IT'S TIME, GANG!

So first off, let me welcome you to the Asheville Christian Writers Conference. If you are returning, you already understand that things can be a little ZANEY at times. If you are new to ACWC, buckle your shoe straps and come along for the ride.

At ACWC we make it our goal to make you feel loved, appreciated, and pleased. We want you to come to our conference ready to be served, ready to learn, and ready to write. Our hope is you will find inspiration from God, who has already prompted you to register, to answer His call on your life as a writer.

Having said that, let's knuckle down to business.

So, HOUSEKEEPING.  We have a number of you who have registered and paid in full. Thank you.

For those who have not, it's fine, you'll be receiving an invoice for partial payment very soon. All funds must be paid in full by January 5. You also need to know that for each payment you make, the processing company charges us. The good thing for you...is Christian Devotions is not charging you the full amount. We are charging you an additional $8. We are absorbing the remainder (which trust me...is highway robbery but the charge card companies have to live with that, not us). Just know, your payment will have an additional $8 added to it to help curtail the hit CDM takes. I'm sorry. I hate to even have to mention that but there are those of you who are very DETAIL oriented and you'd call me out if I didn't. Best to be upfront. :)

Second on my list: There are about 15 of you who registered with a $30 deposit at the 2022 conference. Some of you have responded to our email to verify you are attending and paid a partial pmt. Others have not. SOOOO, for those who have not, please PLEASE pay attention. We have to hear from you at [email protected] by September 23. We cannot make your reservation at the Cove without a partial payment and the $30 pre-deposit to hold your room is not enough. We will send you a link for payment as soon as we hear from you and you'll be able to choose partial payment or full. Just remember you'll have that extra $8 tacked on If we do not hear from you by Sept. 23 you will forfeit your spot and that room will open up to someone else.  PLEASE, PLEASE contact us. We have prayed fervently for your presence with us. We want you with us. Please respond.

Third on the list:  Mark this email as safe so that you get our updates and information. I can't help you make the best of the conference if you don't see the updates. Our newsletters (this one included) will begin to show up on the website under the Newsletter tab. You will receive one or two emails a month until January and in January you will receive weekly emails for seven weeks prior to the conference. Call this additional teaching. It is!

NEXT:  DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. Please do not reply to this email by hitting REPLY. If you need me, send an email to [email protected]. If you respond to this email, a thread longer than the distance between Tennessee and Texas happens, and I can't see or find all your emails. My brain just can't manage that. Please just send me an email at [email protected]. That way I don't miss anything. I really am interested in your needs and I want to help.

NEXT, NEXT - Classes are NOT complete on the website at this time. I am working on that. The Schedule Times are currently correct however, the classes listed are not. Bear with me, I'll get them up.

NEXT, NEXT, NEXT- Mentors. Our mentors are to be announced. We will only have six and their schedules will be very limited. We are working on this and will let you know as soon as possible who will doing 1-hour mentoring slots. These slots are paid separately from the conference and they are amazing. COMPLETELY AMAZING. You will have 1 hour of private mentoring/teaching time. The additional fee is $55 and money well spent.
     We will also have paid critiques (rates vary according to genre) that the bulk of our faculty will participate in. AND of course, free 15-min appointments. All that information will follow soon from Terri, my side-kick and Assistant Director.

NEXT, NEXT, NEXT, NEXT - Yes, the Sparrow Award Book Contest will happen. And YES, we will have the Kingdom Devotion Contest.

NEXT, NEXT, NEXT, NEXT, NEXT - I am blessed to have Denise Jenkins helping me with the hair-pulling task of housing. You may receive emails from Denise or me regarding your housing, payments, or need for chocolate, should we run short. Terri Kelly is my Assistant Director and you will probably hear from her at some point as well. Sarah Thomas heads up our Sparrow Book Award, and Andrea Merrell heads up our Kingdom Devotion Contest. Bennie Jones, Kevin Spencer, and Wendy Leech manage our bookstore, MP3s and next year registrations. Billy Wayne Arrington heads up our worship time. Honestly, it does take a village...and without these folks, I could not pull off this conference. The wonderful thing is, God knows how much help I need these days and He graciously provides people who just take the reins and run. I don't have to micromanage them. They are what makes our conference so cozy and kind. I am thankful for their faithfulness to serve. SO PUBLICLY....thank you team. You are my heroes.

NEXT, NEXT, NEXT, NEXT, NEXT, NEXT - We at Christian Devotions Ministries believe God's calling to serve the widows, the sick, and the poor. Each year we ask our conferees to plan in advance to donate a small amount to our "BOB BOX." Because we have skin in this game, we have chosen the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to support yearly. Our own Bob Hostetler has two grandchildren who directly benefit from the research and up and coming medications to manage their cystic fibrosis. I have a sweet cousin who also battles cystic fibrosis. Thanks to gifts given to the research, all three of our family members are progressing beautifully. There have been no hospitalizations in a couple of years and that is amazing with this disease. We place a box on our bookstore table each year, and we ask that if you are moved, to give. At the end of the conference, we total the funds and then Christian Devotions MATCHES what is in the box. Our donations have been as much as $3000 in a year. Bob does a yearly fundraiser and this goes into his pot, which is then turned over to the company his son works for, who DOUBLES the amount. You can see that our $3K quickly becomes $6K. So, we give you a heads up now, so you can plan ahead and we pray you will be part of our giving back. It's what God calls us to do - to care for those who need help.

Finally, (you thought there'd be another NEXT - didn't you?)
    I simply ask that you pray over this conference. Pray for safety, good weather, that God will send those He'd have attend so that every slot is filled to over-flowing with wonderful conferees to keep our faculty hopping. Pray for our provision. Pray for the Cove and their folks who work with us because, THEY ARE PRAYING FOR YOU ALREADY. Let us know if we can add you to our bi-weekly prayer warriors so you can walk with us through the obedience of prayer. Pray that this conference will be focused on the work of the Father and that His calling to you will be clear. NO JOKE....pray.

UNTIL WE SPEAK AGAIN...I share with you, a beautiful song that Billy Wayne shared with us at our 2022 conference. This isn't Billy, but let me tell you...he brought deep meaning to this song at the conference. I was not the only one in tears.  I feel this is what God is calling us to use as our theme this year.

IN JESUS NAME 
Click and listen.

Much love,
Cindy Sproles, Director ACWC