Clean Desks and Query Letters

I spent the weekend cleaning off my desk, the schoolroom, and the surrounding area. I am a woman with a mission! It is always hard to dig my way out of the mess my procrastination leaves behind, but I love the feeling of getting everything back in shipshape!


This week I hope to be blogging about the makings of a good query letter! I have a stack of them from the She Speaks Conference, and I'll be meeting with my editor at ParentLife soon to hand over the ones I think warrant her attention.

Here are the topics I'll cover:

Why Read the Magazine?
Proofreading with Passion and Purpose
Got Legs?
A Day in the Life

Let me know if you have questions, and I'll try to make sure they get answered in one of my posts!

Trust the Coach

I am seething.


And as I grit my teeth, all the years I've spent watching Joyce Meyer bring these words to my mind:


"Be a Class Act!"

"Take the High Road!"


And it is so hard.


It's the championship game. And for whatever reason, my favorite player is not playing. He has started all season, but tonight--a night he has looked forward to, practiced for, and prayed over--he is not playing.


Do I trust the coach?
Do I trust him to make the right decisions?
Do I trust him to be fair?
Do I trust him to know what he is doing?


Well....hmmm.


No. I don't. Because this game just got real personal, and I do not understand why the coach is making the decisions he is making.


My tongue needs stitches from biting it so hard. I look over at my husband, who somehow manages to still convey the "Don't question the coach" look when I know he is biting his tongue, too.


You know there is a spiritual lesson here, don't you?


I can't trust the coach, but I can choose to trust The Coach. And ultimately, I guess every life lesson hinges on that point. When someone with a lower batting average takes my place in the lineup, I must still trust The Coach. Even though I've been diligent at practice, when I don't get to play, I can still trust The Coach. And when it looks real personal, and I do not understand the decisions the Lord--The Coach--is making over my life, I can still trust Him.


There are questions marks all over this post and, quite frankly, all over our faces around here tonight. There's no quickie way to tie this up. There's no "happy ending." There's really no "rest of the story." But I told my son that God takes all our disappointments and uses them for ministry. One day, he may comfort my grandson by telling him what happened tonight. And the truth is, THE COACH--the Lord of Hosts, Yahweh--well, He does know the truth, and He is fair. And somehow, when that has to be enough...

it is.

MY PICS AND MORE FROM SHE SPEAKS!

When I attend She Speaks!, I always take advantage of that time to also see my dear friends from Charlotte. Danya was born in Charlotte, and we spent three wonderful years there. Carmel Baptist was our church home, and the friendships we made there have been lifelong.
Pictured are (L to R) Kathy, Mary, me, and Loretta.

I believe the dinner we shared the night before She Speaks! was all part of God's plan for the weekend. My friend Mary is a missionary in Jerusalem. I had not seen her in several years, and she had a gift for me. It was a bottle of olive oil from the Holy Land. "God told me to get that for you," she said simply. "He said you would know what to do with it."


I don't know many Baptist girls that would know what to do with olive oil.


However, I was sure that God would let me know. I thought about my church and my home as possible targets of anointing, but I really didn't dwell on it because I was visiting with my friends. When we got back to the hotel, I was going to put my oil in my van for safekeeping. That's when the still small Voice announced that the oil was for the girls at the Next Generation conference. Of course! Isn't it just like God to be in the details, and to send that oil all the way from Jerusalem to tell 37 girls that they are set apart to live for Christ?


We had a special anointing service on Saturday night, and it was a blessed time. I had never done anything like that before, and who knows if it will ever happen again, but it was an absolutely precious time that was without question ordained by God. I am so thankful for it! I had been battling all weekend--under such spiritual attack with all kinds of mind games going on--but it was all because God had such definite plans and the enemy was sooooo not liking it! It was all worth it because God showed up, and He got the glory!

Below are a few pics of the hope of the next generation!

TO MY RICH

CAUTION: SUGAR OVERLOAD AHEAD

(BUT I MEAN EVERY WORD OF IT!)

Today we celebrate TWENTY years together.

I was NINETEEN years old when you took me out for the first time.

I was EIGHTEEN years old when we met and you made that comment about my hair. . .

SEVENTEEN years ago we found out we were pregnant, and so our family began!

The daughter you love is every bit of SIXTEEN.

FIFTEEN years ago we started thinking about homeschooling, investigating, researching, and talking to people who were already on that journey.

David will be FOURTEEN next month.

We've spent THIRTEEN years in Nashville.

Now, we've completed TWELVE years of homeschooling.

Our baby is ELEVEN.

We've survived TEN moves, and

NINE churches.

And speaking of survival, it's been EIGHT years since the accident that almost took you Home.

I get SEVEN days every week to spend with you, and you make each one special.

The year we met: nineteen eighty-SIX.

FIVE books, and not one would have been written without you.

FOUR loving, supportive, Christ-honoring parents between us.

THREE beautiful kids.

TWO hearts.

There is only ONE man for me--you.

I love you!

SHE SPEAKS! AND THE NEXT GENERATION

Wow! What an incredible weekend spent at the She Speaks! Conference and ministering to the Next Generation girls! Danya and I had such a great time! It was a wonderful time for me to see some of the sweet P31 ladies that I had not seen since 2004 and catch up a little with them. It was a busy weekend, though, so there was not a lot of time for in-depth catching up with anybody!

Suzie Eller is a new friend--she spoke to the Next Gen-ers on Friday night, and I was just amazed at how God had coordinated our speaking topics. I had never met her, had not corresponded with her, and yet here we were, both of us speaking on life's "crossroads." God is just amazing!

I so loved meeting all the girls on the Next Gen track. You were beautiful, sweet, funny, honest, and so much FUN! Thanks for listening to me! And thank you soooo much for letting God do HIS thing on Saturday night. It was a precious time that I will never, ever forget. I am still absolutely amazed at how He was in charge of that, and how He planned it, sending such a special gift for you girls all the way from the land of the set apart. . .I have chills just thinking about it! YOU ARE SET APART AND ANOINTED FOR HIM!

Danya is already getting e-mails about "Hey Miley." Pray for us as God leads and provides for studio time for that song. I love it, too!