December 2018 Newsletter

December 2018 Newsletter
Friday, December 28, 2018 by Cindy Sproles

Fast Update
We have only 5 off campus slots left and we are SOLD OUT! This is a blessing for us. We're thrilled. If you have friends who plan to attend, they should sign up quickly.

If you are new to our news letters, let me direct you to https://www.ashevillechristianwritersconference.com/newsletters. I post every news letter on this page. You can go there, glean through the information and catch up easy as pie. Check the website for contest updates and deadlines. Those will be nearing in January.

Also, this will be the last newsletter for December. Beginning in January you will receive weekly emails with additional study assignments to help you with your writing at home. These assignments are not things you are required to do or to bring to the conference. We simply love to teach you. So for the weeks prior to the conference...we'll send you additional study for home. It helps get you ready to learn when you arrive at the conference.

If you have not sent it...we need a jpg photo and a 50 word or less bio. Please send them to this email address [email protected]. We use these for our roster you will receive a copy of via email the week prior to the conference. These are nice because you can see faces and names before you arrive and be familiar with folks.

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Contests
I encourage you to enter our contests. We have the devotions contest running and also our book contest, The Badge of Honor Contest. It's so important to your writing career to learn to participate in these types of contests. Winning is nice, but that is not the point. The point is learning to submit, meet deadlines, and especially learning how to handle success and loss. If you don't win, don't think you've failed. My goodness! It takes courage to step out and believe in yourself enough to enter. That in and of itself, makes you a winner. SOOO! Enter. This is great experience for you.

MENTORING
We still have a few appointments open with Les Stobbe and LaTan Murphy. Oh my...you are looking at years of publishing experience in Les Stobbe. He's probably 50 years in the industry. He is an amazing non-fiction teacher. Studying an hour one-on-one with Les is well...amazing. You will be learning from a master. LaTan, a tremendous teacher and mentor in women's ministry and speaking. She can guide you with how to set up the speaking side of your writing. As you know, writers must learn to be speakers. So consider a paid mentoring session with LaTan.

We have added Eva Marie Everson as a fiction mentor. Eva only has a couple of spots. We had her on the list early on but was unsure she would be able to have the time to mentor since her own conference follows ours. But she is going to take a couple of mentoring spots. A best-selling and award-winner, you will be getting the cream of the crop with Eva.

Finally, not as a mentor, because our mentor spots were filled prior to Emily coming on board. Emily Wickham will do appointments and if you request her help, you will be given a 30 minute appointment. There is not an additional charge for Emily's appointments since she will not be mentoring, but she has a desire to help you, so we will schedule her in 30 min. appointments. Contact Terri at [email protected]. Let her know you want to meet with Emily and she will get you set up. Check out Emily's early bird class and you'll see how and what she can help you with.

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Pay Pal confirmations
If you make a payment for anything through our website, it goes through Pay Pal. You should print your confirmation before you close out of Pay Pal. But don't worry. If you pay through Pay Pal, I get an email and I have a confirmation on the Pay Pal website. If you question that, just send me an email. I can double check.

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An Opportunity to give back - We're down to the last $500
If you have ever attended the Asheville Christian Writers Conference, then you know the first face you see when you walk in the door, is Dee Dee Parker. Dee Dee has been a long time supporter of Christian Devotions and the Asheville Christian Writers Conference. She and Beth Fortune form an unbreakable prayer chain BEFORE you ever walk through the door. And if you know Dee Dee personally, then you know she has a prayer bush in her yard that is filled with ribbons. Those she prayers for are on the bush.

So when Christian Devotions got a call from Cecil Stokes with this very important need, we couldn't help but stick our hand in the pot. With the help of a wonderful member of a church in Tennessee, we have found a wonderful van that will be perfect for Dee Dee and Mr. Jim.

Our conferees have long been noted for their generosity so we're asking for your help. Any small donation to the Go Fund Me for Dee Dee and Mr. Jim will help us purchase this van. The dealership is holding the van for us so we have to raise the funds quickly. Thank you for your kindness. And I know you'll gain a special hug from Dee Dee when you see her in February.

See below:

Here's the Link and below that is the story

https://www.gofundme.com/transportation-for-deedee-amp-jim-parker

YOUR SPIRITUAL TAKE AWAY

God's Timing
And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness
until he appeared publicly to Israel. - John 1:80 NIV

Never underestimate God's timing. I tell this to every class I teach. In fact, at any one conference I probably say it thousands of times, because I believe it. You should too.

I share a story that happened to me several years ago when a writer submitted a devotions to Christian Devotions about the song How Great Thou Art. It was a beautiful tribute to George Beverly Shea. Though Mr. Shea didn't write the song, he certainly gave it the popularity. Whether Christian or not, most folks can sing the chorus to this song, in part to the efforts of Mr. Shea.

I accepted the devotion and assigned it a publication date of April 16, 2013, a year away. Moments after I hit send to let the writer know we had accepted the devotion, I received a scathing email from him. "How dare you make me wait a year. That's ridiculous." And his rantings went on.

I read most of the email and then I simply made this return email:

Dear Author,

Christian Devotions publishes devotions daily. This devotion has been placed in the first available publication date. It is your option to withdraw the devotion should you not want to wait, but let me offer you this warning - never underestimate God's perfect timing. Please let me know if you chose for me to pull the devotion from the cue.

Oddly enough, I never heard from him again, so the devotion published on the date it was assigned. In fact, I'd forgotten about this conversation until April 16, 2013, when I opened my web browser and saw, George Beverly Shea has gone home. It saddened me. I loved to hear him sing. But the God siting came when I opened Christian Devotions and saw the devotion for the day. How Great Thou Art - Really. The devotion from the angry writer.

God's timing is perfect in every way. Even as Zechariah understood this timing at the birth of his son, John the Baptist. He sang a praise in which he acknowleged God's plan of perfection when he said, "... for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him^{..." Zechariah knew God had placed every piece together and that in His timing, John would lead the way for Jesus.

As writers, we grow impatient and honestly, a bit entitled, from time to time when God's timing is not what we want but it's important that you learn to lay that impatience to the side and trust God's perfect timing. Publishing is a slow turning wheel and there are reasons you may not publish as quickly as you think you should. Pray. Pray for God to use your work in His timing, and when you do, you will be amazed.

I sent a note to that writer and reminded him of his rant, then I copied the link to the story about the death of the amazing George Beverly Shea, the man who sang the song, this author had written about. My remark to this author was simple.

Wonderful devotion about the song How Great Thou Art. If you remember your frustration about this devotion pushing into publication a year in advance, I just wanted to remind you, God's timing is perfect. Here is the link to the story on the loss of Mr. Shea today...today...the day your devotion published. What an honor.

As you grow into your writing shoes, keep a humble heart. Be open to the will of God and more so, to His perfect timing. All things work to the good of those who love Him.}

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

We pray daily for you.

Blessings,

Cindy Sproles
Christian Devotions and the
Asheville Christian Writers Conference.