manuscript is the hardest and through the wonders of social media we get to see their struggles to meet publisher deadlines.

Green with Envy

Comparison can be so debilitating if we allow ourselves to check our progress against those we admire. It can stop us writing, steal our zeal or freeze our writing mojo as we linger at the keyboard.

Acknowledge and encourage those we admire which will both give them an added boost but also nullify the green monster that sits on your shoulder.

Permission

God loves sharing in everything we do. Hey, He’s with us all the time so why not bring Him into all that you experience. It’s what I love about writing. As I tell people I’ve found writing to be a lot harder than any of the Corporate jobs I’ve had over the last thirty years. There’s something so special creating together with our Lord even if writing that first draft is like watching grass grow in the desert. I’m continually amazed how often an oasis arrives out of nowhere when all of a sudden a scene suddenly gels or your story takes a fabulous turn. Heck, there are times when I jump for joy at a “new” word that appears on the screen, one that I typically wouldn’t use.

“My #1 rule is write like no one is ever going to read it. Why? Because it gives you permission to be as audacious as you want.”

Tosca Lee wrote that. Tosca’s one of my favourites for sharing her writing process, boots and all. She’s a night owl and can write till the wee hours of the morning. I know this because often she pops up on FB asking whose awake and because I’m on the other side of the world it has to be some crazy hour when most people are sound asleep.

“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.”

William Faulkner said that. Get it down. I love that. Allow the Holy Spirit to weave His magic as you write.

Allow yourself to write a bad first draft. And hey, it’s really not that bad. It’s just the expectations you’ve placed on yourself.

Just think you now have something on the page that you can now play with the Lord and make some real magic together.

Fearful of that blank page staring at you? Join the club. All writers are. Trust in the Lord. He’s there with you, not just cheering you on but helping you with every word, every scene, character and story line.

Get it down!

Have fun in your playground with the Lord.

Bless,

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Northern Sydney. Ian's first novel of speculative fiction, Angelguard, is available in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Angelguard was recognised with the 2014 Selah Award for Speculative Fiction. You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter

MY HONOR ROLL

Honor Rolls exist in many countries around the world. Often composed of a list of brave men and women who gave their lives for their country. And you'll also find them in educational facilities.

I realized my honor roll was internal. It consisted of the names of those dear souls who invested something of themselves in me. And they are those who are no longer with me.

As I remembered what they had said to encourage me, share wisdom, practical knowledge, and genuine love, my heart overflowed. I can recall their dear faces right from childhood up to the time of those who passed on. Strangely I also remember the faces of those who said the hurtful, bitter, and cruel things. Some of these were relatives, some were teachers and some whom I had believed were friends. Those wounding words are long gone. But the uplifting words, and practical deeds of my dear ones, I still treasure in my heart.

I believe many adults think a child will forget and that's why they say these things unthinkingly. But those who want to encourage, truly connect with a child, they understand a child's need. And so they bless them. That made me realize the words I write in my books are meant not only to entertain, but to give something of myself in my words. To allow my reader to so identify, they will take to heart what my characters learn as they grow. Because we all need to grow, don't we?

I treasure so many books I have read and I can reread them because of it. Something in them connects with us at a deeper level and we know what the author is saying to us also.

Do you have an honor roll of your own? And certain unforgettable books that truly connect with you? I really would be interested to know if you also feel this way.

Besides her daily radio ministry with her husband, Indie Publisher,
Rita Stella Galieh's three published books in her Victoriana Series are now online as ebooks. If you like the Historical Romance genre and TV series such as Downton Abbey etc. you'll enjoy these.
See: 

http://www.ritastellapress.com/buy-novels.html  

and scroll down to the ebook widgets.

or Click

An Author's Hope: Guest Post by Angie Dicken

Hi! This is Patricia. I am happy to introduce my writer friend Angie Dicken. You might know her from the popular writing blog, The Writer’s Alley. Enjoy Angie's guest post.

******************************************

Over the past few years, I have understood the nature of hope, especially as an aspiring author. It's a funny thing—hope. It's an energy that might swell like a swollen ocean at one moment, or dissolve into a flimsy fragment that slips between your grasping fingers the next. Hope is ever-changing, and mostly, ever-present. And this ebb and flow is good, because it pushes us toward a dream, or calms us in the midst of a storm. 

During this writing journey, there have been a few times that I have felt hope vanish completely, only to realize it was hiding out around the next bend. It was still there. And the only way I could grasp it again was by moving forward. Taking those steps and finding my way toward it. Getting past the finite disappointment of this journey's pot holes, and remembering hope is infinite, as the good Martin Luther King Jr. once declared, 

It's difficult to accept and get past the disappointment, isn't it? The disappointment overwhelms me after writing that story that just misses the market, the one that I felt sure that God had placed on my heart and knew it was meant to be written. The shadow of a rejection chases my hope around the bend, leaving me breathless and unable to search for it again. 

What is the point of all those words, all that time? I don't want to accept it. 

The finite disappointment arrives in the sting of criticism, the harsh reality that I have a huge amount of work ahead of me, and I'll lose sight of the hope that flickers from beneath the effort needed. I grow weary and defeated. 

What is the point of wasting the energy now, after so much energy has been spent? 

Sometimes, I feel so completely hopeless that I wonder if it's this writing journey has come to an end. But, it's when I look back at all that I've learned, and then step forward toward that next bend, that I discover that pesky hope again, and all is not lost. 

Have you bought into the lie that once hope is out of sight, the journey is over? If this writing journey is truly ours, then our hope is infinite in what the future might hold for our words. 

If you are anything like me, clinging to hope, whether it be a kind word, a contest win, or a coveted request for a full manuscript, keeps me going forward no matter how small a glimmer. 

Hope is infinite. 

I look back on my ten year journey as an author and I don't just see baby steps and lessons, heartaches and rejections, friendships and business ventures, but I see a path chiseled and defined by that infinite hope. It's the fact that I got to that next page, the effort a friend took to critique my work as if it had potential, the agent taking a chance and adding me to her client list. It's the click in my brain when harsh contest feedback actually makes sense and pushes my story to a new level. It's the editor, who had turned down my book, and then decides to pick it up again and give it another chance (true story). 

I may not have arrived to the place where hope turns into that bright shiny future of publication that I expect, but I see hope all around me, and whether it growing bigger and brighter, or slips just around the bend, I am confident it is waiting for me to catch up. 

What more could a writer ask for, than hope? 

* MLK quote photo from Brainyquote.com. 

Angie Dicken first grew her love for story during her British education as an American transplant in the heart of East Anglia. She then “grew up” on the Shakespearean stage in high school and studied abroad in Europe during college. There's no doubt that her world travels inspire Angie to write fiction about strong women seeking God’s grace beyond cultural and social boundaries. Currently, Angie has completed six full-length novels. She has been a finalist in numerous writing contests and is a regular contributor for the popular writing blog, The Writer’s Alley. Angie is an ACFW member, has attended six ACFW conferences, and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Agency. 

Follow Angie at: 
Writing Blog: www.thewritersalleyblog.com 
Personal Blog: www.angiedicken.blogspot.com 
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/dicken.angie 
Twitter: www.twitter.com/angiedicken 
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/agdicken

Two are (a lot) better than one

Photo courtesy of phanlop88/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I read recently about a Christian author whose first novel had won a number of accolades. On being asked whether such success had surprised them, they indicated that it hadn’t. They went on to explain that from the first days of writing the manuscript they had marveled with surprise and some disbelief that they had been able to pen such words. The voice wasn’t one they’d ever seen themselves use before.

This “out-of-body” experience continued throughout the project and they sensed they were along for the ride. God was using the ingredients this author brought to the computer each day and together they penned something special.

Feeding the Masses

I loved how this author acknowledged the partnership with the Lord. It reminded me of something I read recently about Jesus feeding the five thousand in Mark 6.

Jesus instructed the disciples to feed the crowd. He took the food they provided. He didn’t create something out of nothing (ala water into wine in John 2). It was also the disciples who were responsible for distributing the food and collecting the abundant leftovers.

Just as we do as authors. We bring our research, our story ideas, our knowledge of craft, our finances, not to mention the hours we sit at the computer. We actively participate in the final product’s distribution and collect the results, the reviews, and accolades if they are forthcoming.

“And Jesus’ way of working is to take the little we have and bless it. So bring him your proverbial loaves and fishes … and watch him miraculously multiply them.”¹

I continue to marvel at the fact we writers have the Creator of the universe as co-author and Executive Editor. It really is very cool.

Most writing days I too am surprised at what comes out on the page. Beating back the bullies of discouragement and doubt to turnup each day is so worth it when we get to work side-by-side with the best storyteller to ever have lived.

Keep bringing your loaves and fishes, keep praying and keep believing that your co-author is present. We’re all not going to win awards or sell gazillions of copies but that’s not the point, is it?

We get to do life with the Lord and write the stories that aren’t just on our hearts but on His.

Note: 1. Resilient, Your Invitation to a Jesus-Shaped Life, Sheridan Voysey, Discovery House October 2015, p80.

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Sydney, Australia. Ian's first novel of speculative fiction, Angelguard, is available in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter

Homesick

By Janice L. Dick of Canada

I’ve been feeling homesick lately. It’s not the butterflies-in-the-stomach syndrome of my youth, but a general malaise of spirit as I live and breathe in this crazy, busy, upside-down society.

There are times when I feel as if I don’t belong here, and that’s because I don’t. I was created for a better place, for eternity. We are here for a reason, for a season, and then we go home. And sometimes, the wideness of that thought pulls me to homesickness.

Don’t get me wrong! I have been richly blessed by God in my life with a sweet and secure childhood, a deeply satisfying marriage, and good relationships with our children and grandchildren. I also have lots of good friends and a few amazing ones. The Lord has given me a degree of giftedness for writing, and I thoroughly enjoy that blessing. It’s my opportunity to give back for all I’ve received.

But this world is not my home. I listen to the news and I’m appalled at the disdain for God and the resulting darkness and despair. I see people trying to make sense of life and failing. I see my Christian brothers and sisters falling into the mindset and lifestyle of this fallen world. And I grieve, because this is not the be-all and end-all. It’s just a proving ground, a testing time. I’ve committed to following Christ here and now, and experiencing eternal freedom when this season is done. Glimpses of glory and the kiss of the Spirit keep me going.

So I will continue to love and live, to read and write, to do my best to influence and encourage my fellow travelers. I will, with God’s help, continue to follow the way he’s set for me. But someday soon—and it’s looking sooner than later with the way this world is heading—I’m going home. Then I’ll see Jesus and the results of my feeble but sincere attempts to follow him.

Back in the day, I used to listen to B.J. Thomas, and after he became a believer, he sang a song that will always touch me: Home Where I Belong (the old 1976 version). “If you look and see that homesick feeling in my eyes, I’m going home…”

So let’s walk together along the way, wherever we live and write. Let’s encourage and comfort and take each other’s hands. And when we feel homesick, let’s smile through the tears and remember that “one day when I’m dreaming, and death knocks on my door [or Jesus returns for us], I’ll awake to find that I’m not homesick anymore, ‘cause I’ll be home…where I belong.”