Party ‘Til the Cows Come Home

By Linda L. Scisson

A Book Review of Heart Wide Open

by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson

Dorothy Hill and I did not exactly party ‘til the cows come home at The Purple Cow on Wednesday, March 26. But we had good food and fellowship, before making the 100-yard dash across the street to Barnes & Noble for Shellie Rushing Tomlinson’s 7 PM talk and book-signing of her latest book, Heart Wide Open: Trading Mundane Faith for an Exuberant Life with Jesus (WaterBrook Press, 2014).

“Exuberant” is an appropriate adjective not only for the book’s sub-title, but also for the author. Shellie Tomlinson is an enthusiastic speaker and enthusiastic participant of life. In Heart Wide Open, Shellie writes that we can find exuberant life here on earth, as we continue to live “in anticipation of seeing Him in the next” (page 21).

 And that stretches our margins of gratitude for the Great Exchange: Jesus traded His death on the cross for our eternal life.

To trade mundane faith for an exuberant life with Jesus: The first step is to admit one’s faith is mundane. This takes humility, which attribute is seen in the first few pages of Heart Wide Open.

Shellie admits to a season of feeling as if her faith were “compartmentalized.” She felt a “disconnect” between her Sunday morning faith and her everyday experience, although she retained “a healthy respect for the teachings of the church” (page 4). But she was looking for something more than “biblical head knowledge” (page 6). She was looking for something more than “the church-lady gig” (page 5). Why? — Because she had an “aching faking heart” (page 7).

So Shellie embarks on “some serious soul searching” (page 7), as she ponders the words of Jesus in Mark 12:30: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (NIV). 

To our advantage, Shellie hoists us on the highway of a holy enterprise — to trade the mundane for the exuberant — in the first of the book’s eight chapters, titled “When All You Can Bring Him Is A Broken Want-To.” 

How does she do that? She discovers a way to conquer the mountain of the mundane. She embraces “the blessed challenge” (page 11). She asks herself:  “What am I collecting?” And she finds a “clear directive” in Matthew 6:20: “. . . collect for yourselves treasures in heaven” (page 11).

 

One simple prayer to regain a “heart wide open” to God is: “Help me to value and love You more.” And one practical step that we can take toward this goal is to remember, which means “to recollect.” We remember by collecting again (p. 15).

 

In other words, as we treasure God’s love for us, we will experience “the biggest adventure of all time” (page 9) — such as the “freeing [of] me from me” (page 125), as well as “the sweetest of addiction” to God’s friendship (page 21) — because “joy and contentment are found in Him” (page 19). 

 

Yet, to actually know God will probably not result in a 24-7 party ‘til the cows come home this side of heaven; but there will be indication of something favorable, something significant, something exuberant, as the Holy Spirit supernaturally ignites the lukewarm heart, as He woos us back to the Father.

Perseverance Pays Off

By Linda L. Scisson

Author Deborah Howard spoke at our March meeting on Monday, the 17th, rather than the original scheduled date of March 11, 2014 (the 2nd Tuesday of the month) because of hazardous road conditions caused by ice and snow.

It was worth the wait.

For one thing, this lady knows a lot about another kind of delay: the delay in being published. Deborah said she literally wall-papered a wall in a room in her house with rejection slips she received upon first trying to get published. Yet through a lot of hard work and perseverance, her Wall of Rejection transformed into a Wall of Perseverance.

Her 2005 book Sunsets: Reflections for Life’s Final Journey is relevant to everyone, because death touches everyone’s life. As a certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse, Deborah writes what she knows about.  Sunsets is a composite of different patients with a fictional character introducing each chapter.

Deborah’s book Where is God in All of This?: Finding God’s Purpose in Our Suffering (2009) is like a first cousin to Sunsets. It dives into a question many of us ask ourselves at one season or another.

Another book by Deborah is much shorter; it’s only four chapters in length. The title is: HELP! Someone I Love Has Cancer (2010). And HELP! Someone I Love Has Alzheimer’s (2012) also comes in a compact size.

And we look forward to the release later this year of HELP! I’m So Lonely. While Deborah shared that she has never been plagued with loneliness, she interviewed a lot of people who have.

Besides nursing and writing, Deborah (Mrs. Theron) Howard divides her time with editing, ghost writing, and lecturing. She mentioned a book that she ghost-wrote and emphasized the importance of being like-minded with the author. But she was not an unseen ghost, as Deborah’s name appears on the book’s front cover: It’s Not Fair! Finding Hope When Times Are Tough by Wayne A. Mack with Deborah Howard (published in 2008).

Deborah gave us advice on getting published. First and foremost, we are to read and keep reading. Writers love to read; that’s a given.

Secondly, buy an updated edition of Writer’s Market. Check the submission guidelines carefully. Use the editor’s name in your correspondence, rather than simply writing “Dear Editor.”

Third: Enter writing contests. Fourth: Attend writers’ conferences and ghost-writing conferences, as Deborah specified some of the “How To’s” one learns at these conferences.

Her final points of advice were to get an agent, and to keep marketing your own books, as generally a publishing company markets their authors’ books for only the first six months, and that’s it.

Hopefully, with Deborah’s appearance at our writers’ club, she will see an increase in sales of her books, as they are worth our time to read. And whether we look up from our reading and see snow and ice or Bradford pears and forsythia, let’s keep reading and writing.  

What a Fantastic Idea & Opportunity!

Here is a WONDERFUL IDEA from Linda Scisson.  The moment I read it I knew that I'M IN!  I want to do this.  I sure hope you can join us
Read On:

Linda Scisson was in Barnes & Noble and saw a sign about an upcoming book-signing and talk by a CHRISTIAN author,

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson,

Linda thought some of us might be interested in this.

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson has obviously got some good marketing going for her . . . with a book-signing AND talk at our local Barnes & Noble:

March 26, 2014

Wednesday, 7 PM
Talk and Book-signing
By: Shellie Rushing Tomlinson

Book:
Heart Wide Open: Trading Mundane Faith for an Exuberant Life with Jesus

The cover of the book reflects an endorsement by author-speaker Sheila Walsh.

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson and her husband live and farm in Louisiana, according to the bio part of her book.

AN IDEA:

On a related note: Would some of you like to meet . . . say at The Purple Cow (restaurant) across the street from Barnes & Noble at . .

6:00 PM (one hour before the event)

March 26, 2014 (Wednesday)

The Purple Cow (sandwich, soup place, milk-shakes -- very casual)

Eat there, and then walk over

to Barnes & Noble . . .

and support this Christian author,

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson,

. . . as a group: the Little Rock chapter of American Christian Writers

There.  I told you it was a fantastic idea. Would you shoot me an email to let us know you are planning to attend so we know the size of table to get?  I love love love the Purple Cow.  How about you?  Are you in?  I'm dohill@Reagan.com
I wanted to include Linda's email but didn't ask her first, so I'm not comfortable just handing out her email information...

Keep reading. Keep writing.

Contest Opportunities and Rules & A Writing Prompt

This a copy & paste version of the Contest catagories and the rules.  I want these out up front so you have time to write, revise and write some more. When you have buffed and polished your entry you can either email dotlatjohn@gmail.com or snail-mail (US Post Office) it to Dorothy Johnson.  She will ensure that the entries get to the proper judges by the correct date. 
I will need to find her mailing address.... sigh.  I thought I had it handy...

Little Rock American Christian Writers

2014 Writing Contest

 We would like to invite you to participate in our annual writing contest. Some of the categories have been named after our generous sponsors. Please visit their websites to see what they are working on right now and browse their archives.

 Contest 1: The Arnold Family Foundation Fiction Contest

     ·         1,500 to 2,000 words
     ·         Prizes--$50 first place; $25 second place; $15 third place

 Contest 2:  The Arnold Family Foundation Non-Fiction Contest

     ·         750 to 1,200 words
     ·         Prizes--$50 first place; $25 second place; $15 third place

Contest 3: StoryWriting Studio Humorous Memoir Contest:  (sponsored by Karen Jordan and The StoryWriting Studio) http://storywritingstudio.wordpress.com

     ·         Write a funny story about a person, place, or an event from your personal life.
     ·         1,000 words or less
     ·         Prizes--$25 first place; $15 second place; $10 third place

Contest 4: Devotional (sponsored by Dorothy Johnson)
 www.reflectionsfromdorothy.blogspot.com
     ·         Write on the Subject: “You are a Letter from God” 2 Corinthians 3:3
     ·         500 words or less
     ·         Prizes--$25 first place; $15 second place; $10 third place

Contest 5:  Poetry
     ·         12-48 lines
     ·         Prizes--$25 first place; $15 second place; $10 third place

WRITING PROMPT:

There, is that big enough to catch your eye?? I'll try to find a way that is identifiable and not so loud to look at. But for today here we go:  The theme for March is NEW LIFE

The power to change is in my hands.”
― Helen M. Ryan,   
In this instance, Ms. Ryan's book is about a new body in 21 days. 

Connect this statement to your writing, your writing life. Think about it: how has writing changed you or cemented you or grounded you or challenged you? In regards to your writing How is the power to change in your hands. Do you agree with the statement? Write a journal entry. You determine the length.  Find someone you are comfortable with and share your thoughts.

I'm going to write on this topic too. 

Keep Reading. Keep Writing. 

Our Writing on the Rock Blog is about to undergo some changes. You will see more blog postings about things that are happening in the Little Rock Chapter of American Christian Writers.  I will be sharing information on and pictures of speakers we have had. There will be lots of information about upcoming events, like our Writers Conference in May. And Contests!  We welcome entries and are excited to read things right from your heart.

I will also be posting writing prompts for any who chose to use them.  We were reminded again by our most recent guest speaker, Deborah Howard, how writing prompts help us grow by challenging us to think & write 'outside the box'. 

March's theme is New Life.  So the posts will have some connection to that and the writing prompts will, hopefully, engage us in thinking and writing about that topic.

Just a quiet heads-up...April is Poetry Month, so the posts will be about poetry, the writing prompts will, too. We will explore some different kinds of poetry and hopefully share some as well.  I love poetry.

Enough for now. 

Write On!  

Celebrate National Poetry Month with LRACW!

By Linda Scisson

Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? Yes, indeed, thanks to the Academy of American Poets!

For poetry fans in Little Rock, there is a display of poetry books, quotes, and related items in the entranceway of the Terry branch library, 2015 Napa Valley Drive, in west Little Rock, across the street from Pulaski Academy. The display will be there through April 30, 2013.

I was fortunate to display poetry items at the Terry branch in February 2010, and you will find similar and new features with my current poetry display.

As a member of the Little Rock chapter of American Christian Writers, I would choose poetry as my favorite genre. Often I have turned to this form of writing to find literature that is pure, lovely, admirable, noble, truthful, righteous, excellent, and praiseworthy, as these attributes are what our sacred text tells me that I am to think on (Philippians 4:8).

By God’s grace, I have found a number of poems that tend to hoist me on the highway of holiness (Isaiah 35:8) and, as a lesson in contrast, I suppose, other poems that point in lesser directions.

While my poetry display in a public library is not distinctively Christian in nature, I certainly attempted to keep the guidelines of the Central Arkansas Library System in mind: To display “material that is “of educational, cultural, civic or recreational interest to a broad spectrum of the general public.” Also, I am not to “proselytize specific religious or ideological views” or include “materials that would be offensive to the prevailing moral standards of the community.”

The Terry Library is open 9 AM to 8 PM on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday; and 9 AM to 6 PM on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Besides the availability to see this poetry display at the Terry Library in April, a number of published poets will take part in the Arkansas Literary Festival, a four-day event from April 18-21, 2013.

And April is one month of each year that various chapters of the Poets Roundtable of Arkansas (founded in 1931) have their monthly meetings throughout the state.

And did you know that April 18 (a Thursday) is “Poem in Your Pocket Day”? This is an event created by the Academy of American Poets, with these instructions: Select a poem you enjoy, carry it with you, and share it with co-workers, family, and friends. While it’s a simple idea, I find it to be quite a challenge to select only one poem. Right now, it’s a toss-up among three: Scott Cairns’ “Possible Answers to Prayer”, Richard Wilbur’s “A Christmas Hymn”, and Susan Ludvigson’s “The Lilies of Landsford Canal.” 

Next Meeting: April 2 (Tuesday)

April 2

12-1 p.m. in the Vonette Bright Room at FamilyLife

The Little Rock Chapter of

American Christian Writers will be conducting

Critiques

You are invited to bring

something that you have written for

input from fellow writers.

For more information on LRACW,

please go to our website at:  LRACW.org