A
Step in the Write
Direction
July
6, 2015
Update:
I’m going to share a little story about the song below and how it changed
someone’s life. My nephew, Dave Clark, traveled with a gospel singing group, the
Speer Family, for five years. He had moved from Michigan to Nashville several
years before, in spite of a serious health problem, to follow his calling to be
a songwriter. His wife said she knew where the group had been by the E.R. bills.
Dave had a disease called apthous stomatitis which caused sores the size of a
quarter in his mouth and down to his esophagus. Twenty-nine doctors at Mayo
Clinic could find no cure. One night while singing at a camp meeting, the crowd
sang the song below and that’s when Dave felt he needed to leave the group, as
good as they had been to him, and go out on his own. This meant doing his own
driving, setting up the sound equipment, etc. To make a long story short,
eventually he was healed (the story is told in the book Healing in God’s Time) and wrote 25
songs that went to #1 on the charts including “Crucified with Christ,” “Mercy
Said No,” “Mercy Came Running.” Just recently another one went to the top, “Pray
Now” recorded by Karen Gooch Peck….Answering God’s call isn’t always easy, but
when you’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause, it pays off….God might be
calling one of you to do something today that seems impossible, but with Him,
all things are possible.
Thought for the
Day:
"There are two ways of spreading light: to
be the candle or the mirror that reflects it" (Edith
Wharton).
Song
for the Day:
I’d
rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
I’d
rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d
rather have Jesus than worldwide fame.
I’d
rather be true to His holy name.
“I’d Rather Have Jesus,” Rhea F.
Miller
Laugh
for the Day:
A
little girl was in church with her mother when she started feeling ill. "Mommy,"
she said, "can we leave now?" "No," her mother replied. "Well, I think I have to
throw up!" "Then go out the front door and around to the back of the church and
throw up behind a bush." After about 60 seconds the little girl returned to her
seat. "Did you throw up?" Mom asked. "Yes." "How could you have gone all the way
to the back of the church and returned so quickly?" "I didn't have to go out of
the church, Mommy. They have a box next to the front door that says, 'For the
Sick.' (From “The Gospel Greats newsletter, June 30, 2015).
Writer’s
Tips: Writing for Newspapers
(conclusion)
Op-Ed
Columns
Op-ed
columns are like a Letter to the Editor, except longer—usually between 600 and
850 words, focusing on a local issue or a current event happening nationwide or
worldwide, and something you feel passionate about. These columns are stronger
if you include more than just your opinion; it helps to include statistics.
Give
your column a catchy title, use a strong lead, present your facts in order, and
wrap up the column with a strong ending—perhaps tying it in with your title or
lead paragraph. Include your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, word
count, and photograph—if requested—and send it out.
Who
knows? In a few days when you open up your newspaper to the editorial page, you
may see your op-ed column—for everyone to read!
Note:
If your column is published in a secular newspaper or periodical and you quote
at least one Scripture verse, after publication you can submit it to the Amy
Foundation for their annual awards, ranging from $10,000 to three prizes of
$1,000 each. (See www.amyfound.org/amy_writing_awards/amy_writing_awards.html
for more information.)
Have a good week spreading
the
gospel
through the printed page.
Donna
Clark Goodrich
·
100-Plus
Motivational Moments for Writers and Speakers
– half-price $5, $2.69 s&h (This is free if you purchase 5 other
books.)
·
A
Step in the Write Direction—the
Complete How-to Guide for Christian Writers—on sale for half-price--$12.50,
$3.22 s&h (only 16 left)
·
A
Step in the Write Direction—Student Edition with assignments
throughout—on
sale for half-price $10, $2.69 s&h)
·
The
Freedom of Letting Go (new
one coming out will have discussion questions; can be used in S.S. class or
small group); original copies without questions now on sale for
half-price--$7.50, $2.69 s&h
·
Healing
in God’s Time (story
of Dave Clark, composer of 25 songs that have gone to #1 on the charts); was
$15; now $10, $2.69 s&h
·
The
Little Book of Big Laughs—105
purse/pocket-size book of clean jokes—$5; up to 4 for same
s&h—$2.69
·
Preparing
Your Heart for Christmas (31 Advent Devotions)
half-price—$5
·
Michigan and Ohio
Cookbooks; half-price $5 each,
plus s&h (depending on number ordered)
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