He's Not Really Gone

Sunday, August 26, 2012, my daddy left his earth suit behind to be with his mama, brother and Jesus in Heaven. Through this unexpected loss, God’s provided friends and family to engulf us in love, prayers and support.

Monday, August 27, 2012, I wrote the following piece. May God use it to comfort those who mourn.

He’s not really gone

Over and over I repeat the words

They’re not true

Nurse, do something, Doctor, do something

Somebody do something

He’s not really gone

Lord, just one more day, one more hour

One more minute to say “I love you” one more time

At home, the first thing I see is your shirt on the arm of the couch

I clutch your walking stick and weep

He’s not really gone

You’ll be home later in the morning

It’ll be time for Mama to fix your eggs and make sure you take your vitamins

Tonight we’ll have a Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Big Valley marathon

Then I’ll fix your computer and explain Facebook again

This weekend you’ll play your guitar and sing for the nursing home residents

You’ll sing the song you wrote, “Tell Mama her boy is coming home.”

He’s not really gone

I see him that final time before they take his earthly body away

I touch him, touch my heart and I know

He’s right here with me forever

Thank You, Lord Jesus, He’s not really gone

Ara C. Sawyer 1946-2012

5 Reasons I Still Love My Kindle Touch

I don’t use my Kindle Touch every day. I still try to keep the number of books I’m reading at any given time down to three or less. Sometimes that includes all paperback. But the novel I’m reading now, The Restorer's Son- Expanded Edition (The Sword of Lyric) was an ARC in digital form. (ARC=Advance Reader Copy. Loving the story, I’m in the hands of a master author).

That brings me to newly discovered benefits about my Kindle Touch.

1. Treadmill reading. Man. Can I say how good it feels to watch the minutes ticking away, wishing they would slow down instead of speed up? More than once, I’ve gone over my exercise time because I needed to finish the chapter. And how the chapter ends is usually torture and I have to read a few more pages. No wonder my weight is decent right now.

2. Battery life. If I turn off the wi-fi when I’m not using it, the battery lasts on and on. I’ve only charged it a handful of times since purchase. I love being able to grab it for a road trip and not have to panic that I forgot the charger.

3. No backlight. Sure, there are times I wish for an option to light up the screen. (Though have you ever thought of lighting up the pages of a paper book?) But honestly, I’m glad there isn’t. I work on the computer eight to tens hours a day. I want my reading time to be a different experience.

4. Easy organization. After my recent marathon of editing my forty flash fiction stories in prep for release as an ebook—and print—my Kindle home was a mess. I had sent the docs to it for final review and everything looked scrambled afterwards.

I spent a few minutes separating books I’d gotten from Amazon recently and deleting the edited docs. In just a few minutes, dozens of titles were sorted in their categories and the home screen now looks clean and simple. I like clean and simple.

5. Unexpected updates. I don’t love everything about the Kindle Touch, as I said before, but it was still great. I’d heard updates were few and never, so I wasn’t expecting improvements. But then Kindle released some nice additions.

My favorite was what should have been in the first place—the ability to turn the reader horizontal. It doesn’t do it automatically, which I like. It’s nice to hold it sideways sometimes, depending on my reading position. Also in the updates, I noticed my Touch is even faster than before.

Missed my 8 Cool Things About the Kindle Touch? Read it here.

Question: Have you stepped into the world of e-readers yet? What do you love/hate about the digital revolution?

3 Easy Steps in Writing a Helpful Book Review

“This is the best book on the planet!!! Stop what you’re doing right now and buy this book! You won’t regret it!”

“Seriously? This author needs to get a job hauling garbage instead of producing it.”

book review

You’ve read these kinds of reviews—on the same book. Not helpful in making a decision to buy (or not buy) the book, are they? The first was probably written by a friend of the author, the other by someone vehemently opposed to the author’s message.

So what do potential book buyers do? Keep reading reviews until they find one that is written from opinion yet tells the whole story. Here’s how you can be one of those reviewers who gets a “thumbs up—yes this review was helpful.”

1. Start with your own summation of the story. Don’t give anything away, and don’t just repeat what’s on the back cover. Write a few paragraphs of the basic storyline, either from the main character’s perspective or just the gist of the story as you remember it.

Often, I find out more of what the story’s about by reading this section in a helpful review. The description given by the publishers is meant to intrigue you enough to buy the book. But sometimes, I’m confused as to what the story is really about.

I have a clue and might like it, but when I read it in a review, I’m sold. Or not. Either way is good for both me and the author. They don’t want me reading something I don’t like and leaving a less than glowing review because of it.

2. Add a space break or >>> and write your own thoughts. This is where your opinion comes in. When possible, pick out a few things you liked (or loved) about the book and give specifics. Instead of, this is the best book I’ve ever read! you can say something like, the way the author brought out the main character’s pain was so real I experienced it.

If it truly is the best book you’ve ever read, skip to steps 3. But some books you just didn’t like at all. That’s okay. Still start with positive, and add your gripe in next (nicely, of course). Authors are a sensitive bunch, but the great ones prefer honesty from a sweet soul like you than for your review to lead to the wrong person buying the book and writing a no-holds-barred review.

Don’t go overboard with criticism. Same as the positive, pick out a few things you really didn’t like and be specific as to why. At that point, your reader can decide whether it’s something that will bother them so much they won’t enjoy the book, or it’s no big deal. Again, don’t give anything away. It’s a balancing act.

3. Finally, end with your thoughts on who might enjoy the book. It may not have been for you, but you know the type person who would enjoy it. If it’s a YA or children’s book, you might give caution for parents to read it first, or that it would make a great family and discussion read.

Don’t be afraid of being honest, and you don’t necessarily have to say “in my opinion.” The potential book buyer knows it is. The smart ones weigh it with others and make an informed decision of whether to invest their time and money into that book, whether you personally loved or hated it.

Question: Has a review ever helped you make a buying decision? Share your experience in the comments.

F.E.A.R and What You Can Do About It

You’ve probably experienced it. The time when something happens to you, major or minor, and the first person you tell turns around and tells you a story about so and so who had the same thing happen to them, and their horrific outcome. So it was when I discovered a tick buried in my side. I won’t go into all the treatments my mom immediately launched, and the doctor visit, but let’s just say we did all we could to hopefully prevent disease down the road. I wasn’t worried, determined to turn the results over to God.

First person I tell? A beloved friend. First thing she does? Tells the horrors of Lyme disease and how it may not show up for years.

Next person I tell? My beloved boss. First thing she does? Tells of her friend who had a tick and how full blown Lyme developed after four years, eventually putting her friend on disability.

I was tempted to start worrying.

That same weekend, my boss had awful blisters on her heels. Someone asked why she was limping, and after she told them, they launched into a story about so and so who had the same type blisters, got infected and died.

These reaction stories aren’t meant to implant fear in your heart. Often the person telling them does it to keep you from experiencing the same horrors as someone they know. But if you’ve already done everything you can, there’s not much encouragement in a sad story.

Same thing with failure. Have you ever shared a dream with someone and they immediately tell you about someone just like you who failed at the same thing?

Here comes the fear.

Fear of failure is paralyzing. But really, it’s no different than taking every precaution you can for your health problem, and then not worry about what could go wrong. Why even fear something unless it exists?

When you start out to live the life God’s called you to, you can’t let the fear of failure stop you. You just take every possible precaution, do your due diligence, and then do it.

We can choose not to fear, to give our worries over to God. That choice is a daily, sometimes by the minute, decision.

Here’s a good breakdown of fear Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad author) uses:

False

Evidence

Appearing

Real

What false evidence is stopping you today? Share your fears in the comments and leave them there.

For Him,

Sarah Elisabeth

I Am A Writer - Jeff Goins Video Contest

I made this video for Jeff Goins' contest to declare yourself a writer. I am. Here's my public declaration, with the help of some of the greatest all time writers:  

I am a writer, home business owner, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, friend, and child of the King. What are you? Declare it in the comments!

Update: Here are the contest winners. This little video received an Honorable Mention: http://goinswriter.com/contest-winner/