To Err is Human...

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you." Lewis B. Smedes

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." Mahatma Gandhi

So the big theme of the book I'm working on is turning out to be forgiveness. And I have to say, that was a bit of a surprise! I knew all along forgiveness was key, but didn't realize how pivotal it was really going to be.

Forgive. Seems like such an innocent little word, doesn't it? But it is a hard concept. At least for me. In the writing of some particular scenes, I had a horrible realization. I've been holding on to a lot of bitterness. Even a little anger. Let's just say it was quite cathartic to allow my heroine to let go of hers. In a way, I think I sort of learned to let go of mine.

I did have some help though. I happened to hear a fantastic sermon on forgiveness. Have you ever felt like the preacher was talking to you? Like he might as well just come stand right in front of you, point and say "This sermon was written especially for you, so listen." Well that was the uncomfortable position I found myself in a couple Sundays ago. The scripture was Ephisians 4:31--"let go of all bitterness, rage and anger." He asked us why, if God could keep forgiving us for all of the dumb stuff we do--why do we have such a hard time forgiving each other? Good point, huh?

So there you have it. Much easier said than done, I know.

The song of the day is "The Heart of the Matter" by Don Henley--because as he so profoundly implies, forgiveness is really the heart of the matter. I like this song so much that I've included some of my favorite lyrics:

There are people in your life who've come and gone
They let you down, you know they hurt your pride
You better put it all behind you baby; cause life goes on
You keep carryin' that anger; it'll eat you up inside, baby

Celebration!

Talk about overwhelming!

I attended the ACFW Conference in Minnesota last week—it was fantastic!

The speakers were wonderful, I met tons of authors, and really learned a lot.

The highlight was Friday after lunch. The editors from Barbour got up in front of the crowd to hand out contracts to 3 prospective authors in the audience. And believe it or not, I was one of the three!

Have you ever been in a moment that you just knew was life changing? That is what it was like for me. It almost felt like an out of body experience to walk up to the podium and accept the letter of intent from Becky Germany—they want to buy my three book series. Wow. Words seriously don’t describe the feeling.

I remember going back to my seat and noticing that I was shaking. I leaned over and said “I need to go call my mom.” And I remember the knowing glances of the people I passed on my way out of the room. They all knew I couldn’t contain myself. I proceeded to call practically everyone I knew.

I’m not sure if my feet are on the ground, even now. When will it feel real? Once I have a real deadline? Once I know for sure what the release dates will be? Or will it not feel real until I hold my book in my hand and see it on the shelf at (hopefully) Wal-Mart? Actually I’m a library kind of girl, so knowing people can actually go and check my book out might be the thing that ends up the “coolest part”. Haha.

However you look at it, I am excited. And overwhelmed. And ever so blessed.

The icing on the cake to my weekend was the awards banquet Saturday night. I actually won the Contemporary Romance category in the Genesis contest. Again, wow! I was so certain I wouldn’t win, I didn’t even prepare a speech. So I had to give my thanks “off the cuff” and felt like I could barely form words. I remember looking at Camy on the stage and saying “I don’t have anything to say” but somehow I managed to step to the microphone and speak.

I distinctly remember saying “Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me to follow such a big dream.” And I mean that sincerely. For me, publication has been a big dream. And it took me a long time to begin sharing that dream with people. But you know, no one ever laughed. No one ever told me that was a good idea, but not to get my hopes up. Everyone I’ve shared it with seemed to think that it was a normal dream to follow, and many of them shared with me their complete confidence in me that it would someday happen.

And now it will.

Song of the day: Beautiful Day by U2.

Below are pictures from the awards banquet! Enjoy!



With Christine Lynxwiler


Posing with my new EDITOR, Rebecca Germany


With one of my favorite authors, Rachel Hauck


Christine Lynxwiler, Susan May Warren, me, Susan Downs, and Rachel Hauck


Just me, feet not on ground! haha!

Just Like a Friday Afternoon

First, I thought of an addition to my previous post about things coming back around...the "new" Beverly Hills 90210. How random is that? I admit I was a fan back in the day, but coming out with it again seems a little odd.

Anyway, it's funny how things seem to have moved so slowly for me for the past year while I've been working from home, yet I look at the calendar and am amazed at the time that has passed.

I just accepted a new position, which I am really excited about. I'll be moving to Memphis very soon. I've already found the perfect place, but can't move in for a couple of weeks. So my time in Arkansas is winding down.

Exciting stuff. Lots of changes coming my way. Normally I'm a girl who is a bit resistant to change, but I'm welcoming these. I've loved the time I've gotten to spend here, but it is time to move forward. The good part is that I'll still be close enough to come home often. I've never lived anywhere that was within reasonable driving distance to home, so that is good.

The decision to move to Memphis just made a lot of sense to me. I'd considered other cities, but when I really thought about it, Memphis was really the clear choice. And then I found a job that was perfect for me, and that made it even more of a clear choice.

So now I'm packing and looking for furniture and home decor! And, of course, trying to get my book finished. I'm supposed to have it done before I leave for the writing conference in Minnesota. Am hopeful that goal is one that can be reached, but as I'm writing, I'm beginning to realize that it will likely be a week or so after conference that it is actually ready to turn in.

And the song of the day....is my all time favorite song! This Time of Year by Better than Ezra. It just reminds me of crisp fall days and that feeling you get on a Friday when you have the whole weekend ahead. Great song. Enjoy!

Nothing New Under the Sun

So lately I've been noticing that lots of things seem to be coming back around...

First there was the new Indiana Jones movie. I sheepishly admit that I haven't seen it. The trio of Indy movies are some of my all time favorites. Remember the scene where the girl has "I Love You" on her eyelids while in his history/archaeology class? Love it! In college I always wished I had an Indiana Jones type professor. (but unfortunately, I did not. except for that Italian teacher, but we were actually in Italy, so that doesn't count. although my friends and I nicknamed him "Adonis" for the summer and I did end up having dinner with him once...but I digress)

Then, the New Kids on the Block reunite. Stop. It. Now. I can't take the madness. Yes, NKOTB hit their fame just as I was coming of age as a pre-teen. I loved them all, but Donnie the most. And I do have a very sad story about the time I wanted to see them in concert so badly--they were going to be at Six Flags in Atlanta and I happened to be in Atlanta and it just seemed too perfect. And wouldn't you know, the tickets were sold out. Some friends tried to pull strings at a radio station, but to no avail. So my dear mother drove me out to Six Flags just to see if we could get a glimpse. And there was the tour bus! I tried to get her to rear end it so they'd have to get out, but she refused. And imagine my disappointment when we finally got back to my Aunt's house to a message that said the radio station had found us 2 tickets. But by then it was too late. So now I'm trying to decide if I should catch a concert this time around. I have several friends who are going to catch the show in Atlanta, so we'll see if I end up getting a ticket and going.

And finally, the new back to school JCPenney commercial. That reenacts scenes from "The Breakfast Club" (an all time favorite movie) while playing "Don't You Forget About Me" from the movie soundtrack. Do teens today even know that the scenes in the commercial are from a movie? Probably not. John Hughes--you seriously need to come out of hiding and do more movies, because today's movies just aren't on the same level.

Okay. I know, it was a rambling post. But in my defense, it is late and I'm in a rambling kind of mood. :)

Song of the week....it was a tough choice. I finally settled on the aforementioned "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds. Great song. Great movie. Those were the days.

Happy Fourth of July!

Well, here it is, my favorite holiday! That's right. Even higher on my list than Christmas is the 4th of July.

Not really sure why, but it has been since I was a little girl. Something about summer, I guess. Plus I've always liked patriotic holidays. Or maybe its because I was a bicentennial baby (1976).

Anyway, this has been a pretty good day. Just relaxing, grilling out, and working in the garden.

I'm gearing up for my final work trip to Alabama. Its rather bittersweet. I'm turning my healthcare programs over to someone else while I'm there, imparting upon them all of the information I can, and then I'll be officially done with Mobile. Sort of like a chapter in my life is closing. I can't believe its been almost a year since I left there. And also can't believe I've been accidentally in Arkansas for almost a year either! :)

So I'm job hunting right now, as my contract is coming to an end. My contract is officially up in mid-August, so I still have a little time left, but it is definitely time for me to move on.

I'm sort of stuck in a rut as far as writing goes. Not sure which direction to go in. I'm guessing the best thing I can do is just keep writing. Easier said than done! I'm so busy right now, putting the finishing touches on the Summer Scrubs program I'm coordinating. In a couple of weeks though, that should calm down. Then I hope to write like the wind before conference in September.

Okay, happy Fourth of July! The song of the day is, of course, entitled "Fourth of July" and is by Shooter Jennings.

Back to the Blog

Well, I've been on a blogging hiatus for a couple of weeks. Life has gotten crazy hectic again.

I'm working a lot on the Summer Scrubs program, which is rapidly approaching. I've already ordered scrubs for all of the students (364 sets of scrubs, thank you very much) and am anxiously waiting on them to get in. They have to go to the screen printer by July 1st, so time is ticking.

And I turned in roughly 1/3 of my novel to an editor last Friday. It's okay, but I'm not satisfied with it. I think in my quest to make the hero a "dream guy" I unfortunately didn't make him quite real enough. Even the best of us have flaws. :) So now I'm trying to come up with a better, more believable character for him that makes him believable yet dreamy just the same. Any suggestions? I'm just hoping that the editor will like it enough to want more, even though hero man is a little cardboard right now. We'll see.

To top it off, I got a brown recluse spider bite last week. It's been pretty awful, but I'm happy to report that it's beginning to heal.

And the song of the day today is Closing Time by Semisonic. Might seem like an odd choice. But I've always liked it. And just for the record, despite what it sounds like, it is actually about being born, not about a bar closing. :) Seriously, I looked it up.

But I've always particularly liked the line "every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." Truer words were never spoken!

Ode to David Cook, American Idol Cutie

Well, I can't help it. Lately I've tried to blog all reflective like and serious, and stay away from all the pop culture, but I guess the shallow side of me wins out. Especially with Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Greys, and Desperate Housewives all having had finales this week, I have some catching up to do. Starting with American Idol.

I was so glad to see David Cook win. Not that Archuleta wasn't talented. It's just that from the get go, David Cook has performed songs that could be on the radio tomorrow. And all of them sounded different. David Archuleta needs a little variety in his repertoire. Enough with the ballads.

The finale was great. Better than last year I thought.

Moments I loved:

• Jason Castro doing Hallelujah. He's so pretty.


• Anytime Michael Johns was onstage. Sigh.


• The guys singing Summer of 69.
  
• The girls singing She Works Hard for the Money. That's my theme song.


• The medley of George Michael songs.


• David Cook fronting for ZZ Top.


• Simon apologizing to David Cook. I felt like it was a long time coming. I was still miffed from way back when he called him out for being a word nerd. I happen to like word nerds.


• And of course, the Guitar Hero homage to Risky Business. But only the David Cook one.
  

Moments I could've done without or would've liked to change:

• Anytime Amanda was onstage. Did they have to tie her up and drag her there to get her to perform? I've never seen anyone look so miserable on stage.


• The Michael/Carly duet. While I liked the Michael portion (see above) I never cared for Carly.


• Where was Kristy Lee Cook's solo or duet? Why didn't she get one and some of the others did? (She, Chickeze, and Ramile were the only ones from the Top 10 who didn't get their own stage time...)


• The Jonas Brothers. Why were they there at all?? All the other acts had AI Contestants with them.


• The costume mistakes--putting pretty Jordin Sparks in that horrid gold dress, AND forgetting to put enough material on the bottom of whatever that was Carrie Underwood had on.

My other thoughts? First, the only thing I don't like about David Cook is the pair of weird boots he wears. They are black and the toe of them points upward like elf shoes. They make his feet look like planks. Lose the boots David, and you'll go far!

Was it just me, or did David Archuleta sound better on the One Republic song that the actual lead singer usually sounds? That style of music should be his niche, he just needs to learn to do some faster songs too. (and NOT in the style of Chris Brown as we saw him do a couple of weeks ago)

As usual, I hated the hokey American Idol winner song at the end.

I predict there will be a few from this season who go on to have reasonable success in the music industry. And some who will ride their wave of fame over to the TV Guide network along with their previous season counterparts.

The song of the day was hard to decide on. Obviously a David Cook song from this season. Billie Jean was good. Hello was good. So was You Don't Wanna Miss a Thing. I was really torn, but I decided my favorite was his rendition of Mariah Carey's Always Be My Baby. So enjoy!