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Are You a Storybird?

April 11, 2012 in Craft, Creativity, Karen, Personal, Writing with 15 Comments

by Karen Ball

I’m always hearing about authors who get stuck. Whose creativity has hit a wall. Who have hit a point in the story that they’ve lost interest.

Or there are the down times. When emotions have them hogtied. They’re too sad or depressed or frustrated or overwhelmed to write.

Well, I don’t have a cure for all of those things, but I do have something that can help. It’s called Storybird, and it’s wonderful.

On Storybird, you can choose the most wonderful art, and then write a story. Short or long, funny or serious, it doesn’t matter. Just write what’s on your mind, what the art inspires.

I just wrote a Storybird because I was upset with myself for letting a friend down. In fact, that friend was Steve Laube. I forgot to send him my blog post for the agency site. And I knew he was disappointed in me. Thing is, I’ve forgotten to send the blog post before, too many times. Fibro has shot my short-term memory full of holes. So when I get stressed or overwhelmed, I tend to forget things. Even important things. I don’t like it. In fact, I hate it. But I can’t change it. So I’ve learned to work around it, using notes and alarms on my computer, and enlisting the help of friends and family. But when it affects something important, like making sure I do what I’m supposed to for Steve, I feel terrible.

So when that happened, I went to Storybird. And I wrote a story. For me. For Steve. For all of us who struggle with changes we don’t like. And it helped. A lot.

So those days when you’re struggling, when you feel ensnared by something or like your creativity is used up, give Storybird a try. And even if you’re not feeling all those things, check it out. It’s a way to create and have fun.

What more could you ask?

Oh, and you can look for my storybird under the title “I Let A Friend Down Today,” or by searching for my user name: k57ball.

Enjoy!

21 Influential Books

April 9, 2012 in Book of the Month, Defense of Traditional Publishing, Personal, Steve, Theology with 22 Comments

by Steve Laube

There is a shelf in our living room where I have placed the books that had the most influence on my spiritual growth. I call them my “Punctuation Marks” because in a metaphoric way some books were a comma, some an exclamation point, and some a period or full stop.

The beauty of having them all in one place is the visual reminder of those moments where God reached out through the pages of creative people who listened to the call to write and thereby touched me. It is a large part of why I have been involved in the book business for over thirty years.

Here are the books in no particular order:

Knowing God – J.I. Packer
Celebration of Discipline – Richard Foster
Green Letters – Miles Stanford
Lectures to My Students – Charles Spurgeon
Knowledge of the Holy – A. W. Tozer
Foundations for Reconstruction – Elton Trueblood
Much More – Jack R. Taylor
Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis
Taste of New Wine – Keith Miller
Barabbas: A Novel  – Pär Lagerkvist (Nobel Prize winner for Literature in 1951)
No Longer Strangers – Bruce Larson
How Can it be All Right When Everything is All Wrong? – Lewis Smedes
Life Together – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I and Thou – Martin Buber
The Timeless Moment: Creativity and the Christian Faith – D. Bruce Lockerbie
Loving God – Charles Colson
The Denial of Death – Ernest Becker
Making All Things New – Henri Nouwen
Waiting on God – Andrew Murray
The Struggle of Prayer – Donald Bloesch
Making Sense of Suffering – Peter Kreeft

I hope you scour the list and find a title or two unfamiliar or currently unread. That is why I like to read similar lists. To peer into the mind of a fellow traveler and learn something new.

Your Turn

What books are on your “Punctuation Marks” shelf?

Gray Saturday

April 7, 2012 in Personal, Theology with 25 Comments

I wrote this many years ago and post it every Easter weekend as a reminder. May it speak to you in some small way.

 

Gray Saturday
by Steve Laube

Holy weekend is such a study in contrasts.

Friday is dark. Somber. Frightening in its hopelessness and pain.
I do not like Dark Fridays.
The nails bury themselves deep into my soul.
They become a singular stake through the heart of this sinner.
Piercing. Rending. Bloody.
Vanquishing this creature of the night who dares to follow his own way.
Christ’s death becomes mine.
The death I deserve.
Alone. Anguishing. Agonizing.
There is no one or nothing that can assuage this dreary weight upon me.
I stand in silence. Staring at the stars and wondering if they can hear my cry or if they care.

Saturday is Gray.
Caught between the darkness and the dawn.
We move around as if yesterday had not happened.
Errands. Busyness. The Routine. They conspire to distract from the lessons.
The mundane becomes standard. Bleak. Meaningless. Gray.
Why did Jesus have to wait for the weekend?
Why this middle day of contemplation and forgetfulness?
When night comes we will have survived the gray day.
But only because we know tomorrow is only hours away.
What would it be like if we did not know such hope?

Sunday is Light.
A celebration of life, love and hope.
It is only because of Sunday that we can face the Fridays of turmoil.
Lift your face toward the dawn.
See the grace that speeds across the hills as the sun licks each place with its touch.
The Son touches your face and the chills of rapture spread to the tips of your toes.
This gives us reason to live.
This gives us reason to love.
This gives us reason to hope.
To live where there is no life.
To love where there is no love.
To hope where there is none to be found.

Unfortunately, we all live in the Saturday Gray.
Forgetting the darkness and depth of our sinfulness.
Forgetting the truth found in the dawn.

Let us be mindful of this during the coming months.
We have been given a choice of days in which we can live.
None of us want to wallow in Dark Friday.
None of us should be satisfied with Gray Saturday.
Instead let us celebrate and embrace the peace and warmth of the gracious gift of Christ’s resurrection and life.

© 2002 Steve Laube

New Year’s Resolutions

January 5, 2012 in Humor, Personal, Tamela with 10 Comments

by Tamela Hancock Murray

So many resolutions. So many possibilities. So many dashed hopes.

In the interest of avoiding disappointment, here is my list of New Year’s Resolutions I am likely to keep:

1.) Watch more television.

2.) Buy more awesome clothes that go with red lipstick.

3.) Add to my collection of black pointy-toed spiked-heeled shoes.

4.) Increase my collection of black high-heeled platform shoes.

5.) Do less housework.

 Well, maybe I shouldn’t keep any of these. But my hope for the new year is to show everyone I care about even more:

 1.) Love.

2. Understanding.

3.) Mindfulness.

4.) Compassion.

5.) Patience.

Yes, more of these than ever before.

This is actually a very selfish resolution. For when we do these things, the likelihood of being rewarded in kind is great.

Happy New Year!

Ready, Set…WAIT!

January 4, 2012 in Karen, Personal, Theology with 17 Comments

by Karen Ball

Ah, New Year’s. When hearts soar with best intentions and resolutions tumble around us like snow-melt waterfalls. Our hearts and minds surge with all we want to be, all we hope to accomplish, all we regret and want to change…

Okay, now, show of hands: How many of you make New Year’s Resolutions?

Again, show of hands: How many of you KEEP them??

If you were here, watching me, you’d notice my hand is down. I’ve made hundreds of resolutions over the years, and I’ve broken almost every one. It took me a lot of years to understand that this fact doesn’t make me bad or weak-willed or a failure. It took me several more years to realize that the new year isn’t, for me, about resolutions. It isn’t about saying what I will and won’t do.

It’s about listening.

Each year for the last 8 years or so, I spend the time leading to the new year listening. To God, first. In prayer, in the Word. To friends and family, second. Those who know—and, by God’s grace, love—me best. And then to the other voices/influences floating around out there, be they on the internet, on the radio, in overheard conversations, or where ever. I just keep my ears open…and listen.

For what, you may ask? Guidance. For that one word, phrase, thought, Scripture that God wants me to “get” in the coming year. When this guidance comes, I usually haven’t a clue what it’s about. And as often as not it’s not really something I want to do. Need to do, yes. But want? Yeah, not so much. Which isn’t to say God is making me suffer or anything like that. Just that each year, the word/phrase/Scripture has been about refinement. And drawing closer to Him.

For example, last year, it was “Be prepared.” Everywhere I turned, the phrase was there: in conversations, in sermons, in what I was reading and studying. Even in the books I was editing. With each confirmation, I felt it deeper in my bones: a change was coming. And I needed to prepare.

Boy, howdy, was that on target. Just look at last week’s blog for some of what we in the Ball-Sapp (Sapp is my maiden name, no jokes, please! Trust me, I’ve heard ‘em all!) household faced this last year. But through prayer and preparation, God’s grace overflowed in the face of it all. Didn’t make things easier, but it tenderized my heart to trust and endure.
So here I sit, at the dawn of yet another new year…listening. I don’t know what God will speak to me yet. But I’m ready. Waiting–

Oh. Wow. That’s it.

Okay, you may not believe this, but it just came. God just whispered to my heart, and now I know. That’s it.

Wait.

Not just that, but wait…patiently. Two things I am NOT good at. Waiting. And patience. And even as I ponder it, I know. It’s about trusting Him. About not striving and trying to make things happen in my will and power, but trusting His guidance and provision.

It’s about doing what I know to do, but with a heart filled with trust, not fear.

It’s about the very things my hubby and I read this morning in Hebrews 10:

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus… And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. …Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promises.”

Okay, so I’ve got my marching—or, more to the point, waiting—orders. How about you? Whether you’re a resolution person or not, I encourage you to take time this year as never before to listen. Listen for His whisper. Seek His guidance, in your life, in your relationships, in your career. Listen for His leading as you consider what to write and why. As you are pulled in one direction, then another…as you hear all the voices telling you what you have to do to succeed… as you weigh the many decision that will face you in this crazy, ever changing industry….

Listen.

Yes, now more than ever, publishing rests on shifting sands. But we, my friends, do not.

Listen. Hear His voice. Then, and only then, act as He leads.

I can tell you, “with heart fully trusting Him,” that He will speak.

A Year to Remember

December 29, 2011 in Personal, Tamela with 22 Comments

by Tamela Hancock Murray

Anyone following this blog or who knows me personally realizes this was a very exciting year for me on a professional level. After ten wonderful years with Hartline Literary Agency, this summer I joined The Steve Laube Agency. I am thrilled to be working with Steve as my new boss and Karen Ball as my colleague.

Although I kept the same title of literary agent and both agencies are headed by Christians, they have different personalities and styles. The transition has been challenging but rewarding. I extend my gratitude to my faithful clients who remained with me through this time of change, and can’t wait to explore the many possibilities ahead for their careers. I am enthusiastic about forming new relationships with beginning and established writers. I see God’s hand in my career as He gave me the leaders I needed at the time I needed them. Joyce Hart gave me chance when I first moved from being an author to an agent. Steve Laube is working with me to help me reach my full potential as a literary agent. My excitement about being part of this great agency has not diminished one iota since I wrote my first post for this blog, Happy to be Here! My esteem for Steve Laube has only grown and over this past year we have formed a solid relationship based on mutual respect and trust.

On a personal level, the major landmark for my family is that my parents celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary this past November. We enjoyed a family celebration in their honor. My husband, John, and I love watching our two daughters thrive. Jill is a successful teacher in South Korea and Ann is an honors student in high school developing her talents in music and the arts. On a spiritual level, I am continuing my study of the works of Medieval Christians, emphasizing contemplative prayer.

Thank you for indulging me as I look back at my year in review. May the Lord bless you and keep you, bringing you His best for the future.

Your Turn

I’d love to hear about your year’s highlights. Feel free to share!

What A Year It’s Been…

December 28, 2011 in Karen, Personal with 15 Comments

by Karen Ball

2011 was a year for the books. In my household alone, we saw three job losses (two for my poor hubby, one for me), all to lay-off, a new career launched, job searches (which are still going on), loss of a beloved pet, the addition of a newly beloved pet, health crises faced and survived…and the list goes on. Add to that the upheaval in the industry where I’ve worked for over 30 years, well, everywhere we turned this last year, it seemed something else was going wrong.

I don’t know what your 2011 has been, what challenges or joys you’ve experienced, but I know that many today, yours truly included, wonder where the next year will take us. Will there be total economic collapse in the US? Will we find ourselves in some kind of sci-fi life where we’re fighting for survival?

In the darkest moments, when fear gnawed at the edges of our lives, it was easy to feel as though God had, somehow, glanced away. That He’d blinked of an eternal eye, and in that moment the enemy surged.

Thank heaven feelings aren’t reality.

No matter what we face in our lives, this is TRUTH:

God is.

He is present. He is watching. He is in control. We may not understand what’s happening or why it’s happening, we may not be able to see, with our temporal eyes, how God is at work on our behalf, but none of that changes this immutable fact:

God is.

That truth has become the beacon that carries me safely over turbulent waters. It is the haven where I cease to struggle and agonize and I fall on my face before an all-powerful Creator. It is what sustains, uplifts, and empowers. It is, in a word, sufficient.

God is. I need not fear.

God is. I can rest in Him and His love for me.

God is. I can trust that His promises are true

God is. When nothing else makes sense, when chaos has exploded around me, when I feel lost and abandoned…I hold to this anchor.

And there I find peace.

May this truth, and this peace, surround you in the coming year. And may 2012 be a year overflowing with God’s goodness not just for you and me, but for a weary world.

The Final Answer

December 26, 2011 in Agency, Personal, Steve, Theology with 2 Comments

by Steve Laube

Hope you had a blessed Christmas!

The last four weeks I have posted what was, in actuality, an Advent series. Note the key words in each post:

Wait
Prepare
Expect
Give

 The Christmas season is one that is full of family, fun, food, and friends. But under it all is the foundation of our joy. The answer to our greatest longing. Of course, saying there is an answer assumes there is a question. Finances, relationships, job, writing, family, church, and school all ask different questions.

For me, the beauty of the Christ story is that He is the answer to every question. It has been said that “Jesus plus nothing equals everything.”

May you find that He is truly the final answer for you. And as you write and explore a life of faith may this current Advent season of waiting, preparing, expecting, and giving grant you insight into the riches that only He can provide.

The Perfect Christmas Tree

December 24, 2011 in Agency, Humor, Personal with 3 Comments

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Melodies

December 22, 2011 in Personal, Tamela with 3 Comments

by Tamela Hancock Murray

The good news for us in Virginia is that we rarely experience a white Christmas. Of course, for snow lovers, that is bad news. No sleigh rides for us.  Not even to a groovy beat. What I love is that winter is cold enough to call for a coat, but usually boots are more of a fashion statement than a necessity.

But here we have plenty of seasonal atmosphere, with an abundance of holly berry scents in candles and sprays, and Christmas music piped in to all the stores. I hope the writers of “Jingle Bell Rock”  and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”  retained their copyrights. Surely they must be billionaires by now. My tastes in Christmas music trend toward songs about bells. I love “Silver Bells”  and “Carol of the Bells.”  And how about those partygoers who drop in to wish me a merry Christmas, and then demand figgy pudding (click for the recipe)?  Really? If you demand a particular food – particularly a dessert that takes an hour and half to make and only yields four servings — I hope you brought an awesome gift!

I hope when you attend church over the season, you’ll have a chance to hear and sing a few of your favorite hymns. And while you’re baking, addressing Christmas cards, or wrapping gifts, listen to a few of your favorite songs. Our truest blessing as princes and princesses in God’s Kingdom is that for us, it is always the most wonderful time of the year.

Merry Christmas!

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