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Just for a smile
You may have heard this story about the kid in Rochester, NY who was put in the last four minutes of a high school basketball game a couple years ago. He went on to make, like, five three-pointers in a row . . .
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6cOp6EDFlI]
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Amazing story. I don’t have this fantastic insight or anything like that. I just know that I love it when the unlikely happens. It just makes me smile.
Have a great day, everyone!
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Billy Coffey Part 1
Fellow writer, Billy Coffey has recently stepped into the realm of “Agented Writer.” Uber-Agent, Rachelle Gardner has picked him up as a client.
I first mentioned Billy Coffey on this blog way back on 11/25/08 after I’d stumbled across his blog. He has a unique, God-given, talent for writing so be sure to go check out his blog and bookmark it. You’ll be glad you did.
So, Billy has graciously agreed to share his experience receiving “The Call.” For those of you who don’t write or don’t know what “The Call” is-it’s when an agent calls a writer up and offers him/her representation. Although it doesn’t guarantee publication, it means you have an person actively working on your behalf toward the goal of publication.
1. First off, what do you write? How long have you been writing?
I write inspirational non-fiction that usually consists of trying to see the hand of God in our everyday circumstances. My subjects are usually family, friends, and life in rural Virginia, and through them I explore faith and life. I like searching for the big things in the little things.
Since Mrs. Houser’s Creative Writing class when I was a junior in high school. I loved it, and she helped me to see that writing could help me make sense of the world and my place in it.
2. How many agents had you queried and how many rejections had you received before you got “The Call”?
Sheesh. All of them, I think. I’ve worn out four years worth of Sally Stuart’s Christian Writers Market Guide books. Every year I would promise myself it would be the last time I’d have to buy one, and every year I’d be right back in line at the bookstore with the newest copy in my hand.
All in all, I had probably queried forty agents and received about thirty rejections, ranging from handwritten notes of encouragement to one email that said “Pass, bu tGod bless.” Yeah, kinda bad when you get a typo in your rejection, isn’t it? But even that was better than the other ten, who never bothered to write back even though they promised an answer.
3. What got you through the discouragement of rejections from agents you’d queried?
I’ve had tons of encouragement from the readers of my blog. They’ve always been so supportive with their comments and emails, and they helped me to believe that someone somewhere was bound to give me a chance.
Agents and editors will say that a blog is essential for an aspiring writer to build a platform. That’s been my case, too. But I didn’t count on my blog helping me with more than a platform. It’s helped me find some really amazing people, too.
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***Join us next Tuesday for a play-by-play on the day he got “The Call.”***
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ED THOMAS
In June, the world lost a stellar man. Ed Thomas.You might be wondering why I’m talking about this on my blog. For those of you who don’t know, my sweet hubby, Charlie, is from Iowa.
Yep. So when he heard of this tragedy, it was like a kick to the gut.
Sure, Charlie didn’t know the guy personally. But through friends of friends of friends…he knows people who knew this legendary coach.
Ed Thomas was a stand up guy. He cared about the players and how they interacted with the community. After a tornado ripped through a nearby town, he and his athletes got involved and helped rebuild.
He coached several players who went on to the NFL, including Jacksonville Jaguars center Brad Meester, Detroit Lions defensive end Jared DeVries and Denver Broncos center Casey Wiegmann.
Such a great loss to the community and to athletics in general. Our prayers go out to his family and friends.
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GOD CARES ABOUT BIKES?
Okay, so, it’s kinda mucky out there right now, isn’t it? Economy, swine flu, you name it. But, let’s take a few minutes and think about something that’s inspired us! Tell me your story.
Here’s mine.
So, you all know about my dad. He did a 3,000 mile road bike to raise money for Young Life.
Well, with less than a couple hundred miles left on his ride, his bike broke. Something about a gear shifter lever. You can tell I’m not a technician, can’t you?
Well, this broken shifter meant that he was stuck in ONE gear. And that’s just not good when you’re navigating hills, battling headwinds, etc.
Well, after a day of pedaling with just one gear, he decided he’d stop in a bike store to ask if they can manually put it in an easier gear.
The man said, “Sure, I’ll take a look at it.”
“I know you can’t fix it, two bike shops already told me it’s not fixable, but if you can get it in an easier gear for me, that’d be great,” my dad said.
“Sure, let me take a look.” The guy took the bike back.
Now, a couple hours earlier, My dad had talked to his pastor on the phone to give him an update of the ride so far, so they could share it with the congregation back home in AZ. When he heard about the bike problems, he said he’d have them pray for him.
A few minutes later, the technician came out with my dad’s bike, “Well, fixed her up for ya.”
“You fixed it? Or just got it into an easier gear for me?”
“No, I fixed it.”
Turns out he was able to band-aid fix the gear shifter. So, for the last 119 miles, my dad had all his gears. He said it was a good thing, because he had a head wind the entire 119 miles on that last day!
The power of prayer, even when it’s just about a bike ride. Amazing.
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Your Turn
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THEY STINK
I attend a church that has about 12,000 members. There are tons of pastors at the church, and all do very well when they share God’s word. But I’ll tell you, besides the Senior Pastor, Don Wilson, I really enjoy Dennis Bloodworth‘s lectures.
One of his lectures had a story in it about showing God’s love to everyone, no matter their station, really sunk in for me. Here’s the story:
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Dennis was a new Youth Pastor at a church in a tiny town in Kansas.
The 9am, youth group had 15-20 kids one morning, which was larger than usual.
Two kids came in about 15 minutes late. They took their coats off and Dennis saw they were covered in something…they didn’t smell very nice.
Now, he didn’t know these two kids yet, but he welcomed them but since the group was larger than normal he had to run up and make more copies of the materials. He had them come in and start on an activity while he ran upstairs.
10 minutes later, back down, but the two kids that had come in late were gone.
Dennis asked his assistant, “Where’d they go?’
“I sent them home,” she answered.
“Why?”
“Well, they stunk. And they weren’t very clean so I told them to go home and clean up and come back again some time.”
Dennis ran upstairs and looked around, trying to find them, but they were gone.
Next weekend Dennis found out where the kids lived and drove to their house, which was about 2 miles outside of town.
He knocked on door.
One of the kids answered.
Dennis apologized for the previous weekend and asked if they’d come back to try again.
Boys said no and told Dennis what had gone through to get to church last Sunday:
Their dad isn’t a believer, but they asked dad if they could go and try the church since there was a new youth pastor, they wanted to check it out.
Dad said okay, but they had to first get your chores done.
They lived on a pig farm.
So, the two boys got up with flashlights at 4am and did all their chores. They asked to take the farm truck into town, but the dad said no. They’d have to walk if they wanted to go to church so badly.
Their Mom died earlier that year. They had only the farm truck. They were very low on money.
After doing chores the kids walked two miles on a cold, Kansas, winter morning to the church.
They arrived a few minutes late and were glad to be in the warmth of the church only to be told to go home and clean up.
The boys never went to that church again.
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Dennis summed up that story by saying (I’m summarizing):
These kids were dying to see Jesus, and they showed up to church to find Him, but that’s not what they found. If we want to show the world Jesus, WE must show it, no matter what the circumstances.
To hear the full story: Christ’s Church of the Valley, Pastor Bloodworth.
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3,100 mile bike ride update
My dad is almost five hundred miles into his journey across America. Can you believe it? He’s raised over $20,000.00 so far! It’s amazing.
He rode through Phoenix on Sunday, so Charlie and I met up with him and biked about 47 miles with him.
It was such a blast even though we had a 20 mph headwind at times.
In case you haven’t read his story, you can see both parts by clicking links below:
For the most part, things are going well. Some predicted aches and pains from riding a road bike over 100 miles per day. He is having a little unexpected foot pain, but my sweet hubby, who’s a physical therapist, took good care of him when he stopped through Phoenix.
So, keep my dad, Don, in your prayers. He has a long way to go until he gets to Florida.
He’s such an inspiration.
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I’m curious — who inspires you? I’d love to hear your stories.
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