1. The new edition of Footprints is out now!!!!! Always a highlight … and I love getting feedback and hearing exactly which articles are touching a chord with our readers. It gives me fresh momentum to start getting the next issue together!

2. Mr 16 thanked us for praying for him – he was having a rough time with a couple of subjects at school, and they both miraculously came good!

3. Hubby cleaned up the kitchen and left it spotless this morning because he knew it was my day off. (Yes, his primary love language is “acts of service”!)

4. Telling my daughter and her best friend that I bought tickets for the three of us to go to the Michael Jackson tribute concert on 18 September! We will have an awesome girl’s night out together!

5. Buying gifts for my husband for Father’s Day. I ironed a work shirt for him this morning and was taken aback by how faded and shabby it looked – so I bought him three new ones, and a pair of trousers.  He’s also getting a new wallet - again, sorely needed – and a family-sized black of chocolate with almonds. Although I’m a chocoholic, chocolate with nuts is not really my thing so this is JUST FOR HIM (if we can keep the kids away from it that is!).

How about you? Can you list five things that made YOU smile this week?

It seems that Footprints now has a mascot – introducing Sophie de la Snuggles (pronounced Snoo- gals). She’s one snuggly puppy!

There is a bit of a story behind how Sophie joined my family. My husband was studying part-time a few years ago in addition to working fulltime, so I often went to bed while he hit the books. It was a trying time – both of us resented being separated by his studies. So he bought me this beautiful toy puppy for me to cuddle in bed when I was missing him … and somehow she has become a part of the family, with a real personality and her own trademark sayings.

Sophie loves sitting on people’s heads and pretending that she is a hat (as you can see in the photo). I can often be found at the computer with her peering at the screen from her favourite perch, or else she sits on the desk to keep me company while I type.

I’ve brought Sophie with me to Footprints Team retreats so that I don’t miss out on cuddles in bed (no boys allowed!), so most of the Team have met her and are very familiar with Sophie-isms. Somehow Sophie has won all their hearts, and now it seems her charm is extending to our readers -  so it seems only natural to make her our mascot! 

Sometimes I think I’ve missed my calling, I’m so good at doing voices and creating characters for the kids’ stuffed toys (when they were younger) and now Sophie – maybe I should have become a puppeteer! Nah, I think I’ll stick with Footprints …

- I hate being bored!

- drivers who do the wrong thing on the road (especially at roundabouts) and then beep ME!

- being interrupted when I am in the writing “zone”.

- running out of milk or bread.

- having nothing decent to read.

- waiting in the queue at the Cleveland Post Office – it doesn’t matter WHEN you go, the queue always snakes out to the door! They have at least six counters – why oh why don’t they employ more staff so that someone is serving at each of them?!

- people who aren’t friendly. ESPECIALLY Christians who aren’t friendly. We are family, for goodness’ sake!!!! And limp fish handshakes – ewwww.

- grotty floors. When I was a fulltime mum, and was down about the state of the house, my hubby always knew that all it took to cheer me up was to sweep or vaccuum and voila! A sparkling house once more!

- people who don’t like / subscribe to Footprints. I mean, what’s THAT about?! Especially if they are Christian women! Even if they don’t read, or don’t have time to read. THAT’S NO EXCUSE! They should get Footprints a. to support an independent Aussie Christian ministry (and it’s cheap as chips); and b. if they seriously don’t/won’t read it, give it away – surely someone they know would enjoy it?!

- people who say “I’ve always wanted to write” or “I’m going to write a book one day” and then do NOTHING about it. If you really seriously want to write, you will. End of story.

- I get cranky if I have to go too long without a decent home cooked meal, including LOTS of vegetables!

- Not getting enough sleep … this includes enjoying a Saturday morning sleep in, and the odd nanna nap …

- Making the once a week trek to the Footprints PO Box only to find *NOTHING* inside. Oh sob, oh weep, oh gnashing of teeth!

- Aniseed lollies. Every time we buy a packet of jellies or jubes, I avoid those dratted black lollies. So I can never watch a movie in the dark and just grab any old lolly from the pack – I always have to check the colour first! Luckily my hubby loves them!

- I really, really, REALLY don’t like making phone calls. Maybe it’s a phobia. I mean, I make them when I have to but … I dread it.

- Self-published books that aren’t properly edited … especially Christian self-published books … we serve the King of Kings and we should strive for excellence in all we do! (Note I said excellence, not perfection, which is impossible …).

- People who say, “We must get-together sometime!” but never follow it up (and yes I am guilty of this myself sometimes), but in particular I’m thinking of those I try to actually arrange a date with but are never, ever free … hey I can take a hint peoples!

My list could go on forever I suppose! But then I got to thinking, what cheeses God off? What are his pet peeves??? Proverbs 6:16 -19 tells us the answer, here is Janet’s paraphrase:

God has six pet peeves, actually seven that really cheese Him off:
- snobby people who look down their nose at others, 
- liars, 
- those who harm the innocent,
- self-centred people who think only of themselves,
- those who turn their backs on Him,
- two-faced people who are nice to your face, but stab you in the back; 
- and people who stir up trouble (especially in the body of Christ).

Yep, I’d have to agree with Him on all of these!

If you’re a subscriber, you should find yours in the mailbox within the next week (a little bit longer if you live overseas). Inside it you’ll find all the heart-warming, real-life, God-glorifying stories that you know and love. So which one are you looking forward to reading the most?!

• Climate Change: what’s a Christian to do?!
• A week in the life of a School Chaplain
• Jewels for Jesus: the story behind Faith Insignias
• Quiz time – do you have a ME addiction?!
• God’s hand on my life … real life testimonies from our readers
• 10 ways to lose a baby Christian (oops I think we have all done some of these …)
• A walk for a cause in Walk the Line

Plus all our regular columns – My Favourite Scripture, which looks at a verse about depression; a review of a new Aussie book; and God Answered My Prayer, from somebody who just couldn’t pray (I think we’ve all been there at one time or another!).

Being the editor I guess I have the advantage because I know exactly what each story is all about … but there are several things I’m loving in this new issue.

First of all, I’m always a sucker for anything fun – so I love quizzes, and think it would be a good idea to find out how NOT to lose a baby Christian! And as for climate change … all I can say is, I couldn’t agree more with the thoughts in this article!

I’m always inspired to learn of Christians who are doing business God’s way, so I loved the story of Faith Insignias; not to mention hearing about Christians who are putting feet to their faith, and doing something to raise awareness and funds for a good cause in “Walk the Line”.  Then I read the article from a school chaplain and couldn’t help thinking – they get PAID to do this stuff?! Seriously though, it’s not all fun and games, as you will find in this behind the scenes diary.

Maybe I’m biased, but I think this new issue is packed with a variety of great stories … hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together!

Love Janet.

So this post might be a day late, but it’s NEVER too late to be thankful! Here’s my list of five things that made me smile this week …

1. I finished the new edition of Footprints (#51) and sent it to the printer … here’s a sneak peek at the cover (see you get special treatment because you read this blog!):

2. I enjoyed a fun night out for dinner with my workmates on Tuesday night.

3. Praise God for ibuprofen tablets – conquering the menstrual migraine so I could smile again!

4. A husband who loves me and gives me lots of cuddles even when I have my cranky pants on.

5. Not having to go to work yesterday when it was raining and miserable, and I was feeling decidedly down in the dumps - instead I got to snuggle under my doona with a new book, “The Significant You … and Me”. Even more exciting, it was written by a Footprints reader and contributor, Dianne Riley. Thanks Dianne!

Now over to you! What five things made YOU smile this week?

“It could be a heart attack!” 

That was the terrifying thought that woke me in the wee small hours a couple of nights ago.

I’d been a bit sore in my left arm, shoulder and shoulder blade area for over a week, and thought I must have pulled a muscle or something … taking the odd paracetamol, making sure I had a hot wheat pack at bedtime, and begging the family for shoulder rubs.

I’d also booked an appointment with a physio for this week, as I thought it was most likely due to too much computer work, getting the new issue of Footprints ready. Other than that, I hadn’t really thought about it or lost sleep over it. Until this thought gripped me with terror in the middle of the night.

You see, heart disease runs in my family. My paternal grandmother died of a heart attack at 45 (I’m 43).  My father, one of the fittest, healthiest men you could ever meet, had his first heart attack at 60. And I suddenly remembered that he’d had a sore left arm and shoulder for a week before the heart attack, which he also just put down to being a pulled muscle but in hindsight, realised was a warning sign.

As I lay in bed with these thoughts flooding my mind, my stomach churned. Oh no! Another sign! Dad had thrown up several times with his heart attack. My pulse raced. I was terrified!!!

I cannot explain the immense fear that possessed me …  Lord help!!! I cried out silently. Straight away a Scripture came to mind … for God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind. Thank you Lord! Help me put this fear aside, unless I really “do” need to do something about it. If it is an attack of the enemy, give me peace!

My GP knows my family history and my health is being monitored, so I really shouldn’t be worried. I thought about waking my husband and telling him, but realised it all sounded pretty silly. Gradually, my breathing slowed and I dropped off back to sleep.

How thankful I am that I have Scripture stored in my memory, that God can bring it to my mind just when I need it most. God’s Word is a sword – but you’ve got to read it, familiarise yourself with it, practise using it (by memorising it) so that when the battles come (and they will!) you will be ready.

En garde!

1. That my darling husband and I had the day off together. It was like our second honeymoon back in May (for our 20th wedding annivesary) – we just enjoyed each other’s company all day and ignored the washing, the cleaning, the hundreds of other little things that demand our time and energy. We watched a good DVD together and went to Sizzler for lunch – the day just flew by. Our love tanks are full now!

2. Went shopping with Miss 13 last Saturday, as she desperately needed new jeans. We had a credit note for $30 (after returning THAT dress) – the exact price of the jeans we picked. We also found 4 tops from the “2 for $20″ rack. By anyone’s calculations, that means after handing over the credit note, I needed to pay $40. NOPE! The assistant must have done something wrong when she keyed it into the register, because “the computer” said I only had to pay $8! Even though I spoke up and tried to do the right thing, handing over a $50 note, the two girls behind the counter insisted on giving me $42 change. I left my phone number in case they got in trouble or they couldn’t balance at the end of the day – but never heard anything further. Thank you God for bargains! (Jesus saves!!! The story of a divine discount!!!)

3. Footprints was the subject of a feature interview on Girl with a Satchel’s blog. Yeah!

4. Noticing that Mr 16 needs to shave. He is growing up so fast but still loves to give him mum cuddles (especially if nobody else is around LOL).

5. Fun times at work hanging out with my friend Mel. Sadly she finishes up next week but I thank God for the good times we have had together over the past twelve months, and how she has rediscovered the Lord!

How about you? Care to share your “5 for Friday” – things that made you smile?

Hosting a book launch is a bit like organising a wedding – but the good news is it doesn’t have to be as expensive! The key is partnering with others wherever possible.

Just like a wedding, there are many things to consider: venue, guest list, invitations, catering, entertainment, photographer, decorations, book table, ushers, a running sheet, and the all important thank-yous! 

Venue: The obvious choice is to host your launch at a bookstore, but there are plenty of other possibilities, such as a church, hall or café. Think about the subject matter of your book – if it is about fashion, hold your launch at a boutique. If your book is about education or for children, ask the local school. Your library would probably be very interested too!

For my first book launch, my own church women’s ministry supported me by hiring a room at the local cultural centre (as we didn’t have a church building of our own at that stage). The second time around, I chose a café attached to a large church. 

Guest List: Invite everybody you can think of! Many people have never been to a book launch and will be intrigued enough to come along, especially if you can entice them with free food and/or entertainment. Don’t forget to invite your family, your friends, your church, your neighbours, your workmates, your writing buddies, and of course anybody who supported you during the writing of your book.

Depending on how big a splash you want to make, you could invite along some dignitaries – local politicians, community and business leaders, or the local media.

Just remember: the more you invite, the more are likely to turn up and the more books you will sell!

At the “Clues to your Calling” launch in 2003, there were about 100 people in attendance; at the “Decadence” launch in 2008 at the café, we had about 70 women (and would have been hard-pressed to fit anybody else in!). But I have been to heaps of book launches where twenty or thirty people seemed like a crowd, because a more intimate venue was chosen.

Invitations: Nothing beats a personal invitation, and with computers and the wide range of stationery available today, it’s easy to make your own. For “Clues to your Calling” we had a purple theme (to match the cover of the book), and I made invitations out of sparkly lavender card, with plain white inserts glued in (see picture below). You could use a pad of party invitations , or photocopies that you can hand out to all and sundry!

If you want to open your event up to the local public, a notice in your local paper and posters in nearby shop windows, bookstores, or your chosen venue (whether a church, hall or café)  would also be a good idea.

Don’t forget to encourage guests to RSVP, so you can keep track of the numbers for catering purposes. Be aware though that many people don’t let you know they are coming, or say they will be there and then don’t turn up. Australians are notoriously bad at RSVPing! I have learnt this the hard way. At the “Clues” launch this didn’t matter so much, but at the “Decadence” launch unfortunately I still had to pay for those ten people that didn’t show up. 

Catering: What sort of food are you going to feed your guests? Hors d’oeuvres? Morning tea? Wine and cheese? Who is going to serve it, and how are you going to pay for it?

As mentioned earlier, the “Clues to your Calling” launch was done in partnership with my church women’s team. A few of the ladies contributed a plate of goodies, while another (who loves catering and cooking) oversaw all the catering arrangements and was capably assisted by her teenage daughters at the actual event. This was great as it was one less thing I had to worry about!

In order to help cover the costs, we asked for a “gold coin” entry fee to the event. This made it affordable for everyone and I was able to give this money back to the women’s team.

As the “Decadence” launch was held at a café, they provided an afternoon tea for just $10 per head, which was exactly what we charged our guests. Or you could charge slightly extra to help you cover the costs of a performer or the invitations or whatever. Just remember, the more expensive it is, the less likely people are to come, and the less books you will sell.

Entertainment: Try to think of something that ties in with your book’s theme. At the “Clues to your Calling” launch, the whole night was a celebration of people contributing their talents and callings, a great example of my book’s message! Some young people from church played background music, and later perform a couple of items. A couple of dignitaries – our women’s pastor, and my writing group president – gave short speeches, and being the author, I also got to share a few words.

At the launch of “Decadence” we took a slightly different tack. This time our guests were all women, so we had a couple of icebreaker games (you can find heaps on the internet) to start things off. A gospel singer performed a couple of songs which she was happy to do in exchange for the opportunity to sell and promote her CDs at the event, and our speaker was a DJ from a local Christian radio station.

Perhaps you could do a short reading from your book, or show a Powerpoint presentation of photos relevant to your subject matter.

Lucky door prizes are also fun – tape a ticket under a couple of chairs before hand, and then ask everybody to check beneath their chair. Or hand out raffle tickets at the door. Of course, the prize would be a copy of your book/s!

Why not celebrate with a cake? A cake-cutting (just like at a wedding) is fun, and also a great photo opportunity! 

Photographer: You will be too busy to think about taking any photos, so assign this task to a snap-happy friend or family member – ask them to be your official photographer for the occasion! Not only will you capture precious memories, you can use these in media releases and publicity for your book.

Decorations: Some of the Footprints Team Members assisted with the decorations at the “Clues” launch. They cut out large stars from purple and silver cardboard, which we then stuck around the walls of the room with blu-tac. We also had a few arrangements of purple helium balloons tied with silver ribbon, to add to the party atmosphere.

At the “Decadence” launch, our theme was gold and red roses. We bought some roses from a wholesaler, and had some in vases, as well as leaving some loose to decorate the display and book tables. I bought some gold fabric to drape over tables, and printed out colour copies of the book cover which I laminated and stuck on the walls. Finally, we sprinkled all the tables with gold confetti.

The Book Table: To decorate the all-important book table you will need tablecloth/s, and copies of your book (of course!). You may like to print and frame a cover of your book to place on the table. And don’t forget a receipt book, cash box (I recommend a $50 float in small change), and pens so you can sign copies for your fans! As many of the guests will want to spend some time chatting with you, the author, it’s a good idea to have a couple of other people to handle the sales part.

Ushers: Make sure you have a couple of designated “greeters” at the door of your event, to collect the entry fee (if any), to hand out lucky door tickets and/or name tags, and generally make people feel welcome. 

Running Sheet: So that things run smoothly, prepare a running sheet beforehand and give a copy to anybody involved in the “formalities” of your event eg performers, speakers, the café staff.  That way everybody knows what is happening and when.

Thank Yous: It’s important to make a point of thanking everybody for all their help – after all you may need them again at your next book launch! You can do this by mentioning them in your speech, or in the acknowledgements page of your book. Make sure you give a copy of your book to those who have been especially helpful and/or provided their services for free!

Just like a wedding, you could follow up with a thank you note to each of your guests. Or, send them home with a cake bag or even a party bag!  At the launch of “Decadence” we gave each of our guests a small organza bag of goodies, including a fridge magnet, some sweets and a couple of other tiny treats, to show them that we appreciated their presence at our special day.

Most of us have organised a party or even a wedding at some stage in our lives. As you can see, organising a book launch is very similar. You’ve worked hard and have something extraordinary to celebrate – the launch of your book. This is your special time – enjoy it!

1. An appointment with the school guidance counsellor, where we were reassured that our 16 year old son is on track for his dream of going to Uni to do IT studies in 18 months time. My baby is going to Uni!

2. Read a really great book ”Australian Women of Grace” by Robyn Hipkiss, and got a lovely message back after I contacted the author to tell her how much her book inspired me … feel like I’ve made a new friend!

3. Collecting the Footprints mail this morning (had to squeeze Footprints in here somewhere LOL … see previous post!) and received  a cheque from a new reader who not only wants to subscribe for three years, but  has also ordered a copy of both of our books, “Clues to your Calling” and “Decadence”!

4. My 13 year old daughter cooked dinner last night, and had her Dad as the “kitchen helper” (check out the original kitchen helper post here). She made something which was new to our family – butter chicken – which she served with rice and frozen vegetables. Apparently she had it at my sister’s house and thought it was so good, she wanted to introduce us to her new favourite dish. It was a bit spicier than what I normally like but it was still yummy, and I was just so proud!

5. The fact that we have a long weekend – here in Redlands Monday is a public holiday for the Ekka (Brisbane Exhibition) Show Day!

Now, I’m going to follow in Deb at Aspiring Mum’s footsteps oops footprints of course!  If you would like to join in Five For Friday – simply leave a comment with a link to your blog post, letting us know all about your Five For Friday. Have fun! 

… that is the question! Actually, that’s not quite true. The question is really what to blog about.

Here on the Footprints blog, my ramblings tend to be focused on a couple of themes: Footprints Women’s Ministries Inc; reading; writing; parenting teens; with the occasional forays into fashion, church life, or anything else that happens to take my fancy at the time.

The Footprints blog is not your everyday, garden variety blog, because it’s NOT just about my thoughts and experiences. It actually started as a mechanism to let our friends and supporters know what’s going on in the world of Footprints. But where does the world of Footprints end, and my world begin? They’re not that easy to separate!

I have sometimes worried that I should stick to Footprints matters on this blog, and start another blog for more personal writing. But there’s a few reasons that I haven’t. I was going to say that I’m lazy, and one blog is quite enough but I realised that would be lying … the reality is I’m just so busy that taking on another blog would probably be foolish. And then I would have the dilemma of writing something, and then trying to decide the best place to put it (it’s bad enough now - should my latest piece go on the blog, in the FOCUS ezine, or on the pages of the Footprints magazine itself?!).

I reassure myself by remembering that editors are people too, and that’s okay! Think of the editor’s column in any glossy magazine. Yes, they tell you about the magazine but they often share about their own lives … and these are the bits I probably love the best, because it helps me identify and relate to them.

From the feedback and comments gathered on this blog over the past year or two, I suspect my readers here are much the same. Because it’s my personal anecdotes and reflections which seem to receive the biggest response (judging my your comments anyway).

So forgive me if this blog continues to be a bit of this, and a bit of that; in fact, I hope you’ll enjoy it. Because that’s what life is like. You just can’t compartmentalise one part of it and keep it separate from another – they are all inextricably entwined, joined together, to become one beautiful whole. And all for the glory of Jesus!