|
|
| If you've ever wondered what it takes to become a ghostwriter, and you don't know where to turn for help, check out Cec's legacy book, Ghostwriting: The Murphey Method. It's now available for pre-order.
| |
| PENCON 2017, whose mission is to equip and encourage Christian editors in cooperative competition through networking, will take place in Atlanta, May 4-6. Cec will keynote and teach two classes.
| |
| Author Steven James asked Cec to bring an inspirational message to the writers at his Novelist Intensive Reunion in Atlanta on January 28. Cec is shown with Steven James, Pam Thompson, Edie Melson, and Jonathan Clements. It was a delightful way to spend his 84th birthday.
| |
|
| Still Growing
Last month I turned 84, and I’m still learning. For example, since October of last year, I’ve been reading about the Desert Fathers—monks and hermits who fled into the deserts of Egypt beginning in the third century. Feeling contaminated by their culture and seeking a purer relationship with God, those men (and later women as well) wrote of their insights.
One concept from my reading has stayed with me: passing judgment on others is a sign that we haven’t fully encountered ourselves. They point out that if we’re upset by the words or actions of others, we’re damning ourselves. Conversely, if we truly accept who we are, we don’t criticize anyone. “If anyone is bearing his [own] sins, he does not look on those of his neighbors.”[1]
That has stayed with me because my judgmentalism reflects my own self-condemnation. One writer pointed out that while we’re disparaging another, we unconsciously sense that we too aren’t perfect. The Desert Fathers believed that renouncing judgment and condemnation was the direct path to inner peace.
Or to state it differently, a wise teacher said, “Why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?. . . First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye” (Matthew 7:3,5 NLT).
I wonder how many times I’ve read Jesus’ words and moved on; however, reading the same idea from a nonbiblical source challenged me. Each morning, I now pray, “God, help me fully accept myself as I am, so I can fully accept others as they are.”
If you know me personally, you know I haven’t reached my goal. Instead of being downhearted, I remind myself that I’m still learning and growing. That adds excitement to my life.
[1] Heaven Begins Within You by Anselm Gruen p.53
| |
| Personal News - By the end of January I had finished my last contracted book. For the first time since 1984, I have no book contracts. As I keep saying to my friends, I’m easing into retirement.
- On February 8, I’ll speak at Beulah Heights University, here in Atlanta, about how to sign with an agent and how to get published.
- Two years ago, I promised Suzanne Kuhn (of Suzy Q) to help her write a book that she would self-publish. We’re ready to start that project this month.
- I’m scheduled to give two keynote addresses and teach three classes at the Blue Lake Christian Writers Retreat in Andalusia, Alabama, March 22-25.
- I’ll have a busy weekend in Jamestown, New York, April 28–30, which includes speaking at the Write Circle Writers Group and the Jamestown Public Library, keynoting the next day for the Writing Success Conference, and preaching Sunday at the Busti Church of God.
- May 4-6, I’ll keynote and teach at PENCON in Atlanta. PENCON is the only conference for editors in the Christian market.
- I have nothing scheduled for the rest of the year. And I’m smiling.
| |
|
| The Twila Zone--
Words from My Assistant, Twila Belk
As you can see from the picture to the left, my hair is coming back, and for some reason it's In a different color. I'm now sporting my new crown of glory, as Proverbs 16:31 describes it. (In other words, I'm gray--very gray--and white.) I guess I've finally reached maturity.
I've been at work on my next book for BroadStreet Publishing, The Power to BE: Be Still, Be Grateful, Be Strong, Be Courageous, and I'm a regular contributor to Positive Note Magazine. The owners of Positive Note Network have recently presented an opportunity for me to join them in another role, and I'm looking forward to what God has in store with that.
More and more I'm feeling the desire to get back to speaking. After all, I'm the Gotta Tell Somebody Gal, and I have messages that are burning inside of me! I look forward to the end of March, when I'll keynote and teach at the Called to Write Conference in Pittsburg, Kansas, and in June I'll keynote for the Kentucky Christian Writers Conference in Elizabethtown. I'll also speak for a MOPS group in Bettendorf, Iowa, in April, and my pastor has asked if I could speak in the near future at church.
My energy is returning little by little, although fatigue continues to zap me more often than I'd like, and I'm still awaiting word from the plastic surgeon's office about scheduling my reconstruction surgery. At this time, it looks like that will happen several months from now.
| |
|
|
|
| Gotta Tell Somebody, Inc. | 5672 Appleton Road | Bettendorf, IA 52722 |
|
|
|
