A Step in the Write Direction--December 23, 2013--tax deductions for writers

A Step in the Write Direction

December 23, 2013

Update: This has been an interesting week. My husband was in the hospital for four days because of a foot infection, dangerous for a diabetic. They took a nuclear bone scan to make sure it wasn’t osteomyelitis (which he had ten years ago. In fact, they had an appointment set for amputation back then, but it improved). This new scan was negative, so they diagnosed it as cellulitis, an infection in the soft tissue….Then our daughter, who broke her foot before Thanksgiving, had new x-rays which showed it wasn’t healing, so she can’t work for three weeks. She’s decided to visit her sister and family in Oklahoma after Christmas….The same daughter, while visiting her dad at the hospital Thursday night, had a car accident in the parking lot (not her fault). She wasn’t hurt, but her car was damaged….So, as you can guess, we’re looking forward to this new week!!...Re: A Step in the Write Direction, I couldn’t get my rights back from the original publisher, so we’ve decided to go ahead and let them combine the original version with the Student version. I have quite a large inventory here of the Student books if you know of a home school parent or a Christian school who would like a good deal on them—$10 each, plus postage! A Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to you all!

Thought for the Day: “...there ain't no more to write about, and I'm rotten glad of it, because if I'd 'a' knowed what a trouble it was to make a book I wouldn't 'a' tackled it, and ain't a-going to no more” (from the last paragraph of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain).

Laugh for the Day: Two young boys were spending the night at their grandparents the week before Christmas. At bedtime, the two boys knelt beside their beds to say their prayers when the youngest one began praying at the top of his lungs. "I PRAY FOR A NEW BICYCLE! AND AN XBOX! AND I PRAY FOR THE NEW IRON MAN COMIC BOOK!" His older brother leaned over and nudged the younger brother and said, "Why are you shouting your prayers? God isn't hard-of-hearing." To which the little brother replied, "No, but Grandma is!"

Song for the Day:

And in despair I bowed my head:

“There is no peace on earth,” I said,

“For hate is strong, and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, goodwill to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,

With peace on earth, goodwill to men.”

            —“I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,”

Writer’s Tips:

It’s time to start thinking about getting your records together for Uncle Sam. To see a list of tax deductions for writers, go to my web site: www.thewritersfriend.net

Three most commonly misspelled words I’ve found in editing books are: lightening/lightning, lead/led, and reign/rein.

Christmas Devotional:

Jesus Is Missing

When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him (Luke 2:45).

I wrapped my jacket around me as I made my way to my car that windy December night after visiting my husband in the hospital. Thankful we lived only a few blocks away, I drove

onto our street. Pulling up in front of our mobile home, I immediately noticed something different. There was no lighted Nativity scene in the center of our front yard.

I hope no one’s stolen it, I fretted. After I parked the car and made my way around to the porch, I saw the figures in the side yard.“I guess You got blown away, Jesus,” I laughed as I picked

them up and put them on the porch where they stayed until after Christmas.

My words came back to me later as I prepared for bed. I felt Jesus had been blown away the past two weeks as my husband battled for his life in ICU. Visiting him every day, doing chores he normally did, and trying to keep up with self-employment duties had robbed me of much of my Christmas spirit. I had shoved Jesus out of the center of my life and relegated Him to the porch. That night I asked His forgiveness and invited Him to regain His rightful place in my heart.

Lord, let me not keep You on the porch of my life. May the light of Your birth shine in the center of my heart—during this season and the rest of the year.

 Have a good week spreading the

gospel through the printed page.

Donna Clark Goodrich

dgood648@aol.com

www.thewritersfriend.net

http://donna-goodrich.blogspot.com

"A Step in the Write Direction--the Complete How-to Guide for Christian Writers"

"The Freedom of Letting Go"

"Motivational Moments--100-Plus Devotionals for Writers and Speakers"

"Healing in God's Time"--story of Dave Clark, songwriter

Anthologies: Christmas; Mothers/Grandmothers; Fathers/Grandfathers