My Post Conference Report

Early morning Indy streets.

  

Dinner out with new friends.

You meet the sweetest people at ACFW conference.

The pre-conference hype is over. So is the whirlwind of meetings, classes, ceremonies, and meals that comprise the conference. Excitement at sending out proposals and requested manuscripts wanes as life settles into a mixture of familiar chaos and unexpected family crises.

While it’s impossible to hold on to the high that occurs during conference, it’s not impossible to infuse its impact into everyday life. It’s as if a jar is jammed with rocks of importance and pebbles of ordinariness and the water of writing must fill up the air spaces between them. This is the writer’s life.  

 Results are yet to unfold, therefore faith and the Spirit-life is activated. When exhaustion and busyness overtake, recounting the Lord’s faithfulness will inspire perseverance.

As I blogged here last month, "Refuse to predetermine what God will do and how he'll do it. Instead, step out in obedience and push through the blockers. Then you'll praise him and say, 'Look what the Lord has done!'" 

Here are some of my at-conference blessings.

1.      I was keenly aware of God’s presence.

2.      I felt God’s pleasure in my pleasure in unified worship.

3.      I was inspired by testimonies of what He is doing.

4.      Gifts within were stirred through classes and conversations.

5.      Friendships solidified.

6.      Work alliances begun.

7.      I discovered new ACFW members who live within my county. This is a very exciting answer to a very long-term prayer.

There is more, but I wonder what you took away from conference. What did the Lord do for  you at ACFW conference 2013? 

Mary Allen, 2010 La Porte County Poet Laureate, has authored many articles and two books of poetry, "Journey to Christmas" and "Ten Days to an Empty Tomb". To be released soon is a third book of poems, "Full Spectrum Reflections", deals with seeing God in every facet of life. Allen contributed to "Kernels of Hope" and continues to work on women's fiction. Follow her online at facebook.com/PoetAndWriterMaryAllen 

or catch her monthly blog at www.thebarndoor(dot)net.

Three Cheers for Anonymous

by Rachael Phillips

 

If there’s one thing I love, it’s to see my name on the cover of a book.

You, too?

Neither of us would object, either, if our names outsized the titles of the books, sure signals that our literary babies, regardless of title (The Love Song of the Garbage Man? Vampire Recipes?) have hit The New York Times Best-seller List.

Yet some of the most famous literary works in history were written by people whose names have never appeared in Publishers Weekly, ancient epic poems such as Gilgamesh and Beowulf, and stories like Arabian Nights. Think of the long-term marketing opportunities those authors missed. Not to mention, the royalties.

The Bible itself embraces numerous works written by “Anonymous,” including some of my favorite Psalms and the book of Hebrews. Not surprising, I suppose, as the Bible teems with unnamed God-followers who thumbed their noses at earthly “immortality” and instead, imprinted His name on history.

All of us, for love of Jesus, have written or edited anonymously at one time or another. We've banished lousy spelling and offending apostrophes from congregational song lyrics, bulletins, and signs; rewritten church holiday programs and VBS skits that feature Dick and Jane; and slogged through eager friends' and relatives’ manuscripts that make us want to disappear into the Writer Protection Program.

Though no spotlights shine on us for such service, and our names may be forgotten on earth, they will show up one day, shiny and indelible, in the book that really counts.

The Book of Life. 

 

 

 

          

In God's hands ...

A skittish paint mare snorted and her eyes widened as her trainer approached her with a terrifying object in his hand. The thing was big and noisy. He could wad it into a ball or unroll it and let it flap in the breeze. It snapped and crackled and crinkled, and moved chaotically. All those factors combined to horrify the mare.

She couldn't get away because he held her lead rope in his hand. She scrambled backwards and thrashed from side to side, but the ghastly thing was inescapable.

She had to face it, because the trainer would not let her run away. She was probably wondering why she ever trusted him in the first place.

After several minutes she braced herself and let him get closer with the thing in his hand. Then he brushed her with it, unfolded some of it and waved it around.

Finally she let him unfold it completely and drape it over her.

She looked pretty silly covered in a blue tarp but with the trainer's help, she survived the ordeal.

All the while horse trainer Lew Sterrett preached to a crowd at the Elkhart County Fairgrounds in Goshen, using horses to illustrate Biblical truths about faith, trust and leadership.

This illustration from Sterrett's "Sermon on the Mount" program stayed in my mind.

While he was working with the mare and the tarp he explained that everything is in God's hand, even trouble.

Everything is in God's hand, including but not limited to my worries about my family, the farm and drought and my writing career.

The trainer meant no harm to the horse. The exercise would de-sensitize her and make her more useful in the future, more trusting and more obedient.

I've been trying to look at my troubles that way -- that I can trust the Lord to lead me through situations, that he has a plan, that he is higher than I am and knows where we are going just like a well-trained horse going down a trail.

Just like every other part of our lives, our writing endeavours are in the Lord's hand.

Sign Here

Photo Credit: Marcel Hol/Stock.XCHNG

By Nikki Studebaker Barcus

Does your hand itch to sign on the dotted line securing an agent or a book contract? Perhaps your fingers long to feel the weight of the pen as you autograph the first copy of your very own published novel. Or maybe you dream of the day when you press your written imprint across the “Endorse Here” line of your first royalty check. 

I recently read an account of John Green, the Indianapolis-based YA author who, before the release of his fourth book, The Fault in Our Stars,  pledged to sign every first edition print of the book. His first three books each ran around 20,000-30,000 copies, so this sounds like a worthy goal. Imagine Green’s shock when his anxious teenage fans pre-ordered enough books to put it in Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com's No. 1 spot before it was completely written and  the publisher ran 150,000 books in the first printing. Green required steroid treatments, but he fulfilled his pledge to sign every copy.

I thought of this in light of the recent debate concerning the decision in many schools and states to stop the teaching of cursive handwriting. While many Indiana schools continue to teach it, legislators removed it from the third grade standards with the 2011-12 school year. How are our children ever going to sign contracts, give autographs, or endorse their checks? Will a computer sign their pledges of undying love in notes written to sweethearts? Will a mere number suffice as proof on their marriages licenses? Will their fingerprint serve as the only identification next to their child's footprint on a birth certificate?

I hope it never comes to that. The truth is, we sign our name to those things we treasure and want to prove ownership of or to authenticate. A painting is made valuable by the signature of the artist. A first edition book is considered rare because it bears the autograph of the author. An idea is made law by the scrawl of a president.

Did you know you are also a "signed original"? Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do.” Some versions even use the word "masterpiece" when referring to you and to me. God signs his name to his masterpiece when he put His seal on you. He claims you as His own good work, His rare work of art, His beautiful creation.

And like most things in life, God first sets the example and then asks us to follow. We are told to work at everything as to the Lord. Is your work worthy of your signature? Are you willing to commit your autograph to your writing? What about your relationships? Can you endorse them in good conscience? And your walk with God--does it bear the seal of authenticity? 

The year is still fresh and new, a superb time for making changes and commitments to do things better than we have in the past. Signature-worthy things, both in our writing and in our life. Who's with me?  

My Favorite Things

It doesn't take diamonds, or fabulous trips to exotic locations, or anything expensive in terms of worldly possessions to make me happy. Mind you, that's not to discount my travels or my pearl and diamond ring. It's the memories I have, the memories I'm making, and the things I'm looking toward in the future that make me content. And the older I get, the more the concept of simply being content makes me happy. It's not a feeling of "settling," but a feeling of knowing I've run the race and fought the good fight. I'm secure knowing I'm where the Lord wants me at this point in my life. Lest you worry, no, I'm not ill, but with the dawn of this new year, I am perhaps being retrospective. It's not so much the "things" of this life which make me happy or content, of course, but the memories associated with them that give me incredible joy.

What started me thinking along these lines? I bought a Hallmark Christmas ornament at 75% off the other day. It's a replica of the famous "Cheers" sign used in the TV show of the same name. There's a little button on the side, and when pushed, it plays the theme song. It brings a smile every time I hear that song: "Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came..." I'm going to leave it on my desk year-round for when I need a little pick-me-up. Other things that make me smile: the report card with two A+ grades my 15-year-old Asperger's Syndrome-diagnosed son earned in two tough subjects (biology and algebra); my daughter's smile as she finally got her braces (she's 19); the way my husband looked at the photo on my third book and said, "I really love this photo of you." Those are memories I'll always treasure. Other things? Mountain Spring Tide and Downy. Wow, they sure are expensive these days, but they're the best at stain fighting and smelling fantastic, so I spring for them and skimp on other things. The taste of a cake from my favorite bakery or a homemade chocolate chip cookie also make me smile. The sight of the first daffodils of spring pushing their way through the ground hardened by winter's snows, and the scent of honeysuckle on the vine...is there anything quite like them?

When I was a kid, buying three Nancy Drew books with my $5 weekly allowance made me happier than anything (I'm showing my age here, but I'm actually beginning to love and appreciate my current age. It's where the Lord has brought me at this point in my life, and I'm not complaining). Being presented with a doll house made with loving hands by my grandmother and dad filled with me with a sense of pride and family. Going to an antique doll convention with Granny when I was seven and being called "A Living Doll" in a write-up in the Louisville Courier-Journal was exciting. Now, every time I look at that doll, my heart swells with love for my grandmother (the inspiration for Lexa Clarke's Nana in Awakening). She took the doll head I got at that convention (called "Miss Kentucky") and made her into a doll for me, dressing her in a beautiful velvet, beaded dress -- complete with a matching handbag -- and I adored her (still have her, too). Granny always fussed and regretted the doll wasn't "prettier," but to me, she's gorgeous, and is my most prized heirloom from my beloved grandmother.

As a writer, I cherish my book contracts and holding my books in my hands for the first time. There's not much like it. I hope all of you know, or will know, that unique and unbelievable blessing. I always said that even if my books weren't "officially" published, my prayer was that someone reading them (and I had a lot of ladies read the early versions of Awakening) might be somehow touched with the seeds of spiritual truths. You never know how your words might impact someone, so keep writing as He leads you.

What are the things and associated memories that make YOU smile? I'd love to hear, if you'd care to share. Blessings, my friends.

God is Faithful To Complete His Work

Writers write. That’s all there is to it, however that covers an area as large as life and as diverse as people themselves are. Those who aspire to be authors of published works of fiction may discredit writing for newspapers, magazines, brochures as somehow on a lesser plane. With this line of thinking, poetry or personal journaling falls even farther down the scale. This is simply not true. It may not be your dream assignment, but it is forming and molding you.

Remember that Abraham waited until he was an old man to see the promise of a son fulfilled, but the point was it was fulfilled! God is still in the business of fulfilling promises today.

Pride, self-sufficiency, prejudices, personal relationships, current obligations are some of the blockades God may choose to remove before you find the promise of publication. God wants not only an eager servant but a malleable servant, not just a willing child, but a devoted one.

Before you get out the whip and start chastising yourself for all the ways you’ve failed to write, first consider what you are doing in your life that honors God. Society and our desire to succeed would tell us that we must make it happen. In truth, when we move in God’s timing as God directs, He will make it happen.

That doesn’t give us license to sit in front of the TV eating Cheetos all day long, but it does give us the freedom to be the spouses, parents, children of aging parents that we need to be. It doesn’t mean that writing/publication won’t come with effort and moving beyond uncomfortable boundaries into unfamiliar and terrifying territory, but it does mean you can trust that God’s timing is the best plan.

So all you newbies, all you still-working-at-its, all you frustrated word artists take heart. "Let us

hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23