Week 5, Extended Learning and 14 Days until Blastoff
Saturday, February 14, 2026 by Cindy Sproles

TWELVE DAYS - well for me, anyway.

So, it's 14 days for you but 12 for me. And let me say, it's insane in my house. It seems over the last week, you people are dropping like flies. I know every year, last-minute illness, surgeries, etc., come up, but people! Come on. Stop with getting sick. In the last week, we've lost 5 conferees to surgeries or illness. We went from sold out two weeks ago to 4 down. Then back to sold out and then 3 down. Then back again to sold out, and now 5 down. So, what I have to say to you at this point is it's time for knee power. Get off your duff and go to your knees. Pray over this conference. Pray for safe travel, for good weather. Pray over our conferees, our faculty, and the Cove. PRAY! God has already got a handle on this, but your job has just become more important. Lift this conference before Him. Satan loves to throw obstacles in our way, but we have the power in our armour to stop him. It's simple. Pray and the enemy tucks tail and runs. Prayer is powerful. So, this is an order. DO IT! :)

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THIS WEEK'S ADDITIONAL LEARNING IS UP ON THE SITE. Martin Wiles tells you a little about following guidelines, and he uses ChristianDevotions.us as his example. Click here for the additional learning. Following guidelines can make or break the acceptance of your submissions to any publisher, agent, or editor. This is good information to take hold of.

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Our time for scheduling mentoring and paid critiques has ended. But if you are a latecomer, contact Terri at ?[email protected] to see if anyone is still available. Our faculty needs time to work through your pieces. It's not a simple process. So, just check with Terri, and she can tell you if there is still a faculty member with the time to help.

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Bookstore Opportunities

Early sign-up - Our conference dates are February 19, 20 & 21, 2027. If you think you'd like to attend, you can pay a $25 pre-registration fee to hold an on-campus room. This money is non-refundable. If you attend, we'll knock it off your registration fee when those become available. If you do not come, those funds go into our scholarship fund. We will reach out to you in July-ish to find out if you still want to attend. Now, here's the thing. We contract rooms based on these pre-registrations. If you want to stay on campus, then the best way to NOT MISS that opportunity is to pre-register. This opportunity is only available at our bookstore during the conference. Talk to Wendy in the bookstore and tell her you want to pre-register. She'll get your email and put you on the list for the type of room you want -- single or double. Come July (give or take a week or two), we'll send a note with a link to pay. If we do not hear from you within two weeks, we will assume you will not come, and we remove your name. We have to do this to open the rooms for sale when registration goes live. If you think you'll come, pre-register to secure your name on a room.

OUR MISSION - The Bob Box - Yearly, we tithe to a cause. We support our own Bob Hostetler as he works to earn money for the Cystic Fibrosis Association. Bob has two grandchildren with CF, and I have a family member who also has CF, and all three of these individuals have benefited from the lifesaving medications that this research has fostered. We encourage you to drop a few dollars in the BOB BOX at the conference. At the end of the conference, Christian Devotions Ministries matches this money. Bob then takes it to his son, whose company doubles the gift. Your dollar turns into four dollars. So, consider giving to our Bob Box. This is one way this conference can give back and save lives.

Faculty Books - Bennie and Wendy have been running this bookstore for years. They have it down to a fine art, and I am grateful for them. I never have to worry about things getting done. When you visit our bookstore, you'll see faculty books. You will also see WHY we only do faculty books. We are very limited in space, so we have opted not to sell conferee books. If you have a book, bring a copy with you. Show it to other conferees. Give them a link to purchase. We're sorry we don't have space or enough Tylenol to do more books, pay taxes, and do the paperwork for multiple states. It's just too much. Our faculty has already done that when they purchase books from their publishers. But, visit our bookstore and purchase some faculty books. They will be grateful and YOU will enjoy some super reading.

Moore Square Donation List - Another portion of Christian Devotions is our benevolence. Eddie works in our ministry at Moore Square in Raleigh, NC, to help the unhoused. This ministry is funded purely by donations - some are one-time donations, others are regularly $25 monthly gifts. Eddie and his team use these funds to address the specific needs of the unhoused people they meet and work with. Sometimes it's to get a hotel room for a night for a family in need, at other times, it's sleeping bags, backpacks, or food. Sometimes it's necessary medications. God leads them to the needs He'd have them meet. This year, we are placing a sign-up sheet out so that if you'd like to be part of this ministry through a one-time or monthly donation of any amount, Eddie can contact you with the information on how to do so. We are a non-profit, and all donations are logged. Contribution letters are sent each December for your taxes. Consider signing up for our Moore Square Ministry and helping our boots on the ground in Moore Square. God calls us to help the widows, the sick, and the poor. Christian Devotions quietly works in the background, allowing God to guide us to the right need. All we need is your name and email. And Eddie doesn't bombard you with emails. He'll just let you know how you can donate, and the rest is between you and God.

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No more refunds - I am so sorry, but in this last 14 days before the conference, if you are unable to attend, your registration is non-refundable. The bills are paid. We've done our best to refund some of the money for conferees who have been ill, but we have reached a point where that is no longer possible. We've done this even after our cancellation policy date. I'm sorry, we can no longer refund registrations.

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Finally...

THE LOVE OF CHRIST

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

It's Valentine's Day! The day of love! You know the story of Valentine's Day, right? Truth is, no one knows for sure, but there are a number of "ideas" that historians loosely throw around - from a Catholic saint, to a Roman practice, to a young woman who missed the soldier she loved as he battled overseas. I kinda like that one. It just seems to fit better. A young woman pouring letters out to her love, who probably never returned home from battle. The point is, it's undying love and affection.

Though our world has commercialized this to the hilt, the fact is that this is one day a year we actually set aside to show our love. It's kinda sad that it's only one day a year. I mean, true love continues on in everything we do -- or should.

Jesus proved that in His words and in His sacrifice -- "Love one another." But Jesus doesn't stop there, He adds a tag onto His words, "...so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples..." Wow. What a charge!

Our world is chaotic these days, and love seems to be the last thing on anyone's mind. As hard as it is at times, make a little extra effort to love, even the unlovable. Not because you think it will make you a better person, but because Jesus commanded you to do so. Love, even under duress, changes things. As Christ hung on the cross, His example of love shone strong to a soldier below Him. "Surely, this must have been the Son of God." The love of Christ shook mountains, tore the curtain in the temple, brought the dead to life, and hid the sun that day. Look at the power in that one 4-letter word.

You have your mission - to love! Happy Valentine's Day, and I look forward to sharing the love of Christian Devotions with you as you march into the Asheville Christian Writers Conference in 14 days!

Much Love,

Cindy