The Bible In 90 days - UPDATE

One of the things that drive me crazy when reading the Bible is reading about who begat who.  Saturday it finally hit me in the face why this is done.  I was reading about Jesus’ birth and they listed who begat who and it showed his lineage all the way to Adam.  Now if that wasn’t deep I don’t know what to tell you.

I will say this 90 days has been an experienced.  Some days I asked myself why are you doing this?  However when I started, I promised myself I wouldn’t quit until I hit the last page.  Right now I’m behind, so I don’t know if I’ll make it to Saturday.  I decided it didn’t matter, if it takes me an extra week, I will complete the Bible.

I highly recommend this for everyone to do at least once.  It is a great way to read the Bible every day.

After I’m done, I will share a few tips for you if you decided to take up the challenge this year.

Survived Spring Break

Hanging out with my family can be trip sometimes.  I will admit I enjoyed Spring Break with the Hoffman crew and will consider making this an annual event for us.  However I will consider the following tips.

1. Never have a suite that doesn’t include a room for the children.  Sharing a room is not the way to go.

2. Remember your children aren’t angels, make sure they have things to do and if bored make sure they don’t have to occupy the same space.

3. If its March madness time, leave the hubby at home because he doesn’t want to move from in front of the t.v.

4. Bring your books (kindle, nook) because you will have time to read.

5. Make sure the continental breakfast is something your family will eat or you will end up spending money on breakfast.

6. Bring toys to play in the pool with, (noodles, balls etc)

7. Bring plenty of change, for the vendor machines and arcade games.

8. Bring the wii, it’s a fun way to hang out with kids and you get a little exercise.

9. Bring the wii if you have netfix, saves on buying in room movies. (must have free internet to do this.)

10. Bring your laptop so you hang out on facebook or play bejeweled.

Those are few tips that help me have a successful spring break with the family.  I didn’t get a chance to do any writing, but I did get to read and catch up on my 90 days Bible challenge.

I think if we’d had separate rooms, I’d gotten some writing and more reading in, but that’s fine.  The goal was to hang out with the family and that’s what I did.

How did you spend your spring break?

Spring Break

This week is spring break for my kids. I decided to take today and tomorrow off to hang out with them. We rented a hotel room and plan on acting like we’re on a mini vacation. I have thoughts of lots of junk food, swimming in the pool and catching up on my reading. Yes I’m bringing the kindle and I have plenty of books to keep occupied.


Do you hang with your kids for their spring break?

Being Obedient

My children and I have been fighting over chores.  I gave them a list of what they have to do.  They fight me every step of the way.  They just don’t want to do them.  I say its your duty to this family to do chores.  They listen but still slack on them.

As I was washing a pot for dinner and fussing because they wouldn’t do their chores without me screaming at them.  The spirit whispered, do you listen to your father?  It hit me hard because, lately I’d been disobodient doing my own thing when it came to my faith.

I know a few of you know of my feelings of being burnt out and loosing my way.  I’d gotten into the habit of staying home on Sundays instead of going to church to learn and worship.  I missed church, but was too lazy to deny myself and get up.

How could I expect my children to obey me when I couldn’t obey my own father?

Yes I’m still the child, still learning as my children are.  Some days its hard, and some days I want to do what I want.  I understand how my kids feel especially when it comes to dishes, its like a vicious never ending cycle.

As their mother its my duty to teach them right from wrong and to have responsibility.  I know my mother did it for me and I will do it for them.  I also know that you lead by example, and I haven’t been giving a good example lately.

So I ask for your prayers as I try to be a better example for my children and a better Christian for my Lord.

How do you handle obedience in your life and your children lives?

Lesson Learned – Being a Judge

If you ask any published writer about learning the craft of writing, they will tell you to READ.  I have to agree.  I learned so much about writing from reading a good book.

One way to learn the craft and get your reading in is to volunteer to be a judge for a book contest. 

For the past 10 years I’ve been a judge for different book contests.  I wanted to share a few lessons I’ve learned from being a judge.

1. Know how many books you can read before you commit to being a judge.  I once committed to 10 books, and it was probably the worse time in my life to be trying to read.  I read them, but it was very stressful.

2. Make sure to choose the type of books that you write or want to write.  This helps you to see what the market is buying and you get to see what made these books sellable.

3. Choose a book that isn’t in your genre.  I always pick a genre I’ve never read before.  You can learn from these books too.  Your goal is too see what is selling and why.

4. Pick a genre that is hot right now.  I always pick a genre that is hot right now.  I want to see what the big deal is and I want to see how the book is written.

5. Make time to read.  The last thing you want to do is have to read all the books in one month.  Spread your reading time over the time limit they give you.  You’ll enjoy it more if you’re not rushing to read.

6. Judge each book right after you read it.  Don’t wait until you finish all the books, because you might not remember each book.  Take the time to fill out the judging sheet after you read the book.  The book is fresh in your mind and you can give an honest opinion.

7. Read the whole book.  Even if it’s not your cup of tea, finish the book.  You’ll learn what doesn’t work for you as a reader and you can use this knowledge in improving your own writing.

8. Do you have a problem with your writing; (dialogue, conflict etc); dissect these books for these problem areas.  See how the writers over comes them, learn how to improve your writing.

9. Write down the names of the books and authors.  Once you send in your information, you’ll probably forget about them later.  When the awards are announced, it’s nice to see if the books you enjoyed or the ones you didn’t make it to the winner circle.

10.  Support the writers you enjoyed.  I think the best part for me with being a judge for a book contest is finding new authors to read.  I visit their websites and add them to my to buy list.

These are a few lessons I’ve learned over the years as a judge. I hope they help you in determining you want to judge a book contest or help you with your first contest.

Have you judged a book contest?  Share your wisdom.

Jumping off the fence

I’ve been on the fence for a few years.  I’m one of those who likes to say I’m a writer, but I haven’t had anything published, so I’m not a paid writer.

This year I decided to kick past the fear and do some different things.  I found an editor and I’m working with her.  I’m in a critique group and I entered the Genesis yesterday.  One day before the deadline.

I almost chickened out.  I was like why bother, its not going to happen.  Then Holy Spirit whispered in my ear, can’t happen if you don’t get off the fence.

I jumped off yesterday by finishing my synopsis. Yes it was driving me crazy trying to come up with a one page synopsis.  I did the best I could.  I formatted the manuscript the way they wanted and filled out the form and paid my payment.  Now the fun stuff begins, waiting.

There are two more contests I’m interested in submitting to, the Romance Slam Jam and Faith and Fiction contests.  I want to enter something different that way I can get some feedback on three books versus one.

I’ll keep you posted if I decide to stay off the fence.

What’s stopping you from jumping off the fence?