Newsletters

JANUARY 28, 2018 (Date was wrong in the email.)

Week 5 - Assignment 5
AHHHHHHH! 18 days until conference time. WOOT! WOOT!

This week we're sending a second assignment from Larry Leech. And you just thought you were done with Larry. HA! Before he turns you loose, he's gonna force you to look at your mood in writing. You may chuckle, but it's important to be mentally ready to write. Sometimes that seems dang near impossible to achieve too, but Larry gives you some hints and an assignment to try for three weeks. Developing that routine is important for your work. I hope you'll read through the assignment and begin practice. Visit our blog at http://www.ashevillechristianwritersconference.com/acwcwritersblog for Assignment 5.

CHECK THE SITE FOR UPDATES! 
As we approach the DAY, I'll be adding vital information for your check in on the update page and don't forget. You can keep up on the weekly info by clicking newsletters.

MENTORING - We still have a couple of spots open for mentoring with Yvonne Lehman. Yvonne will do fiction AND NON-FICTION. Don't miss out on the opportunity to sit with 40+years experience and over 50 books in print. Yvonne's knowledge is beyond amazing. When I first started attending the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, Yvonne was the director. I remember thinking, "I'd give an arm and a  leg to spend an hour with her just picking her brain." Over the years I've had that opportunity and I can tell you, she is amazing. In fact, I spent 4 Saturdays in a row this past July in an intense study with Yvonne. Time and money well spent. Don't miss your opportunity to spend an hour, one-on-one with Yvonne. She still has a couple of slots open. Even if you are not deep into a manuscript, make the decision to scoot in an hour of mentoring. Visit our http://www.ashevillechristianwritersconference.com/critiquesandmentoring   to get information and payment directions. You can contact Terri Kelly at  [email protected] to make that reservation. Don't miss this opportunity.

OUR CONTESTS ARE OVER - submissions are in the judging process. NO - I am not a judge of anything. I don't read one word. :) I send them to judges. Sarah Thomas manages the Badge of Honor Contest and her hands are full this year. I've never seen so many devotion submissions. It's wonderful. 

I'm so proud so many are participating in contests. This is such good practice for you. Whether you win or lose the prize, the real win is in your steps to become solid and professional writers.  

If you if entered the devotion contest take time to send your devotion to [email protected]. ChristianDevotions.us would love to add your work to the devotional site. Send them to Martin Wiles and if there needs to be some tweaking, he'll let you know. Get that puppy in order and we can publish it on the site. This can be your first writing credit. 

Of course, whether you enter a contest or not, we'd love to have you submit to Christian Devotions. For our guidelines, go to www.christiandevotions.us , click the link that says Write for Us. Download the pdf and we'll guide you on how to write devotions for our site.

WHAT IS TO COME FOR YOU IN THE FUTURE
I want you to have a heads up on what lays ahead for you.  We will add you to both our prayer warriors email list and also to our ChristianDevotions.us daily email. We do this for 2 reasons. First we want you to continue to pray for this ministry and our  work with writers. And secondly, we want you to read the devotions and share them. The more you share, the more the word of God is spread. Easy enough, heh? Sure it is. 

What else is to come? Hopefully, you'll have developed some friendships, peers, and maybe even a couple of folks to become your accountability partners. We pray you find encouragement, teaching, and strength to move up to the next level of conferences. Conferences that are bigger than ours. We're your stepping stones. You are always, ALWAYS welcome at ACWC, but our dream is to see you launch ahead in your writing career. ACWC will always be home to you. Family never leaves you. 

WHAT TO PRAY FOR
We always have prayer requests and those need to be first in our list of to-dos.  We've had several who have had to drop out of the conference for things like early babies arriving, sudden illness, and even some hospice. God knows each of these individuals. So pray for our fellow writers who have had to pull out due to circumstances, be it grand or sad.

Weather. Please seriously pray for good weather. We have yet to have weather that has been impossible. God has blessed us year after year. But we never stop praying for His hand in presenting us with good weather and safe travel. I have had several concerned about snow. And because of that, three years ago we sought out a company who provides travel insurance at an affordable rate.  I will list this information from the website if you want to check into the rate. It varies on age, distance, and area. But this is an option for you should you be afraid the weather may turn bad. 

The Cove never closes. And we do our best to be there despite - even though we've never had the "despite" to worry over. If you are concerned, check out AIG.
 

TRAVEL INSURANCE

ACWC is held in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Weather is something we cannot predict and since our conference is a winter conference, we have made arrangements for you to secure travel insurance should you chose to do so. We have yet to be snowed out, but it’s important you realize ACWC continues, regardless of the weather. If you fear that snow could be an issue, then you may purchase travel insurance on your own. ACWC cannot refund conference registrations due to weather.  ACWC is under contract with the Cove, and registrations must be paid and are non-refundable after a certain point. 

AIG Insurance offers a very affordable travel insurance (anywhere from $25-$90 depending on your age, amount to cover, and the state you live in).  As we noted – weather has never been an issue, but we don’t want you to be out your registration should you feel you cannot make the trip.

You may contact AIG at 1-800-826-4919. ACWC makes no money from the sale of travel insurance. This number is provided merely as a convenience to our conferees. Should you choose to purchase the insurance it is your responsibility to flesh out all the details.

THE CONFERENCE ROSTER
We will be wrapping up the conference Roster on Wednesday, the 31st. If you have not yet sent us a jpg and short 50 word bio, please do so asap. We'd like this as complete as possible. It's a nice networking tool for you to have plus you get to lay eyes on your peers before you arrive. What is important to understand, is this is just a networking tool. We are not going to change bios once they are sent. We simply don't have time. Unless there is an email error, the bios go in AS IS.  We are not doing editing on these and though we feel this is very important information it is a tool. Once you get the pdf, if we have missed you - let us know. If there is an email address error - let us know. Otherwise, we are not making additional changes. It's impossible to get it perfect. We want you in the roster so others can see you and know your contact info. I have KINDA harped on this since September. Just sayin . . .We will get this roster out to you in the form of a pdf or a link to the pdf next week.

A special thanks to Sheila (my sister-in-love) for putting this together. She may not love me after this is finished - it's a lot of work. Grin. So if you haven't sent your bio and jpg in...do it today.


And here is what God is speaking to my heart . . 
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” 
declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways  and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV

I felt like I was in a desert and someone had nailed one foot into the sand. All I could do was was walk in circles and go nowhere. That's when I cried out, "God, have you forgotten me? I'm sinking in the desert sand, dying of thirst, unable to make any headway. I thought you'd never forget me."

Who of us hasn't, at sometime in our walk with God, felt like He's turned His back on us? I  believe it's a normal feeling when we are seeking more and His timing isn't in sync with ours. There are times when life simply has to happen to us. We must be groomed and strengthened. The only way for that to happen, is by those impending hardships that DO nail one foot deep into the sand, leaving us to wonder if God has grown mute or blind.

Larry's assignment couldn't have been more perfect and divine this week in his discussion about being in the right mood to write.  It is the perfect segue way for me to share an important thought. 

Our world of publishing can be very harsh and long. There are times we see more rejection than success, but if I have done nothing over these last four weeks other than show you there is more to writing for God than human trophies, then I have been successful. For you see, God's call is not always what we anticipate it to be. And for all those times we pray earnestly, "God please let this work publish" or "Lead me to publication." There are times steeped in silence when God doesn't seem to hear, much less answer. I am here to tell you these truths about your writing:

God's call is irrevocable (Romans 11:29) - when He calls you to a project, task, or mission, He doesn't change His mind. But His timing is not yours (Ecclesiastes 3:1) and His ways and thoughts are not your ways and thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Instead, what you interpret as God's silence or a NO,  may actually be the loudest and BEST yes God can give you.

That time I mentioned earlier, the one where I felt like I was in a desert. . .ended up being the time God instilled a novel in my heart about a subject that could shake believers. God never said, "Cindy, I'm not listening. I'm not ignoring." Instead He impressed on my heart, He was placing the mood, the strength, and the necessity I needed to write a story that must be told." 

When I finished that novel and handed to my agent, I was physically drained. Broken. Aching. Nothing bad happened to me, but it took every ounce of strength and courage to write the words I knew could cause members of the church to shun me. 

God's silence was not a no. It was His best YES! I just had to be ready in His ways and time to courageously write what He wanted me to write. When I obeyed, Mercy's Rain, poured onto the page, bringing to the forefront sin at it's worst and forgiveness at it's best. 

You will face hardships and trials as you write. You will find frustration and sadness, disappointment and hopelessness, because things do not happen as you think they should. Keep in mind, you are called. Remember, we prayed specifically for God to send those He'd have attend this conference. You, my friends, are called. And you have answered. 

You may think, as you trudge this path, that it's impossible, but don't throw up your hands and quit. Continue to pray for guidance, peace, and an open heart. For when your heart is open, your ears are fine tuned to the call and He will use you.

When your foot is nailed deep into the sand, walk in circles for a while. Realize, every round you make is leading you to a deeper understanding as to why you are writing. Don't look at this time as God saying no, rather, consider it may be the preparation necessary for His BEST YES.

We are praying - seriously praying, for your pathway as a writer. 

Much love,

Cin