A few months ago, I checked my mail and saw a thin envelope with a return address from Guideposts magazine, based in New York City. I thought it was probably another rejection, from the third story I’d sent. But this short one was accepted. Here’s a link to an online version.

I’ve been reading Guideposts every month since middle school, and it’s had a huge impact on my outlook on life. Here’s a little information about the magazine from the Daily Guideposts website.

GUIDEPOSTS publishes five magazines that have a combined paid circulation of close to 4.5 million. Best known is Guideposts, with a circulation of 3.3 million (680,000 circulation attributed to our large print edition), making it among the top 20 largest magazines in the United States. Other magazines include Positive Thinking Magazine, published ten times a year, and two bimonthlies, Angels on Earth, Guideposts Sweet 16.

Guideposts is a monthly magazine featuring first-person, true-life stories that offer practical solutions to everyday problems and inspiration for overcoming personal difficulties. Guideposts magazine is first and foremost about people — people from all walks of life, celebrities to schoolteachers, who tell personal stories of how faith has helped them overcome enormous adversity or simply face life’s day-to-day challenges with optimism, determination and joy.

I can tell you — they’re a great magazine to work with. I’ve written for some publications that don’t even send me extra copies, but Guideposts sent me over a dozen. They really made me feel appreciated!

If you have a high school junior or senior in your house, Guideposts has a Young Writer’s Contest that will start accepting submissions Sept. 1, 2006 until the deadline, November 22, 2006. There will be 20 prizes offered; the top winner will receive a $10,000 college scholarship. This is great incentive to get your teens to write an inspirational story! Here are some stories from previous winners.