Night Terrors

• August
• 16

“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!

Five for Friday – Week 2

• August
• 13

Counting our blessings is such a great idea, thought I’d revisit this topic again! So the things that made me smile this week, in no particular order, are:

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?

How to Host a Book Launch

• August
• 9

When a Footprints reader asked me recently for some tips on holding a book launch, I thought it would be a good idea to share what I’ve learnt with others. After all, I’ve put on two successful book launches and attended many over the last few years.

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!

Five for Friday – Things That Made Me Smile

• August
• 6

Just joining in with the fun … I was inspired by Aspiring Mum’s post. These are some of the things that made me smile over this past week.

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! 

To Blog or Not to Blog …

• August
• 3

… 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!