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My Heart Leaps for JOY!

Hi from the central coast of California. This is Sherry Kyle with a word of encouragment for you.

Psalm 28:7

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.”

 

I love this verse.  It reminds me of the chorus to the children’s song:

“The joy of the Lord is my strength.” 

 

Do you remember singing that song in Sunday School when you were a child?  For those of you who didn’t grow up in a Christian home, those eight words are repeated four times in a simple melody.  Simple words with great impact! 

Before He Went Away, Part 4

 I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you.

John 14:18 NKJV

From the rolling hills of East Texas, Elizabeth Baker, is writing with a word of encouragement for your Monday as we continue our survey of Jesus’ last hours.

Some writers have identified the torment of hell as total isolation. [1] Drifting forever completely cut off from others and from God. Alone. Always and forever, alone. Conversely, the promise of Jesus is to come to us [2] dwell with us [3] and never, never leave us alone. [4] His very name is Immanuel: God with us! [5]

The contrast between these two concepts is startling and given a choice we wonder why anyone would ever choose loneliness? But we do.

Persistence

Aloha from Karen,

At my first writer's conference I won the persistence award. I wondered if I just asked the most questions and if that was a polite way to say I was a pest. But over time I realize writers need persistence to succeed and someone saw that in me.

I looked at this year's calendar and already see deadlines looming and contracts that look great-more than I ever expected. I look back and realize I persisted and years of hard work matter. Even more, I see other writers I knew from my early beginnings also finding more success over the years as they persist. I watched writers who wrote more eloquently and faster fall away because they gave up too soon or felt overwhelmed by rejection slips.

Whatever point you are at in writing, be persistent. Continue in spite of the many obstacles and rejections along the way. And work to be consistent in writing and professionalism.

Before He Went Away, Part 3

If you love Me, keep My commandments.

John 14:15 NKJV

Hi! Elizabeth Baker, here, with a word of encouragement for your Monday. The New Year is racing on with days flying and politicians talking about change. Maybe they are right. Change can be good. But when it comes to living the Christian life, some of the best habits are old ones. The best habit I ever developed came to me years ago through the ministry of a blue, plastic box and I hope it never changes.

I was at a point in my life when children and trouble finally sanded through my youthful veneer of Christian slogans. With tears and curses I concluded the Christian life was not just difficult; it was impossible. Sins kept sticking to me like globs of black tar. The situation might have proved desperate had it not been for a cheap, blue, plastic radio.

I can still hear them in my head: J. Vernon McGee; Theodore Epp, Billy Graham. They pointed the way to a clean life and I wanted desperately to follow. Although I was hundreds of miles from family, isolated in a farm house and surrounded by the boredom of babies and endless chores, the voices from the blue box offered something I desperately needed: hope.

Poetry Basics: Organizing the Poem I

      Hello. I'm Donn Taylor, here again to talk more about poetry writing and ways to achieve the "higher voltage" that distinguishes poetry from most prose. We've talked about putting strong words in emphatic places, use of images, and a little bit about figurative language. Reserving that last for further treatment later, today we'll begin looking at ways to organize a poem. Those ways are infinite, or course, so we'll confine ourselves to some of the most common. Today, only one.

      First, some generalizations: In narrative poetry, the structure of the story becomes the structure of the poem. That leaves us lyric poetry: that is, poetry that expresses the poet's thoughts or emotions. (We hope those will be significant enough to interest the reader.) I like to compare a short poem to a paragraph: it has a main idea that may be stated or unstated, and everything in the poem points to or develops that one idea. (There are, of course, impressionistic poems that don’t follow that principle.)

An Author's Time ~ Author Events

Greetings from contemporary fiction author, Deborah Vogts. This past year, I've tried to evaluate the moments in a writer's life. This month, I want to finish the series by considering how we spend our promotional time in regard to author events. 

Author events can include anything from sitting in on a book signing, to holding a book event at a library, to speaking at a women's function or writing workshop. Once you decide what format works best for you (and whether you want to jump on the speaking bandwagon), you'll need to schedule time on your calendar for these events.

Tips from the Pros: Jolene Philo

Hello from Sarah Sundin in California where some of us are actually praying for rain. Today I have the privilege of interviewing Jolene Philo, who turned her experience with a critically ill child into blessings for others by ministering to parents of special needs children through her blog and her books.

Jolene, how did you get into writing?

I've always enjoyed writing, but for many years thought it was no big deal. About twenty years ago, I began writing stories about my dad for my children. He was in a nursing home because of multiple sclerosis and unable to communicate with his grandkids. I wrote the stories so they could know him as I remembered him from childhood. People would read the stories and suggest I get them published. But I knew how hard it would be for an unknown writer to publish a story about an unknown father. I finally took them to a writers' conference, hoping an editor would tell me to take them home and just write them for my family. After all, I was busy teaching full time and raising kids. I didn't have time to be a writer. But the editor said I should try to get them published. Eventually, God provided a part-time job, so I started writing for magazines, Sunday school papers, and the like.

Cherry Blossom Capers By Cara Putman - A New Release

Cherry Blossom Capers

Dying for Love in Cherry Blossom Capers: Attorney Ciara Turner is horrified when she stumbles over a judge’s dead body in Alexandria. Will she be able to retain her composure and control when she joins her nemesis Daniel Evans in investigating the murder? Constantly on the opposite side of domestic cases, they have to work together to find the murderer…just in case the police and marshals run out of luck. As they are thrust back together, Ciara is reminded of how Daniel swept her off her feet as a clerk. Now she has to choose whether to risk her heart to love.

 

Cara C. Putman lives in Indiana with her husband and four children. She’s an attorney and a ministry leader and teacher at her church. She has loved reading and writing from a young age and now realizes it was all training for writing books. An honors graduate of the University of Nebraska and George Mason University School of Law, Cara loves bringing history and romance to life. You can learn more about Cara and read first chapters of her books at http://www.caraputman.com. You can also read her blog at http://blog.caraputman.com and keep up with her at http://www.facebook.com/cara.putman.

This new release information was uploaded by Cecelia Dowdy. Happy reading!

Jesus Prays for Us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grace Fox here with a thought that's been on my mind lately.

Hebrews 7:25 encourages me, especially on days when I’m frustrated, discouraged, or doubt-filled. It says, “Therefore he (Jesus) is able once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.”

The thought of Jesus praying on His followers’ behalf excites me! My hunch is that He prays a lot more than, “God, please bless So-and-So today.” My sanctified imagination tells me His requests sound like…  

Before He Went Away, part 1

Let not your hearts be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

John 14:1 NKJV 

Hello, from East Texas. This is Elizabeth Baker hoping to share a bit of encouragement with fellow writers as we explore what many call, The Upper Room Discourse. From now through Easter, this blog will highlight scattered fragments of what Jesus said in those last few hours before his death. I trust we’ll find fresh insight to the promises he shared with his disciples that night and our hope will grow one step stronger.

Last minute instructions. Goodbye endearments. Farewell speeches. Final words before death. We place a lot of value on what someone says in their last moments with us. The pressure of parting brings important things to the surface while the extraneous is stripped away and the few things we really want others to remember take center stage. Therefore, we shouldn’t be surprised that John spent almost one forth of his gospel [1] describing the last six hours Jesus spent with those he loved before crucifixion tore them apart.

From sundown until just after midnight, Jesus shared his last meal with the disciples and took a walk with them through a garden. He must have had much on his mind, but two themes keep recurring in John’s record; assurance of his love and encouragement to trust God’s wisdom no matter how hopeless the situation might look from earth’s view.