Publisher Update!

Good morning! I just wanted to say THANK YOU for your prayers! As you may know, I attended a conference this weekend called SheSpeaks, put on by Proverbs 31 Ministries. It was a pretty awesome weekend FILLED with lots of new things learned.

My Update?!: 
Have you ever learned so much, your brain hurt? That was a bit how my weekend was at times. SheSpeaks is a weekend designed for women who are interested one of three main areas: (1) A Writing Ministry (2) A Speaking Ministry (3) A Women's Ministry. I attempted to attend the conference last year, but it sold out before I was able to register. This year I made sure to get registered while it was still in PRE-REGISTRATION! :) Thankfully I did because they sold out again on the last day of Pre-Registration!

Aside from the mounds of information I learned, I also had the appointments to meet with 2 different publishers, but actually pitched my book to 4 total publishers throughout the weekend (2 of them, in more of an informal meeting.)

• Revel Books - My appointment with Revel went well. As we discussed my completed book, Fairytales Do Come True, the publisher said she would be interested in reading the first three chapters and going through my book proposal. PRAISE THE LORD! So, I left her with my book proposal for her to review upon her return. During the appointment, we had some extra time, so I also pitched a non-fiction that I'm working on entitled, The Ultimate Woman. She really liked the concepts of that book (it has some unique traits that make it very different from other books on the market). She asked if she could get more information on it, so this month I will be working on a book proposal to submit as well as three sample chapters for her to read. YIPPEE! :) That was a blessing! :) 
• Harvest - I had a great appointment with Harvest, though early in the appointment we uncovered that Fairytales Do Come True does not fit into what they are currently looking for. I anticipated that because though they are interested in books on dating, they are only looking for "historical or amish fiction." She was not interested in accepting my book proposal for Fairytales, so I changed hats so to speak and began to pitch the book idea for The Ultimate Woman. She also was interested in that book and requested a book proposal. YIPPEE! :) 
• Zondervan - This was an informal meeting where I was able to sit down with one of the publishers for about 10 minutes. She was not one of the publishers on staff that accepted fiction books, but gave me the contact information of someone on their staff which I could contact. Praise the Lord. I will be contacting her this week. 

In a nutshell, that was my weekend. Right now I'm not sure who or what publisher God has for me, but I'm excited to continue to just take the next steps of obedience to Him in this new journey. Thankfully it's not about knowing everything, but just being obedient to take the next steps! I praise Him for the perfect publisher, and for all the books He will allow me to write & publish that will add value to people. This journey is DEFINITELY in His hands. 

After a bit of an exhausting weekend, today I'm going to take my Day of Rest since I did not take one last week! Enjoy your week! I should be getting back on a regular devotion schedule tomorrow! :) Thanks again for your prayers! Continue to pray for favor as you think about it! My prayers are with you as well! Direction, joy, favor, and a deepening in your walk with Jesus! 

Xoxo!

Amy

#187 - Excel Them All!

Good morning! It's so good to be back! I'm enjoying my screened in back porch, the breeze, the sounds of birds & the aroma of hydrangea's & gardenia's. Wow. They smell amazing! I have finally started to get my sense of smell back. Being pregnant, for about the last 4 weeks my hormones have been a bit off and I haven't really been able to smell. Don't get me wrong, that was nice when it came to changing a dirty diaper.... but unfortunate for Junior, he would probably run around a little longer with it because I couldn't smell that it was dirty. Anyways.... smell is good! Something that I definitely realized I took for granted.

We had an amazing vacation and enjoyed a lot of time in the water and in the sun! Tyler Junior has been a little fishy for the last 9-10 days, and he definitely has a cute little tan (despite the fact that he had spf 60 on all week!) I'm excited to get back into the word with you, and today seems like a perfect day. The 31st. It really allows us to dive into the whole chapter of Proverbs 31, who this woman really is, and discovering our role in it all. Let's jump in.

Proverbs 31:1 - THE WORDS of Lemuel king of Massa, which his mother taught him...

Proverbs 31:30 - Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised!

Proverbs 9:10 - The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning (the chief and choice part) of Wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight and understanding.

Proverbs 31:27 - She looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness (gossip, discontent, and self-pity) she will not eat. 

I believe as women, when we read Proverbs 31:10-31 and we begin to understand a little bit of the depth of this godly woman, our first instinct is to want to work on ourselves. As we read down through the verses, we want to work on becoming all we can be, striving to mirror the attributes of this Proverbs 31 woman, this Ultimate Woman. I think that is the first and most obvious take away as we read this chapter. One that may not be quite as obvious is one that takes us back up to verse one in Proverbs 31. Who is the speaker & who is directing these thoughts & descriptions of this woman? It is a mother speaking to her son. The obligation of a mother to share with her son what he should be looking for in a woman, ultimately his wife. King Lemuel here has taken heed the advice of his mother, he has obviously recalled it because he is able to recount it, so his mother must have made it a priority to teach & re-teach the godly characteristics that he should be looking for in his wife. The message here to us? The obvious, work on ourselves and becoming this godly Proverbs 31 woman. Secondly and often not practiced as much, teaching who this woman is to our sons. Teaching who this woman is to our daughters. Taking the time, as we raise up godly little warriors in our boys, to teach them what exactly they are looking for in their mate. Sure, it may be 20-25 years before they will really be applying the things they have learned, or looking for these qualities, but as with King Lemuel being able to easily recount what is mother had taught him, repetition in who "she" is will allow our sons to one day marry a strong partner, a godly woman, a woman who does "excel them all" (Proverbs 31:29).

Who is she? She is a woman who fears the Lord, respects the Lord, worships the Lord. As we look at Proverbs 31:30, we can see that, but more importantly, we can go back to Proverbs 9:10 and see the significance of it! Reverent & worshipful fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of Wisdom! The chief part of Wisdom! This reverent & worshipful fear of the Lord leads our Proverbs 31 woman to gain Wisdom. To gain the most important attribute that essentially leads to almost all other things, decisions & outcomes. The fact that she has attained Wisdom, allows us to know in her daily dealings with purchasing real estate, working with people, planting a vineyard, whatever she is doing on that day she is proceeding with Wisdom. Wisdom attained by fearing/respecting the Lord.

I remember hearing a quote that is pretty powerful by Eleanor Roosevelt, one that I'm sure our Proverbs 31 woman also abides by, it says: "Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people." Proverbs 31:27 tells us that this Ultimate Woman does not take part in gossip, in talking about other people. She does not take part in idle chatter, but steers clear of it. She does not even allow herself to wallow in self-pity or discontentment. She straps on her boots & just "gets over it!" Surely she addresses situations that need addressed, but self-pity is not something that she allows herself to take part of. She changes her situation. By Wisdom, she allows herself to be directed to make the necessary changes so that self-pity & discontentment does not have to be a part of her life. She is led & directed by Wisdom. The outcome? A life that she loves. A life that she can enjoy. A life that she can "taste & see" that it is good (Proverbs 31:18)!

Wherever you are at today, take an evaluation. Are you a mother? Are you single female? Single male? Father? Single women, married women, take the time to daily work at becoming this woman. Take the time to seek out and attain the reverent fear & respect of the Lord so all your dealings can be done in Wisdom. Take the time to work on becoming this Proverbs 31 woman, not just for success but to be an example. If you have children or plan to, one day your son will be looking to you for an example in what he wants or does not want in his wife. Mothers, it's never to early or to late to begin teaching your sons & daughters who this Proverbs 31 woman is. What a son should one day look for in his wife, and what a daughter should aspire to duplicate. Fathers, you're not off the hook. You can equally teach your sons  what they should be looking for in a wife and teach your daughters the values in striving to become all God has called her to be. Like the Proverbs 31 woman, aspire to excel them all! With Wisdom ALL things are possible. With God, ALL things are possible! Today, begin to teach your children the qualities of a godly young man or a godly young woman. It's never to late to teach them the godly way to excel!

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Vacation Pictures 

What fun!