Journal Jots – Blog

“A life isn’t significant except for its impact on other lives.”

— Jackie Robinson

“Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.”

— Mother Teresa

I know this is going to shock quite a few people, but in addition to being a CDQ (caffeinated drama queen), I can also be a CDF (caffeinated detail freak), which means if I go to a McDonald’s drive-thru for breakfast with my poor husband, I MUST have the following with my Egg McMuffin meal: 1 strawberry jelly (not grape), a knife, four ketchups, one salt, one pepper, two creamers, a stirrer and at least four napkins. Period. Any one of those items missing, and my poor guy cringes with a look that says I am also a CPIB (caffeinated pain in the butt).

Sigh. Any of you prayerful types out there may consider adding my husband to your list because yes, I am known in my household as “high maintenance,” but I prefer the term, “passionately aware of what I need to be happy.” Or, just plain “passionate” will do, whether it manifests itself in writing a book in every Christmas card I sent (which is why I gave up Christmas cards twenty years ago) or giving my publisher 135 title suggestions for A Passion Most Pure when they asked for only a few. Yep, I’m a bona fide COA (caffeinated overachiever) who gives everything my all, no question.

BUT … I’m not exactly sure how much of it is personality and how much is just the need to prove my self worth. I don’t know, blame it on the fact that I was #12 out of 13 kids, a skinny DQ who was fun to tease maybe, or being the brunt of jokes and cruelty in the 2^nd through 4^th grades because I had psoriasis a la Katie O’Connor in A Hope Undaunted. Whatever the trigger, I am driven to achieve, perhaps subconsciously to prove to my parents, my family, myself and the world … that I am a success.

But you know what? It’s a funny thing about success. God measures it WAY differently than we do, and that point was driven home this week in a conversation I had with my husband after taking Aunt Julie to the dentist … uh, for the fourth time!

Let me tell you, my sweet 93-year-old aunt has been a busy bee the last couple of months. She’s chipped one tooth, two temporaries and has been fitted for two crowns, plus broken two hearing aids, necessitating lots of drive time. The good news? The little dickens is doing so well and is so content, she’s eating everything not nailed down, plumping her former frail body up by a solid 20 to 30 pounds. Unfortunately because of that, I threw my back out trying to help her into my car from her wheelchair one day last week, which is why Keith came along on this most recent dental visit.

So we’re driving away from Aunt Julie’s facility home, and I am berating myself for all the moaning and groaning I’ve been doing over extra drive time for AJ errands, knowing full well massive revisions on Steven’s story are waiting at home. “Cut yourself some slack, Julie,” Keith says in his usual supportive way, “After all, she’s not even your mother and yet you’re the responsible party out of your family despite being the only one with a career. I for one am proud of you, and I know your mother would be too.”

Tears sting my eyes. Proud of me? My mother? The thought hits dead center, wrenching my heart. “Maybe,” I say reluctantly, “possibly because I’m an author.”

“No, not proud of you being an author, Julie,” my husband stresses with a sheen in his eyes, “but of the person you are.”

Oh. My. Goodness. Where are my Kleenex?? Frantic, I rifle through my purse while tears stream from my eyes.

“Think about it, Julie,” he continues with a sideways glance that’s almost as moist as mine, “When a person dies, people don’t talk about how many books they wrote or how many awards they won, they talk about how that person affected their lives.” How they encouraged them, was kind to them, a simple smile, a sincere compliment … or even taking them to the dentist five times despite an occasional moan and groan.

Let me tell you, the floodgates opened that day, and all the Kleenex in the world couldn’t stem the waterworks. Because for the first time in a long while, I thought long and hard about the true measure of a man—not in his own eyes—but in God’s. As I walk through this life, I need to ask myself what will God be proud of? The six books I’ve written, the endless blogs? The gardening contests I won when I actually gardened or how many times my name comes up when I Google it? Nope, His ways are not our ways, as we all know, and I gotta feeling His pride swells every time I smile at a stranger or leave an encouraging comment on a blog. When I pray for a one-star reviewer or a guy who just cut me off on the highway. And somehow I can almost feel His grin when I greet a Wal-Mart greeter or stop to talk to a wheelchair resident at my aunt’s nursing facility. Because you know what? Like Mother Teresa said, each one of them really is Jesus in disguise.

So, how are you going to make God smile today? One of my dear reader friends, Angi G. made Him smile yesterday when she contacted me to say she wanted to donate my book she won on the Seeker blog to someone who couldn’t afford it. Yeah, that’s just the caliber of person she is and I love her to pieces. As a result, I am holding a contest today to send a signed copy of any one of my books to someone who hasn’t been able to buy it due to financial circumstances. So if you are such a reader OR you know of such a reader, PLEASE send an e-mail through my website to let me know, and I will enter you or them in the contest. Winner will be announced next week in Journal Jots, and a HUGE thank you to Angi for her kindness.

FAVOR REQUEST: I have a blog giveaway going on through Monday, 10/24 on a secular website called RomCon, which is a pretty cool blog for romance readers. The good news is that they have an Inspirational section in which I have a brief article/giveaway posted. Since this is primarily a secular site, I would very much like to show them that there is a huge audience for Inspy fiction out there, so if you have the time to go leave a comment, I would be MOST grateful. To leave a comment, you will have to register with your name and your e-mail, but like I said, it’s a pretty cool site, so you may want to visit it more often anyway. PLUS, one comment enters you into my drawing for TWO BOOKS, a signed copy of any of my books plus your choice of top CBA book from my personal library. Thank you and GOOD LUCK!! Here’s the link:

http://romconinc.com/index.php?option=com_lyftenbloggie&view=entry&year=2011&month=10&day=17&id=1583:a-heart-revealed-by-julie-lessman

ATTN. ASPIRING WRITERS: For those of you who did not see it, I wrote a Seeker blog entitled “The Good, the Bad and the Really Ugly: Memories of a Published Writer” a week or so ago that shocked me when so many people responded in such a positive way to the tips I gave for aspiring authors. The giveaway is over, but if you need a little encouragement on your road to publication, you may want to read this blog. Hopefully it will bless you like it apparently blessed a number of other people … PLUS you can see what I look like in a cowboy hat and a gun! 😉 Here’s the link:

http://seekerville.blogspot.com/2011/10/good-bad-really-ugly-memories-of.html

ONLY TWO MORE DAYS … for an interview/giveaway at Book Reviews by Lady Katy blog to win a signed copy of any of my books including my current release, A Heart Revealed, so don’t miss out! Here’s the link:

http://katie-mccurdy.blogspot.com/2011/10/interview-giveaway-julie-lessman.html

Here’s to a crisp, colorful and wonderful autumn weekend and remember, dole out the smiles and the compliments like Halloween candy wherever you go. Because Jesus will be watching … and smiling … right along with you.

Hugs,

Julie

“Like mother, like daughter ….”

—Unknown

Sweet mother of Job—what an incredible autumn so far!! Last weekend Keith and I had the pleasure of going to the Lake of the Ozarks with my daughter and her boyfriend, who owns a condo down there, and WHOA, BABY, can you believe it was a deliriously balmy 85 degrees?? In OCTOBER, no less!! What a gift from God.

Uh, both the weather … and my daughter! You see Amy and I used to butt heads because she is a strong-willed girl with definite ideas (Keith’s genes, no doubt! :)), an admirable trait that was MOST evident when she was a toddler and I had to call Poison Control approximately 19 times. I know, I know … sounds like I was off somewhere taking naps, doesn’t it? Nope, I was right there every single time, never more than twenty feet away and sometimes only twenty inches! Like the time I was cleaning the bathtub with Comet and I set the container one foot away on the left of the tub? Yep, there I was scrubbing away when I snuck a peek over my shoulder to check on Amy. Sigh. She blinked up at me in her most angelic pose, her sweet smile ringed with Comet as if she’d just eaten a powdered donut. Fortunately, she only licked the cleanser lid because she was fine, but I am seriously surprised Poison Control didn’t send out a sheriff to follow me around.

Then there was the time I’d give our golden retriever his heartworm chewy pill every day. We had a system, Amy and I. I would hand the pill to her and she would give it to Bunker with a giggle when he licked her hand. Day after day, month after month, giggle after giggle—this was the routine. Sweet. Simple. And, oh SO stupid! Why? Because one day I handed the pill to my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, and she promptly popped it in her mouth and took off like Jackie Joyner Kersee on a good day. Lord, have mercy—I was sure the PC people would slap me into handcuffs and cart me away.

Even threats didn’t seem to stop my oral toddler. “Ame—do not touch the tree spikes, honey, because they’re bad,” I warned in my sternest voice, pounding the spikes in a perimeter around my sweet gum. Yep, you guessed it—Little Miss “She never tasted anything she didn’t like” was licking that sucker like a bomb pop from the melody-man ice cream truck. Whether yew berries and poinsettia leaves or a wasp sprayed with Raid and perfume, my daughter saw life as feast for the senses.

Okay, all right, I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I did finally realize that whenever Amy popped something bad in her mouth, grinned and darted off—she wanted my attention. Why? Because despite how they try to convince you otherwise, moms are important to daughters. They want to emulate you, look like you and be like you, no matter how loudly they deny it in their teens. And God help us, what a heavy responsibility!! And one, thank God, that we do not have to shoulder alone. God is there every step of the way, not only helping us in our relationships, but in our own personal walk as well so that those who watch our every move—our children, our family, our neighbors, our church, and for we writers out there, our readers—will see HIM and therefore, God willing, hopefully emulate Him as well.

Don’t kid yourself that people aren’t watching, because they are, and NONE more than our own children. In Beth Moore’s Breaking Free workbook—which is AWESOME, by the way—she relates a story from the late Gilda Radner, one of the first female comics on Saturday Night Live, which illustrates a lesson every parent needs to heed. Apparently in her novel, It’s Always Something, Radner tells a story about her nurse Dibby’s cousin’s dog who was due to have puppies any day. As tragedies happen, apparently the mama-to-be got in the way of the lawn mower, and her two little hind legs were cut off. Of course, Dibby’s cousin raced the dog to the Vet and the good news is that both the dog and her puppies were saved. The bad news, however, was that the dog no longer had two back legs. Radner goes on to say that within a week, this amazing canine mama learned to walk by taking two steps in the front and flipping up her backside, two more steps in front, then another flip to the backside and so on. This resilient little dog gave birth to six puppies, all in perfect health. And when they learned to walk … every single one walked like her!

Okay, I don’t know about you, but that story rips me up because I may not be the perfect mother and a lot of the things I say and do are pretty “lame” to my daughter (pun intended), I know, but in the end she will end up “walking” like me in many ways whether she or I like it or not. And as God is my witness, I will do EVERYTHING in my power—and God’s—to teach her to walk straight and strong and according to God’s precepts. But the only way I can do that is to PRAY and APPLY His precepts in every single thing I do, every single day of my life. Because she’s watching … when I take time to read my Bible and pray, when I greet the Walmart greeter before they greet me, when I apologize to the checker for my rude tone and when I pray for 1-star reviewers who call me writing “scum reading.” Oh, yeah, she’s watching all right, and if I want people to say, “like mother, like daughter” about me and my girl, then by God—literally—I need them to say, “like Father, like daughter” about me as well. Because that’s where it begins—and ends—with the Alpha and the Omega. Which is why the picture above wrings tears from my eyes. Amy’s boyfriend took it this last weekend without our knowledge, while the two of us were praying for one of her friends. Oh, Lord, somebody please pass me the Kleenex …

Speaking of “Kleenex,” any of you aspiring writers out there may just want to check out my Seeker blog this week. My subject is “The Good, the Bad and the Really Ugly: Memories of a Published Writer,” where I talk about all the things I’ve learned to do and not do on the road to publication. And even you non-aspiring writers might like to mosey on over to leave a comment because I will pick one winner to have a character named after them in my next book, A Trust Restored, PLUS a signed copy of that book when it comes out next year or any of my books, PLUS winner’s choice of a top CBA book from my personal library. In addition, since it’s Seekerville’s birthday month, all comments accrue ALL MONTH LONG for prices like a Toshiba Netbook, a Kindle, gift cards, free books and more, so DON’T MISS OUT!!! My blog giveaway to have a character named after you ENDS by 5:00 PM today, Friday, so if you’re game, it’s best to get a move on, okay? Here’s the link:

http://seekerville.blogspot.com/2011/10/good-bad-really-ugly-memories-of.html

AND … if you like to win free books, then do I have the website for you!! Hop on over on a daily basis to Fiction Addiction Fix, a daily updating of all the current book giveaways going on in the Christian market. This site is run by two dynamo aspiring authors, Debbie Lynn Costello (in pink sweather) and Kathleen L. Maher who are not only kind enough to compile the giveaways, BUT will feature your giveaway if you are an author looking to promote your book. So readers and authors alike, take advantage of Fiction Addiction Fix and put this site on your favorites like I have—you will be totally BLESSED by the ministry of these two lovely ladies. Here’s the link:

http://fictionaddictionfix.blogspot.com/

Finally … don’t forget to check out my website calendar on a regular basis because I have upcoming giveaways you don’t want to miss such as the following:

OCTOBER 11 to 23, 2011:

Join me at Book Reviews by Lady Katy blog for a Q & A session and a chance to win a signed copy of any of my books including my upcoming release, A Heart Revealed at:

http://katie-mccurdy.blogspot.com/2011/10/interview-giveaway-julie-lessman.html

 

OCTOBER 18, 2011:

Join me at RomConInc blog for a sneak peek at A Heart Revealed and a chance to win a signed copy of any of my books including my upcoming release, A Heart Revealed at:

http://www.romconinc.com/http://www.katysreviews.blogspot.com/

 

OCTOBER 31 to NOVEMBER 14, 2011:

Join me at Debbie Lynne Costello’s The Sword and the Spirit blog for a chance to win a signed copy of my new release, A Heart Revealed at:

http://www.theswordandspirit.blogspot.com/

 

A HUGE THAN YOU TO ALL OF YOU who just signed up for Journal Jots through my Seekerville blog mentioned above—look for the winner in the Weekend Edition of Seekerville on Sunday at the following link:

http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com/

Until next week, have a great weekend and remember—we don’t want to be “LAME,” right??? So, let’s line our walk up with the Word of God!

Hugs,

Julie

 

 

“A charming woman is a busy woman.”

—Loretta Young

A charming woman is a busy woman … A charming woman is a busy woman … Yeah, that’s my mantra this week because heaven knows I am “busy,” but I’m not too sure about the “charming”!  Something deep down inside tells me ol’ Loretta and I have WAY different temperaments …

As you may or may not know, in the last week, I:

* Celebrated my 33^rd wedding anniversary (somebody pinch me, please, because I canNOT believe I ended up with a dream of a guy like Keith).

*  Had my first grandbaby (pictures of Aurora Grace (Rory) Lessman can be found by scrolling down to last week’s Journal Jot … sooo cute!).

* Had four blog interview/giveaways going on (and you KNOW how wordy I can get with those comments!).

*  Waded through several thousand e-mails and played catch-up on paperwork post-conference.

*  Had a Journal Jot, Seeker blog, and an article for RomCon blog to write.

*  Received massive revisions from my editor on Steven’s story A Trust Restored (YIKES … can you say cut 50,000 words???).

*HOLY COW!!! Found out I finaled in The Inspy Awards, which is an awesome award that showcases the top Inspirational fiction as voted for by blogger reviewers. I was pretty shocked, but boy, oh boy — WHOO-HOO!!

*  And spent valuable time with my Aunt Julie as well as celebrated my wonderful mother-in-law’s birthday (Soooo glad you were born, Leona!! AND Happy Birthday Friday to my sister-in-law, Lisa!)

WHEW!!! But I wouldn’t trade a moment of it because it’s ALL good, albeit busy.

So, what’s up this week? Well, first off, did you notice the new glam job on my website??? HOLY COW … I had NO idea my artist hubby was going to do that (we’d talked about it, but he’s been SO busy, too, I didn’t expect it). Here I am down on the lower deck, writing away with feet up when Keith comes down. “Check out your website,” he says. I blink up at him. “Why?” “Just do it, Julie,” he says in his most bullying “Mitch” tone. So I do and WHOA, BABY … my website is now in the 21^st century!! I don’t know about you, but I think it’s GORGEOUS … just like my hubby!

CONTEST WINNERS!! Next, I am SO sorry I am behind on posting the winners of the Pam Hillman “Stealing Jake” contest, but here they are at last. I will contact each of you via e-mail or FB to retrieve your address and your choice of book from my library. Congratulations to:

 

WINNER OF THE SIGNUP FOR PAM’S NEWSLETTER CONTEST

(choice of top CBA book AND a two-week loan of my Kindle copy of Stealing Jake):

Ashley Roberts

 

WINNERS OF THE “BUY STEALING JAKE CONTEST”

 (choice of top CBA book):

Carol Moncado

Wyndy Callahan

Amy Lachina

Jan Drexler

Pam Williams

 

BIG GIVEAWAY EVENTS!!! The Seekers 4th Birthday party is underway and going strong throughout October!! Stop by every day for the chance to win a Netbook, Kindles, $50 gift cards and more, free books, and LOTS of GREAT opportunities for aspiring authors to get their manuscripts in front of an editor. So check it out as well as our new website we are launching — here’s the link:

http://seekerville.blogspot.com/2011/10/weekend-edition-birthday-party-sunday-1.html

Every day we have exciting blogs and guests like : 

Love Inspired Senior Editor, Melissa Endlich

Freelance Writer and Editor Jason Black

Jenny B Jones

Liz Curtis Higgs

 

ACFW CONFERENCE!! Finally … pix from the conference. And, OH, what a conference!! Soooo many highlights … from a relaxing dinner at my home and fire-pit conversation with most of the Seekers (with twice-baked potatoes that I did NOT pipe initials into because Keith threatened divorce if I did …) to the “A Kiss is Not Just a Kiss” workshop I co-taught with Ruth Axtell Morren, where I pelted chocolate and sang “You must remember this … a kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh …”

It was all HEAVENLY … especially meeting some of my favorite people in the world, not the least of which is sweet Casey Herringshaw, the winner of my newsletter contest to have a character named after her in A Heart Revealed.

Another special highlight was meeting 16-year-old Amanda and her mom, who stopped me in the hall to give me presents!! Amanda’s sweet nature SO touched my heart, I wanted to hug her to pieces, which I did, of course! So, without further ado … enjoy the pix, and have a GREAT weekend!

Hugs,

Julie

Here is sweet Amanda, who has written four ms. and had requests from several editors!!

 

 Below are two dear writer friends, Annette Irby and Dawn Kinzer.

Below is my precious roomie and Seeker bud, Audra Harders RIGHT after she jerked a Revell editor’s hands off my arms to pull me away for a pic. “Audra!” I teased, “You NEVER do that to an editor …” Needless to say, she didn’t know it was an editor and VOILA — I caught the shock on her face!!

OH. MY. GOODNESS!! Casey Miranda Herringshaw (below) … was in my book (A Heart Revealed) and in my house!!! Casey is the dear friend who won my newsletter contest — soooooo fun to finally meet her!!!

 

Casey, me and Carol Moncado, another dear friend wh just happens to bake THE BEST chocolate chip cookies EVER!! Thanks for the extra lbs. on hips, Carol, you little brat! 🙂

Another highlight of the conference was a video interview with Dianne Burnett (below) of Christian Book Distributors (CBD.com), which turned into a super-girlfriend connection that was SO fun!!! Soooo glad I got to know you better, Dianne!

Intense discussion below between Seekers Janet Dean, Mary Connealy and me at ACFW Awards Banquet. Don’t ask what it was about — I don’t remember!! 🙂

My old crit partners, Diana Brandmeyer (on left below) and Jennifer Tizai. If any of you remember the Seeker blog where I talked about the supernatural turnaround at my first ACFW conference — Diana was the friend who God used to bless the socks off me and dry my tears (of which there were MANY that year!!). Here’s the link if anybody cares to check it out: http://seekerville.blogspot.com/2009/09/conference-cpr-julie-lessman-style-and.html.

The Revell Author Appreciation Dinner — WOW, what a class act!! They had it at Ruth Chris’, and it was TO DIE FOR!! Not just the food, but the company!! Some of the best authors in the biz, and HOLY COW, I get to hang with them!! One of the many highlights was getting to sit next to my dear, DEAR friend and prayer partner, Laura Frantz, and then get to know Janelle from Revell better and both Jill Eileen Smith and Ann Shorey. We had a BLAST!!

In the pic below, we have from left to right in first row: Sarah Sundin, Revell editor Andrea Doehring, Lynette Eason (who I got to know better — what a sweetheart!!), Suzanne Woods Fisher (who I also got to know better and loved her — who would think an Amish author would click so well with an Edgy Inspy one??), Revell Director of Marketing, Twila.

(Back row, left to right to left) Dan Walsh (our token guy, but WHAT a guy — sweetest man on earth, I swear and a heck of a writer a la Nicholas Sparks!), Revell Marketing Assistant, Janelle (SO great to meet her!!), Moi, Maggie Brendan (my good Southern bud), Ruth Axtell Morren (my good friend and workshop co-presenter — we had SO much at that workshop!!), LAURA FRANTZ!!! (LOVE this woman!!!), Jill Eileen Smith (she is a sweetheart and SO calm — I need more time with her … ), Lorna Seilstad (fun gal and fun author with dash of humor), Irene Hannon (a good friend and Rita, Carol and Christy nominee/winner who I WISH would rub off on me!!), Ann Shorey (SUCH a doll!) and last but not least, Mesu Andrews! THANK YOU, REVELL, FOR ONE OF THE BEST MEMORIES FROM ACFW!!

Ruth Axtell Morren and me, co-presenters at our workshop, “A Kiss is NOT Just a Kiss.” We had a GREAT TIME and although my hubby was in the room running the Power Point for us, he WARNED me not to dare introduce him to the audience OR attempt a kissing demo!! 🙂

Trust me, with 165 women and Ruth and me reading/teaching from our love scenes … it got a BIT warm in that room … 🙂

And finally, here are some of The Seekers at the banquet, left to right: Moi, Cara Lynn James, Debby Giusti, Janet Dean and Mary Connealy — these woman are just flat-out WONDERFUL!!!

AND THAT’S ALL, FOLKS!! HAPPY WEEKEND!!