Every evening, I lead my boys (ages 11 and 14) in devotions for spiritual growth. It’s always a beautiful time of encountering the sweet presence of Holy Spirit, worshiping Him, reading the Word, and learning to hear His voice.

Sometimes our devotions will vary, but I usually read scriptures out loud and we discuss in depth how it applies to our daily lives. Then I read out loud a current God story or faith building story.

One night, our faith building story came from a book titled, “My Craziest Adventures with God” by the Praying Medic.

The author shared that we need to do small things to activate and grow our faith so we have bigger faith to do bigger things. An example he gave was an ‘activation’ that can be used with kids.

In the story, he presented a penny to a child and demonstrated how it won’t stick to the wall by itself. But when you ask Holy Spirit to come and by His power hold it to the wall, He will hold it there.

My youngest son nearly jumped out of his seat and said, “I want to try that!”
Now, I have big faith, cultivated over many years of prayer and seeing God answer those prayers in miraculous ways. Yet, my first thought when my son said he wanted to try this was, “Uh oh. What if he takes this leap of faith and it doesn’t work?”

I chastised myself inwardly, then decided in my heart that I’d remain excited and would enthusiastically encourage him.  And if it didn’t work, I would tell him we could try it again tomorrow.

He found a penny and held it to the wall. He prayed out loud and… the penny stuck! It stayed for about 30 seconds then fell off. He prayed again and it stayed. Weeks later, it’s still there.

My oldest son jumped up, wanting to try it. He pressed a penny to the wall and immediately it fell. He gave a disgusted look like, ‘Why did I think this would work?’

I told him, “You need to pray!”

He prayed out loud and said, “Holy Spirit come, and by your power hold the penny to the wall.” As he prayed, we distinctly heard a crackle sound and the penny stuck. It was amazing!

Weeks later, I’m happy to report his penny is also still stuck to the wall.

Then my youngest son prayed over a third penny and it also stuck. He sat there marveling for a few minutes, then ran to his room. He returned with a hook that had a fishing weight on it and he gently placed the hook on the penny. The penny stayed! My jaw dropped.

He ran and grabbed another weight, doubling the weight to hang on the penny and tried again. And the penny stayed on the wall!

This experience has dramatically changed both of my son’s prayer lives. They have seen firsthand how the supernatural can overcome physical limitations. They now pray with authority and confidence, with a sense of wonder and awe.  

My youngest son said to me, “Mom, I’m going to pray more now, because I know it’s working!”

Each day, you can take steps to create warmth and connection with your family, even at the start of the day. This gives them the best chance for a bright morning and they leave for the day feeling loved, valued and treasured.

Here are 12 tips for a great weekday morning that will get everyone off to a fantastic start:

1. Get Up Early

Rise before everyone else in the home. If you work, you’ll want to be up extra early so you have time the time needed to get yourself ready first.

2. Take a Moment to Connect with God

Allow Holy Spirit to fill you with the peace and love needed to pour out to your family for the day. It’s hard to pour out to others when you are running on empty.

3. Express Love Through the Sound of Your Voice

Use a warm and gentle tone when waking your family as well as through the morning. Let them hear love in your voice. Let them see you smiling.

4. Ask How They Slept

If they didn’t sleep well, find out if they aren’t feeling well, if something is troubling them or if there is something that is keeping them awake that you can tend to later (like not having enough blankets to keep them warm through the night.)

5. Make a Protein-Rich Breakfast

Ensure they start their day with a protein-rich breakfast. Protein provides energy to stay motivated through the morning, increases alertness and supports a healthy metabolism.  Our protein-rich breakfasts vary, but we often have a breakfast burrito (scrambled eggs and shredded cheddar cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla) or a nutrient-dense chocolate protein shake if we are having oatmeal or other grains.  (see here for healthy chocolate shake options)

If they aren’t feeling well, add powdered vitamin C to their protein shake. If they are running late, they can take the breakfast with them, on the go. (Pour shakes into lidded cups and wrap breakfast burritos in napkins.)

6. Keep the Morning Lunch-Making Routine Quick and Easy

In our pantry, we each have a food shelf with bagged snacks and drinks that can be easily grabbed for quickly building personalized lunches.  Dinner left-overs are stored in small Tupperware containers the night before and marked with names, so everyone can grab and go. Sandwich and wrap supplies are all kept together on the same shelf in the fridge so we don’t spend time searching for each needed ingredient.

7. Write Notes of Encouragement

Once in a while, tuck a handwritten note into their lunch bag, with words that express your love for them. You can also write down the scripture verse that you have been praying over them daily. For young kids that you are packing lunches for, you can cut their sandwiches into stars or hearts, write a note with added stickers, and include a ‘fun fact’ card (my boys love the dinosaur fact cards and trading cards).

8. Prep the Night Before

Besides setting aside leftovers the night before, ensure coats, backpacks, shoes, keys, etc, are in their proper places, all school forms are signed, homework is gathered and ready, and they have clean clothing options for what they will wear in the morning.

9. Keep Your Focus on Them

Don’t allow yourself to get distracted by your phone or anything else that can wait until later. Be fully present and attentive to their needs.

10. Shower Them with Affection

Even during the morning rush, shower them with affection. A gentle touch on their shoulder, back, and arm releases tension and makes them feel loved and secure. I do this every chance I get, and in return my family embraces me in a giant hug before they head out – and that puts a big smile on my face.

11. Express Positive Statements as They Leave

When saying goodbyes, express heartfelt statements, such as, “Have a great day, I love you!” Sometimes, they’ll run back to give me an extra hug and I love that.

12. Pray a Covering of Protection

As they walk away, say a prayer for their safety and protection through the day.

From the time they wake up, until they are out the door, it’s a fast-paced 30 minutes for us. Then I rush to get myself off to work. Sometimes things go way off course, because not every morning will go smoothly. But those mornings when each family member leaves with a contented expression on their face, you know it’s all worthwhile.

I enjoy making our own seasoned ground beef for tacos and nachos, but my kids (and young guests) will squawk over the tiniest bit of onion, garlic or chunks of tomato.  They also don’t enjoy the meat being too spicy for their developing taste buds. So I came up with this recipe with powdered seasoning alternatives, which still utilizes all the savory flavors of those tasty ingredients, but the chunky texture is gone.

You can always include fresh, cooked or caramelized onions, garlic and tomatoes on the side for adults to add to their dish.

Try this quick and easy recipe and watch the kids go back for seconds!

My kids know that Fridays are designated as “Friday Fun Night”. They are always welcome to invite their friends over for dinner, games and a movie.  I love the noisy chatter and laughter ringing through my home, the bonding of friendships and the happy memories being made.

We usually end up with a variety of ages of guests coming from our own neighborhood as well as from other towns –  young adults, teens, tweens, and adult friends. I love cooking for guests and planning out beautiful and tasty meals to eat together. But with the age range on Friday nights and a variety of different tastes and dietary needs, it can be difficult to feed everyone. I’ve come up with some easy ways to serve all the guests, while they also enjoy the comforts of home cooking.

I’ve usually got the food hot and ready when everyone arrives and it’s set up in the kitchen, buffet style. These are some of our favorite Friday night group dinners, where all the ingredients are set out and guests ‘build’ their own dish according to their preferences. Be sure to have plenty of napkins ready!

Tacos –  Soft and Hard Shells

This is our number one favorite!  I put out flour tortillas as well as hard shells so our guests can choose one or both and fill them up with the following:

• Seasoned Ground Beef (see my recipe here)
• Shredded Cheddar cheese
• Shredded Romaine lettuce
• Sliced olives
• Chopped Tomatoes
• Chopped Cilantro (fresh from the garden is best)
• Caramelized onions & garlic
• Salsa
• Sour Cream
• Avocado slices
• Fresh-cut lime
• Guacamole
• Hot sauce

Sometimes I’ll deep fry small corn tortillas to make my own homemade taco shells, but it’s a really big hit when I deep fry large flour tortillas to make GIANT taco shells!

Hawaiian Hay Stacks

These Hawaiian Hay Stacks are layered – first is hot rice, second is chow-mein noodles, third is chicken, then garnish with the other toppings. Teens and older will appreciate this dish.

Begin with:

• Hot cooked rice
• Crispy chow-mein noodles
• Cooked shredded chicken mixed with chicken gravy
  or condensed cream of chicken soup

Top with:

• Chopped tomatoes
• Chopped celery
• Chopped green onions
• Fresh pineapple chunks
• Shredded Cheddar cheese
• Slivered almonds
• Shredded coconut

You’ll want to go back for seconds!

Loaded Nachos

I instruct guests to put a layer of tortilla chips on their plate, cover the chips with their chosen toppings, then pop it into the microwave to melt all the cheese. The toppings for the nachos are:

• Seasoned Ground Beef (see my recipe here)
• Black beans
• Refried pinto beans
• Shredded Cheddar cheese
• Sliced olives
• Chopped tomatoes
• Caramelized onions
• Chopped jalapeno peppers
• Sour cream
• Guacamole
• Salsa (we like to have a variety such as corn salsa, mango salsa, black bean salsa, tomatillo salsa, etc)
• Hot sauce

Build Your Own Pizza

This is a lot of fun, especially for those who don’t get many opportunities to cook in the kitchen.  Make the pizza dough (I always double the recipe) and divide it into small balls.  Sprinkle flour onto your clean countertop and rolling pin, then invite each guest to roll out their own personal pizza.

When they are done rolling, have them place the flattened dough onto the pizza pan, then let them load it up with their favorite toppings. Since my oven will only bake a few personal pizzas at a time, this is a great option for when guests will be arriving at different times.

• Pizza sauce (we like the jarred Classico Traditional
  pizza sauce best)
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese (shred extra cheese
  for those who prefer cheese pizza)
• Shredded Parmesan cheese
• Pepperoni
• Sausage
• Canadian bacon
• Salami
• Crispy bacon
• Sliced olives
• Chopped pineapple
• Caramelized onion
• Caramelized garlic
• Mushrooms
• Bell peppers
• Chopped tomatoes
• Anything else you’d like to add!

Above all, enjoy this time, savor the good food and enjoy these beautiful moments together with family and friends!

I adore fairy tales, but I especially love a good princess story. When I was six years old, my daddy gave me this great big Cinderella picture book and I spent a lot of time staring at the beautiful illustrations. I pored over the pages of rich artwork so often that the spine of the book began to break and the pages started falling out. Much to my relief, my mom fixed it with masking tape.

The story of Cinderella resonated deeply within me as a child. It revealed a powerful message that has stayed with me for many years. Having a nurturing, kind, servant’s heart isn’t always appreciated by those around us. In fact, it will often be taken for granted and at times be taken advantage of.

Cinderella could have talked back to her step-mother. She could have been snippy to her terrible step-sisters. But instead, she chose to turn the other cheek, to be kind, generous and loving. Just as Jesus calls us to do and be.

As an adult, I’ve learned about the importance of healthy boundaries and what healthy relationships look and feel like. I now know that for Cinderella, if a higher power hadn’t stepped in to change the course of the story the night of the ball, she would have needed the courage to speak out and express that she will no longer tolerate such poor treatment. If they had ignored or ridiculed her, it would have been time for her to walk away from her home and her step-family.

If she had stayed and endured the abuse, it would have broken her beyond repair. She never would have become the woman that she was destined to be.

As we walk through difficulties in life, it’s hard to keep a right attitude, to stay positive and to hold on to hope. So it’s important to have relationships in our inner circle with people who are empathetic, reliable, emotionally stable and kind.

No relationship is perfect. Both sides have to be willing to do the work of keeping a relationship healthy. If you find yourself constantly being the one to flex and accommodate the other person while they are not making efforts to change then you may need to take drastic action. If you have exhausted all your efforts and attempts at resolution, then the next best thing to do is to let them go.

It is essential to establish healthy boundaries to protect ourselves and sometimes that means walking away from a situation or person. That’s okay. If someone is consistently keeping you from fulfilling the calling on your life and your God-given destiny, it’s time to release them. Step into the unknown and allow God to lead you into a new story.

Red flags to be aware of in an unhealthy relationship:

• They use their words like swords to cut you deeply, to make themselves feel better.
• There is a lack of trust.
• Their words, actions and behaviors cause you to feel insecure and/or confused.
• They are controlling.
• There is an inability to resolve past issues.
• There is a lack of healthy communication. (Can you share the depths of your heart safely?)
• They have a sense of entitlement, that their needs come first.
• They easily get offended or defensive.
• The relationship is based on the need to feel needed or wanted.
• They repeatedly bring up your past mistakes to shame or guilt you.
• You feel you have to stay in the relationship because you are ‘supposed to’ due to religious or moral obligation.
• They create a toxic environment.
• They display abusive behavior – whether mild or excessive, if it is verbal, emotional, psychological, or physical.
• You have to pretend to be someone else.

Walking away may not be the ‘happily ever after’ we had hoped for. Things may not turn out the way you thought they were supposed to, or the way you prayed for them to with child-like expectancy. In fact, you may be left wondering why God didn’t provide the miracle that you had mountains of faith for. It doesn’t always make sense. But I do know staying will often enable the other person to continue with their poor behavior and you will get sucked into their behavioral cycles, leaving you lost, confused, weary and broken.

But what if you’re worried about what will happen to them when you leave? Often, it’s a huge wake up call for them to face reality, and it will allow for growth that otherwise wouldn’t have happened. In essence, you are helping them by no longer enabling or tolerating their poor behavior and they can focus on getting professional help for themselves individually.

I also know that after leaving, God will use your story to strengthen others and encourage them to be brave enough to get out of an unhealthy relationship, so they can then walk in the fullness of all that He has called them to do and be.

Cinderella eventually marries the handsome prince, which brought resolution to her painful situation. While we don’t know what kind of marriage they had, the story ends with, “They lived happily ever after”, which tells me they had a healthy relationship with an intricate connection that brought about much joy, fulfillment, and deep gratitude for each other.

Marks of a healthy relationship:

• Mutual respect
• Honesty
• Kindness
• Trust
• Support
• Fairness/equality
• Separate identities
• Encouragement
• Good, healthy communication
• Feeling a deep sense of peace
• Affection
• Willingness to be vulnerable
• A sense of playfulness and fondness for each other
• Approachable and receptive to feedback without being overly sensitive to certain topics
• Understanding of and anticipating each others needs
• Laughter

Those are the kind of relationships that cause us to be the best versions of ourselves. You’ll desire to protect the relationship and nurture it. It causes both sides to want to grow together, care for each other, and spend time with each other. You truly value each other and want to express it daily.

If you are in the midst of pouring yourself into an unhealthy relationship, still trying to make it work, stumbling through the pain, and professional counseling hasn’t produced the needed changes, there is Someone who notices and who will respond with volumes of love. It may not be the prince in white shining armor. It may not be the hero swooping in to rescue you at the last moment. But it will always be your Heavenly Father.

He hears you, He knows you deeply and He feels your pain. He knows the injustices and the heartaches. When you call out to Him, He will reach down and wrap you with His comforting presence and peace. He will gently wipe away the tears and say, “Good things are coming. Just wait ’til you see what I have in store for you, beloved.” And He will give you the courage to rise up in boldness and to take a leap of faith into the unknown, so that you can finally experience your much deserved and long-awaited “Happily Ever After”.

Caleb Breakey is passionate about life, God and writing. He is a speaker/teacher for teens (and non-teens) at writing conferences across the country.

CM: Thank you for joining us today, Caleb. I noticed you have experience in a wide variety of genres including sports writing, reviews, and fiction. Which is your favorite and why?

Caleb: Tough one here. Can I say just fiction and non-fiction?

Fiction is wonderful because it’s so incredibly difficult and rewarding. No one knows precisely what makes a great story. You learn from the best, you learn from the worst. There are rules to be followed, and rules to be broken. You never know which words and scenes will etch themselves into the minds of your readers. You just write until your mind hurts and your fingers ache and you couldn’t possibly make your story any better.
Writing fiction is the ultimate marathon with the ultimate reward.

Non-fiction, meanwhile, boasts pages upon pages of some of the world’s deepest passion. I’m currently bleeding my first non-fiction book onto the page and I’m finding that 1) the writing comes easier than fiction; but 2) channeling passion into words is like funneling the Amazon into a barrel. It takes an extraordinary amount of discipline to guide the
outpouring of one’s heart.

CM: What major truths do you strive to communicate through writing?

Caleb: Life is beautiful chaos—beautiful because of faith, hope, and love, and chaos because of our reaction to that faith, hope, and love. This is my writing in a nutshell.

CM: What or who keeps you motivated? 

Caleb: The thought of doing something I’m meant to do. Contributing to this world. Writing the exact words I believe God wants me to write. I can get up in the morning and fight Resistance not only with my own will but with what I believe is the will of my heavenly father.

One of the key things I’ve learned is that motivation doesn’t produce words. Words produce motivation. It’s the doing–the writing of words–that kick-starts the part of our mind that says, “Yes, this is what I was meant to do.”

CM: What aspect of the writing process do you most enjoy?


Caleb: This might sound rudimentary, but . . . writing.
That’s my final answer. Sometimes I get so caught up in editing and researching
and marketing that I forget the utter joy of just writing. To watch words,
scenes, stories and meaning grow in front of me evokes a feeling so rich and
textured that I cannot help but create and explore more and more.

CM: What challenges do you face in writing, from coming
up with an idea to getting it published? How do you overcome them?

Caleb: Ideas tend to come to me quickly because I read a lot. Reading stretches your imagination, which in turn creates room for your own ideas to grow into something greater.

When it comes to writing, my greatest challenge is focus. It’s so easy for me to get caught up in the “do this” and “do that” mentality of social media and marketing. While these aspects are certainly important, nothing can replace the bum-in-chair time at the computer or notepad.

CM: Writing is more than inspiration. It takes discipline and hard work, as you know. What does your typical writing day look like?

Caleb: I keep a list of scenes (fiction),  thoughts (non-fiction) and to-dos (freelance work) handy at all times. I always  start with writing and sometimes clock myself. If I’m trudging too slowly, I hit my research in search of nuggets that will either inspire a burst of 2,000
words or simply add depth and texture to what’s already written. Then it’s back
to writing. Back to the clock.

If I’m still going slow, I might try a quick writing prompt or something quirky. Sometimes I take a minute to draw something on my whiteboard. Or write longhand or talk into my recorder. All three trigger certain parts of my brain. And it’s totally worth it.

At the end of the day, it’s all about word quota and moving forward.

CM: Great ideas! When and how did you discover your interest in writing?

Caleb: Writing piqued my interest when I was 10 or 11 years old. I remember penning a story about my family’s three-wheeler and how  going “full throttle”—a blazing 15 miles per hour—shook me to the core. To this day, my brothers won’t let me live that story down.

Being a sports lover, I also followed my church’s softball team as if the players were Major Leaguers. Even before the season started, I loved assigning positions, creating batting orders, and wondering which player deserved the most lucrative contract (should they ever get paid).
So I started writing a fictitious newsletter and distributing it to the church mailboxes. I wrote to entertain myself and, in turn, entertained others.

I remember thinking to myself, “I could do this forever.” 

CM: How about a few just-for-fun questions. What is your favorite pastime outside of writing? 

Caleb: Rock Band, anyone? I’ve been known for getting into songs with a gusto more suitable for a break dancer, and I’ve been warned to never again use a coffee table as a platform. What can I say? I’m passionate. =)

I’m also a lover of improv. My wonderful wife and sister-in-laws often create scenarios for me to act out, and it usually ends up with all of us falling on the floor.

And for all those competitors out there, I love playing baseball, softball, basketball and football.

CM: What was your favorite subject in school?

Caleb: Up until college? Probably Legos, G.I. Joes, and building forts. I didn’t find the wonderful creative outlet of writing until my 17th year, so action figures and forts it was.

CM: What kind of music do you like?  

Caleb: Being a man of faith, I gravitate toward music that magnifies the faith, hope and love thriving inside me—bands such as Casting Crowns and Kutless, and Mercy Me. I also get onto weird music kicks (much to wife’s chagrin). Just this past year I started writing to Mozart and Beethoven and other classical artists. I think they’re brilliant.

CM: Thanks Caleb!

If you’d like to know more about Caleb and his speaking schedule, visit him on Facebook.

Jane is internationally recognized for her lively presentations and well-researched stories that encourage and inspire. Her works have appeared in more than 50 publications including Decision, Private Pilot and Daily Guideposts. Jane is the author of 20 books including 17 historical novels. Many of her titles are based on the lives of real people or incidents set authentically in the American West. Her first novel, A Sweetness to the Soul, won the coveted Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage Center. Her works have been finalists for the Christy, Spur, Oregon Book Award, WILLA Literary Award and Reader’s Choice awards. Several of her titles have been Book of the Month and Literary Guild selections.

A Tendering in the Storm won the 2007 WILLA Literary Award for Best Original Paperback and A Flickering Light, a story based on her grandmother’s life as a turn of the century photographer, was named to Library Journal’s Best Books of 2009.

CM: Jane, thank you for joining us today.  What prompted you to start writing?

Jane: I’ve always written but mostly little poems and short essays about things that were bothering me or that I felt passionate about. I didn’t start writing for other people to read until we made our historic (for us) move to a remote ranch.  Writing was something I thought would keep me sane as we undertook this grand adventure.  And so it did.

CM: Has your work ever been rejected?  And have you ever felt like quitting?

Jane: Early on I had lots of rejections.  Mostly I wrote non-fiction at that time, articles and essays, short pieces and features for magazines and newspapers. So I’d query and get a go ahead but then the article wouldn’t be what the editor wanted. A couple of times they allowed me to “try again” which was great. Much of getting published is having a better understanding of what the publisher/editor is looking for and then meeting that need in an innovative or fresh way. I had one novel rejected, which is another story, but it was reworked and bought by another publisher and it comes out next month as Barcelona Calling.  Did I ever want to quit?  No.  I started writing so late in life that I knew if I wanted to experience what writers did I’d have to keep going.

 CM: Please share with us your writing schedule and how it fits into your day.

Jane: I like to say its seasonal. Since I have a contract with manuscripts usually due in early April, I try not to schedule events after December so I can write full time for five months. Then it’s 8 to 5 everyday but Sunday and sometimes it’s 1:30 AM until I get tired and go back to bed at 7:00 AM for a couple of hours. It gets really spacey but my husband and the dogs seem to understand. After April I’m promoting my latest book release and researching for the next novel.  Then my writing tends to be early morning for an hour or so, taking lots of notes, sketching out characters and ideas, living in the real world instead of my fictional one.

CM: Where do you find your inspiration and what keeps you going?

Jane: Inspiration means the act of breathing in so that’s something to do metaphorically and physically and spiritually.  I have an exercise regime that helps; the dogs are a great joy to me; I have private prayer time that always gives me strength even in the really difficult times. I read poetry often before I start writing and my four prayer partners keep me focused and I know they are there for me. Having contract deadlines keeps me going!  I have this paper weight that says “the ultimate inspiration is the deadline” and sometimes, I think that’s exactly so.  I have a note on my computer that says “you don’t have time for that” as a reminder to not dwell on the awfuls and terribles but to instead find gratitude in the every day. I also believe that I am not writing by myself and that’s a huge inspiration especially on days when I think I should have found another occupation years ago!

CM: You’ve written so many books – how do you keep from using the same descriptions and metaphors over and over?

Jane:  My editors help :).  Without realizing it I might use a phrase that becomes associated with my work which can be good but if used too much, becomes its own cliché. I challenge myself to find fresh metaphors and ways to describe people and landscapes.  When I’m stuck in traffic I think of new ways to finish “as white as….” or “lazy like a….” hoping to find the perfect words that go with the character and yet are new. They also have to be period specific so “as stiff as a wagon tongue” works in the 1850s but in a contemporary novel who would know what that means or be able to imagine it the way a character might who experienced wagons every day of their lives. I write them down so I always carry a pad with me because I might find the perfect words and then forget it when I’m no longer stuck in traffic.

CM: What, for you, is the most difficult obstacle in writing and how do you overcome it?

Jane: I think it’s the negative voices that haunt me.  I call them harpies and just when I’ve come up with a way to silence them they come up with new insults, worries, unworthiness comments. I have great admiration for writers who keep submitting after getting rejections or who have written dozens of novels without having them published. I’ve been so fortunate to have my works accepted and published but each new book is a challenge because I haven’t written THAT particular novel. Remembering how I got through those anxieties before helps.  I remind myself that everything new creates anxiety whether taking up tennis or writing a novel and that it is not my job to write the Great American Novel.  It’s to tell the stories I’ve been given the best way I know how and to trust that I’m not alone in the telling.

CM: Which book brought you the most satisfaction in researching, writing and completing?

Jane: Oh, not a fair question!  I’ve learned something from each book, things I didn’t think I needed to understand about myself but I did. I could tell you with each novel what insights the writing gave me but I’m not sure that any one novel stands above the others in offering that satisfaction.

CM: Any chance we’ll ever see a co-authorship with your husband, Jerry?

Jane: Jerry laughed when I asked him that. He is a huge part of my writing life both as someone to bounce story ideas off of, to get a feel about a scene to see if I’ve captured the emotion that I want. His engineering background makes him a whiz at details and he catches things I might miss in those important details. We have collaborated on a book…he did most of the photographs for Aurora:  An American Experience in Quilt, Community and Craft and that was great fun to see his artistic photographic side blend with mine. We had a few moments of annoyance but got through them. He is also a staple at my events and people look forward to seeing him as much as they do me I’m certain.

CM: What advice would you give to someone who has just finished their first novel?

Jane: I’d tell them to take a moment to celebrate (plant that tree, buy a hat, take your family out for ice cream, etc.) and then begin the next one while you’re making up a plan to get an agent, editor or publisher to notice.  I’m very fond of writer conferences that bring in agents and editors so writers can pitch their work. When I went to my first conference I feared everyone would know what a fraud I was being there but apparently there was no red Fraud written on my face and I found it very inspiring to listen to how others were dealing with their craft, how they approached marketing and sales and research etc. There’s also a great interest now in self-publishing and ebooks and conferences are great places to explore those options and avoid pitfalls by learning from the mistakes of others. By the way, I find writers very generous in sharing those pitfalls and in offering encouragement for the next steps on our writing journey.

CM: Anything else you would like to share with us?

Jane: Enjoy the writing journey as much as the pleasure of being published.  It’s a privilege and a pleasure to tell the stories. Author Wendell Berry once said of parenting that it was “a vexed privilege and a blessed trial.”  I think the same could be said of writing.

CM: Thank you Jane, that’s good advice.  I’m going to share with readers where to go to sign up for your newsletter, Story Sparks, which includes information on your upcoming workshops, book signings and speaking engagements: Go to www.jkbooks.com

I am pleased to introduce Geneva Cobb Iijima, a children’s book author. Since the 1970s,  70 of her articles have been printed and four of her books are published.

CM: Geneva, what prompted you to begin writing?

Geneva: We lived in Japan. Every day seemed to be filled with adventures. I didn’t want to forget them, so I enrolled in a correspondence course for Christian writers.

CM: How long did it take from the time you began writing until you actually saw your work in print?

Geneva: There is a lag between the time something is submitted until it is published, so maybe a couple of years for children’s articles.

CM: Did your first submission get published?

Geneva: My beginning was humble. My first assignment was to send in a puzzle to a children’s publication and it did get published. I remember how excited I was.

CM: What were the top three things most beneficial to you in learning the craft of writing?

Geneva: Attending an annual writers’ conference was a huge help. I met Mary Warren, a children’s book writer, at my first conference. She encouraged me, boosting my confidence. I joined her critique group and that sharpened my skills.

CM: It seems many writers are finding it very beneficial to attend conferences and join a critique group. I hear you have a book recently published, please tell us about it.

Geneva: Jesus Loves Us All, my most recent book, is a picture book of contrasts showing that Jesus loves all sorts of people. My original plan for it was to be a full size picture book with beautiful illustrations. However, God planned it as a 6×9 picture booklet illustrated with photos of many kinds of people. My church helped me print it in English to be placed in food boxes for poor people and for other children who might not have any books. Since the tsunami in Japan, we printed it in Japanese for families displaced by the disaster. I believe it will eventually be printed in many languages.

CM: That sounds wonderful! Anything else you would like to share with us?

Geneva: Persistence is important. I sent The Way We Do It In Japan out 25 times before a very prestigious publisher accepted it. Being sensitive to God’s plan for each project is also critical. As with Jesus Loves Us All, His plan is sometimes much larger than ours. Please visit me at www.genevaiijima.com.

CM: Thank you Geneva!