Maybe It's More than Being Tired

Hey Everybody,

I have mentioned how busy things have been around my house lately, and that's really normal for this time of my life. My tiredness lately has been what you would expect for someone who is really busy. Not to mention that I went to Holiday World with my church's children's department a few days ago--it was literally a twenty-hour day with six hours of travel and twelve hours in a blazin' hot amusement park!!! That will definitely wear me out!

But last January, I went to my OB for my regular check-up, and I mentioned that I was tired. I was also cold--all the time. So I mentioned that too. I honestly figured it was because I was getting older. And, I expected to be tired! I go nonstop! But tired is one thing, and T-I-R-E-D is another.

She asked me about my menstrual cycle, which, again, is not something that one really talks about with anyone but her OB, and I thought my heavy cycle was because I was getting older, as well. Uhmmm--well, not exactly! So they did bloodwork, and I was told to call back in a few days for the results. My life being as it is, not to mention my tendency to procrastinate, my OB called me back. Personally. Yeah.

She told me I was anemic. In fact, she said I was "really anemic." There were no detectable traces of iron in my blood. And they were betting it was because I was among the twenty percent of women who have menorrhagia. And sooooo.....upon the recommendation of my doctor followed by a lot of thought and prayer, I had the Novasure procedure back in May.

I have never felt better! It wasn't until I got the iron back in my blood that I realized how bad I really felt! My schedule didn't change, nor did my active lifestyle, but my blood changed! And with the proper amount of iron (which, truthfully, we are still aiming for--I am just so much better off now than I was!), I feel the difference.

All this to say that I think we moms tend to expect to be tired, after all, everyone is. BUT--maybe it's more than tired.

btw, how long since you went for your check-up?

Blackberry Cobbler!! EASY!!

Hey Everybody,

I'm full of it!!! Blackberry cobbler, that is! :) And it was so good, and it was so easy!! I just googled "easy blackberry cobbler" and that it was! It was actually my first blackberry cobbler. And I'm sitting here full of it and thinking, "Why haven't I done this before?"

I have also been cleaning my office/schoolroom and closet today. I will be attacking my actual desk tomorrow! So far I have three bags of trash, and a full box of homeschooling books, etc. to give to my sister-in-law. (She will be so happy!) We are planning to start school on August 13th--not a full schedule, but we are wading in, so to speak.

My best bets for music to clean to:
www.myspace.com/danyapowell (of course!)
www.myspace.com/mistyraemusic (You'll love her, too!)
and, because I know the words to all his songs and it takes me back to a much simpler time:
www.donny.com

UP TO MY EARS!

The corn is in! Doesn't that just look lovely! And after putting up a ton of it already, I can still honestly say that it looks good to me! If you have corn recipes, please send them my way! My sons brought in 40-50 ears yesterday and my mom-in-law took a few of those, but the rest are in my freezer, with more coming in today! The boys brought in some blackberries today, too! There is probably about a half-gallon of those.

I'm up to my ears with writing work this week, as well! I've been proofing my audio book, and I must say, that is a hard job for me. I am visually oriented, and to listen to a book is just not my thing. Fortunately, the narrator, Melissa, has done an excellent job. She is easy to listen to! She is missing my Tennessee twang, however, but I'm sure that is all for the best! :) I was once told by a guy in Cincinnati that he could not afford to bring me in to speak to his homeschooling parents because he could not afford to pay an interpreter so that they would be able to understand me. Hardee har har. He was a really funny dude. (Can you believe that???? I love what "Homeless Hobbes said in the Mitford books. He said something like: "I used' t' talk real fine but I couldn't understand myself.") But anyway, I finally finished that up today, and now it is on to the rest of my list that is totally too long!

But isn't it good to have work to do? And the strength to do it? Definitely!

Monday Post

My Monday posts are at the Totally New Moms blog! Please check it out!

HEY MILEY

Hey Everybody,

I really don't want to talk about my kids too much on my blog. In fact, I do not want to talk about my kids too much, ever. As a writer and speaker, I use my kids and the goings-on in our home quite frequently in my articles, books, and workshops, and what I want people to know is that I always ask for permission to use their stories. This past weekend, in Chattanooga, I almost told a certain story (that would have made the PERFECT illustration, btw!), but then I realized I had never asked for permission to tell it, so I literally said, "No, I better not tell that story," and I just moved on with my talk.

Now that Danya's music career is well underway, I really don't want to become known as the woman who talks about her kids all the time! Because the truth is that I actually have THREE absolutely adorable, wonderful, brilliant, talented kids. :) People always come up to me at Danya's music events and say, "Oh, I know you are so proud of her!" And of course, I am, but I am just as proud of my boys, who are not on stage (unless you consider a baseball field a stage, which I guess it is, in a way). Just as I am proud and teary-eyed when I watch Danya lead worship or perform (and those are two different things!), I felt the same way the other day, when I overheard one of my sons explaining the plan of salvation to a friend at the gym. And I felt it again when I found out the other of my boys had refused to watch a certain TV show with the other kids when he was at a sleep-over. Suffice it to say I am extremely proud of all my kids, as any mom would be, and I don't want to bore people with the details.

Is that enough of a disclaimer before I say, "BUT. . ." :)

Danya was back in the studio this week, and she recorded a song that she wrote as a message to Miley Cyrus. It's on her myspace, and I encourage you to go listen to it! Just click here. While you're there, read her blog, which explains the story behind the song. If you've never heard any of Danya's music, you're in for a treat!

And don't get mad at me when you can't get the song out of your head!

All Those Songs Make Sense Now

Hey Everybody,

First, thanks very much to those of you who prayed for the teen mentioned here. I want to update you on what happened. Her dad did not come to see her baptized, but her mom and sisters were there, along with her church family, who, btw, are the most loving, supportive group of folks anywhere around!

I was so thankful to be with her in the baptismal area as she was getting ready. She said several things that I will never forget. (Don't you love to be in the company of a new believer? It is like a cool drink of water on a hot summer day!) I think everyone had cried throughout our worship Sunday morning. We had a unique experience led by our worship team. And this teen said to me, "I was crying during worship time. All those songs make sense now." What a thrill!

As she was donning the baptismal robe, she remarked, "I'm so glad I'm getting baptized in this church. It's my second home." She then hesitated thoughtfully. "No, it's my first home. This is where my family is."

We've come a long way in the past five years in our church. It's all for the glory of God. He is the one who is embracing our children's hearts with His love. I pray that it will always be a haven for kids who cannot find a safe place, a loving place, anywhere else. I pray it will be home to them.

CSTHEA

Hey Everybody,

We're hitting the road for Chattanooga! This is one of my favorite homeschool fairs! And this year, I will get to see Dorian Holt again! Dorian is the author of the Learning Adventure unit studies that my friend Sandy and I have been using for the past several years.

I first met Dorian at the Chattanooga conference three years ago. Hers was the booth right behind ours, and I was so excited! My kids thought it was hilarious because my "fanaticism" came out full-blown. Of course, I didn't understand why they weren't more thrilled! After all, we had spent the last year with this woman (virtually) studying Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome! When we did meet, Dorian (who is so much fun!) agreed to call Sandy. It was so funny! Dorian said, "Hi Sandy, this is Dorian Holt." And of course, Sandy, being a big fan, too, got a big kick out of it.

Hey, the world is desperate for heroes, right? :) But seriously, I love the conventions and getting to meet the authors of all the wonderful studies that we are blessed to use. In Florida this year, we met David Quine of the Cornerstone Curriculum, which I highly recommend, as well. For my kids, it is not exactly the equivalent of meeting TobyMac, but for me, maybe so!

I'm thrilled to be offering my two new books this year, Get Real! and Season of Change, plus Ginger's newest parenting resource, No More Whining. If you're in the Chattanooga area, please come by and see me!

ALL STAR BREAK

Hey Everybody,

I'm a baseball fan--love the game, love my team, and love this time of the year! Last night our family enjoyed watching the Home Run Derby, and this year, we met a player who was new to us: Josh Hamilton. The first words out of his mouth were about his relationship with God, and the last thing he said last night, after making history by beating the all-time home run hitting record in the first round (28!), was about his love for his Savior, Jesus Christ.

Oddly enough, because of the somewhat strange derby rules (the two who make it to the third round do not carry their runs with them and must both start at zero), Josh didn't win it. However, he made history, and his amazing testimony glorified God as he literally hit 28 out of the park for Jesus!

Even if you don't care a thing about baseball, read Josh's story here. You'll be a fan, too!

When the Time is Right

She is a precious girl.
At 15 years old, she has certainly seen more of life than I had at that age. She's one tough cookie: As the oldest of three, she had to learn to take care of the younger ones when her momma couldn't. Sometimes it was because Momma was at work. Sometimes it was because Momma was incarcerated. Sometimes it was because even if Momma was there, she was too out of it to take care of anyone.

When I met this teen a few years ago, she was into being "gothic," dying her hair an inky black and powdering her face a pasty white. As she got involved in our church and with our youth, transformation happened. The outside of her changed as God chipped away at the inside. I saw her cling to the Bible like Linus clings to his blanket. It was security. It was solid. It was dependable--like nothing else in her life. She instinctively took God at His Word, rarely needing explanation. She gave Him the obedience no one else had bothered to ask for. And yesterday, she announced that it was time. She wanted to be baptized.

I sat down to counsel with her and found a faith remarkably strong--resilient--and a fierce determination to go the distance. She understood what she was doing. She had prayed to receive Christ way back when she was in second grade. Now, however, she believed she had the understanding to make a public profession of her faith. I believe that, too. This young woman has a better understanding than many adults I know.

"Do you think my dad will come?" she asked me. "He came to my band concert, and this is more important than that!"

I have a dear friend whose entire family was led to Christ by her brother, who was saved at the age of 14. This friend had never even entered a church until she was 17 years old, and she and her mom and dad went to see her brother get baptized. That Sunday morning was a watershed moment for her entire family as God used it to prick their hearts. Within a year, the entire family was saved by the blood of the Lamb.

I believe there is hope for this dad and for this teen's mom, too. I believe that God still uses kids to influence their families toward spiritual transformation. If you believe that too, will you pray with me that he will come to see her baptized? I told her that if she told him how important it was to her that he be there, then he would probably make an effort to come. Please pray with me!

SEEING GREEN

It never ceases to amaze me how much I think I can get done, compared to how much I actually accomplish. With 3/5 of my family on mission trip this week, I had a list as long as my arm of things I wanted to get done. I had a willing assistant in my son, and when we set out to "do it all" this week, I really thought we would.

(Pausing here for a southern sigh.) Rather than dwell on what went undone, I will focus on what we finished. We did get the master bed and bath painted (walls, woodwork, doors, and cabinets!), and we did have a "fun" day (IHOP and a movie), and we have enjoyed reading books and watching TAGS reruns late at night when we finally collapsed! To have a week with my eleven-year-old all to myself has been wonderful!

While we have hopefully wrung it dry, Derek and I are more than ready for the other 3/5 to return! What would you do with a week on your own?

My First Liturgy

I am my own hard act to follow. After posting a week's worth of blogs about query letters, I am back to just general life stuff!

Danya was invited to sing at her aunt's church this past Sunday, and so we worshiped with our Methodist brothers and sisters. Yeah, it was a first for this Baptist girl! I attended a Lutheran service with a friend when I was in college, and I also visited a Presbyterian church back then whose pastor and half of the church body had been baptized with the Holy Spirit! They were very much in transition so I didn't get the full effect of what might have been a "normal" service for them. But at my sister's church, we did the whole liturgy thing, and I enjoyed it very much. We were even there on a communion Sunday, so we got that, too! I was blessed by the whole thing. The pastor was, oh, I don't know...he looked like he might have been nineteen years old. :) He was actually 27. My mother informed me that I am at "that age" when everyone is going to start being younger than I am. . .

What fun!

Query Letters: A Day in the Life

Kelly wrote to ask me about the life of a query letter. While I don't know how every publication handles their query letters, I am happy to tell you about the life of a query letter when it comes to the ones the She Speaks! attendees submitted to ParentLife magazine.

Those letters went home with me. After I got caught up on some things, I went through the query letters to see what looked like a good fit for the magazine. The writers had lots of good ideas, and several even wrote to query the same subject! (When my friend Jon was the editor of HomeLife magazine, I remember him remarking that he figured great minds really did think alike--he would often get several query letters proposing the same subject at the same time!) I put the queries into three piles:

1. Letters that would go straight to Jodi (the editor)
2. Letters that I wanted to look at with Jodi
   
3. Letters that were not a good fit

If you received an email from me yesterday, then you know that your query letter was one that did not fit the magazine. I am so sorry, ladies! I'm sorry that it had to be a form letter. There were so many submissions that I could not respond personally to everyone. I'm also sorry because I know how it feels to get a rejection letter. It stinks. I know it does. Let me list here a few things that would have caused me to put your letter immediately into the "doesn't fit" pile.

• The topic has been done to death.
• You were not qualified to write the article without expert input. (Read my posts on query letters!)
  
• The article was not directed to our readership.

If you did not hear from me, it could mean:

1. Jodi now has your letter, and she will contact you.
2. You did not include your email address so I could contact you.
3. My letter to you went to your spam folder.
   

Then I took the letters that I knew had potential, along with the ones I wasn't completely sure of, to a meeting with Jodi last week. (I notice that Jodi looks really young. Well, she's not old, like other people in that picture. And she is expecting her first baby, so she has that "glow!") The ones that Jodi liked, she kept. They will go into a huge yellow basket--the very yellow basket that is pictured at the top of this post! Isn't that exciting? :) And before Jodi goes to a planning meeting with the ParentLife team, she goes through that basket and grabs the queries she wants to pitch to the team for that month. If Jodi kept your query letter, you may hear from her next week, next month, or even next year. That's the way it works!

I hope you have enjoyed this series on query letters! If you have questions, please feel free to ask. I hope this has helped!

If you got a rejection letter, I encourage you to keep writing and, please, keep reading! Read the publications to which you are submitting your queries! You can write a better query letter when you are familiar with the magazine you are querying! (duh!) If you would like to browse a copy of ParentLife, just go to the front page of my website and scroll down to the ParentLife icon. It will take you straight to a PDF of our March 2008 issue!

Query Letters: Got Legs?

At the end of a good query letter, the writer normally lists her qualifications for writing the piece. If you've written a book on a topic, you are automatically recognized as an expert. That alone gives you something to offer when you query a related piece. But for a novice writer, this can turn into a vicious cycle. When you don't have any experience, it can mean you get turned down. But how, then, do you acquire the experience you need? What qualifies you to write a magazine article? Certainly, a good grasp of the English language, tightly-honed personal editing skills, and the ability to communicate well through the written word qualify you to be a writer. But these qualities alone do not give you the knowledge to tackle every subject. Personal experience is always a plus, but what will really give your article legs to stand on?

Experts. An expert interview is sometimes a key difference between a devotional-style essay and an article. There are people out there who are experts in their various fields. They love to be interviewed, and they add substance to your article.

For example, if you have helped three children move into their college dorms over the past five years, you are certainly qualified to write something along the lines of: "She's Leaving Home: A Dormitory Supply Checklist for your College Freshman." But would that experience alone qualify you to write something like this: "She's Leaving Home: Preparing Your Family When Your Oldest Child goes to College"? No, probably not for an established magazine that pays its writers. Not unless you happen to be not only a writer, but also a family counselor or education specialist who is qualified by trade to speak on that topic. Find experts by looking for authors on amazon.com and contacting them through their websites. Look to your local area for people who are considered experts in your town. And start watching the local news! Not only will you get some article ideas, but you'll get to know who your local experts are.

Anecdotes. You may certainly use personal anecdotes to help fill out your article, but use the stories of friends and acquaintances, as well. If your best friend was crying on your shoulder the day her son went to college three states away, use her in your article: "Massachusetts mom, Debra Smith, remembers the day her oldest left home. . ." Then get a great quote from her to use.

A query letter will look as though you have a more appealing article behind it when you simply state, for example, that you have interviews lined up with so-and-so and that you will include the personal experiences of three families.

Does this sound like a lot of work? From my own experience, it has been! Getting interviews, researching, talking to people--that takes quite a bit of time and energy. How hard are you willing to work? The truth is, if you want to write for pay, then it is going to look like a job--because it is.

It is, btw, a job I love.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! ENJOY THE WEEKEND! I WILL CONCLUDE THIS SERIES ON QUERY LETTERS ON MONDAY, JULY 7.

Query Letters: Proofreading with Passion and Purpose

Ha! Today's title is a take-off on the title of my new book, Season of Change: Parenting Your Middle Schooler with Passion and Purpose. It is a shameless plug, but it is also, truthfully, the way you must proofread before submitting anything that will be read by a professional. Query letters should NOT contain any errors! When an editor gets tons of queries every day, a spelling error or a misplaced comma will send your letter straight to file 13! Why should she bother with taking a chance on a writer who is going to make her work as an editor that much more difficult?

Proofreeding is not easy, however, and here's why: Our eyes will fool us. We often read what is not there! We read, in fact, what we expect to be there. You may or may not have noticed that I purposely put an error in the first word of this paragraph! Check it out! And let me tell you, it is KILLING me to leave it there! (Oh, the things I do for y'all!) This is why one of the first rules of good writing is to set aside what you have written for a couple of hours, a day, or even several days before going back to clean it up. You will catch more goofs when you look at your work with fresh eyes. (Btw, spelling errors that are in the middle of words are the most difficult to catch!)


Here are some of my favorite proofreading tips!


Read your paper backwards. Reading your paper backwards enables you to slow down, look at each word individually, and be sure that it is spelled correctly.

Have a friend read over your work. Two sets of eyes are better than one!

Read your paper aloud. The egomaniac in you will love reading your own work out loud. Doing this will help you catch the goofs that spell check will miss. For example, one of my writing students recently misused the word "disgust" for "discussed." Spell check didn't catch it, and neither did he.


Finally, use the spell check feature on your computer. It's there, so use it! But use it with caution. Don't rely on it; it will let you down!


When it comes to query letters, your writing style is the editor's first impression of you. Be as passionate about checking for errors as you would be about your personal appearance before an important job interview. Consider spelling errors equivalent to lipstick on your teeth!

Happy proofreading!

Query Letters: Why Read the Magazine?

Before you query a magazine, you need to read it! Yes, it takes some time, but do you want to sell an article or not? Do your homework! Often, it is quite easy for an editor to tell if you have read her magazine--or if you have not. Here's what she knows that you need to know:


Know the readership. Be sure you know who the periodical is targeting as its readership. Obviously, you wouldn't pitch an article about cooking to Sports Illustrated. But you need to read the magazine to notice other details. For example, if you pitch an article about teenagers to ParentLife, you haven't read the magazine. ParentLife targets parents of children ages 0-12. Also, some parenting magazines are parent-driven, while others are child-driven. Read the magazine to know the slant of the articles.


Know the regulars. You may want to read more than one issue of the magazine in order to get a good feel for it. Regular features are usually written by contracted writers. Know who the regular contributors are so you don't pitch an article for a column that has already been contracted out for the next twelve months.


Know the recent topics. If a women's magazine just ran a story on how to protect a marriage from adultery and you query that same topic, your query goes nowhere, and you have wasted your time (not to mention the editor's time!). Read the magazine to know what has been published most recently.


When it is obvious to an editor that you are familiar with her magazine, you will write a better query letter and stand a much better chance of getting your foot in the door!


These are just a few tips. I hope they help!