Dreaming “Venti” in 2014

James and I were doing our bible study last night and it was about dreaming “venti”. It encouraged us to dream big and pray about our dreams together as a couple. It sounded like the perfect way to start my blog for 2014!

In 2013, I was able to write four novels and started sending out queries for the novel I’ve been editing for the last two years! In terms of writing, it was a pretty productive year.  The part that is a bummer is that I have nothing to show for all that work except for files on my computer and stacks of paper in my living room!

For 2014 I am hoping to make something out of those files and stacks!

Here are my five “venti” dreams for my writing this year:

•  Have an agent offer to represent me who is excited about my work
•  Have a publisher who is equally excited to publish my novel(s)
• Get a chance to work with a talented editor so that I can learn more about writing
•  Do a reading in a children’s hospital and hand out/sign books for them
•  Start a “young author” type program in our school system to get kids excited about writing

Mostly I’m just excited to see where this journey will go. I’ve never had this much material to work with, and while I’ll have to put a ton of work into to make it shine; my stories are falling into place. I’m at a point where I can really start thinking about life beyond my notebook!

Christmas Giving- Chris and Kaiti Long

One of my favorite Christmas stories is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Throughout those few pages, Dickens teaches us so much about life and the meaning of Christmas.

In the first stave of the book, Scrooge is cooped up in his counting-house hating Christmas, saying, "Bah humbug." He is ignorant to the poor, his nephew, and his workers. We see as he travels with the spirits how very unaware he truly was of the needs of those around him.

We don't have to hate Christmas or walk around yelling "bah humbug" to miss the needs of others. We can easily get caught up in our day-to-day activities and forget that somewhere in the world someone has lost a loved one, someone is battling cancer, someone is fighting overseas, someone is starving, someone is without a home...

Earlier this year a need was brought to the attention of our family. My cousin Chris and his beautiful wife Kaiti came to town and let our family know that they would be speaking at one of the local churches. What they said blew us away

When foreign students come to the United States to study, 80% of them will never step foot into an American home.

Moving by itself is a stressful thing, but imagine moving to a whole new country, an ocean away from your friends, your family, your language, your customs, your food… and have the people from that country never reach out to you and invite you into their homes.

This is where Chris and Kaiti Long come in. The Longs are a husband-wife missionary team working for Bridges International, which is part of the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry. Bridges International is a ministry that focuses on helping foreign students adjust to their new life in the United States by providing resources to meet their physical, social, and spiritual needs.

Chris and Kaiti- beautiful inside and out

Chris and Kaiti  reach out to the foreign students of Chicago. They spend much of their time meeting one-on-one with these students. This gives students a safe place and relationship for them to explore Christianity and ask questions. Chris and Kaiti spend a few hours a week at English Corner, where anywhere from 40-50 students from places like China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Iran gather to work on their English conversation. This helps with their English learning, but also gives them a chance to socialize with others. Chris and Kaiti help to provide for students' physical needs by being available to drive them to the airport, the grocery store, and the hospital. They help them learn to navigate the public transportation system and bring them to cultural events in the city. 

Dinner at the Long home

Not only do they try to meet these students' physical and social needs, but also their spiritual needs. The Long's host a bible study at their home where the students can learn and ask questions about the gospel and Jesus Christ. Many of these students have never heard the gospel or read the bible due to the religious persecution in their own countries. The Long's explain that the foreign students' short time in the United States is crucial, because it might be their only chance to hear the gospel and come to know the love of Jesus Christ.

One of Chris' most memorable moments has been working with two young men, Michael and Jimmy. When Chris met Michael and Jimmy, they thought that Christianity was silly and that God wasn't real, but as Chris continued to meet with them and invite them to bible studies, their hearts began to change. They were baptized last February and continue to live for Christ. Michael's family is visiting him for Christmas, and the thing he is most excited about is to introduce them to the gospel and bring them to church.

Michael and Jimmy trying American food

Kaiti talks of a young woman named Dee. Dee came from an Atheist background. She is attending school for biology and working on a cure for cancer. She used to believe that science and Christianity couldn't mix, but she became interested in Christ and began seeking him. Now she says the complexity of science, the human body, and cells point to a creator.

Kaiti and the young women she works with

The Longs say that the thing they have learned the most as they have been a part of this ministry is the importance of listening to others and asking questions. Chris and Kaiti explain that they can't just throw the story of the gospel at everyone they meet, but it is in truly listening to the story of the students' lives that build relationships, and it is in these relationships that they can began to share the gospel.

Just like other missionaries, Chris and Kaiti have to raise support through churches and individuals who will pray for and/or financially support their ministry. 

If you would like to support their ministry this Christmas season with a one time donation, you can donate through this link:

give.cru.org/0660405

or make a check payable to"CRU" and mail it to 3328 S. Emerald Ave, Unit 2, Chicago, IL 60616

If you would like to contact Chris and Kaiti you can e-mail them here-
Chris.Long@cru.org
Kaitlin.Long@cru.org

"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise- the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." -Hebrews 13: 15-16

The Giving Tree

We are always looking for ways to teach our children to give, especially during the Christmas season. This year we put together a giving tree to help them to think about others and not just about what they want for Christmas.

We chose twelve ideas to give back to others like the gift giving in the Twelve Days of Christmas.

We numbered brown card stock and wrote our giving ideas on the back. Twelve days throughout December we pull a tag down and then make/buy/deliver/send whatever the card says!

Some of our favorites include:

-Having neighbors or someone you haven't seen in awhile over for dinner
-Taping pennies to Sandy the horse at Meijer
-Leaving a homemade wreath or a pot of poinsettias on someone's doorstep
-Bringing goodies to different places in the community (like the local school, library, fire station, or post office)
-Donating items to families in need

December Down

I haven’t posted much lately. It’s December down for me. Time to tone down the writing, the early morning editing, and late night scribbling. Time to give my brain and hands a break, and focus on baking cookies with my kids, watching snowflakes through my windows, and celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

December is a busy month for everyone, including agents. Not only are they bombarded with all the holiday activities of the season, but also with all of the query letters flowing in as a result of nanowrimo.

So, I decided not to bug them this month!

You’ll still see me with a pen behind my ear and notebook in my purse. If I have a day I’m not subbing, or running to town, or tackling my turkey, then you may catch me editing with a cup of my favorite holiday coffee. No big pushes on anything though. I’ll save those for the new year!

Have a happy December!

Week Three Rewind- Saving Room

In the spirit of thanksgiving and the holidays, I'd like to talk about breathing room. In preparation of eating a huge (and delicious) holiday meal, it is always wise to wear pants that will give you some extra space.

That is what I've been needing to do with my writing. I keep writing children's books with large word counts, only to find out that bigger isn't always better. I guess overly large word counts can scare agents and publishers away (at least when you are a non-published author trying to break your way into the business)!

My goal was to give myself some novel breathing room. Children's novels should clock in around 50,000 words. The hardest part of writing my nano novel was to try and come in under that amount with a finished novel. Why under? Because when I go back to edit, I'll need to fill in plot holes, I'll get new ideas, and I'll most likely want to add a lot more! Ending my novel at 35,000 words gives me some space to work with, so that when my edited novel is ready, hopefully it will be at the right word count!

That is what I did this week! I finished my very first detective novel for kids and came in under the 50,000 word count. It is printed and set aside for January for editing, and I still have room to go. I got a good start on the second novel of the series which was inspired by a mountain dew grocery shopping accident (another story for another time)! My goal will be the same with that one too- keep it short and simple!

Week Two Rewind- When Inspiration Hits

Whew, I barely made it through the week two slump of nanowrimo! I was bound and determined that I wasn't going to face that week two slump that everyone talks about on the nano forums.

Week two had such a beautiful start... On Monday I got the kids off to school without a hitch. A beautiful layer of snow dusted the ground. My favorite coffee was brewing and I had a brand new bottle of creamer.

It was looking to be the perfect day to curl up and write.

Then my front door opened and my husband walked in. He was hunting and shot a buck...and he wanted me to come help him find it.

He described the buck and pulled up trailcam pictures (on the computer I was just about to use) with the excitement of a little kid at Christmas, and I knew there was no choice. I was going to be there when he found that buck!

Camera ready and computer turned off, we headed out.

We spent that day, the next day, and the next day tracking the blood trail across the woods. Every little drop of blood we found was exciting, like going on a treasure hunt, and it was devastating when we finally realized that there wasn't enough blood and the deer was still alive. James looked at forums on shots and thinks he hit the deer in "no man's land", which is the space between the lungs and the spine. We spent another day out shooting and an evening together in a tree stand in hopes of bagging another (or the same) big buck!

On top of all that, there was a partial day subbing, the planning and organizing of American Education week at school, and celebrating my husband's birthday.

My perfect week to write? Gone.

Even though writing didn't go as well as planned, a new story idea hit. While I was tromping through the woods with James, he worded something in such a way that it got my mind rolling. Suddenly I had a title, then a paragraph, and then chapters for a whole new novel.

It's funny how a story can grow from nothing. The placement of a few spoken words that had nothing to do with writing, and my mind was going a million miles a minute. My husband noticed that I was suddenly very quiet, and wanted to know what was wrong. I grinned and told him I was working on a new story that I would have to dedicate to him!

I love to create new stories, but ideas don't just show up every morning at breakfast. Sometimes no amount of sitting and thinking can bring them in, sometimes is the right words at the right time. Sometimes it means taking time away from your notebook or computer, and tromping through the woods with someone you love.

(pictures to come! My camera broke, so I've been waiting to post this, but now that week 3 is over, I figured I better just go ahead and post about week 2!)

Turkey Trouble

There are some things in country life that you just can’t prepare for...

This is our turkey. Her name is Turkey. (We were convinced for the longest time that he was a she, but it turns out she is actually a he, but none of us can seem to remember that, so we call her, I mean him, a she. Confused? So are we.)

Moving on.

Turkey has a distinct personality and with that comes... issues. We haven’t decided where the problem lies- it’s either lack of self-confidence, or too much pride, or maybe a combination of both.

Lack of self-confidence- Not only is he the only turkey, but he gets picked on. Our little hens like to sneak up behind him and pluck the feathers from his bottom. We thought as they got older, they would grow out of it, but unfortunately they think it is too much fun. We have had to come to terms with the fact that they are never going to be friends.

Too much pride- Turkey LOVES attention. When we’re outside with her he follows us around like a little puppy and always has to be in the center of everything. He puffs out his feathers, spits and drums, and gobbles like none other. The more we tell him how beautiful he is, the more he does it…Maybe that’s where we went wrong…

Even at our Halloween party Turkey had to be the center of attention!

The worst part of Turkey’s need for attention is his infatuation with our dog, Tucker. For some reason Turkey believes that Tucker is a big black hen, and the more Tucker gets riled up, the more Turkey believes that the big black “hen” is truly in love with him.

This has resulted in Turkey no longer being able free-range, at least not unless she is under strict surveillance, because the moment she’s out, she preens, puffs up, and runs for Tucker.

(Not pictured- Turkey running at Tucker)

Tucker- Look at that big, fat, juicy turkey! I want to rip its head off!

Turkey- Look at the big black hen ready for some lovin!

The other night I went outside and spotted Turkey…drinking out of the dog’s water bowl. By some miracle Tucker hadn’t noticed her and was sitting and waiting patiently for me to greet him. I started walking very slowly. “Hey Tucker, hey boy. How are you doing?”

It was working until Turkey realized we weren’t paying attention to him and insisted on gobbling.

How dare I steal his hen’s attention!

Then, Armageddon ensued.

I dove for Tucker.

Tucker dove for Turkey.

And Turkey? Well, he fluffed his feathers and ran for Tucker.

I caught Tucker, but he was too strong for me to hold. My feet got tangled in his chain; I fell, and was dragged across the dirt as I did my best to pull him back. Tucker gnashed and pounced, while Turkey stepped to the side and would come forward again thinking that playing this hard to get was a lot of fun. Ah yes, love at its finest.

I finally got untangled and realized that pulling Tucker away was useless- Turkey wasn’t going to let him get away. I ran my lifetime PR of the 100 meter dash to the hose, and was able to use the water to momentarily separate them. More pulling, tripping, and rolling on the ground ensued, but the kids finally came to my rescue. They pushed Turkey back to the coop, leaving Tucker and I looking like we had just participated in one of those muddy greased pig contests. Other than being cold, wet, and muddy we left mostly unscathed, except for the few tail feathers in Tucker’s mouth and the stomach muscles I re-tore from an earlier accident.

Country life- oh the adventures!