Robin Layne's Blog: From the Red, Read Robin - Posts Tagged "article"
The Richest Hidden Treasure (Finally in Print: My Article in the War Cry)
It wasn't until late January of this year that I received news that my article, "The Greatest Hidden Treasure," was published in War Cry, magazine of the Salvation Army. It's in the December 2017 issue. I wish I'd been told in November or even December so that I could have told everyone to get themselves a copy. Truth is, I waited so long without any response from the magazine that I was almost sure they had changed their minds about printing the story, even though they paid me $421.05 in July 2016.
It's by far the most I've ever been paid for my writing, and I was tickled pink at the article's acceptance. The editor said she wasn't sure which issue would feature the story, but I thought it would be December 2016, because it was chiefly about Christmas 2015. It concerns my adventures as a Salvation Army bell ringer. Because I didn't receive further correspondence after that hefty check, I called two Salvation Army offices before I found one that had the latest issue of War Cry, then I asked a worker to look through the magazine for my article. No dice.
I tried calling the female editor and only got the recording of a man's voice, and no callback. I emailed the editor, and also used the only online channels I could to reach someone in the organization. Nada.
I had been elated to mention the acceptance of my article by this famous magazine in my bio for The Writers' Mill Journal Volume 5. But for Volume 6, I had the editors remove that information. I had experienced a magazine acceptance in the past that was never printed "for lack of space." This could be the same thing all over again, though I thought it strange in this case because they paid me so much. (The other magazine only "paid in copies"--and it didn't help me to get paid in copies my work didn't appear in.) I didn't think an organization like the Salvation Army would throw money away. But to hear nothing from them... ? Was it possible the editor had been changed and my article and information lost?
Then, in winter of 2017, I received a round cardboard envelope addressed to "Robin Layne," which is my pen name (different from the name I use as a kettle worker). It was from Salvation Army national headquarters, a totally different address from the magazine's. Inside was a Christmas music CD.
I wrote a letter thanking the unnamed people at that office for the gift of the CD and then telling them of my problems regarding the article that was accepted. I went on with my bell ringing and my other job that is on Saturdays, trying not to wear myself to a frazzle making some extra money I needed.
Finally, in late January, I received a letter thanking me for my inquiry, apologizing for the lack of communication but not explaining it, and telling me the article was published in the previous months issue. The manila envelope included 5 sample copies of that magazine. It's a beaut! I'm happy with the presentation, but unpleasantly surprised to face the same problem I faced on staff of my college newspaper back when articles had to be re-typed by a typesetter who added technical errors to my article. Yep, even War Cry has them, including taking out some commas that changed the meaning of one passage. Their version: "People gave me some new nicknames this past season: Christmas angel even dwarf." What I'd written was, "Christmas, angel, even dwarf." Yes, there were kids who called me "Christmas."
I have been a kettle worker nearly every year for so many years I can't quite remember when I started. Although I got cold a lot, I love contributing to a cause that so many people believe in, greeting and cheering people up, and seeing how they feel about giving. Most of all, I love my own special touch: singing carols, hymns, and other songs as I ring. God has blessed me with an enjoyable voice, and generally that voice improves as the season wears on and I reacquaint myself with the songs. I sing a lot about the God I love, and to my delight, others love it. Normally I'm pretty shy and fearful when it comes to sharing my faith with people I don't know, a fact I am not proud of. But something in the music of Christmas turns the tables; I am at home beside the kettle, bundled up and belting it out.
The winter of 2015 was especially magical for me. On Christmas Eve, I learned something especially valuable was secretly dropped in my kettle. I held back tears of joy as a shopper showed me the news clipping on the front page of a local newspaper, and I thanked the Lord for His kind answers to prayer for the Salvation Army of my county, and for giving me this favor among generous people. I could scarcely believe that one of three gold coins was in my kettle!
The precious coin was not the main point of the article, I wrote, however. It became a metaphor for something much greater: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (2 Corinthians 4:7 KJV) God is in me! Not because I've done anything to deserve it by any means, but because He invited me to ask Jesus in, and because He continues to fill me with His Holy Spirit.
The power of God isn't just latent in every follower of Christ; it is active and miraculous and transformative by nature. What else can you expect of God Himself? God is very much alive, and He is who He is!
God the Father is on His throne in Heaven, overlooking all that goes on in His beloved creation, it's true, but through God the Son He sent His Holy Spirit to earth, to dynamically change our world--in and through US! We need to have the courage to believe it and act accordingly. Only as we do so do we become His hands and feet on this earth and answer the prayer, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10 KJV)
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV)
It's by far the most I've ever been paid for my writing, and I was tickled pink at the article's acceptance. The editor said she wasn't sure which issue would feature the story, but I thought it would be December 2016, because it was chiefly about Christmas 2015. It concerns my adventures as a Salvation Army bell ringer. Because I didn't receive further correspondence after that hefty check, I called two Salvation Army offices before I found one that had the latest issue of War Cry, then I asked a worker to look through the magazine for my article. No dice.
I tried calling the female editor and only got the recording of a man's voice, and no callback. I emailed the editor, and also used the only online channels I could to reach someone in the organization. Nada.
I had been elated to mention the acceptance of my article by this famous magazine in my bio for The Writers' Mill Journal Volume 5. But for Volume 6, I had the editors remove that information. I had experienced a magazine acceptance in the past that was never printed "for lack of space." This could be the same thing all over again, though I thought it strange in this case because they paid me so much. (The other magazine only "paid in copies"--and it didn't help me to get paid in copies my work didn't appear in.) I didn't think an organization like the Salvation Army would throw money away. But to hear nothing from them... ? Was it possible the editor had been changed and my article and information lost?
Then, in winter of 2017, I received a round cardboard envelope addressed to "Robin Layne," which is my pen name (different from the name I use as a kettle worker). It was from Salvation Army national headquarters, a totally different address from the magazine's. Inside was a Christmas music CD.
I wrote a letter thanking the unnamed people at that office for the gift of the CD and then telling them of my problems regarding the article that was accepted. I went on with my bell ringing and my other job that is on Saturdays, trying not to wear myself to a frazzle making some extra money I needed.
Finally, in late January, I received a letter thanking me for my inquiry, apologizing for the lack of communication but not explaining it, and telling me the article was published in the previous months issue. The manila envelope included 5 sample copies of that magazine. It's a beaut! I'm happy with the presentation, but unpleasantly surprised to face the same problem I faced on staff of my college newspaper back when articles had to be re-typed by a typesetter who added technical errors to my article. Yep, even War Cry has them, including taking out some commas that changed the meaning of one passage. Their version: "People gave me some new nicknames this past season: Christmas angel even dwarf." What I'd written was, "Christmas, angel, even dwarf." Yes, there were kids who called me "Christmas."
I have been a kettle worker nearly every year for so many years I can't quite remember when I started. Although I got cold a lot, I love contributing to a cause that so many people believe in, greeting and cheering people up, and seeing how they feel about giving. Most of all, I love my own special touch: singing carols, hymns, and other songs as I ring. God has blessed me with an enjoyable voice, and generally that voice improves as the season wears on and I reacquaint myself with the songs. I sing a lot about the God I love, and to my delight, others love it. Normally I'm pretty shy and fearful when it comes to sharing my faith with people I don't know, a fact I am not proud of. But something in the music of Christmas turns the tables; I am at home beside the kettle, bundled up and belting it out.
The winter of 2015 was especially magical for me. On Christmas Eve, I learned something especially valuable was secretly dropped in my kettle. I held back tears of joy as a shopper showed me the news clipping on the front page of a local newspaper, and I thanked the Lord for His kind answers to prayer for the Salvation Army of my county, and for giving me this favor among generous people. I could scarcely believe that one of three gold coins was in my kettle!
The precious coin was not the main point of the article, I wrote, however. It became a metaphor for something much greater: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (2 Corinthians 4:7 KJV) God is in me! Not because I've done anything to deserve it by any means, but because He invited me to ask Jesus in, and because He continues to fill me with His Holy Spirit.
The power of God isn't just latent in every follower of Christ; it is active and miraculous and transformative by nature. What else can you expect of God Himself? God is very much alive, and He is who He is!
God the Father is on His throne in Heaven, overlooking all that goes on in His beloved creation, it's true, but through God the Son He sent His Holy Spirit to earth, to dynamically change our world--in and through US! We need to have the courage to believe it and act accordingly. Only as we do so do we become His hands and feet on this earth and answer the prayer, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10 KJV)
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV)
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