I wanted to show you the cover of this magazine I write for — here’s our June issue. I’ve been writing monthly articles for this magazine since last December. It’s fun because I write about local people, places, and trends in my hometown and a few surrounding counties. I enjoy asking people to tell me a little more about their passions and expertise.

For this issue, I helped research a story called “32 Ideas for Cool Summer Fun.” I immediately thought of this amazing horse farm, run by a husband and wife who moved down here from Virginia. I think their story is so inspiring. They just had this DREAM — to start a horse farm — and they did it with lots of hard work. They bought some land and slowly built a beautiful stable and riding rings; meanwhile, they lived in a teeny-weeny house (that was actually built to become a future horse barn) until they could build up their business.

The owners are so friendly and involved in the community — we’d met them because they invited our preschool over for a hayride. Within a few years, they were able to save up and build a nice house with a pool. Of course, the pool is part of their summer horseback riding camps.

When I called to interview them for the story, the woman screamed into the phone, like I’d just told her she’d won the lottery. I heard her say, “Guess what, everybody? This is Heather from Lifestyles Magazine!” Then she apologized for the noise in the background. “I’m so sorry,” she said to me. “We’re having my son’s birthday party, and we’re just about to bust the pinata.”

I asked her if I could call her back at a more convenient time — and she said “Oh no! This is perfect!” Since their website was so informative and I had already been out to visit their farm, I really only had a few specific questions. After chatting a few minutes, I asked if she could email me more details about their summer camps.

Within a few hours, her husband sent tons of information by email, and he also sent my editor several professional-quality digital photographs for possible use in the story (saving us from having to send a photographer out ourselves.) This couple made us feel like we were the best thing that had ever happened to them. And guess what the result was? Our June issue ran four fabulous pictures of their horse farm, telling readers about their camp, filling up a nice page in the magazine. At absolutely no cost to them — since they were part of the story we were writing. Yet the resulting publicity will introduce their farm and camps to thousands of readers.

If I had only KNOWN how much fun it would be to write stories like this, I would not have been so petrified to major in journalism. (I squirreled away with stacks of British novels, majoring in English instead.) I imagined I’d have to be an investigative reporter, aggressively sticking a microphone in someone’s face. But my kind of stories usually only involve one-on-one interviews.

There’s an art to interviewing, and I’m only beginning to learn it. A good interview will result in a good story; a poor interview will leave you with nothing to work with. I can’t read any magazine articles now without a pen in my hand. I dissect them, similar to what we did to those poor frogs in 7th grade biology. I’m fascinated with the words writers choose for their lead-in sentence, the theme, how they arrange the quotes, how they tie it all up with a take-away.

Maybe one day I’ll learn how to write a great story. It all starts with keeping my eyes and ears open for the unusual, the unique, and the spectacular. What I’ve discovered is that most people don’t mind being interviewed, if you show a sincere interest in what they’re passionate about.

Someday, when I have more time, I know some of these interviews could be turned into pieces for national magazines — for example, a horse magazine might be interested in this horse farm — or a marriage magazine, since this couple built a dream together and work together. Or maybe a writer’s magazine, giving tips on interviewing. The list could go on … unfortunately, I can only meet the deadlines I have now and little else!

If you are a writer and have any tips on interviewing, I’d love to know!

I’m sure most of you are aware that Sallie at Two Talent Living has renamed her blog to A Gracious Home.

If you haven’t been to visit her new site yet, please do! She has a gorgeous new look to her blog, as well as a new domain link. So if you’ve linked to Two Talent Living in your blogroll, you’ll want to change it to A Gracious Home.

Many of us enjoyed writing essays for The Carnival of Beauty, hosted by Sallie. I participated in it from December 2005 until April of this year — and that’s how I “met” most of my blogging friends! Sallie took a short break from the Carnival as she is expecting her first child and is busy.

Yesterday, she announced that she will continue to host the Carnival of Beauty for the rest of the year! Here is the link to the upcoming schedule, which will be held at the site of the week’s hostess.

This is my last post for our Beth Moore LBY study — I think we were supposed to end last Friday — but I fell further and further behind. The end of the school year filled up my “spare” time (as if that even exists), and we also took a family vacation last week. My mind was on packing up our family of seven for the beach — and even though I wrote a few posts ahead of time, I just couldn’t get this one written.

Overall, this was a great study — Beth Moore is one of the most incredible Bible teachers I’ve ever heard. I finally realized what it is about her that makes her so effective — it’s her stories. I don’t know if she just has a fantastic memory or if it’s her preparation before each lesson (probably both) — but she never makes a single point without fleshing it out with half a dozen well chosen anecdotes. She tells stories about herself, people she knows, and of course she brings to life heroes and heroines of the Bible, making us feel like we know them personally.

Before each lesson, Beth reviewed the sign language for the nine characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit — and she gave us a little phrase to remember for each one:

Love never fails.
Joy cometh.
Peace rules.
Patience waits.
Kindness tenders.
Goodness does.
Faith fights.
Gentleness bows.
Self-control stops.

The last two sessions covered the topics of gentleness and self-control. Honestly, I was surprised at where she took the topic of gentleness. I admit that I’m a little squeamish about the word “meek.” I don’t consider myself a meek person — though my husband reminds me that the Biblical form of meekness connotes strength. Beth focused on how “the way up is always down.” As we learn to bow before Christ with humility, we can learn to follow His ways. She spent a good deal of time discussing the story of Job, and how his trials were deeply wounding and emotionally charged — similar to those of Jesus Christ.

Several points stuck with me — but mainly she said we need to slow down our pace of life and “Be still before the throne of God” so that He can heal us. If we’ve been hurt or have raw, jagged wounds from something, we can’t expect them to be bound (healed) without time. “Wounds need binding, and binding take time,” she said. Even though wounds may eventually be healed, sometimes there are scars — the same way that Christ had nail scars in his hands. These scars remain so that others can touch them — and see that since we survived, maybe they can too.

The final session of the study was on self-control. Beth’s teaching focused mainly on our bodies as a temple of the Holy Spirit. She said there are two extremes — we can either neglect our temples, or become obsessed by them. In the Old Testament, this is what God was constantly having to chastise His people for: neglect of the physical temple — or idolatry.

I was shocked when she said this: the three or four generations of people that occupy our planet today are the first media-driven culture ever. “This is huge,” she said. “We’re basing how we view ourselves on something that’s not even real.”

I’d never really thought about it — but my great-grandmother did not have to stand in the check-out line at the grocery store and compare her body to women on the front of magazines. Even at Publix, which covers the sleazy ones up (thanks to one of my friends talking to management), it’s still easy to compare how you look to those models on the magazine covers and wonder if you too should be “sexy after 40.” I don’t think my great-grandmother thought much about toning up her abs so she could wear a midriff-bearing tank top!

Beth told a story about how she was with some models waiting to go on a TV show, and they were flipping through a magazine looking at some of their own photographs, and one of them said, “Look at this! Here’s my face, but those are NOT my legs!” So what we’re seeing in the media is digitally doctored and not even real. No wonder so many women struggle with low self-images. Beth Moore says it’s nothing but idolatry, and in her best Texas drawl she implored us to “Learn to do what we need to do, then GET ON WITH LIVING.”

There are so many more stories she told — but the main idea I got is that we need to recapture the “lost art of moderation.” Moderation! We shouldn’t go to the extremes of neglecting ourselves (letting those love handles get thicker every year) — and neither should we become obsessive and make our diets and exercise into a false god.

The study ended with her praying for us all — that we would dedicate our temple (our mind, body, and soul) in its entirety to the “living fruit of the Word of God.”

I’m Almost Done!
This is a long post — but I have to add a few more things about the format of this study because I’m not sure if it’s ever been done in this way before! We started out with a group of 30 women bloggers from all over the world. At first, I was so excited about the study — and I knew this is what God wanted me to be doing. In fact, I thought maybe the whole purpose for my blogging was because of this study — since several people who read about it here joined the group and told others about it on their blogs. The more the merrier, I thought.

Our instructions were to watch the video on Monday, do the homework throughout the week, then post about what we learned on Friday night or Saturday. We were also encouraged to go visit and comment on the other women’s blogs in our group to show support for each other.

I did this faithfully the first few weeks. I posted on time, then I spent a couple of hours throughout the weekend visiting and commenting on other blogs. But after visiting about 15, my head began to spin. I couldn’t always come up with a unique comment when several people already commented before me. I resorted to exclamation points and smiley faces to fill up for my lack of words. I sincerely wanted to encourage each blogger who took the time to share her heart. And wow — there was a lot of deep soul-searching in these posts.

I had no idea how overwhelming it would be to keep up — it’s one thing to sit in a room of people and make comments on things you’re learning — yet it’s something entirely more terrifying to voice your thoughts out for anyone in the world to read — ZIP! As soon as your words are sucked up by the latest RSS feeder. You can’t take them back or change your mind. After a few weeks, I began to lose steam.

Others did too, it seems. We’re women — busy tending our households, jobs, families, little league games, moving, teaching at retreats, traveling, sharing recipes, making summer plans, etc. None of us knew how to hold each other accountable — I mean, in a group that meets in person, you can just say, “Hey, I missed you last week — is everything OK?” But with a blogger, you might feel like you’re being nosy or critical if you ask why they didn’t post about it.

Yet so many positive things did come out of this study — for me and for others as well. And I’ve only begun to grasp these concepts on a deeper level. I’ll be doing this study again in the fall with a group of moms who have our children together in preschool. We’ll have refreshments of course and lots of laughter — and through meeting together, we’ll learn and grow — and pray for each other.

I think this would be a wonderful study for teenage girls — they need this wisdom NOW. If you have a teenage girl in your household, this would be awesome for her and a group of her friends to study together. You can learn more about Beth Moore here at Living Proof Ministries (including an update written by Beth about her recent health scare.)

C’est finis.

Addie	Heather*	Carol
M	Rach	Jeana
Jenn	Amanda	MamaB
GiBee	Boomama	Maria
Blair	Heather	Nancy
Janna	Flipflop	Robin
Sherry	Patricia	Tara
Lauren	HolyMama!	Faith
Christy	Eph2810	Karin
Leann	Rachel	Janice

We have had a death in our extended family, and I will not be able to post for a few days. I would appreciate your prayers. Thank you.

Summer is in full swing here. Our library’s summer reading program officially kicks off on Thursday — but we’ve already carted away our first load of books. I learned long ago from a maven mom that wheels are required on library visits.

For a while, we used a rolling crate that we got from an office supply store. We kept it in our trunk because it folded flat — then we could roll it in the house and keep our library books in it throughout the week. But a wheel popped off … somewhere. So today we used a rolling suitcase. It worked great. The kids loaded up the suitcase until it was full, then it was time to go. One kid pushed the baby stroller, another pulled the suitcase — giving me a free hand to keep the NOISY 3-year-old out of the fish tank. (Which is still more interesting than books.)

I love the library. I don’t love bringing five kids to a place where we have to ssssshhhhh be quiet — but it seems there is more grace abounding in the summer when there are more people milling around.

Our summer reading theme is “Once upon a time,” and so there are castles and moats set up all over the library. I think I’m signed up to help with crafts a week or two. That should keep life challenging, although I can use scissors, and I even know how to carry them should I have to walk around the room.

My summer reading this year will consist of FICTION — yes! Glorious fiction. I am thrilled with my stack of Christian novels just begging to be opened. Wanna sneak a peek? Here’s what’s on my list:

A Stitch in Time (Allison Bottke)
Grace in Thine Eyes (Liz Curtis Higgs)
Dying to Decorate (Cyndy Salzman)
The Secret Life of Becky Miller (Sharon Hinck)
AND I’m still waiting on my much-anticipated copies of Watching the Tree Limbs (Mary DeMuth) and A Girl’s Best Friend (Kristin Billerbeck)

My new Book Buzz column is up at Christian Women Online — be SURE to check out my recommendations for the men in your life. (My column is aptly titled “In Celebration of Men.” Don’tcha love it?) And while you’re there — check out who won the CWO Blog of the Month! (Hint — she’s originally from Germany, lives in Phoenix, is a faithful Carnival of Beauty and LBY blogger — and her blog title has something to do with Ephesians. Go tell her congrats!) Also, you can read the awesome winner of the Father’s Heart writing contest (which I was so honored to be asked to help judge) AND you can enter a drawing to win a copy of Wayne Holmes’ newest book, The Embrace of a Father. So head on over to CWO right now!

A few people have written me lately asking how I choose which books to review. Well, for Christian Book Previews, the editor sends out a list of books — there were over a hundred to choose from last time. I usually pick a book I’ve already heard some “buzz” about, which is how I picked The Secret Life of Becky Miller. I’ve heard a TON about this new book, and it’s humorous MOM-LIT published by Bethany House. So I can’t wait.

For Book Buzz, here’s what I’m looking for:

1 — Books that will uplift and inspire the readers of Christian Women Online magazine. Fiction or non-fiction. They must be clean, but don’t necessarily have to be published by a CBA house. I’m trying to stick with books written by women for women — but this month all the books were written by men for anybody! So I won’t rule out male authors — but the CWO audience is all female (as far as I know … ).

2 — I prefer books that are less than two years old. But this is not set in stone. If you know of a great classic that would be perfect for CWO readers, please let me know. Sometimes, nothing beats an oldie but goodie.

3 — Write me a query. Tell me why the book is perfect for Christian women readers! I usually don’t review self-published books unless they’ve been professionally edited — but this is also not set in stone. Two of my favorite books last year were self-published — and gee, it makes so much sense financially if you’re a public speaker to self-publish. Send your query/ press release to heatherivester at bellsouth dot net.

Also on my reading list this summer — Cec Murphey said I HAVE to read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. He’s about the millionth person who’s told me to read it. Oh yes, and Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees. And I’ve heard a ton of people suggest Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. So you see, I’ll be off in fiction-land this summer.

Actually, I have another change of plans this summer — which I’ll tell you about later this week. First, I’ve got to work on writing my last LBY post to complete this Beth Moore study. I think everyone else is finished except me. But guess what? I get to do it again this fall — our preschool mom group will be studying Living Beyond Yourself! So maybe I’ll be able to keep up this time — I hope. (I think God knew I REALLY needed to take this study again. Who doesn’t need a little more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and SELF-CONTROL?)

It’s Sunday afternoon, and all is quiet on our homefront. Guess what daunting task I’m attempting on this day of rest? I’m decluttering and filing all of my emails. I thought I’d better dash over and post in my blog just for a little moral support.

If you KNEW how many emails I’ve let pile up, you’d fall out of your chair — it’s well into the thousands. (yikes!) But filing is actually kind of fun. I’m deleting a ton — but I’ve also got files set up for family, friends, newsletters and articles I want to save for research, quotes I pick up, groups I’m involved in, and a host of other categories.

Mostly, I’m realizing I’ve got a lot of clutter to get rid of. FlyLady has inspired me. Less is more.

Back to work now. 😉

[Edit: It’s done. My in-box is sorted and cleaned out! Now … on to those paper files.]

From time to time, I feel a flicker of doubt, and I wonder if I’m wasting my time writing. Then someone will send me a note of encouragement and remind me that this is a ministry God has called me to do for this season of my life. While my children are young, I’m thankful to be able to write while they play or read beside me.

A couple of weeks ago, I was surprised to receive this very kind note from one of you. I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to send this to me!

Dear Heather,

Thank you for your obedience in sharing this info…..and thank you for the great site!!!

This note meant so much to me — because I felt like I’d really connected with a reader. And not only me — I’d connected her to this conference. So I wrote her back and asked if she went to the conference. Well, she told me that not only did she have a fantastic time at the conference, she fell in love with the church and knew this is where she wanted to be! So, she and her family joined this church, as an answer to many months of prayer.

Thank you, Lord, for this encouraging note. I know that you prompted her to write me to show how you’re working not only in my life, but in the lives of those who you deliberately lead here. How awesome you are, and how humbled I am to be a messenger of your mighty work!

Dear Heather,

Your Dream Editors
International Dreams Magazine

P.S. Just in case it’s unclear — this is a JOKE. This is only my dream! 🙂

I went to a writers’ conference last weekend sponsored by American Christian Writers. It was more like a retreat for me — being surrounded by other people who love books, words, and growing in our faith always puts me in good company.

This was my third ACW conference — and it was a great one. I really enjoyed getting to meet one of my blog readers! When I found out she lived not too far from me, I invited her to come. And she did!

I counted up, and this was the seventh writers’ conference I’ve attended in the past two years, plus I also went to CBA Advance in Nasvhille, which is where all the Christian publishers display their lines of books for retailers.

I’ve been to two large conferences sponsored by Lifeway, one sponsored by SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), three American Christian Writers, and another local writer’s group that had a one-day conference that brought in a novelist I really wanted to hear speak.

So, why do I keep going to these things? Am I just not getting it? Well, except for one, they were all within driving distance from my house. Four of them were within an hour of my house, and every time I’ve gone, I’ve invited family members or friends to come with me. For example, last spring, I invited a high school friend to come with me, and I helped her get her feet back into publishing. She’s writing regularly now for several magazines and a PR firm.

It’s also encouraging for me to meet other people who are as wacky as I am about Christian books. Here’s a picture from the Nashville CBA where I met with several people from one of my online writing groups. (I’m in the back row, second from the right.)

On the back row, far left, is Cecil Murphey. He’s one of the most prolific writers around — do you remember me telling you about him when I reviewed 90 Minutes in Heaven? He was the writer God used to tell Don Piper’s story. At the conference last weekend, I sat through over six hours of Cec’s teaching! He has such a gift for mentoring writers.

I think he knows a thing or two about books — since he’s published 104 of them and has about half a dozen under contract now. I’ve taken away so many nuggets from his teaching. And I also got to meet with him one-on-one and listen to his advice for me personally.

This is the best part about these conferences. You get to make appointments with editors, authors, and agents. What better way is there to learn about publishing than to meet the people who make the decisions behind the scenes?

The truth is — last weekend’s conference was where I realized this “writing thing” is not going away. It’s not something I’m going to abandon, like I’ve abandoned countless other hobbies that I got bored of. By writing, I don’t mean scribbling away in a secret journal. I mean seeking publishers who need content and are willing to pay for it.

I’ve learned that to be published, you have to do more than write whatever you want and send it out in an envelope with postage and a prayer. That’s the quickest way to get a rejection letter, probably from somebody’s assistant (yes, I know about this first-hand!).

At every conference, I’ve learned something new. The main thing I’ve picked up is that marketing goes hand-in-hand with writing. Before you even begin your article or book, think about who you’re writing for. Otherwise, you’ll have a hard time finding anyone to buy it.

For example, Gina Holmes of the awesome Novel Journey blog recently interviewed mega bestselling author Allison Bottke. She has published over 20 books in the God Allows U-Turns Series and Christian Living genre, as well as her debut novel. Major success story.

How did Allison do this? In the interview, she explained how she’d wanted to write a memoir of how her life got turned around when she became a Christian at age 35. But she thought, “Who’d want to read my story?” Then she decided to tell it as part of a series of other people’s stories. An agent loved it, and the rest is bestselling history.

And just in case you think these conferences might be boring, think again. Here I am at the Nashville CBA Advance doing a little clowning around. If you like to write, maybe I’ll see you at a conference someday!

I loved watching the Beth Moore Living Beyond Yourself video this week on the topic of “Faith” (I’m a little behind). We’re on Week 9 out of 10 (I think), and we’ve worked out a few kinks behind the scenes with our group. We now have a real “list” that is private, and we’re able to exchange emails and share things that we don’t even dare blog about. It’s been a great source of encouragement for me.

First of all, I want to tell you I’ve become a very quiet blog reader lately. For those of you who are wondering if I’m still around, I’ll tell you that I’m reading your blogs in my Bloglines, and I’m just not commenting. Forgive me. The end of the school year is CRAZY busy around here.

I love all the things I’ve been learning through this study. It’s beyond eery how I’ll hear or read a verse from Beth Moore, then I’ll read it again in a book or hear it from a sermon. The same day! God is speaking to me in so many ways.

A few months ago, I had a crisis of faith. I really had some major doubts — about EVERYTHING. Do you ever feel this way — like you’re being tumbled around in a dryer full of wet clothes? Well, it started with lightning striking our computer, despite those surge protector things. It zapped our modem, printer, and hard drive. I was disconnected for about four days while we got some things fixed.

The timing couldn’t have been worse. After spending months of scribbling down design ideas and agonizing over every detail, I’d finally sent off my design order to start my blog! I had used PayPal for the first time ever and even signed up for my hosting service. Then — ZAP! Computer gone.

I was so worried my designer would call me with a question! And I’d set the goal of starting my blog by the first of October so I’d have a few posts written before the Glorieta writers’ conference in late October.

My husband put up with my calling him two or three times a day and asking him to check my email. After the fourth day, I walked to the mailbox in complete despair. I’m sorry I sound so shallow — but I keep up with everyone by email — even my parents, siblings, and local friends!

I remember walking back from the mailbox, and I was letting my thoughts run away with worry. What would we do if I could never get online again? What if I missed my deadlines? What if my husband’s car wore out?

We have a long driveway, and my fears raced even further. What are we going to do when our kids discover we’re the only people around who don’t own any video games? What if they start realizing their clothes aren’t name brands? How will we ever put five kids through college? What about weddings?!!

Aaggghhhh!!!

For just a minute, I thought, Is God real? Is He really there? If He cared about me, then how come I’m feeling so lost and disconnected?

I know this may sound a bit kooky, but at that moment, I looked up, and the sky was completely clear and blue except for a white slash of clouds that were shaped perfectly like a cross. And I felt this impression in my heart of the Holy Spirit saying, I’m Here.

That was one of those moments I’ll never forget.

The next day, we were back online, and I had an email from someone inviting me to send a resume pronto for a possible devotional project. The editor was passing out assignments, and I might find a spot. So I sent it (by email of course). And I somehow got offered an assignment to help three other writers work on a book.

The title? Faith for Each Day.

So my crisis of faith led to an open door for me to help write a book on faith! Even more amazing, a friend invited me to join Beth Moore’s Believing God Bible Study, so I was suddenly surrounded by godly awesome women and the richest teaching I’d had in years.

I turned in my work on time, and the editor asked if I’d write a few more. I ended up writing over a hundred devotionals for this book. It’s being released soon — so if you see it, maybe my name will be written somewhere teeny-tiny along with a bunch of other people on the back of the title page.

Here’s what the publisher says about the book:

Like a daily energy boost, these inspiring entries begin with an insightful scripture followed by a powerful, relevant-to-the-day devotion that will remind readers that God truly longs for us to start the day with Him, that He is present in our lives even when things seem hectic, and He desires to richly bless us.

Hmmmm … So that’s what happens when I have a crisis of faith. From now on, I’m “Believing God,” and “Living Beyond Myself.”

Addie	Heather*	Carol
M	Rach	Jeana
Jenn	Amanda	MamaB
GiBee	Boomama	Maria
Blair	Heather	Nancy
Janna	Flipflop	Robin
Sherry	Patricia	Tara
Lauren	HolyMama!	Faith
Christy	Eph2810	Karin
Leann	Rachel	Janice