Reaching for a Dream

I read a story today on CNN about Kenneth Chancey. He's a seventeen year old high school junior, but that's where his similarity to other kids his age stops. Kenneth lives in a shelter with his father and sister. I don't know how long the link to the story will stay active, but here it is.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/06/24/homeless.to.harvard/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

You would think someone with life that tough is bitter, that he'd bemoan his lot in life. But he doesn't. He has an amazing attitude and I found my heart aching for him, wishing I were rich enough to help him realize his dream of going to Harvard and becoming a doctor. Since I can't help pay his way, what I can do is write an e-mail letter to the president of Harvard and let him know about Kenneth. Will you send an email letter as well? Who knows? Maybe Harvard has a scholarship for Kenneth. The e-mail address for Harvard's president Drew Faust is president@harvard.edu

Say a prayer for this young man, that he does reach his dreams. The world needs people like him, especially as doctors.

Others

Remember the saying, 'do unto others'? It was turned into a joke that went 'Others Lord, let this my motto be, please let others think of me!'

Okay, funny, but all too true with some of us Christians. I've been guilty I know that. When's the last time we did something unselfish for someone other than a family member? Have we helped raise money for any worthy causes? Given out of our abundance? Reached out to a world that Jesus loved so much He died for it? It's easy to feel good about ourselves until it comes to giving. Do we realize how wealthy we truly are?

I heard about one way to help with clean drinking water here at this website:
http://www.dollarforadrink.org/

Imagine people dying for clean drinking water and all the water we waste here in America.

Now imagine it's your family living there instead of them.

Burdens and Writing

Burdens come to us all. Whether in the form of a job loss, a sick relative or workplace tension, none of us are exempt. As long as you have a pulse, you will have trials. It's part of life. Someone once said they couldn't understand a God who 'allowed' the bad things to happen.

That's where faith comes in. You simply MUST trust He knows what's best, because it's hard to see when everything around you seems bent on delivering you into the midst of heartache and chaos.

When I was in Bible college, one of the professors taught that she saw redbirds as a sign that God keeps His promises (because of the verse talking about how God cares for even the birds) anyway, in the middle of the trials my family is going through right now, I've seen redbird after redbird in my backyard.

Not just one or two, but several. I've seen them fly in front of the van while I'm driving, seen them on the side of the road...and they always make me stop and remember that God is still working, especially now. That He's still faithful. Many times, we carry very heavy burdens we're not able to carry emotionally because we forget to 'trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah."

How does that apply to writing? Sometimes when rejections come, writing can seem more like a burden than a blessing. But just like faith that God will bring us through dark times, you have to trust that your job is only to send the work out. It's the editor or agent's job to say yes. But they can't say yes if you're not sending it to them. If you're not 'pouring out your work' you won't find a home for it.

Scream by Mike Dellosso

I don't promote a lot of books on my blog because there are so many good books out there, it's hard to single out just a few. But I heard about this book through my friend Delia and I followed the link on her site to read the excerpt.

What a gripping story! It snatched me in the first paragraph and gave me chills. I'm off to buy it now.

You've got to check out this author and his work. The link to his site is:

http://www.mikedellosso.com/

Clipped Wings

Some pet owners clip the wings of their birds. This is done for many different reasons, but the end result is the same. A clipped bird can only fly a very short distance before it has to land. It is incapable once clipped of doing what it was created to do. Fly.

In a sense, we were created to fly as well. Jesus wants us to have life more abundantly (John 10:10). We shouldn't clip our wings, but we should fly every opportunity we get.

What do I mean by that? If there's a contest you'd like to enter, but just don't think your work is good enough, enter it anyway. Always wanted to query an editor of a particular magazine but you left your courage somewhere along the yellow brick road beside the cowardly lion? Do it shaking like a leaf, but do it.

Too many times, we are the greatest hindrance to our achievements. God says we can do ALL things through Christ. Oh...wait...all things EXCEPT sell an article. A novel. A play. A poem...well, you get the picture. The bottom line is you can't sell what you don't submit.

I have a favorite quote that I'm going to paraphrase into a quote for writers-have no idea who said it, wish I did so I could give credit to the speaker- anyway, it's "She went out on a limb, had it break off behind her, and discovered she could fly."

If you never climb on the limb (submit the writing) to start with and it breaks (an editor would have asked for your work) then you'll never know if you can fly (reach your dreams).

So fly. If you have a bumpy landing, get back up and try again. You're bound to soar some day, but if you never spread your wings, it could lead to a whole bunch of 'if only' regrets.

Secrets Revealed: I Am Wonder Woman

Well...I was when I was a kid. Episode after edpisode I watched her round up the bad guys and make the world safe for kids all over America. I decided that when I grew up, I would become Wonder Woman and fight for justice (after I married Bo Duke, but that's a different post)...

Then of course, I grew up, reality hit and I realized there were no such things as super heroes-male or female. Life went on. I couldn't become a superheroine, so I became the next best thing. A writer.

The most fascinating thing about writing fiction? I get to create worlds and characters-yes even superheroines-who fight for justice and make the world a better place. Writers can live so many fascinating lives through their characters. What other profession allows you to become so many different people (without getting slapped with a multiple personality label and earning a stay in a padded room?) where you can live out your daydreams between the pages of a book?

Last night, while out shopping, I checked out the aisle filled with notebooks and pens (an aisle most writers are drawn to like the mothership calling her little alien babies home) and guess what I found? A Wonder Woman notebook. It was meant to belong to me. I am Wonder Woman after all.

The Meaning of Ministry for Writers

When I was in college (a Christian Bible college), I would often hear the word ministry. As in 'he's in the ministry' and it was a word reserved to only describe those who worked at a church in some capacity. Usually in leadership.

Is that what ministry is? Working in a church? Let's look at it from Jesus' life. Jesus healed. He fed. He rebuked. He taught. He preached. All of that was ministry. He spent His life helping others.

In a nutshell, a writing ministry is what occurs when your writing helps someone else. Maybe what you wrote gives a weary person a much needed laugh. Or your words brought peace to a troubled soul. Write. Even if it's letters or e-mail to someone who's lonely. Afraid. Sick. Lost. Burdened.

If God has given you a writing talent, don't hide it under a bushel.