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Bedlam Tuesday/Madness in Literature and the Movies

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

What thoughts or pictures come to mind when you think about Madness in Literature? Shakespeare and his works of King Lear or Hamlet?



Perhaps One Flew Over the Cukoos Nest? Shutter Island?

Girl Interrupted
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1286209817/

Did you know there is a madness and literature network? And it's located at

http://www.madnessandliterature.org/

This summer I did a blog about the movie Inception. Have you watched any other movies or read books with a strong mental health thread woven throughout? How do these movies effect you? What do you like about them? Dislike? Have you written a book like this? Historical or Contemporary?

I ask because my book coming out in May, Secrets of the Heart, has a very strong thread about the inner workings of the mind. All things may not be what they seem.

MY WISH FOR MY DAUGHTER MEGHAN

Sunday, September 26, 2010

My Meghan left for Texas and Youth With A Mission yesterday. We pray wonderful things for her as she pursues God's purpose for her life. Be blessed kiddo. We love you.

Blog Pick of the Week/Debra Marvin's Hijacked by History

Friday, September 24, 2010

http://inkwellinspirations.blogspot.com/2010/09/hijacked-by-history.html

Awesome post this week Deb. If I could rent the Inky time machine I'd be off to Yorkshire and London
during the Regency of course.

Battle Wounds/ UN International Day of Peace

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

When I think of battle wounds I think of the struggle between good and evil. A spiritual tug-of-war with angels on one side of us and demons on the other. Since I’m a Christian I don’t see this tug-of-war as a battle for my soul because I know that I belong to God. But I do think that Satan enjoys tempting us and watching us struggle against things we may not fully comprehend, and takes joy in our sufferings.


Jesus died for my sins and yours and He wants us to live life to the full. It says so right here in: John 10:10 (NIV)"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." None of us can have life to the full if we allow the twin terrors of anxiety and depression to rule our minds and emotions.



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Fight back with the Word, lifestyle changes, therapy and medications if necessary. Don’t be afraid to take the necessary steps to stay well and live life to the fullest.

Did you ever watch the movie, JAWS? I’ve probably seen that movie 25 times.

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Remember the part when characters Brody, Hooper, and Quint are out in the boat at night waiting for the shark to come back the next day and he shows up early? They are passing the time talking about, and showing each other their battle scars.


Quint gets serious when Hooper asks him about his tattoo and Quint tells the awful story of waiting to be rescued after the USS Indianapolis went down in shark infested waters, and of the 1,199 crewmen who went into the water, only 316 came out. I've never read anything about the story of the USS Indianapolis, but I don't think any of those men could have survived that horrible ordeal without invisible wounds, hopefully they healed over with time and with God's grace. But the character, Quint, never allowed his deep wounds to heal. I think he lived to kill as many sharks as he could and this allowed his wounds to fester until the day he was killed by the shark. Survivor guilt to the extreme.



My point here is that we all have wounds and scars.Photobucket


Some of them are invisible. And they can be just as painful as the bleeding, festering wounds that the character Quint wore on his weary soul.

I found this picture on photobucket. It made me think how important it is to honor our fighting men and women, our elderly vets and our young vets and the sacrifices they have made. Today is the UN International Day of Peace.  Let Peace reign.


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Generations Of Valor
Pearl Harbor survivor Houston James of Dallas embraced Marine Staff Sgt. Mark Graunke Jr during a Veterans Day commemoration in Dallas yesterday. Graunke lost a hand, a leg and an eye when he defused a bomb in Iraq last year.

Battle wounds come in all shapes and sizes, visible and invisible.

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Jesus knows well the battle wounds we all carry inside and out. May this day be a day that you begin the healing process or continue on in the healing process. The important thing is that you share your wounds with the God who became man, look at his scars and know he cares for you and wants you to heal.


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John 10:10 (NIV)"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Give your doubts, fears, and wounds to Jesus.


What wounds are you struggling with? Big or little? Old or new?

SMILE

Sunday, September 19, 2010

In honor of all my friends new and old at ACFW this weekend. Reaching out and hugging all my ACFW buddies that couldn't make it to conference this year, but are joining us for the awards ceremony tonight via the wonders of technology. For my agent Rachelle Gardner, my mentors James Scott Bell, Colleen Coble, and Susie Warren who taught me a great new line dance :) and my awesome soul sisters, Vicki Cato, Mae Nunn, Serena Miller (my roomie) and all you Inkies past and present at Inkwell Inspirations. Love you guys.

Conference Blast Instead of Bedlam

Tuesday, September 14, 2010


The American Christian Fiction Writers will be converging on Indianapolis, September 17th through the 20th. Those of us attending James Scott Bell's Early Bird Session will be arriving in Indy by the 16th if we are coming from out of town. It's sure to be an awesome experience, but you have to be careful not to get overwhelmed.

I've attended many writing conferences and this will be my first year that I don't have to meet with editors and agents because I now have a three book contract with Strang/Realms and an awesome agent, Rachelle Gardner.
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/

PACE YOURSELF
There is so much to do at conference that it's easy to get overwhelmed, tired, and discouraged. So it's important to pace yourself. Attend the sessions you don't want to miss and buy the conference CD's for the sessions you can't get to because you want to meet with friends you haven't seen for a year or more. Or maybe you want to stay up for that Late Night Chat and sleep in until rested in the morning. Take a power nap in the middle of the day if you need to so you can enjoy the rest of the day and evening.

COME PREPARED
If you are meeting with an agent or editor be certain you are comfortable with your pitch. You know your story but sometimes it's not easy for writers to explain that succinctly to someone else, especially someone else that you want to impress and hopefully come away with a request.


NO PERFUME PLEASE
Many people at conference are irritated or allergic to different scents. Can you imagine hundreds of people all wearing different perfumes coming together in a classroom. It's not nice. Everyone wants to enjoy themselves so don't bring or wear perfumes or scented lotions, etc.

NETWORK
There are frequent opportunities to sit with published authors, editors, and agents at meals. Maybe you can't sit with someone you planned on joining at a meal. Don't get discouraged, there are many others who can depart valuable information to you and you may discover some valuable nugget of information you never even knew existed.

What other suggestions do you have for making the most of a conference experience? What's the best or worst thing that ever happened to you during a conference? How can you have a blast instead of getting lost in BEDLAM?

Blog Pick of the Week/The Nighttime Novelist

Friday, September 10, 2010





James Scott Bell's post  http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2010/09/nighttime-novelist.html
from Sunday, September 5th, The Nighttime Novelist

Finding Balance is Bedlam

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Like many of us, I'm always busy. Family, my day job as a counselor, my writing, blogging, answering e-mails,running errands and trying to find some time for me. I used to think there was an answer, but I'm not so certain there is an answer anymore. In fact I'm sure there is no easy balancing act. It's all about priorites for each of us and we alone are the ones that can choose what is most important in our lives.
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Dictionary.com says: BALANCE
–noun
1. a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.
2. something used to produce equilibrium; counterpoise.
3. mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc.

I like these definitions. They also have a lot more. I really liked #2. It reminded me of how I can use scripture to find balance in my life.

Mark 1:35(New International Version)

Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place
35Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Matthew 11:28:Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

I'm struggling with balance.
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I'm going to complete a schedule this week so I don't let other things that are not priorities get in the way. It won't be perfect, but I'm hoping I'll have a sense of peace about what I need to accomplish.

If you're a writer I also encourage you to visit B.J. Hoff's blog site to read her August 6th post on "A Writers Balance."
http://www.bjhoffgracenotes.typepad.com/

How do you find your balance? Photobucket

Be Thou My Vision

Sunday, September 5, 2010