TravWise Freelance Writing

In The Interest of Full Disclosure...

2011-08-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

ITIOFD. I kind of wish that were a common abbreviation. We could call it Idio-Fud. ITIO-FD

"Hey Spike, tell me about your hot date last night."

"Aw, no, Fred you don't want to know all the details."

"Heck yes I do. Bruno said she was a stone cold fox!"

"Well, ITIO-FD... it was with your mom."

Well, anyways ITIOFD I'd like to share with you some basic facts about recent experiences. No editorializing. No bashing. No comments. Just the bare bones facts.

Make of these what you will.

1. On Wednesday, I wrote a ~~scathing~~ review of Textbroker and its services that was intended to be harsh. Textbroker is a freelance writing community. On Friday, I received an e-mail and a DM tweet from a Textbroker executive. She asked whether TravWise was, in fact, my blog, and expressed an interest in communicating with me so that "they could get me back." Friday afternoon I wrote a ~~lengthy~~ (editorializing, dang it) 300 word e-mail explaining the blog post and welcoming further discussion. Friday afternoon I wrote a ~~semi-apologetic~~ amended blog post about Textbroker. Friday evening I received another DM tweet from the same executive. "I'll get back to you on Monday." Monday, nothing. Tuesday, nothing.

2. Today, I filled out the online form for the Publisher's Clearing House $5000/Week For Life giveaway. I deleted all of my information before sending the form. Ten minutes later, I filled it out again. I deleted it. Again. The form is still open in a tab on my web browser. ~~I think maybe it is casting a spell on me.~~

3. This morning I missed a writing deadline by thirty minutes. I did not ~~care~~ show any outwardly measurable signs of distress. This client receives high quality work for 50% less than my other clients. (That's not editorializing. Those are facts. FYI. Idio-Fud.)

4. I ~~seriously debated~~ spent twenty minutes evaluating the pros and cons of taking a nap this afternoon. I went to lunch with my working wife and my in-laws. I saw at least thirty people wearing either scrubs, nametags, or business attire. I returned to my home to continue working. I did not take a nap this afternoon. Guilt may or may not have been the reason.

5. I spend ~~too much time~~... ~~an exorbitant amount of~~... I spend approximately 1.5 hours managing social media every day.

6. We are going to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner tonight to celebrate my brother-in-law's (brother's-in-law?) birthday. It will rock. (Editorializing... oh shut up.)

New Orleans in Nashville

2011-08-15T07:28:00.000-07:00

This is NOT a recipe blog. I feel like I have to say that up front. I don't want you getting confused when you read what I'm about to post below this. No, it's definitely not a recipe blog. I'm not going to be working my way through a Julia cookbook. I'm not going to discuss my favorite Food Network stars. I'm not going to post a new, delicious ten-step meal every single day. This is NOT a... ok, you get it.

That being said.

Last night, the wife and I had a houseload of people over. I needed something delicious and amazing to serve to a large crowd. Something not too difficult but with a little more pizzazz than a pot of chili.

Enter Gumbo, Stage Left

My mom's family is from Louisiana, and as I was slogging through the dusty corners of my hard drive, I discovered this recipe for authentic Louisiana gumbo. It was incomplete, and I had to flesh out a few areas, perform a little roux research, and figure out how to fill in a couple of gaps.

The result, however, was incredible. It was pass-on-worthy. So, here it is. Perkins Family Gumbo.

Perkins Gumbo (Version 2011)

• 3 large chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 8 cloves minced garlic
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1.5 cups chopped celery
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• Tobasco (to taste)
• 1 handful of chopped parsley
• 6 cups hot water
• 5 cubes chicken builion
• 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 regular cans stewed tomatoes
• 1 pound sliced okra (frozen works great)
• ½ cup chopped green onions
• 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and devained
Here's Whatcha Do:

1. Rub the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch Oven (it HAS to be a Dutch Oven. Any other pan will be TOO THIN) on Medium heat. Brown the chicken. Brown the sausage. Remove the meat and set it aside. Sprinkle the flour over the oil and drippings in the pan and add two tablespoons butter.
2. Now, get comfortable. You're gonna be here awhile. Turn your heat LOW and keep stirring that flour/oil mixture. Don't stop. For twenty minutes. It will SLOWLY darken. You want it to be the color of dark chocolate. This is your roux. If you burn it, you're done. Go to McDonald's.
3. When the roux is dark enough, turn the heat up to Medium and add the Holy Trinity (celery, onion, bell pepper), the remaining two tablespoons of butter, and the garlic. Cook it down for 10 minutes.
4. Add the Worcestershire sauce. Practice saying "Worcestershire." Add the hot sauce, sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Throw in the parsley. Cook for another five minutes.
5. Now, if you try to put the meat back into the pot along with six cups of hot water, you are going to make a mess. I transfer the veggies and roux into a stock pot at this point. Pour half the water into the dutch oven and swish it around. Pour that into a stock pot. Pour the rest of the water into the D.O. and get the rest of the good stuff into that stock pot.
6. Add the meat. Crush up the bouilion. Bring this all to a boil then turn the heat down and let it simmer FOR AT LEAST THIRTY MINUTES. The longer, the better.
7. Add the okra and tomatoes. Simmer for AN HOUR. If you skimp on the cooking time, I will find you. I will know.
8. Ten minutes before you serve the gumbo, toss in the green onions and the shrimp. Give it a good stir. If it isn't thick enough, make a paste out of cornstarch and melted butter and add it to the pot.

Serve this gumbo over white rice and tuck slices of toasted baguettes into the bowl. Garnish it with parsley if you are feeling fancy. Bada Boom.

I know, I know. You love me. Stop crying and go make it already.

Falcor The Luck Dragon and Textbroker

2011-08-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well, now I feel bad.

I'm not really a confrontational person. I don't like to ruffle feathers and stir the pot. Don't get me wrong, I will speak my mind if I feel that it is necessary. But when I do, I usually feel like I've gone too far. So, after I got an e-mail from a Textbroker employee regarding my scathing post about Textbroker, I reread the post in question...

... and immediately felt bad.

I may have been too harsh on Textbroker. I compared the freelance writing community to Elance which may have been unfair. I might have unnecessarily stomped Textbroker's good name into the mud. I may have been comparing puppies to luck dragons.

If you came to me and said you really wanted to get a puppy, my review of Textbroker would be like this response:

"Why would you want a puppy? They can't fly around and carry you around on their backs! You should really get a luck dragon, not a puppy. Falcor is the only pet worth getting."

Well, ok, yes. A luck dragon would be nice. But what if you really wanted a puppy? What if you wanted something simple and easy to understand. Something that required less maintenance. A puppy would be great. Textbroker isn't a luck dragon, but it isn't completely worthless either.

If you want a simple way to make extra money each month, Textbroker is fantastic. If you don't want to go through the hassle of bidding on projects, creating a profile, advertising your services, keeping up with complicated client deadlines, and taking self-examinations, Textbroker is the perfect choice. Textbroker has a huge collection of available articles that you can write immediately. They pay their writers regularly. They are usually fair with their ratings. The only reason Textbroker didn't work for ME is because I was looking for a way to grow my freelance writing career. I needed to be recognized so that I could gain loyal clients. I needed expansion.

I needed a luck dragon.

Real Simple Blog Contest

2011-08-11T15:13:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I submitted an entry to the First Ever Simply Stated Blogger Contest!! The contest involves writing a 300 word "blog post" style entry on your strangest or most unique friendship. I am pretty excited about my entry; it was way fun to write.

The prize for winning is $1000 smackers and a months worth of blogging on Real Simple's website in October.... woot! woot! If you are at all interested, hit up the link above and check it out. Anybody know any other fun writing contests going on right now?

Using Elance to Make Money

2011-08-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I talked about Textbroker and why I think it is a complete waste of a freelancer's time. Today, I'm goingt to talk about Elance...

...because I think that Elance is exactly the opposite of a waste of time. In fact, I think it's amazing. Don't get me wrong, I won't be freelancing on Elance for the rest of my life. For now, though, I'm going to show you how I can make a living using this incredible freelance community.

If you are a writer, a web designer, a marketing specialist, a social media networking specialist, an SEO writer, or a computer programmer... you can find WORK on ELANCE. I'm talking about high paying, high quality, legit work, not cheap, ridiculous, five dollars an hour work. You can actually be COMPENSATED for your time.

What Is Elance?
Elance is a community of freelancers. You have to register to be a member of the Elance community whether you are looking to work or to hire. Once you are a member (a process I'll explain later), you can bid on projects, complete work, and get paid. Here are the benefits of freelancing within a community like Elance:

Payment is always guaranteed with escrowed funds
Clients are abundant; you don't have to hunt for hours looking for work
Work is more substantial, projects come in packages of several articles
Elance takes a cut of your earnings, not a monthly fee, so a dry spell won't cost you
Your performance, client ratings, and skills are rated and ranked so that you can easily stand out amongst a crowd
You can self-test to show potential clients what your skills are
YOU are in complete control of how much money you want to make per job

If you are looking to jumpstart a brand new freelancing career, get yourself through a dip in client jobs, or do something totally new on the side to make a few hundred dollars extra every month you have got to try out Elance. It's fun. It costs nothing. You can make MONEY.

Boom bada boom.

Anybody else use Elance? Any hobby writers out there who have considered trying to freelance but didn't know where to start?

The Help

2011-08-10T15:33:00.000-07:00

Alright peeps! It's Book Review Wednesday. I just made that up. I probably won't do this every Wednesday. But for now, let's pretend that this is a regular thing. Ahem.

BOOK REVIEW WEDNESDAY!!

A couple weeks ago I snatched up The Help by Kathryn Stockett as soon as my wife had finished it. If you haven't read it, I'm going to try to avoid spoilers at all cost because I really think you should pick this one up. While I am definitely a Science Fiction and Fantasy geek, I can appreciate a cultural, semi-historical fiction novel with the best of them. And on a personal note, I love the Civil Rights Era of American History. Ever since I went to the hotel where Martin Luther King, jr. was assassinated in Memphis, I've been infatuated with that movement in our country's history.

In spite of that, I was naive enough to be disappointed by this book. I'll explain that in a minute.

First of all, the characters in this book are so strong. I love a book with good strong characters: characters whose voices you can hear in your head as if they were standing next to you and shouting. I love being able to imagine a character's posture, clothing, nonverbal communication, all of it. Ms. Stockett has her characters DOWN. I also loved the story. The humor, the intrigue, the old Southern charm. It was all great.

The ending, however, left me feeling empty and dejected. I found myself wanting a more definitive ending. I wanted the characters to succeed. I wanted more justice. I wanted more recognition.

That's when I remembered... Kathryn Stockett couldn't write that ending because it would require a complete change in history. The Civil Rights movement wasn't over in a week. It wasn't over in a year. It didn't wrap up neatly and nicely in a tidy little package where everybody, all of a sudden, got along. In fact, the ending I found myself wanting would have been ridiculous.

"Now, I know I treated you like trash yesterday because you are black. But now, I see that was wrong."
"You're right, it was wrong. Wanna play Gin Rummy?"
"Oh yes."

Yeah. Stupid, I know. This story ends with a handful of questions because that is what the lives of these characters were full of during this time. Questions. Questions about survival. Questions about society. Questions about change, about solutions, about unmet needs, about fear, about anger. Some of us are still asking these questions today. Some of us throw a huge temper tantrum when an African American man gets elected president. Some of try to mask our prejudices by hurling stupid accusations about birth location and religion. Some of us have forgotten the journey that our ancestors traveled. Some of us have forgotten our destination.

It may sound odd, but after reading this book I decided that I am proud of our President. Not because he is black. Not because he is the first president elected to this country that isn't as white as the signers of the Declaration. But because, to me at least, he stands for another step on a journey that I think is well worth traveling. I know that wasn't the intention of Kathryn Stockett.

Still, we can learn a lot from reading about the past. We see where we've come from. We see where we are going. I see where I am.

Textbroker: Counting Pennies in Hell

2011-08-10T15:20:00.000-07:00

I've been putting this post off for far too long. I really want to discuss the beginning of my personal freelance journey and the important differences I discovered between two of the biggest freelance writing communities: Elance and Textbroker.

When I decided to try my hand at freelance writing, I didn't really know what an important and widespread field I was getting myself into. A friend of mine told me she had made a few extra hundred dollars a month with a site called Textbroker. Extra hundred dollars? Ok, yes I'm trying this out.

Textbroker is a website where clients post their writing needs in different categories and writers can choose to complete these articles for a rate of less than two cents per word. Categories include jewelry, home, business, computers, family, travel, etc. Depending on how your writing rates with the Textbroker editors, you have access to different levels of writing jobs that pay different amounts of money. The highest rating you can get as an "amateur" is a four star rating. That's where I started.

Here is the problem with Textbroker. Er, there's more than one. First, the jobs are first come, first served which means that there is no bidding process or freedom in deciding how much you are going to make. If you write a four star article, you get paid 1.7 cents per word. Every time. No exceptions. The second problem is that the a lot of the articles are filled with REALLY COMPLICATED guidelines that you have to complete before the article can be written. Sometimes, just reading the guidelines for each article would take me fifteen minutes. Then, the article would only pay about $5-$8. Not exactly cost effective.

The last problem I had with Textbroker freelance writing was the process by which they moved you from a four star writer to a five star writer. Ideally, once you have written ten articles in a row with a four star rating, you can apply to be a five star writer which gives you access to better paying jobs.

Well, I've written about a hundred articles with all four star ratings. I applied to be a five star writer. I was rejected. Why? Because in ONE of the hundred four star articles, the editor at Textbroker didn't like some of my phrasing. It wasn't wrong. It wasn't grammatically incorrecct. She just didn't like it.

After that, I abandoned Textbroker for Elance. And I absolutely love Elance.

The Freelance Experience

2011-08-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

So, guess what I'm figuring out? Freelance writing is hard work. Ok, I see you all seasoned freelancers slapping your foreheads and groaning. Of course it's hard work, you say! Nevertheless, I admit I initially subscribed to the "I Can Write Fast So I'll Make A Ton Of Money In No Time" school of thought.

Thankfully, the rainbow is gone and the dancing leprechaun at my feet revealed himself to be a Reality Gnome. I've got it now. This career choice is danged hard.

My Freelance Experience

I've been working as a freelance writer for about a year now. I started out writing articles (for dirt cheap) on a website called Textbroker. Textbroker was a great place for me to start because it provided me with simple articles to write and didn't require any sort of bid process. It's just first come, first served. Eventually, I graduated to Elance. And that's where I've parked my derriere for the time being. Elance is great, and for now, it is providing me with most of the work I need. There is still room for growth, of course, and I've got other plans for developing my own personal brand... but that's going to take time.

Wanna Know A Secret?

I spend about an hour each day reading some great blogs about writing, freelance writing, marketing, social media, and SEO principles. One thing I've noticed, there doesn't seem to be a lot of blogs about getting your foot IN THE DOOR of the freelance community. I'm going to add a few posts for the next few weeks about my experiences with Elance and Textbroker, and offer some tips to those who are considering the industry.

To my readers: if you have been considering pursuing some ventures that will provide you with a little extra income each month, I encourage you to try Elance. Keep checking back for my insider secrets about how I found jobs, wrote successful bids, and kept my clients coming back for more!

Sign up for ELANCE today: it's easy and free!

First Meetings

2011-07-25T21:58:00.000-07:00

No, this post isn't about the Orson Scott Card book. What? You don't know who Orson Scott Card is? SHAME on you!! Ender's Game, look it up. Buy it, borrow it, check it out.

No, this post (shamelessly overdue) is about my family's new dog. Tonight via Skype, Jill and I met Frank. A few weeks ago, my parents were forced to send one of my chocolate labs to join Charlie, Old Dan, Little Ann, and Old Yeller in that strange and wonderful paradise devoted to man's best friend. Claude was her name. Her liver basically shut down without warning, and keeping her alive would have been cruel. So closed one of the most cherished chapters of my life.

Tonight, I met the new dog that was chosen as a companion to Claude's sister, Cleo. Whoever says dogs are dumb or emotionless obviously hasn't witnessed a puppy who has lost her lifelong friend. Cleo was depressed, lethargic, and unresponsive. Was. Frank, the adorable Rottweiler mix, has completely changed all of that. I know that this dog will never know me the way Claude did. I'll only be able to meet him through sporadic visits to St. Louis. He will never stare at me adoringly as I make a turkey sandwich (hmmm... maybe it was the turkey sandwich that was getting stared at), he'll never curl up at my feet and breathe that sigh of contentment that only dogs have perfected, and he'll never pull his ears back and wag his tail when I come for a visit as if the world is once again complete.

He may never do that, I know. But he's there. In my old home. Comforting my lonely dog Cleo. Bringing joy to my parents who I miss. Watching over things while I am two hundred miles away. And for that, I already love him.

Too bad his name is Frank, short for Franklin. That was going to be the name of my first son. Whoops.

Hannah, Haggadah, and Hard Rock

2011-04-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

Went to The Hard Rock cafe for the first time in my life (I think) this weekend. All in all, I'd say I was impressed up to but not exceeding my expectations. This is probably due to my thoroughly miserable knowledge of rock musicians. I can name the top three highest-selling rock artists of all time: The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson (did you know that), but my rock knowledge comes to a screeching halt immediately after that particular morsel.

So, Hard Rock. There I stood, surrounded by guitars and records signed by people I'm sure were famous, but nevertheless clueless about my surroundings. That's what I get for marrying into a family of musical prodigies. It's a good thing the man doesn't have to take the woman's name when he gets married... I never would have passed the Shackelford Entrance Examination for World Domination Through Musical Trivia Knowledge.

All in all, I prefer Planet Hollywood. I can appreciate the slab of meat that Rocky worked out with, Leia's gold bikini, and the E.T. bicycle a lot more than a Les Paul signed by Billy Gibbons.

I had to look up that guy's name and what guitar he plays. Sigh.

Monday night, the Thurch gang recreated the traditional Passover feast. We wanted to go with all the traditional elements of Passover. If you didn't know, each part of the Passover meal represents a specific topic or idea that is supposed to be meditated on as you eat or drink it. Naturally, I went to a Passover website to look up Passover recipes. How exactly do they prepare the lamb these days?

Apparently, any gosh darn way you want. I saw a recipe for a Kosher beer battered lamb steak. I'm not even kidding. I decided to throw together a quick dry rub because, hey, we're not Jewish and there's no since wasting good lamb by not seasoning it properly.

So, we all sat down on the floor on some cushions, Cullen read the Haggadah, and after three glasses of Kosher wine (translation: liquid skittles), some bitter herbs (translation: parsley), some charoset (translation: apples, raisins and honey), and a platter full of lamb (translation: awesome), we had ourselves a traditional Passover celebration. Mazeltov!

One more thing. I just remembered (after watching The Biggest Loser tonight. No spoilers Tori, I promise!) that Jill and I saw a special somebody jogging down Old Hickory Blvd on Sunday morning. Yeah, it was Hannah from the Biggest Loser. We are 85% positive. If I'd had enough time to react I would've stuck my head out the sun roof and screamed at the top of my lungs. Go Hannah, Olivia, and Irene!!

Tori, dahling, break a leg in Spring Sing this weekend. You blow my mind up with helium and then suck my brains out and talk in a funny high-pitched voice. Er... I mean. You blow my mind. I should have probably just stopped there.

Awkward.

Thurch

2011-04-07T23:23:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful day... don't let it get away. What you don't have you don't need it now...

Wow I love that U2 song. And today WAS beautiful. Perfect weather; it even smelled pretty outside according to Jillian.

Today, Jill and I FINALLY put some stuff up on our poor, lonely apartment walls. We hung a mirror and two sconces in the dining room, and put a makeshift mantel over our fireplace in the form of a shelf with some pictures and vases on it.

Side note: did you know that M-A-N-T-L-E refers to a cape-like garment or the layer above the earth's core and M-A-N-T-E-L refers to the decorative portion around a fireplace? Yeah neither did I until I just looked it up.

So after Jill and I wrestled with tape measures, nails, screws, a drill and a hammer, we had our weekly get-together with some of our greatest Nashvillian friends. Thursday nights are bible study nights (actually, I think we've decided to call it Thurch), and I absolutely love them.

Next week we are starting Rob Bell's new book Love Wins, and we are all really excited about it. Tonight we decided to share one thing we were all dealing with and pray for each other daily. I can't wait to see what's going to happen with everyone's unique situation.

We had a small problem after Thurch where Brett decided to insult Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock in the same sentence, but Linzi lit his hair on fire and the party broke up soon after that.

All in all, great day. Excited to see my in-laws this weekend. Hope everyone has a great Friday and beyond!

60 Degrees and Sunny...check

2011-04-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

A wise man once said "to feed the body's compulsions is to starve the soul."

Actually, no one ever said that. I just made that up. Impressed? I thought you would be. So since no wise person (except TravWise) ever said that about feeding the body's compulsions, I'm just going to go ahead and feed one of mine:

List making. Oh yes, you know how it goes. That inescapable feeling that your life is a chaotic jumble that can only be relieved by filling pads of paper with lists of to-dos and neatly checking them off one by one. You know you want to make one, now. But wait. Read mine first. Then when you make your own, you can write "Slake my thirst for the incredibly stimulating written word by reading a delightfully creative blog."

Check.

Travis's Tuesday To-Dos:

Wake up and shower immediately: check.
Sit on the porch and note the cloudless sky: check.
Revel in the fact that it is too chilly for the wasps to be out: check.
Finish a huge project with a much-needed payout: check.
Read some literary agent blogs: check.
Watch elementary school kids get into fight outside my apartment: check.
Note that there is still hope in the world when angry fighting elementary school child spells A-S-S instead of saying it: check.
Watch Jill take a nap: check.
Make a barbecue meatloaf, cheesy garlic mashed potatoes and coleslaw for dinner: check +2 points for the yum factor.
Watch The Biggest Loser: check.
Tear up when Courtney went home: (Private)
Watch Cupcake Wars with Jill: check.
Vocally berate Asian girl who wins Cupcake Wars: check.
Blog: check.

Ahhhh... slaked.

It's a bird... It's a plane...

2011-03-31T12:10:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Gresham posted another great article at Copyblogger this morning:

Heretics, Superheroes, and Fighting the Lonely War of the Writer.

Wait, did she just compare writers to Superheroes? Yes. Does she know what comparing me to Batman will likely do to my ego? Probably not. Is she, regardless, now my most favorite person on the face of this planet? Yes.

Of course, she also said that writers are sometimes considered heretics... not nearly as glorious a concept. But hey, if that's what it takes to get my name out there and to get people reading the stuff I come up with, I'll take it. After all, Batman was misunderstood, yes sir. So, to boost my confidence (and to feed an incessant desire I have to blur the distinction between myself and The Dark Knight), I've compiled a list of the top 10 reasons why Batman's real identity is probably... me.

1. Neither of us likes cats.
2. We both prefer to stay up late and sleep in mornings.
3. We both wear Batman underwear (hey, if Batman wears underwear, then they are automatically considered "Batman underwear." Logic, people)
4. We both use our intellect before our muscles (or in lieu of)
5. We both prefer brunettes.
6. We both do most of our day-job work on the top floor (Wayne Enterprises/ My Apartment)
7. Neither of us wants to live strictly by the rule book.
8. Batman has Alfred. My vacuum cleaner is named Alfred.
9. Both our heart rates accelerate when we see the Bat Symbol.
10. We both want to change the world.

So, yes, I can see her point. Writers are like superheroes. We are isolated, moody, often considered heretics, misunderstood, and we walk among you, donning our secret identities because if you knew that we were actually "writers," you'd probably ask to read our work.

And then, you'd hate all over it.

Werewolf Bar Mitzvah...

2011-03-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

I've had that stupid/hilarious song from 30 Rock in my head all morning. You know, the one Tracy Jordan recorded and won an award with:

Werewolf Bar Mitzvah, Spooky, Scary
Boys becoming men, men becoming wolves...

Haha. My friends Andrea and Caleb gave us the first three seasons of 30 Rock. They're 30 Rock evangelists, I guess you could say. And I'm proud to report that I'm a born-again convert.

I resisted watching that blasted show for years because I was determined to hate Alec Baldwin. I'm not sure why. I think it was a noble attempt to bring a little balance to my typical obsession with celebrity. I am far too fascinated with the lives of the A-Listers, and I thought if I could passionately hate one, just one, celebrity, that would balance my life out.

Well, dang you, Alec for making me love you. Now I have to find another celebrity to loathe so that my life can once again be balanced. I've been throwing out names all day, but am unable to let go of my admiration for stars such as Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, Leo D, and Johnny Depp...

Wait, I've got it. George Clooney. He ruined Batman, he's shmarmy, his skin is too tan. Perfect.

I hate you, George Clooney. Please don't be in a sitcom that I'll love.

The Book Backbone

2011-03-30T00:07:00.000-07:00

Late night... writing more chapters of the middle grade novel I hope to have finished by mid-May, and stumbled upon this amazing and very helpful article by award-winning author Karen Weisner.

If you've got a novel idea (ha), a half-finished story, or a feverish case of writer's block, check out this Writer's Digest article here.

Love the part about "story sparks."

Reading In 2011

2011-03-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

Ok...

I'm taking a hint from some valued friends and taking my reading schedule for this year into the realm of SERIOUS. It's not going to work for me this year to just haphazardly pick up whatever's on my shelf and dive right in. That presents problems, most notably:

THE CURSE OF REREADING.

Anybody else do this? Pick up a book that you're familiar with because you want to reread a section or check a fact, and before you know it... you've been reading the dang thing for two hours already. And now you have to finish it. Again. For the seventeenth time.

So, here we go. The list. I'm including the ones I've already read, just to make my list feel bigger. And I'm counting on YOU, blogosphere, to help me flesh this thing out:

Completed:
Dracula by Bram Stoker
White Fang by Jack London
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
The Complete Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (accidental reread... whoops)

To Be Completed:
On Writing by Stephen King
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Anthem by Ayn Rand
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (This is a non-negotiable reread. Don't Judge.)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
The Girl who... by Stieg Larsson (All 3)
Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

That's all I've got on deck so far... any suggestions?

A View From Above

2011-03-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

So, Jill and I really love our apartment. We really, really do. Most of the features are kind of a double-edged sword. Pros and cons in a package deal. For example.

1. The Kitchen: our kitchen is so lovely and small. Cooking a meal with Jillian is like an elaborate dance. In fact, we have choreography practices twice a week. Hopefully, that will prevent me from dumping tomato sauce all over her or accidentally stabbing her with a kitchen knife.

2. The Walls: the walls are delightfully thin. This way, if there is a national emergency we'll be able to hear the sirens before anyone else. Or, if Publisher's Clearing House tromps up our stairs, we can greet them smilingly at the door. It also means that when our neighbor sings made-up jazz songs, we get a front row seat.

3. The Trains: our apartment is nestled right next to what must be the last 18th century iron horse track in the nation. The companies who own this track have quaintly decided to eschew modern forms of transportation for the nostalgic Americana that is the locomotive. We love to hear the sound of centuries-old progress as we lie in our beds at four in the morning.

Like I said, we really do love our apartment. There's one feature, though, that came completely sans-cons: our balcony. Surrounded by trees, furnished with a perfect table and two chairs, and facing directly west, our balcony is ice-cold lemonade, lightning bugs, and luxury.

Or it will be as soon as this gol-danged cold snap passes. But I digress...

...where the heart is.

2009-08-29T15:55:00.000-07:00

Home.

I'm finally there. Here. Well... at my home on 1262 Ruppel Lane in O'Fallon, Illinois. Home has become a bit muddled as of late. I left a home in Richmond, Texas with Randy and Vicki Roberts, a wonderful couple who housed me for a year. I left a home with the Davis family. I left a home church in Sugar Land, Texas. I left a home in Searcy, Arkansas and left two of my best friends there in the process. I left the Shackelfords in Bolivar, Tennessee after we dropped Jill off at the airport... that was my home for an entire summer... and it still feels like home. And now, I'm here at the home that I love the most. With my family. Finally. It has been way too long.

All these homes, however, remind me of something. Home is not here. None of these places are home to me. Home is a place where you are complete and perfect. Where you lack nothing. Where you want nothing. Where you can exist completely fulfilled. Here in St. Louis, I'm missing my friends. When I'm not here, I miss my family. No matter where I go, no matter where I'm living... my life is never complete. Never whole.

Which is a wonderful truth to discover... because home is not here on this Earth. Home is far beyond. Home is where the heart is. Home is something we will realize one day, but it is not this day. We wait... We hope... We live... We make ourselves at home wherever we are placed, whatever our circumstances, because we know that there is work to do. And we know that God is here.

But we also know that we are never truly at home... and that makes us smile.

Much love to those of you I am missing, those of you who have cared for me, those of you who have made me so at home in a world where we're never at home.

Sunday Class Topic

2009-07-20T10:22:00.001-07:00

Daley and I have been talking about the intentionality of Jesus Christ on Sunday mornings this summer with the First Colony Youth Group. We have especially emphasized Christ's "last week" before the crucifixion and resurrection. It's fascinating to see how Christ has specifically and intentionally taken control of His ministry in that last week, heading for Jersualem to face what He must have known was certain death. And yet, He resolutely surrendered His life. The Passion Week of Jesus Christ was no accidental happenstance. It wasn't just coincidence or luck or a strange alignment of the planets. It was Christ. He knew His mission and His purpose. And He acted on that purpose... working constantly for His Father even through fear, frustration, disappointment, regret, and even anger. Christ knew that God's purposes were far greater than His own.

This Sunday, Daley was out of town, and I led a discussion on the role of Satan in that last week. It seems natural to me that if Christ was being intentional in the last week, Satan was probably acting with equal intentionality. Which leads me to wonder, "What did Satan know about God's Messianic plan?" Was Satan aware of Christ's goals? Was Satan clued in to the existence of a resurrection? Did Satan know that Christ's death and subsequent raising from the dead was going to DRASTICALLY AFFECT his dastardly plans for humanity?

I'm not sure. It seems like Satan tries to both prevent Christ from going to the cross by overwhelming Him with grief AND to bring the cross quickly to Christ by inhabiting Judas and stirring up the crowds. Perhaps Satan knew the repercussions of his manipulating and influencing, but simply couldn't resist the carnal pleasure of seeing the Son of God murdered and physically destroyed. Hmm. That sounds familiar: knowing the consequences, acting anyway, etc.

Regardless of whether or not we know what Satan knew, I definitely know what he now knows. (Ha!) What he knows is this: Jesus Christ's death and resurrection changed EVERYTHING about our relationship with God. Here was my point on Sunday:

If Satan's master plan had always been to separate us from our God and Maker, then the resurrection didn't change the PLAN, as much as it did the TACTICS. Under the old covenant, all that was necessary to separate us from the love of God was sin. Sin. That's all it took. There was only law and sacrifice. And Satan revelled in the ease of separating us from our God. However, Christ changed that. All of a sudden, there was a weapon that Satan didn't expect: grace. Grace stumped Satan. For grace is a freely offered gift, no strings attached, no prerequisites, no repayment plans. Grace is given. We are redeemed.

So, what can Satan do to combat this development? He sees the beautifully wrapped gift of grace sitting on the table in front of us and he starts to sweat. He cannot touch the gift. He can't move it. He can't hide it. He can't stand in front of it. What does he do? He works with all of his might to prevent us from accepting the gift, from understanding that we can simply reach out and take it. That is Satan's battle strategy under the new covenant. He strives unceasingly to make me feel like I am not worthy to accept the gift, to distract me from seeing my need for the gift, to convince me that taking it is more trouble than it's worth, to delude me into making the gift more complicated than it is, and so on and so on. I could keep going; the excuses are endless.

The point is: WHAT IS KEEPING YOU FROM REACHING OUT AND TAKING THIS GIFT? Whatever it is, it's a lie from Satan. Identify it as such immediately. The gift is right there. We can see it and touch it and experience it. Satan can do nothing to stop us. All he can do is convince us to stop ourselves.

Not me. I choose the gift. And I pray that I can hold onto it tightly, through every kind of storm. And I pray that, as I open it and look inside, its loving mystery envelops me and transforms every crevice and corner of my life.

Master plan of Satan: exposed. Deal with THAT.

Hebrews 9:14-15

The Ragamuffin Gospel...Chapter Six

2009-07-15T13:18:00.000-07:00

Grazie, Signore, for Your lips twisted in love to accomodate my sinful self; for judging me not by my shabby good deeds but by Your love that is Your gift to me; for Your unbearable forgiveness and infinite patience with me; for other people who have greater gifts than mine; and for honesty to acknowledge that I am a ragamuffin. When the final curtain falls and You summon me home, may my last whispered word on earth be the wholehearted cry, "Grazie, Signore."
Brennan Manning

The Answer is "I Have No Answer"

2009-07-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

I consider myself in perpetual development and growth.

I accept that I will never have every answer, never do anything perfectly, and never be satisfied while I am here on this earth. With that said, I have also decided to never ever stop trying. Trying to see the unexpected answers given in every minute moment of life. Trying to attain perfection, if only to more closely understand the life of my Savior. And trying to find complete satisfaction in every instant, assured that Christ is always sufficient.

Because I know, with all my heart, that through God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. And apart from Him is only death. I choose life, and I believe that it is my mission, duty, and great privilege to share that life with as many people as I can before mine ends.

It begins now.

Currently Reading: The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning