50 States of Pray: A WI Christmas Wish

Merry Christmas Eve! When I heard about Mark Koopman's "50 States of Pray," I thought it was a great way to ring in the holidays. Here's my reflection, wish and prayer all rolled into one:

Dear Father,

 

2000 years ago, you used an ordinary night to give us an extraordinary gift.

 

You used a young family to show us courage and faith.

 

You used a baby to show us love.

 

You used a manger to show us a king.

 

You used frightened shepherds to show us hope and companies of angels to show us joy.

 

 

In the next year, use me.

 

Teach me.

 

Send me.

 

Move me in ways that make a difference for your kingdom and spread the wonder, joy and love of that first Christmas! And watch over us all.

 

Amen.

Opening Lines: Christmas Style

We all know how hard it is to come up with a perfect hook that will make readers fall instantly in love with our story. Well, we’re coming up on Christmas and that’s a pretty darn good story in itself, so I thought I’d share one of my new favorite Christmas song openings.

This is from King and Country’s Baby Boy:

If you told me all about your sorrows, I’d tell you ‘bout a cure.
If you told me you can’t fight the battle, there’s a baby boy who won the war.

The war was won by a baby boy.

 

Those first few stanzas capture everything and why it matters, in remarkable simplicity. It makes me want to nestle up next to a warm fire, with bright joyful eyes, and simply listen to the tale of that wondrous night.

So, here’s to wishing you and your family a wonderful, blessed and very Merry Christmas!

Writers are Awesome!

In the years I’ve been involved in the writing community, I’ve come to this conclusion again and again--writers are amazing people! I’ve seen writers give of themselves, lift others up and do frankly stupendous deeds that have nothing to do with writing, but always seem to hearken back to the heart of why we write and the type of personality it takes to live this writing life.

It seems like when we’re not writing worlds, we’re working hard to help our own.

I was feeling a little low last month – sick, no voice, general wonderings of where this path was going and whether or not I’d missed some exit or fork in the road along the way – when I stumbled across the latest example of writers doing good! (It was the Pat Rothfuss article below if you’re curious.)

I shouldn’t have been surprised, because I’ve seen it happen over and over again. And I’ve heard it from all of you too: When we need a pick-me-up, the writing community is there to shine a light.

So, I guess I just wanted to say thanks for being amazing, all of you in the writing world! Published or unpublished, newbie writer or hardened veteran of the query wars, across genres, word counts and nations – you guys rock!

Check out these heartwarming stories of writers in action:

• Patrick Rothfuss Gives Away a Castle

• Crits for Water

• Holiday Book Drive
  If you're in Indiana, check out this one sponsored by my friend's bookstore!

• Mark Koopman's 50 States of Pray
  On Christmas Eve, share a prayer, a thought, a memory, a hope and even a regret about the past and/or a wish for the future. See if your state is one of the seventeen eight! still needed.

• Nutschell's Story Sprouts Philippines Fundraiser

• ADDED! Nathan Bransford's 5th Annual Heifer Internat'l Fundraiser

And remember these little guys from earlier in the year?

• Young Author Raises $400K for Sick Friend

Thanks for being your wonderful selves this year! Wishing you all a fantastic holiday and New Year!