Betsy St. Amant's Blog, page 15
October 3, 2012
October 2, 2012
Sucker for a book fair
I'm such a sucker for a book fair! Those Scholastic catalogues come home with my preschooler it seems every other week from school, and there are always ADORABLE books inside. For cheap. Yeah, I don't have a chance. Especially since half the books either come with stickers or are two-stories-in-one or have a charm bracelet attached. And of course she wants them all, and how can you say no to a child eager for books? I'm an author, for crying out loud. You CAN'T say no. lol
I would add up how much I've spent on book fair selections in the past two years but it might be shameful. So I won't. :)
Are you a book fair addict? Are you a BOOK addict? That's really the bottom line, isn't it? :)
What do you do when your kids bring home that catalogue or you see a great deal for books online or in your local bookstore?
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I would add up how much I've spent on book fair selections in the past two years but it might be shameful. So I won't. :)
Are you a book fair addict? Are you a BOOK addict? That's really the bottom line, isn't it? :)
What do you do when your kids bring home that catalogue or you see a great deal for books online or in your local bookstore?
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October 1, 2012
A ripple among a sea of change...
Big news in the fiction industry today!
http://stevelaube.com/zondervan-and-thomas-nelson-fiction-merge/ explains it best. Change like this is always a little scary for fiction authors. We think these merges mean less space for books and less opportunity for new authors, etc. But that's NOT always the case. In fact that's usually rarely the case.
Bottom line, God is still on His throne and has plans for us storytellers :)
But this did remind me of something cool I observed Saturday night.
Hubby and I went to an LSU Tigers game in Baton Rouge Tiger Stadium. We had been given free tickets through an awesome lady at a Forum fundraiser event we went to a few weeks ago, (she won them and gave them to us during the night) and had a great time despite the off again/on again rain showers.
During a lull in the game (well to be honest, during the 490385905th lull in the game, and that's bad if I notice. ha! It was one of those "we fumble, they recover, they fumble, we recover, they do a really stupid play, we redeem it, and vice versa ohmygoodness DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO PLAY FOOTBALL HERE" kind of nights...) two guys stood up a few rows down from us in section 422 and started gathering the crowd's attention. They were goofy looking guys, sort of like they maybe had been denying the fact that they were now, indeed, adults and not college kids ;)
They were trying to start the wave. At first no one was interested. About 10 people responded. They laughed, tried again. People snorted and snickered.
But they kept trying.
The next thing I know, Hubby and I are participating. So is our entire section. And the next section. Every time it died they noted the spot where it stopped, and tried again, hoping to push it farther around the stadium.
And it worked.
Note the analogy here. After ridicule, public taunting, and against big odds, they KEPT TRYING and SUCCEEDED. The wave made it almost halfway around the stadium. Two guys (goofy guys at that! Hey, God can use anyone ::wink::) started a ripple that ended up affecting a thousand people or more.
Where ever you are today, however goofy and ineffective you feel, don't give up. God can and will use hearts for him. Whether this is with writing, fiction industry changes, blog launches, school, family struggles, ministry or witnessing struggles...whatever it is - GOD CAN USE A RIPPLE.
Just don't be still.
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http://stevelaube.com/zondervan-and-thomas-nelson-fiction-merge/ explains it best. Change like this is always a little scary for fiction authors. We think these merges mean less space for books and less opportunity for new authors, etc. But that's NOT always the case. In fact that's usually rarely the case.
Bottom line, God is still on His throne and has plans for us storytellers :)
But this did remind me of something cool I observed Saturday night.
Hubby and I went to an LSU Tigers game in Baton Rouge Tiger Stadium. We had been given free tickets through an awesome lady at a Forum fundraiser event we went to a few weeks ago, (she won them and gave them to us during the night) and had a great time despite the off again/on again rain showers.
During a lull in the game (well to be honest, during the 490385905th lull in the game, and that's bad if I notice. ha! It was one of those "we fumble, they recover, they fumble, we recover, they do a really stupid play, we redeem it, and vice versa ohmygoodness DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO PLAY FOOTBALL HERE" kind of nights...) two guys stood up a few rows down from us in section 422 and started gathering the crowd's attention. They were goofy looking guys, sort of like they maybe had been denying the fact that they were now, indeed, adults and not college kids ;)
They were trying to start the wave. At first no one was interested. About 10 people responded. They laughed, tried again. People snorted and snickered.
But they kept trying.
The next thing I know, Hubby and I are participating. So is our entire section. And the next section. Every time it died they noted the spot where it stopped, and tried again, hoping to push it farther around the stadium.
And it worked.
Note the analogy here. After ridicule, public taunting, and against big odds, they KEPT TRYING and SUCCEEDED. The wave made it almost halfway around the stadium. Two guys (goofy guys at that! Hey, God can use anyone ::wink::) started a ripple that ended up affecting a thousand people or more.
Where ever you are today, however goofy and ineffective you feel, don't give up. God can and will use hearts for him. Whether this is with writing, fiction industry changes, blog launches, school, family struggles, ministry or witnessing struggles...whatever it is - GOD CAN USE A RIPPLE.
Just don't be still.
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September 28, 2012
Housekeeping
Hey guys! A few house keeping items here in Betsy-Blog-Land... ;)
1. Where's my winner???? ANGIE WEST, you never claimed your prize the other week. If you don't email me your info so I can send your free autographed book, I'm going to have to draw again :)
2. EXCITING NEWS - I'm in the process of revamping my blog and will be doing a big launch day with giveaways, prizes, interviews from other authors, and a reveal of my new focus that God has given me. I'm so excited and can't wait to see what you guys all think. It's going to be GOOD! :) Stay tuned for that in a week or two. (based on how web-savvy I can become! ha)
and 3. I've discovered a secret. THE secret, if you will, to dieting success. Not kidding. Are you ready for this? I should write a book on it, because then I'd be quite wealthy. THIS SECRET WORKS. Are you ready for it??
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This is epic.
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READY????
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The secret to dieting IS......
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Bring your trainer a Cadbury egg too.
Christian Women Online
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1. Where's my winner???? ANGIE WEST, you never claimed your prize the other week. If you don't email me your info so I can send your free autographed book, I'm going to have to draw again :)
2. EXCITING NEWS - I'm in the process of revamping my blog and will be doing a big launch day with giveaways, prizes, interviews from other authors, and a reveal of my new focus that God has given me. I'm so excited and can't wait to see what you guys all think. It's going to be GOOD! :) Stay tuned for that in a week or two. (based on how web-savvy I can become! ha)
and 3. I've discovered a secret. THE secret, if you will, to dieting success. Not kidding. Are you ready for this? I should write a book on it, because then I'd be quite wealthy. THIS SECRET WORKS. Are you ready for it??
.
.
.
.
.
.
This is epic.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
READY????
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The secret to dieting IS......
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Bring your trainer a Cadbury egg too.
Christian Women Online
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September 26, 2012
Just a scribblin' chick
Visit me today at www.scribblechicks.blogspot.com and learn more about my 2012 ACFW Conference experience - have a profound thought I picked up in a class that applies to not only authors but all Christians. Love it!!! :)
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September 25, 2012
Just a few pictures...or okay, 140.
ACFW CONFERENCE 2012! Dallas, Texas (and trust me, we were SO in Texas - steak and potatoes every meal. Even breakfast. No, not kidding!) :)
Here's the link to my FB album of pics. Enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151049689731701.418394.513656700&type=1&l=13b778bbf0
And come with me next year! (www.acfw.com) It's in Indianapolis September 14, 2013.
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Here's the link to my FB album of pics. Enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151049689731701.418394.513656700&type=1&l=13b778bbf0
And come with me next year! (www.acfw.com) It's in Indianapolis September 14, 2013.
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September 24, 2012
Labels....
I posted today on LABELS at www.girlsgodgoodlife.blogpspot.com Come visit me and read a profound quote by JIM RUBART (awesome author!) that inspired it.
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September 18, 2012
When it piles up...
I've had a breakthrough, ya'll.
(And I can say ya'll, because I live in Louisiana.)
I've had a breakthrough, and I want to share it with ya'll. (hehe)
Seriously - you know that overwhelming feeling of stress you get when you're just DONE? When everything is piling up and you can't see the way out, and you think, man this SUCKS. How is any of this ever going to get fixed? Maybe its financial issues. Maybe its parenting issues. Maybe its marital issues. Maybe its this test you have coming up that's consuming you, maybe it's a job promotion that's just out of reach. Maybe it's frustration over your weight or a missing goal or a deadline.
Or maybe it's like me - all of sudden you look up and realize you just got laid off one of your at home day jobs that paid the most money, you have a conference coming up in 2 days and haven't even located your suitcase yet, have piles of laundry begging for attention for said conference and said left behind family, you just paid bills and saw a somewhat grim outcome of the immediate future if the part time job you interviewed for last week doesn't come through, you've got 3 deadlines for the newspaper you write for due TOMORROW, you have a fundraiser to attend tonight and an appt in the morning and snacks to bring to a bunch of preschoolers tomorrow night at Cubbies, an approaching book deadline, a bunch of stuff needing to be mailed at the post office and your computer is running slower than molasses and your car AC is making a really funny noise and the lawnmower and weedeater broke simultaneously and...
it's okay.
Yep. It's okay. I'm not stressed. And no I'm not lying, either. The above would have normally had me running for chocolate and hiding and crying and making everyone around me miserable, but I'm GOOD. This isn't a peace bubble that will pop. This is lasting.
And you know why?
I'm seeing the bigger picture.
Please hear me. This is not to brag on me but to brag on God. And what He is capable of doing in your life. He is changing me in this area so completely, and it's the most freeing thing in the world. If something in the above list doesn't get done, oops. My bad. I'm going to try my best to knock it all off, and I probably will. I usually do. God made me good at multi tasking and organizing and made me very productive.
But if something doesn't get done - it's OKAY.
Seems really simple but I struggle in this area, guys. It doesn't come natural to me.
Yet in the past few weeks I've had something come up in my life that has literally MADE ME stop and seek God on a new level and realize - not a whole lot matters outside of Him. Outside of people and His Kingdom.
Have you had that wake up call?
I even stopped the above list to write this blog and share with you. :) Because I want to encourage you. When life is messy and chaotic and overwhelming, stop. Breathe. Seek Jesus. Get HIS perspective. And suddenly all this big stuff gets really, really tiny.
Christian Women Online
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(And I can say ya'll, because I live in Louisiana.)
I've had a breakthrough, and I want to share it with ya'll. (hehe)
Seriously - you know that overwhelming feeling of stress you get when you're just DONE? When everything is piling up and you can't see the way out, and you think, man this SUCKS. How is any of this ever going to get fixed? Maybe its financial issues. Maybe its parenting issues. Maybe its marital issues. Maybe its this test you have coming up that's consuming you, maybe it's a job promotion that's just out of reach. Maybe it's frustration over your weight or a missing goal or a deadline.
Or maybe it's like me - all of sudden you look up and realize you just got laid off one of your at home day jobs that paid the most money, you have a conference coming up in 2 days and haven't even located your suitcase yet, have piles of laundry begging for attention for said conference and said left behind family, you just paid bills and saw a somewhat grim outcome of the immediate future if the part time job you interviewed for last week doesn't come through, you've got 3 deadlines for the newspaper you write for due TOMORROW, you have a fundraiser to attend tonight and an appt in the morning and snacks to bring to a bunch of preschoolers tomorrow night at Cubbies, an approaching book deadline, a bunch of stuff needing to be mailed at the post office and your computer is running slower than molasses and your car AC is making a really funny noise and the lawnmower and weedeater broke simultaneously and...
it's okay.
Yep. It's okay. I'm not stressed. And no I'm not lying, either. The above would have normally had me running for chocolate and hiding and crying and making everyone around me miserable, but I'm GOOD. This isn't a peace bubble that will pop. This is lasting.
And you know why?
I'm seeing the bigger picture.
Please hear me. This is not to brag on me but to brag on God. And what He is capable of doing in your life. He is changing me in this area so completely, and it's the most freeing thing in the world. If something in the above list doesn't get done, oops. My bad. I'm going to try my best to knock it all off, and I probably will. I usually do. God made me good at multi tasking and organizing and made me very productive.
But if something doesn't get done - it's OKAY.
Seems really simple but I struggle in this area, guys. It doesn't come natural to me.
Yet in the past few weeks I've had something come up in my life that has literally MADE ME stop and seek God on a new level and realize - not a whole lot matters outside of Him. Outside of people and His Kingdom.
Have you had that wake up call?
I even stopped the above list to write this blog and share with you. :) Because I want to encourage you. When life is messy and chaotic and overwhelming, stop. Breathe. Seek Jesus. Get HIS perspective. And suddenly all this big stuff gets really, really tiny.
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September 17, 2012
Heads up
I leave later this week for the 2012 ACFW Conference, so my blog posts will be sketchy! I'm going to try to post until then but I've got packing to do and work to finish beforehand. Who is coming there with me??? :)
Never fear, I will be back next week in all my blogging glory, and will bring pics ;)
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Never fear, I will be back next week in all my blogging glory, and will bring pics ;)
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September 14, 2012
And the winner is.... ;)
And the winner is...
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ANGIE WEST! :)
Congrats! Please email me your mailing address to betsystamant@yahoo.com and I'll get your autographed copy of ADDISON BLAKELY, CONFESSIONS OF A PK, in the mail ASAP ;) Please also let me know if you'd like it signed to you, or to a different name.
Thanks for signing up, everyone! I'll do another contest after the ACFW Conference!
Happy reading!
Christian Women Online
Blog Ring
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Random
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
ANGIE WEST! :)
Congrats! Please email me your mailing address to betsystamant@yahoo.com and I'll get your autographed copy of ADDISON BLAKELY, CONFESSIONS OF A PK, in the mail ASAP ;) Please also let me know if you'd like it signed to you, or to a different name.
Thanks for signing up, everyone! I'll do another contest after the ACFW Conference!
Happy reading!
Christian Women Online
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Join |
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