By Chandra Lynn Smith I entered my first Genesis contest in 2002 before it was the Genesis Contest. I think about that pitiful entry now and feel very sorry for the judges who struggled through reading it. The thing is my brave move to enter the contest was the beginning of quite a journey. In August of 2003, I attended …
ACFW Conference Prayer: Health for Attendees (Day 7)
ACFW Conference Prayer: Health for All Attending Psalm 139:14a–I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Dear Lord, You are called our healer. And I pray that this weekend you give provision of your touch upon those that are attending. Verse 14a tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, that you created us …
ACFW Conference Prayer: For a Smooth Registration (Day 8)
ACFW Conference Prayer: For a Smooth Registration Romans 8:28–And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Father God, we ask your special presence with those you have called to this conference and with the workers handling registration and preparation. Where there …
Integrity an Integral Requirement for Historical Fiction
By Donna Wichelman How many of you read historical fiction and why? I asked this question in an informal survey on Facebook to get a pulse on what makes the genre compelling. Many answers complied with what you would expect: “It makes history come alive; because I love the eras and events surrounding the stories; it transports me to a …
ACFW Conference Prayer: For Casey Miller/Appointments (Day 9)
ACFW Conference Prayer: For Casey Miller as he finalizes appointments Hebrews 4:16 NIV – Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Father God, you know every need that Casey has in his writing and during conference. You already know the …
ACFW Conference Prayer: For our Families at Home (Day 10)
ACFW Conference Prayer: For the families we leave at home Romans 8:26-27–In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because …
Building Back the Walls
By Elizabeth Musser Lord, reading Nehemiah 3 this morning has brought me to tears. It’s basically just a list of names of people that I don’t recognize. There are not many who are superstars in the Word of God. Just a lot of ordinary people. Oh, but what they are doing is extraordinary. They’re rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem. The …
ACFW Conference Prayer: For the Hotel Staff (Day 11)
ACFW Conference Prayer: For the Hotel Staff 1 Corinthians 9: 19, 23–For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the …
Fool Proof Pitches
By Deborah Clack For those of you who are trekking across the country to San Antonio, Texas for the annual ACFW conference, let me dispel your fears. No cowboy boots required. But you might be thinking that ACFW is big! And the state of Texas even bigger, almost as massive as the nerves that come along with pitching a manuscript. …
ACFW Conference Prayer: We Weep With Those Who Weep (Day 12)
ACFW Conference Prayer: That We Weep with Those Who Weep Romans 12:15b– . . . and weep with those who weep Dear Lord, For those whose conference experience includes conquered hopes and dashed dreams, please surround them with Your care and help them trust You in disappointment. Please comfort the discouraged. strengthen those who doubt, and give them hope to …