Thursday's TGC

Tips:
1. Rachelle takes ordinary objects and turns them into something useful. Check out this gift box with homemade stationary that she made from a Mary Kaye box. Really fun looking and resourceful, too!
2. Casey's Tip #73 is so worth your time if you are writing and are stumped by lack of research or lack of right wording. Click here for a great idea.
3. And my top tip this week is from CAMarshall.  She shows you how to format a manuscript with a checklist.  Click here for a very clear how to do it post.
Giveaways:
1. This really isn't a giveaway, but then again it is. Make your own Advent Tree Calendar.  Asiaramblin has shared her secrets on how she made theirs. You can check it out here. I'm so excited because I fell in love with it when she posted pictures of it at Christmas!
Contests:
1. Brenda Drake is holding a blogfest contest. Submit your first line of your ms.  Here's what she says, "Hey guys, come join in on the fun for my It was a Dark and Stormy Blogfest Contest. The fabulous agent Weronika Janczuk from D4EO Literary Agency will be handing out prizes!"  Click here for all the details and prizes.


2. A.L. Sonnichsen posted about some really great opportunities.  Picture Book Marathon and Dear Editor's substantive free edit.  Click  here for for more details.




And this week I won the book You Were Made to Make a Difference from Jenna Lucado on Michael Hyatt's blog. Can't wait to read it.

WiP...and "Weeping Forward"

L-WiP (Life Work in Progress)

Image via Wikipedia

"Weeping Forward" totally comes from the Bible study I'm doing on Ruth by Kelly Minter. Looking at Ruth 4:7-14 Kelly points out that the two daughters-in-law both wept. Orpah wept going back home and Ruth wept going forward into the unknown.
Have you ever wept forward?  I'm not sure I'm at that place right now. It is more like dragging my feet and chewing my fingernails wondering what is next. I have to admit, there have been tears...I'll call them "fear tears." You know, the fear of the unknown.
But, I've had them before, those "fear tears".  It was exactly five years ago when we starting to sort through our things in China to move to Taiwan.  I so did NOT want to move here. I knew that was what God wanted of us, but my heart was not in it. I cried buckets of tears before the move, during the move and after the move. I cried with friends, with my kids, on my husbands shoulder, and alone. I don't like crying, so this was not a fabulous time for me.
I'm not sure when the tears stopped. But, they did. In fact, I'm not sure when I started to love this place, but I do. I am so glad that God moved us forward to Taipei. I love this city. I have made such wonderful friends here. And God is doing some awesome things here, too!
Remembering that God is the one who has it all figured out and secured, I can rest in him.  I can still cry, I just need to do it going forward.
I think this quote from Kelly sums it up well. "Although there will be weeping in this life, the direction in which we weep is what truly matters."
So, have you ever cried moving forward?  Are you in that place now?  Please share...it encourages me so much to hear how others stepped forward.

WiP (Work in Progress)
Ahh, the writing process.  I finished those first two chapter edits and sent them off to a few friends. I got some comments back already.  They liked it...yeah!  But, there are some areas that need more clarification and some touch ups here and there.  So thankful for people willing to look over my work and give me critiques that are not "fluffy and nice".  So, thanks to you all that took a peek and were "tough"...I like that. ;)
Now, to finish those edits up and send out those chapters on Monday for my class. Then back to editing the other chapters. Can't stop here just for the class. I'll never get to the querying stage if I stop now.

Tuesday's QBR

This week has been CRAZY busy with a birthday party, getting ready for that birthday party, applying for two new passports for the kids (which btw is so not fun), and, well, life.  So, I only finished one book this week. But, it is a good one and it is on my FitG list. (Yeah, for me!)

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Okay, can we say deep? Love this book on various levels.
1. Loved that the setting was during WWII, but the content is current.
2. Very thought-provoking on so many levels. (I'm liking that phrase today, so deal with it. LOL)
3. Challenging to get into the language. (I had a hard time at first, but loved the challenge in a "teacher sort of way.")

If you want to read a full version, you can click here for my full review.

Homeschool Wrap Up....Letters

Ahh, one of those weeks where there is so much going on that homeschool sort of happened, but not like I had planned. Go figure.
But, some great news is this:
1. Jie Jie's ST will now be weekly. Half hour individual and half hour with another student. So, double happiness for us. 1. ST an hour long each week and 2. She has a classmate once a week.

2. She has started "reading".  Ms. Jones has been working on the word "go". We have a little book that we practice reading together.  It is fun to watch her realize that the letters on the page are words.

I also want to share another resource that we've been using to help with letter recognition and matching lowercase letters with uppercase letters.  These both come from Musings of Me, which is where I got last week's resources from as well.  Can't say enough about her units and how grateful I am to be able to get them for FREE!

Sorting letters...

Matching...and I'm not sure why this picture
did this. Sorry about it.

And now to plan Mei Mei's birthday painting party for tomorrow...she turned 6 last Monday. 

Thursday's TGC

Tips:

1. Critiquing.  Kristin at The Monkey Patch writes on how to get critique partners.  Click here for some good places to look for that great critique partner.

And over at the Writer's Alley, Sherrinda has some great tips for those doing critiques.  Click here to help you in your critiquing.

2. Ali Cross introduces some of her favorite apps for her iPhone. Click here to see which ones she recommends,.

3. Do you need to downsize your library shelf, but not sure what to do with those books? WOW! has lots of ideas for you. Click here to help you simplify your life.

Giveaways:

1. Two of a Kind is giving away a Valentine's kitchen pack (cookie sheet, sprinkles, plus more). Click here for more information on how you can enter.

2. The Bookshelf Muse is giving away some great prizes for writers.  Free critiques of chapters, first pages and a mystery package. Click here for more details.

3.Homeschool Creations are giving away the Education Cubes. Click here for more information on that.

Contests:

1. Karen G announced that WiDo Publishing's acquisition's editor, Allie Maldonado is having a submission contest.  Interested? Click here for more details. 

2. Kristi Holl's Writer's First Aide suggests to enter contests for money. Not only that, she suggests places to look for contests and gives a specific contest you can enter for children's writing. Click here for more details.

WiP...life and writing

L-WiP (Life Work in Progress):

Last week I posted about my one word. Secure.  I recounted how that my security was already being tested by the elevator news.  I have an update on how that turned out already!  The day after I posted about it, a sign went up letting us all know that it would happen March 2-21. I have a month to get ready for it mentally and physically (not days like I had originally thought). Then, just a few days ago, the noticed came down. Our guard let us know that the building managers had changed their minds. The elevator would be replaced at a different time. I'm not sure when, but I'm elated that it isn't going to be happening within the next few months!  

I feel like I've been swirled around with my word this week. I have a group of college friends (9 if you want to know how many) that I'm still tight with. This week we've been sharing with each other the ins and outs of our lives.  I'm always amazed by them, have been since the first day I met them. All godly ladies who seek the Lord. 

But, again, through their emails and through a Bible study on Ruth by Kelly Minter I was reminded of a Psalm that is so fitting.  This same Psalm was part of a study I did a year ago on Esther by Beth Moore.  (You'd think I'd get the clue then, eh?)

Anyway, I want share it with you now. It has been a comfort for me when I'm feeling like all is out of control and I'm not sure what God is doing in my life personally.  

Psalm 16:5-6, 8 (NIV)

LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

* note that I added the bold for emphasis.

The whole Psalm is great. But, see that word is there....secure.  I  think I found my verse(s) for the year.

WiP (Work in Progress)

I've "finished" editing Chapter 1-2 of my novel. I say "finished" because it is just the first round. I plan to go over it again today while Jie Jie is in ST before sending it to a few people to give it a look over.  So, this class is going to end.

I have not worked on any short stories though, which is something that I will focus on after the editing. =)

So, question for you?  How is your L-WiP coming along? Do you have a verse for the year? How about your writing....do you like to edit?

Tuesday's QBR

I have three Quick Book Reviews for ya today.
1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Description from Goodreads: Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Katniss, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12. The thrill-packed final installment of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy will keep young hearts pounding.
QBR: Of the three books, this one was my least favorite. I just didn't like all the detailed accounts of death.  Possible spoiler alert:  I did like the ending though with the surprise assassination. Thought she did the right thing and picked the right guy.


2. The Kind of Friends We Used to Be by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Description from Goodreads: Kate and Marylin are smack dab in the middle of middle school-seventh grade-and lately being stuck in the middle is starting to feel like a regular theme in both of their lives. They know that they can never be best friends like they used to be, not after Marylin became the kind of person who cares too much about hair (a.k.a. a middle school cheerleader). But, what if they still kind of want to be friends . . . and what if that's much harder than they ever imagined?   To read the rest of the description click here.
QBR: I think I'm becoming a fan of Frances O'Roark Dowell. This is my second book and it was not a disappointment either. I thought the characters were developed well and true to middle school friendship drama. A good clean book for any pre-teen or teenager to read.


3. Little Leap Forward: A boy in Beijing by Guo Yue and Clare Farrow
Description from Goodreads:  A sensitively written, semi-autobiographical story about a boy called Little Leap Forward, growing up in the hutongs of Beijing in the 1960's, during the Cultural Revolution. Little Leap Forward offers children an intimate and immediate account of a child's experiences as Mao Tse Tung's Great Leap Forward policy tightens its grip on China.
QBR:  I read this book in light that Chinese New Year is fast approaching.  I thought this was a GREAT book to introduce the Cultural Revolution to young readers. It is in the POV of a young boy who is musical like his father. His mother is an educated teacher. Everything seems magical until the Red Guards come and all things "old China" and "foreign" are burned.  Thought the illustrations by Helen Cann brought the book to another level for kids who may not have experienced anything Asian. Highly recommend it.