Thursday, March 31, 2005

BLUSH AND CRINGE

This will give you a good laugh: Dh went for a, um, well, let's just say he "got snipped" today and will now be shooting blanks. We found out three days ago we are two weeks too late with the *snippage.* If everything goes well, Squirrel # 4 will be making its entrance mid-December.
Squirl -yes, yes, the snipping doctor got a good chuckle out of it, too. All through the proceedure in fact. Okay, now, if I was a man lying on the gurney thingy with another man standing above me for an hour, pointing a scalpel and a cautery tool at my privates, GIGGLING THE ENTIRE TIME, I'd be a bit worried. I mean, when you giggle, it's not like your hands are real steady.

NEWSLETTER:
Scheduled to go out tomorrow! To sign up, go to www.CherylWyatt.com click the newsletter link. If you have trouble, do let me know. Don't forget to confirm that you signed up, it's that double opt in thingy.

VERSE:
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised. Psalm 113:3

BORROWED PRAYERS:
Lord, thank you for everything you allow to come into our lives. Help us to run hard after you. As Margaret Becker says in one of her songs, "no matter what comes, don't let me run."

That's all for now.

Blessings,

Squirrel-over and out.

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

POP! PSZZZT!! PZZSST!

Okay, so that was lame. I was trying to make the sound that followed that squirrel (yes, a real one) when it chewed through our phone lines. We didn't have connection for a day or two. Anyway, my website newsletter is coming out by April 10th. If you want to sign up go to www.CherylWyatt.com and click the newsletter link on the home page.

BLUSH AND CRINGE:
I was teaching a youth group lesson to a group of about fifty teens a while back. I had been running behind and had yanked a pair of sweats out of the dryer practically on my way out the door. I'm in the middle of the group, about ten minutes into the lesson and notice EVERYONE is snickering, or at least, trying not to. I notice eyes darting to my right ankle. I look down to find the edge of my dh's undies sticking proudly out the bottom of myf gym pants. Par for the course of my life.

VERSE:
I seek You with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. Psalm 119:10 NIV

BORROWED PRAYERS:
Just retell the above verse to God in your own words or repeat it word for word. There's one thing about praying scripture---you KNOW you're praying God's will, so you KNOW He's going to answer. Unless of course you're talking about someone who made you mad at work and you ask God to "Tear their teeth out, Oh God." Like David did. That would run along the same lines as "calling down fire from Heaven." Not that I've ever done that. (insert innocent-looking emoticon here.)

I've entered a slew of wips in contests. I figure the one that fares the best will be the one I enter in the Golden Heart at the end of the year. Sounds like a plan.

Have a blessed day.

Squirrel

Friday, March 25, 2005

PROMPT CONTEST WINNER!!!!

Congratulations to KM for winning Squirrel's Story Starter for March!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't have any idea what I'm chattering about? Listen up: I give you a prompt and you write a scene of any length up to 500 words. Submit it to Cheryl@CherylWyatt.com by the deadline (April 20th) and the winner will be announced between the 25th and 28th of April. Winner gets their choice of a new book, either a new fiction release, or a good book on the craft of writing.

Here's the prompt for the April contest:

Write a romantic comedy using each of these words. You'll notice some of them can be used as nouns or verbs. Plural versions of the words can be used. Happy Writing!!!

Thread
Bow
Run
Case
Hammer
Pantyhose
Subway
Trip
Bruise
Attraction
Court
Late

ALSO: To make it really challenging, the two main characters must be a female Attorney and a
Male construction worker.

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BORROWED PRAYERS:
Please help us to devour Your word as if we were starving, and to crave Your presence more than a drowning man craves breath. Help us to remember the sacrifice You made on that cross of pain, Lord Jesus. We do love you. Help us to love you more.
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VERSE:
Jesus said unto her,I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. John 11:25
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BLUSH AND CRINGE:
Well, as I've read back over some of my posts in a momentary lapse of reason, cheeks are mighty pink when I see all the typos. EEEK. Sorry 'bout that guys.
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GOD MOMENT
Remember a few posts back I was telling you about those flowers that bloomed outside? Well a couple days later I got a writer's publication in the mail and on the back was an advertizement with a picture of a yellow flower. I tromped out across the yard in my husband's size 101/2 shoes with a flashlight and pulled it. When I brought it back in and compared it to the picture (because I'd thought it looked strikingly similar, but I don't know anything about flowers and in fact kill every plant I've ever owned. Even the plastic one from Hobby Lobby dried up and turned yellow. Upon my honor it did.) Anyway, sorry for tangeanting on you like that. I compared the flowers and they were EXACTLY THE SAME! Guess who put out the ad?
The line and publisher I'm targeting. The one I felt like God has put on my heart.
Yeah, yeah, I may be reading into it, but if it does come to pass, I can look back and see that God snuck me a glimpse of the promise.
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Thanks for stopping by, I hope you've been encouraged and humored.

Squirrel

Thursday, March 24, 2005

A TRAFFIC JAM YOU'LL LOVE!!!!!

Run, don't walk over to www.CherylWyatt.com and sign up for my newsletter if you want to know what this Traffic Jam's all about! I'll post it in my newsletter. Hint: It involves a really, really great prize for simply passing the word around about my Website. That's why it's called a Traffic Jam. I'm trying to increase my Website Traffice since my site is new, and while you're there, I hope you'll have a Jammin' good time as you peruse my Website and blog.

BLUSH AND CRINGE
One morning after my charges were staying the night at gramma's, I came back from a physical therapy appointment to discover my husband was sleeping in. I realized my running shoes were in the bedroom where he was and I needed them. (Not because I'd planned to run, mind you. They were the only one of ten pair of tennis shoes I own that matched the new hot pink and black workout suit I wanted to wear to town. Joy over getting to go shopping without an army of children alternately fighting over and clinging to an innocent shopping cart made me giddy. Not wanting to wake him, but desperately needing those shoes, I tippy-toed in and crawled around the floor in the dark for ten minutes, nearly holding my breath the entire time. I crawled around the entire span of my bedroom carpet. I crawled around inside the closet, and finally crawled back out the bedroom door to get my book light. I went back in, on the shoe-finding mission. The lump in the bed had not moved so I thought I was good to go with the all important search. Carefully, I commando-crawled under his side of the bed and saw two lumps, suspicially resembling my shoes. I clicked the penlight off, grabbed the shoes and backwards crawled out the bedroom door, closed it quietly and carefully. Then I sat in the darkened hallway and put those shoes on in the dark. I get in my car, drive to town, and it wasn't until I was in the grocery store line that I realize people are staring at me. Correction: Not me. At my shoes. I look down and gasped. One was blue, silver and white. The other was black and red. I go back home and I'm pulling in when my husband pulled in behind me. He got out and I said, "Did you have a good sleeping in this morning?" He looks at me wierd, looks at my shoes but doesn't bat an eye (which tells me nothing I do surprises him anymore) and he says, "What sleeping in? I was awake at five AM and left the house before you ever woke up."

Yep. I'd crawled around in the dark for nothing. I ran in, hiked down the hall in my mismatched shoes, flipped on the light and.....there was a handsome body pillow, right there, still sleeping soundly on my husband's side of the bed.

VERSE
How great is the love the father has lavished on us... 1 John 3:1

BORROWED PRAYER
Dear God, give me grace to endure my blessings, even when the flu plague hits my house and everyone in it is grumpy. It doesn't feel good to be called a Grumpy Bug. Infuse me with kindness no matter how I feel or what kind of day I'm having.

Sunday, March 20, 2005

PRAISE GOD!!!!!!

I just heard word that they're putting her tube back in. Thank God for Preident Bush. Bless that man, Lord and every person fighting for her right to live and those praying for her.

TYPO: UM, did u happen to notice there wasn't supposed to be an apostrophy in writers in my last post? I tell you time and time again how much I miss proofing by computer. Sorry 'bout that all you grammar gurus.

Squirrel

GOOD NEWS!!!!

I found out today one of my wips (CY) finaled in Colorado Romance Writer's Heart of the Rockies contest. Pretty cool, huh? Winner's will be announced mid-May.

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BLUSH AND CRINGE
I sent an email and forgot to put a period after an abbreviation. Bad part about it was I proofread the stupid thing like EIGHT times because it was going to an editor. Doesn't matter that he's my instructor for a writing course...he's still an editor. Anyway, my advice? If you're going to mention anything, ANYTHING at all about an assignment, spell the word out. My subject line said, "Extremely hard a**"
and the stupid email thing cut the rest of the word off!!!!!!!!!!!

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BORROWED PRAYERS
There is sadness in the news Lord, with Terry's feeding tube and the little Florida girl. Oh Lord, please help us as humans to love one another instead of hate and kill and act with selfish ambition and evil intent. Dear God, be with those families as they go through their struggle. LEt justice rule, Lord. You preside over congress. Over the doctors. Over the hearts of men. Please Lord, have your way.
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VERSE:
Let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:18
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That's all for now.

Blessings,

Squirrel

Friday, March 18, 2005

TWO DAYS!

Two days left to enter my contest to win a new, free book valued between 10-25 dollars. Just post your entries in the body of an email to cheryl@cherylwyatt.com

Scroll down to find the latest prompt. Most of all, have fun!


BLUSH AND CRINGE
When I worked as a labor and delivery nurse at a hospital, my first week there, the charge nurse informed me one of the doctors was sending a patient over by ambulance because the baby had a heartrate dip in the office. They forgot to tell me during orientation that lamaze patients sometimes came in unnannounced for room tours. Well, a pregnant woman (whom I thought was the one from the doctor's office) walked up, I bristled in my mind over the fact that the ER didn't send her up in a wheelchair since the doctor had ordered her on bedrest and fetal monitoring. So I show her to a room, help her get undressed, put her in bed, hook her up to the fetal monitor, tell her the baby looks and sounds good, pull an ultrasound machine in the room for when the doctor made his entrance. I also had her fill out paperwork, took her vital signs and asked the million and one questions for admission. I take my information out to give report to the charge nurse and she's looking at me like I have three heads. After I go through my entire report, she asks, "Who are you talking about?" I say, "The woman from Dr. (so and so's) office. She blinks exactly four times, points to the phone and says, "But they just called from ER and said she's on her way up."

Yeah. I begged her to go back in to the room and tell the woman (who only wanted a tour of the birthing rooms) that I'd made a big boo-boo. Thankfully her husband and her got a big kick out of it. I thought I'd die of embarrassment but I survived. :-) Although, now that I think about it, I don't remember seeing them return to have the baby. Hmmm.

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VERSE:
Have an emergency in your spiritual life? Call on 911.
That's Psalms 91:1
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

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No news on my submissions yet and I'm totally cool with that. I figure the longer it takes, the better my chances are of catching the eye of an editor or agent.

I should be getting word in the next week whether my story finaled in the first contest I entered this year. Even if I don't final or win, the judge feedback is worth the entrance fee. If you are an inspirational writer, I recommend entering Touched By Love contest for pre-published writers sponsored by RWA's inpspirational chapter Faith, Hope, and Love.
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Newsletter:
I'm going to be sending one out about three times a year. It will be short and sweet since I know how bombarded everyone is with emails. I'm also going to have a really, really nice prize offered with each one. If you're interested, go to www.cherylwyatt.com and sign up under email or newsletter link.
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That's all for today. Be blessed.

Thursday, March 10, 2005

Sheeeeeesh!!!!!!!!

I thought I'd never get back here! Sorry for the delay in my bloggyness but we've been dealing with the plague at my house. Yeah. The flu. Ick.

CONTEST
Only 10 more days to get those entries in! It can be any length up to 500 words. The prize is nice so go for it!

MY WRITING
I'm starting on some Special Ops romances. I'm sooo excited about them. I really think they're going to be fun to write. I should be hearing any time (EEEK!) from the agent I queried. I don't get in a hurry with these things. I mean, the worst thing I think you can do is BUG an agent or edtior into NOT wanting to buy your stuff or representing you. So my advice for the week is: Ignore the turnaround times and BE PATIENT! Moving on----

BLUSH AND CRINGE
My husband does parking lot maintenance. Well he had some (not some-ALOT!) of business cards printed out, only problem? The word "Striper" was spelled wrong and only after he'd handed some out did I notice. My husband is a Professional Line Stripper! (whatever that is.) He gives special discounts if churches let him do this in their parking lots. Well, all I have to say is, "that's one way to heat up the asphalt!" 8)

BORROWED PRAYERS
Dear God, Please send a special touch to those stricken with sickness this week. Especially be with the little children who do not have medicine available to ease their suffering, Lord. Have mercy on them, be moved with the same compassion that moved You in the Bible and heal them, Lord and help them to know You.

VERSE
. . .the Lord blesses His people with peace. Psalms 29:11 NIV


Something really neet happened to me this week: Last week I had been complaining about how hard it is to be published, how painful the greuling process. Well, I was having a Baditude that day (My term for a Bad Attitude) and I spouted something off about, "I feel like those flowers out there, they're NEVER going to bloom." (I had planted some sort of flower my mother in law had given me with explicit instructions not to plant them too shallow. So guess what I did? Planted them too deep and for the second or third year in a row, the green stalk just comes up, but no flower.) So I said to my husband, "You might as well just mow over them, they're NEVER going to bloom." In my head, I was thinking the same thing about my stories-getting happy with the DELETE key, shredding them all, releiving myself of the trauma. (LOL). In that instant, I felt like God whispers, "When those flowers bloom, you'll be published."

So what did I do? I laughed out loud, thinking, those dumb flowers are never going to bloom. They have not bloomed for three years. Not that God couldn't make them bloom, I just thought my radar was jammed and the whisper was my thoughts.

Guess what I saw the very next morning when I looked out the kitchen window?

A beautiful yellow flower sitting atop one of those barren green stems!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I sat in the floor and cried.

God has a sense of humor. And a very tender heart for those of you who have been waiting for what seems like forever for your dreams to come true. Have faith. Don't give up. Trust God to fulfill His promises. If He said it, He will bring it to pass.

So of course I spent the majority of the day going, "Okay, He said when the flowers bloomed, I'd be published. So does that mean ALL of the flowers? Does that mean it's going to take two or three years for me to get published from the time I started writing since it took that long for the flowers to bloom? Etc, etc. You get the picture! LOL. So anyway, no matter how long it takes, He is in control, and you know what? I wouldn't want it any other way. And neither would you.

Until next time,

Squirrel

Thursday, March 03, 2005

17 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Only 17 more days left for my Prompt Contest Deadline. Get those entries in to me at Cheryl@cherylwyatt.com by Mar. 20th.

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VERSE:
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in Heaven. Matther 5:16
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BORROWED PRAYERS: (Squirrel's prayers that she'd love for you to "borrow" as your own.)
Dear God, I don't think I know You very well, but I really want to. Help me to know that I don't have to fix myself up, clean myself up, or improve myself in any way before I come to You. You love me, and want me to come just as I am. Thank you for changing what we can't change in ourselves, and for seeing us as we shall be even though we aren't there yet.
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BLUSH AND CRINGE:
At a grocery store, a checker called over the public in-store intercom for a "price check on a box of 36 count Tampax(tm)." A male grocery clerk misunderstood her, thinking she'd said "Thumbtacks," and replied over the intercom, "Is that the ones you push in with your thumb, or hit in with a hammer?" The entire store heard this exchange.
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BOOK REVIEWS:
I now have a new format. Until further notice, I will no longer be doing a point system because doing them in that format was making me feel yucky.
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Title: Eyes of Elisha
Author: Brandilyn Collins
ISBN: 0-310-23968-0
Pub: Zondervan
Blurb: Chelsea Adams has visions of a murder victim's last moments, but no one believes her-except the killer. Will Chelsea be next?
Review: Be prepared for your pulse to soar. If you read this when it's dark and you're alone--it will have you glancing over your shoulder. Brilliant plot twists and intriguing characters grab you from the start and don't let go. Excellent, engaging, nibble-your- fingernails read. One for the keeper shelves, Collins will render you breathless with this one.
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Title: The Winter Pearl
Author: Molly Noble Bull
ISBN: 0-373-78529-1
Pub: Steeple Hill
Blurb: Honor McCall is on the run. The danger that stalks her carries a family face. Will a young minister, intent on rescuing Honor, find her before her cruel uncle does?
Review: An historical set in Colorado, late 1800's, Winter Pearl is a charming story that paints a beautiful portrait of redemption and forgiveness. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a family member struggling with alcoholism. Hope will wash over you with every page you turn. Sweet read.
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Bye for now!

Squirrel