Red Envelope Day

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Dear Friends and Intercessors:

This afternoon I was praying about a number of things, and my mind beganto wander. I was deeply distressed at the symbolic actions that President Obama took as he began his presidency. Namely, that he signed executive orders releasing funds to pay for abortions, permission to fund human stem cell research, and federal funding for contraception.

I have been involved in the pro-life movement for nearly 20 years, and it pained my heart to see a man and a political party committed to the shedding of innocent blood. This man and this party lead our country, but they do not represent me or the 54% of Americans who believe that abortion is wrong and should no longer be legal.

As I was praying, I believe that God gave me an interesting idea. Out in the garage I have a box of red envelopes. Like the powerful image of the red LIFE tape, an empty red envelope will send a message to Barack Obama that there is moral outrage in this country over this issue. It will be quiet, but clear. Here is what I would like you to do:

Get a red envelope. (You can buy them at Kinkos, or at party supply stores.)

On the front, address it to:

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington , D.C. 20500

On the back, write the following message:"This envelope represents one child who died in abortion. It is empty because that life was unable to offer anything to the world. Responsibility begins with conception."OR "There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being. This much we know." -- Barack Obama at today's National Prayer Breakfast

Put it in the mail, and send it. Then forward this email to every oneof your friends who you think would send one too. I wish we could send 50 million red envelopes, one for every child who died before having a chance to live. Each one counts. Maybe it will be used to change the heart of the president.

Warmly,John Otto

Australian Wildfires

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Thank you to all of you who've expressed concern about the bushfire disaster we've had here -- and it's not over yet. It's truly horrific, but also ... amazing. Yes, some of the fires were lit deliberately by some sick creatures, but most were not. And many stories of absolute heroism are emerging. And there has also been an overwhelming surge of community spirit and kindness and in the midst of tragedy much of humanity has shown its wonderful side.

Almost everyone I know is doing something - donating money, clothes, bedding, personal necessities, food, tents, filling bags of oats to feed stock, buying mountains of pet food, taking in strangers and injured animals -- you name it. In Far North Queensland, thousands of kilometres from the fires, they're flooded out, their homes drowned, half buried in stinking, tropical mud. But some of those people even refused to accept financial aid, and instead sent it to help the bushfire victims, because "they've lost everything."

As well as raising money for the bushfire victims at their annual conference, Romance Writers of Australia are launching a Bushfire Book Appeal. It's a small thing; we know that for many affected families, books will not be high on their list of necessities for some time to come, but we also know how valuable books can be in providing time out when reality gets tough.So if you can help, we'd be grateful.

What we need? FICTION BOOKS! Romance books, children's books, genre books, whatever - either new or in sparkling condition.

Please send them to:

RWA Bushfire Book Appeal

c/- 89 Rennie St

Thornbury Vic.

3071 AUSTRALIA

When to send them? Now! And any time over the next few months. The books will be boxed and delivered to the appropriate neighbourhood centres/communitycentres/libraries in batches as soon as practicable. Feel free to pop a note inside, or if you're the author, sign the book.

With thanks,

Anne Gracie

Forwarding this message on behalf of Romance Writers of Australia Inc.

Why? Seriously, why continue?

First, let's state the obvious and get it out of the way.

Life. Is. Hard.

Life. Isn't. Fair.

Whew! I feel a little less pressured, stress, frustrated, and discouraged already. Yet, time and time again something happens that discourages me and I wonder, "Why? Seriously, why continue?"

Now before you think I'm getting all suicidish on you, please stop. I'm not talking about giving up on life, although I'm sure some folks have considered that. I haven't. No, what I'm talking about is that one thing that we just can't seem to conquer or achieve any measureable success. Or we achieve some success yet can't achieve more.

Like finally getting the 9-yr-old to hold his fork properly, yet no matter how many times ya tell him, the child can't seem to comprehend there is a proper way to sit in a dining room chair, and the way he's doing it is NOT it.

Every so often on one of my writing loops, someone posts about being discouraged with writing. Reasons spew out: lack of family support, constant interruptions, poor contest scores, failure to final in (or win) a contest, another rejection from an editor or agent, etc.

Surprisingly, or maybe not, the reason that stands out as the most prevelant is contest scores and contest judges.

Eeks!

Last year I helped coordinate two contests: The Golden Network's The Golden Pen and Faith, Hope & Love's Touched by Love.

I judge several RWA contests each year. Not all the same contests each year, although some are because I really like those contests' scoresheets. Or because the coordinator(s) are persistent about nagging me to judge. Lemme see if I can list all or most of the ones I've judge at least once.

The Molly, Fool For Love, LoneStar, Touched by Love, Golden Gateway, Golden Pen, Golden Heart, Winter Rose, Heart of the West, Where the Magic Begins, TARA, The Emily, and Great Expectations. Oh, and a slew of Romance Divas contests when I was the contest coordinator.

Yes, I enjoy judging contests and coordinating them. Why? Because I've learned a heap of stuff about the craft of writing by evaluating another person's work that's helped me "see" the flaws in my own work. Not only that, but in judging, I've also gained a more favorable perspective of judges. Now when I read a comment that seems harsh, I can put myself in that person's shoes (imaginary, of course) and view the comment from their view as the judge.

First let me say, I don't enter many contests a year. Last year was the most with six contests. In previous years, I only entered three, two, one, and even none. I'm sporatic. It's not contagious. I hope.

Anyhoo, I can only think of one entry of mine in recent years (any more than 3 years is too long ago for me to remember; I have five kids) that had seemingly harsh and critical comments. However, when I pretended I was that judge, I perceived the judge (her, not me) as being someone who just wasn't going to like my story no matter what. Either she had a bad day, had an personal dislike of a character's name or the plotline or the writing style or time period, or she perpetually had a critical personality. Or she just wasn't a very good judge.

Oh, her comments were hurtful, but not pointed hurtful like when a judge says "You should seriously considering a career in basket-weaving." No, her comments were just vexing hurtful. Umm, like saying my research was inaccurate when I knew it was. Or that my heroine didn't have an individual story goal, even though the heroine had stated it three times in the entry pages. Or that my plot wasn't anything new and not even a fresh twist on a familiar plot.

You know the feeling.

It's like getting a rejection from an editor that says, "Writing not strong enough for what we publish."

Uggh!

Low contest scores, critical comments, and rejections are speedbumps in the road to publication. For some writers, those speedbumps become detour signs that force them off the road for a spell or direct them onto another road. Let's face it, aren't there many tempting parking places, detours, and rest stops on the road to success?

Yesterday at church, I came across a parenting pamplet on the youth department table. The front page had info about teen depression. While the info wasn't relevant to my family, I was bored and wanted to read something so I picked up a pamplet. I'm glad I did because I came across an article about Ludacris.

Apparently, Ludacris is the "highest-selling Southern hip-hop artist of all time."

To be candid, the info about him didn't impress me. But what caught my attention was what he said about success.

"At the end of the day, you either have the talent or you don't, and you either take it seriously or you don't."

I agree. Not all of us are born gifted to do the things we want to do. I know few folks who are gifted writers, and even the ones who I think have a natural talent still have to polish their skills. Really. Name one person who's won some great award with a novel he wrote in one draft.

I firmly belive that entering contests can benefit the writer. The pros outweigh the cons. (Now's not the time to list them.) So how do we process contest scores and those seemingly-not-always-helpful judge comments?

1) Quit being so narrow-minded, pig-headed, and stupid, and actually entertain the notion that YOU ARE NOT RIGHT but THE JUDGE IS. Seriously!

The refusal to "hear" what the contest judge says is one of the biggest pot-holes a writer's road to success. What's it going to hurt to double-check the research item that the judge questioned? What's it going to hurt to double-check a grammar book--oh, go ahead and check four--on the proper usage of a semi-colon? What's it going to hurt to give your heroine a not-so-cliched name? (I freely admit I hate reading contest entries with a heroine named Kat/Cat. No offense intended to any cat lovers. Hmm. Since we're talking cats, I wonder when someone feed our family cat. Thursday? That might be why she's meowing so loudly.)

2) Quit being so insecure, wishy-washy, and stupid, and actually enteratin the notion that YOU ARE RIGHT and THE JUDGE IS WRONG. Seriously!

Judges are human. They make errors unintentionally, ignorantly, and despite having good intentions. I can safely say every contest judge will admit she's a better judge now than she was the first (second, third, fourth, etc) time she judged. Just like writers begin as contest virgins and become contest sluts, so do judges become more contest-ually active. Like fine wine, some cheeses, and many singers, judges get better as they age.

Some judges, though, are aliens. Really. Granted, contests should have rules about letting them judge, but what contest wants to be discriminatory? Alas, when one is desperate for a judge, one doesn't ask for immigration papers or birth certificates. Although, I'm becomining particularly fond of across-the-board steriod and HGH testing. Duh, on athletes. Why would we test judges for that? I hate to name names but some folks' thoughts are getting a tad to weird for me.

3) Quit being so sensitive and thin-skinned. (Notice how I didn't say stupid?) Growing a think-skin is smart. Growing a hard-heart isn't smart. It's hurtful to you and to those around you. Keep your heart sensitive so your characters will be too.

Life is hard. Life isn't fair. Learning not to take personally the criticism of judges, crit partners, agents, and editors will prepare you from when you are published. While we need to keep are hearts sensitive, we need to stop letting our feelings get us through life. Having a great attitude when all is going well, when our kids obey, when our hair is perfect, when we chose the right outfit to wear, when we final or win a contest is...well, easy.

The true test of character is having a great attitude when all is not going well. That happens when we have the right mind-set. Oh, go ahead and vent and whine because we need to purge those negative feelings. Just don't let venting and whining become your mind-set. Trust me, we've all met someone with a whiny mind-set. Do you really want to spend much time with her? I know I don't. Not any more than I want to spend much time with a hard-hearted person.

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. ~Newt Gingrich

Mind-set: Despite and because of what my contest judges say, I will learn to write better because I'm not satisfied with average.

It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. ~Albert Einstein

Mind-set: I'm not going to give up even though my emotions tell me the pain isn't worth the payoff.

The drops of rain make a hole in the stone not by violence but by oft falling. ~Lucretius

Mind-set: I will choose a target (long- and short-term ones) and aim at it. While I may not hit it the first time, eventually I will because I've determined to hit it.

But the moment you turn a corner you see another straight stretch ahead and there comes some further challenge to your ambition. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Mind-set: Life is hard, life isn't fair, yet I will perservere. Why? Because sometimes I get so frozen on one direction that I need an obstacle/challenge to physically move me in another direction--no, in the right direction.

The Barnyard

My older sister, Dawn, likes sending me enlightening stories. Enjoy!

~*~

Who will help me plant the wheat? asked the Little Red Hen.

'Not I,' said the cow.

'Not I,' said the duck.

'Not I,' said the pig.

'Not I,' said the goose.

'Then I will do it by myself,' said the little red hen, and so she did. The wheat grew very tall and ripened into golden grain.

'Who will help me reap my wheat?' asked the little red hen.

'Not I,' said the duck..

'Out of my classification,' said the pig.

'I'd lose my seniority,' said the cow.

'I'd lose my unemployment compensation,' said the goose.

'Then I will do it by myself,' said the little red hen, and so she did.

At last it came time to bake the bread.

'Who will help me bake the bread?' asked the little red hen.

'That would be overtime for me,' said the cow.

'I'd lose my welfare benefits,' said the duck.

'I'm a dropout and never learned how,' said the pig.

'If I'm to be the only helper, that's discrimination,' said the goose.

'Then I will do it by myself,' said the little red hen.

She baked five loaves and held them up for all of her neighbors to see. They wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen said, 'No, I shall eat all five loaves.'

'Excess profits!' cried the cow. (Nancy Pelosi)

'Capitalist leech!' screamed the duck. (Barbara Boxer)

'I demand equal rights!' yelled the goose. (Jesse Jackson)

The pig just grunted in disdain. (Ted Kennedy)

And they all painted 'Unfair!' picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.

Then the farmer (Obama) came. He said to the little red hen, 'You must not be so greedy, Let's re-distribute the wealth!'

'But I earned the bread,' said the little red hen.

'Exactly,' said Barack the farmer. 'That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide the fruits of their labor with those who are lazy and idle.'

And they all lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, 'I am grateful, for now I truly understand.'

But her neighbors became quite disappointed in her. She never again baked bread because she joined the 'party' and got her bread free. And all the Democrats smiled. 'Fairness' had been established.

Individual initiative had died, but nobody noticed; perhaps no one cared...so long as there was free bread that 'the rich' were paying for.

EPILOGUE
Bill Clinton is getting $12 million for his memoirs.
Hillary got $8 million for hers.
That's $20 million for the memories from two people, who for eight years, repeatedly testified, under oath, that they couldn't remember anything.

IS THIS A GREAT BARNYARD? OR WHAT?