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A Question of Value & a Call to Action

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lg-revereThis is my phone, an LG Revere.  It’s nothing special, just a little flip phone with the ten-key buttons on it.  No internet, no data plan, no apps.  There’s a camera, but it’s nothing to write home about.  In fact, sometimes when my friends text me photos, I have to first save them to my phone just so that I can then zoom in and actually see whatever they’ve found so funny/interesting/atrocious, etc.

Last week I got it into my head that it was time for me to upgrade to a smartphone.  I did a little research, asked around, and even chatted with a couple Verizon reps.  But in the end, I decided to stick with my little flip phone.  Turns out that the minimum cost of a data-enabled plan for me would have been $80/month.  At first, I explained my decision to friends by saying, “I can’t afford it.”

Soon I realized that I wasn’t using the right vocabulary: the truth is that I could afford a smartphone plan– but I don’t value it highly enough to make that monthly commitment.

I started to think about what I value enough to put my money toward.  It’s quite easy to see when you examine my credit card statement: I value creative opportunities (working with the editor, attending a writing conference or author discussions), food/fellowship (I eat out a lot and love to treat my friends), and philanthropy/charity (helping fund missions and ministries, giving money to my church and also to Compassion International).

Compassion International.  What this post is really about.

June

In 2005, I began sponsoring a young man named Antonio June.  He was six years old and was too young to even send me letters himself; his mother wrote to me at first.  This June, he turns fourteen, and I could not be more proud of him!  He writes to me consistently, prays for me all the time, and has the sweetest heart.  “Aunt Jackie” is his name for me, and I always find it just precious to see that he has written out his letter to me first in pencil, then traced over it with pen, wanting it to be perfect.

Dear Aunt Jackie Lea, 

Hello!  I’ve got a joy, joy down in my heart because I got two letters from you.  I am proud of you, your eagerness to write me your prayers and support. Pray for me not to get sick and my family also.  We pray for your wisdom and knowledge in writing your book.

How cute can you get??

jona2In 2007, I decided to begin sponsoring Jona, and what a joy it is to know and love her!  She is gorgeous and loving and plays the tambourine and dances.  With some birthday money I sent to her, she bought “a skinny jean” (pictured at left).  So precious!

Dear Miss Jackie Lea,

You know what, Miss Jackie, I have a new ministry in our church.  I am involved in children’s ministry and I am happy because it is one of my dreams to teach the children about the Word of God.  I thank God for his unending support to me.  He is always in our hearts every time we teach the children.  I am starting to read the book you gave to me.  I love reading books.  I am proud of you, Miss Jackie.

Adore her!!!

bea2

Then in 2008, I decided to take on another sponsorship.  Today Claire is ten years old and one of the smartest little girls I know– and so, so generous and caring toward others.  Even though she is poor enough to need a sponsor, this little girl also gives gifts to others in need.  Claire’s nickname is “Bea,” which means “blessing,” and what a blessing she is to me!  She’s so precocious and sweet.

Dear Aunt Jackie,

Easter is also my favorite time because Jesus is alive.  Yes, I am also very happy that Jesus is alive and He is in our hearts.  I have seen on TV that people hunt eggs during Easter.  Why?  What does it mean?  My parents say hi to you and your family.  I love you, Aunt Jackie.

But here’s the kicker.  Ready for this?

Thank you again for the Christmas gift and also for the Narnia book you gave me.  I am reading it and I like it very much.  I like Queen Lucy, Queen Susan, King Edmund and King Peter.  They’re very brave.  But I like Aslan because He is like Jesus our Savior.

TOLD YOU.

Anyway, I love these kiddos, and right now, I really want to encourage anyone who wants to release children from poverty in the name of Jesus to join me as a Compassion sponsor.  What will you value enough to put your money toward?

Compassion has invited me and other sponsors to create our own mini-websites about our experiences as sponsors.  You can see mine at http://my.compassionsunday.com/jackieleasommers2013.  At that same site, you can see Fransisco, a 7-year-old boy from Brazil, whom I handpicked because I truly want someone to sponsor him.  Will you be that person?  

My goal is to have two of my friends, family members, or blog readers agree to sponsor a Compassion child.  If that happens through my micro-site, they will give a $50 family gift to one of the families I support.  I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.

Think about it.  Pray about it.  Go to my micro-site and look into the sweet eyes of Francisco.  It’s $38 a month, and worth much more than that in the blessings you will reap in knowing and helping a family.

This is what I value.  How about you?

Evaluating my Relationship with Productivity

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I really can’t tell if it’s healthy or not.

I love productivity.  So. Freakin’. Much.  If I don’t accomplish some kind of “creative work” each day (writing and/or reading), I feel like a failure.

This is not to say I don’t also get rest.  I take naps quite often– long, robust, three-hour-long naps.  And I sleep about 6-7 hours a night.

But I find it hard to just pop a movie into the DVD player, lie on the couch, and watch it.  I want to be working on something at the same time.  I find myself pairing mindless work with creative work all the time, just so that I can still be finding purpose in the mindless work.  If I am cleaning or driving or on a walk, I want to be listening to an audiobook.  If I want to play a game of online Tetris, I will listen to scripture simultaneously.  I even listen to audiobooks while I fall asleep at night and sometimes when I am getting ready for work in the morning.  To me, there is something so purposeful in reading.  I have to augment the mindless tasks this way or I go crazy.

I keep a document on my computer called “Current Goals”– there are usually about six on there.  I like to attack them as if I’m a warrior, and I love to keep all these plates spinning at once.

I am thinking about productivity right now because– as my blog readers know– I just totally restructured my novel in 6 weeks, in time for the workshop in California.  And now that I am back, I have been busy re-drafting yet again, and tonight just delivered the revised manuscript to the editor I hired in January.  I put a load of laundry in and thought, Now, you should just put a movie on and relax the rest of the night.

But I felt like I really should either start a new book or else tackle a new poem I want to write.

So, let me ask, do I have a healthy or unhealthy relationship with productivity?  What do you guys think?

productivity

Do What Scares You: Big Sur, Part Two

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If I wasn’t scared enough, they opened the workshop up by telling us that this was essentially “writing bootcamp” and that “some people cry.”

But let me tell you, it. was. wonderful.

I loved pretty much every minute of it.  This was the schedule:

Friday, March 1:
1:00—2:00: Check in to hotel—Embassy Suites Hotel, Monterey/Seaside
2:10: Welcome, orientation
3:30—5:30: Critique Group 1 Loved this critique group, which was led by Lara Perkins of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.  She was beautiful and gracious, a great leader, and so wise in her direction and critique.  At the end of this session, I knew two things: 1) I was excited to revise chapter one and 2) I absolutely ADORED Lara.
5:45: Cocktail Hour in hotel lobby During this time I hung out with a great group of YA and children’s book writers, along with Lara Perkins and Ariel Richardson, a marvelous and kind-hearted editor from Chronicle.  We talked about our favorite books and query letters, told stories, and laughed a lot.  It was delightful!
6:45: Dinner and presentation by Magnus Torén about Big Sur and Henry Miller Library plus a song or two.  I ate dinner with Jen Rofe, a literary agent from ABLA (also wonderful!), who asked about my book and encouraged me to query her.  

Instead of going to bed, my workshop roomie and I had a “pajamas and revision party” that evening.  I was THRILLED and EAGER to dive into my story!

Saturday, March 2:
7:30—8:30: Breakfast at hotel
8:45—10:45: Critique Group 2 This time I met with Alyson Heller, an editor from Aladdin Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster), who– once again– was awesome (Notice a trend?  The faculty was INCREDIBLE!).  My critique group encouraged me to start my story a little further into my chapter.  I wasn’t so sure about it, but … stay tuned.
11:00—Noon: Query and Pitch with a panel of Editors and Agents.  This was with Ariel, and it was so awesome to have an editor look over my query letter– and like it!  It was interesting to hear the differences between what an agent is looking for and what an editor is.  Plus, Ariel is just the kind of person that you want to be best friends with.  I love her!!
Noon: Pick up box lunch in lobby
Revising time in afternoon TIME TO WORK.  I busted my butt this afternoon and pulled together my revisions of chapters one and two, so that I was ready to return to my critique groups.
3:30—5:30: Return to Critique Group 1 They all agreed it was a great revision and pointed out some gaps in the writing.  Again, I couldn’t wait to return to it to start mending!
5:45—6:45: Cocktail Hour at hotel Great conversation with some new writer friends about books and projects!
6:45: Dinner Ate with Jennifer Laughran of ABLA (so funny!) and some incredible writers, all discussing our various projects and asking questions.  (That was one of the best parts of this whole weekend … asking TONS of questions of the experts!)
8:30: Evening Program with Editors: What publishers are looking for  Loved this!  So much helpful instruction for debut authors.

Sunday, March 2:
7:00—8:30: Breakfast at hotel
8:45—10:45: Return to Critique Group 2 … I hadn’t been sure about starting my chapter at a later place than where it has (for pretty much the last 14 months!!), but once I revised, I actually got really excited about it, and when I read the revision to this critique group, they were all REALLY pumped about the changes and even made additional suggestions.  AGAIN, I left excited to revise!
11:00—Noon: Agents Panel  So, so, so helpful!  It was so awesome to just get to pick the brains of literary agents and hear what they wanted us to know.  I am so excited to follow up with ABLA and query there (hopefully in the next year!).
Noon: Check out and farewell

One thing that really surprised me was how few people there are part of a writing/critique group.  I know I felt especially grateful for mine!!!  Both Alyson Heller and Lara Perkins thanked me separately for my excellent critiquing skills, and I told them that I was a part of a monthly critique group, and they said it showed.  I am so grateful to Judy Hougen and my writing group girls for everything they have taught me that positioned me well for this workshop!  I felt knowledgeable about craft, criticism, and the industry … and yet I still learned a lot more!

Networking was the very best part of this weekend.  I loved rubbing shoulders with agents, editors, and authors, all in the children’s and YA genres.  They were so down to earth and friendly, so fun and personable.  I could tell they genuinely cared about my manuscript and wished the very best for me.  I really want to go back to this workshop someday … and bring along some YA writer friends!

It was also great to meet new friends who are in the same shoes as I am … working away at our dreams, writing like maniacs, reading books like they’re oxygen.  It was a special weekend, and I had an absolute BLAST.  In fact, as I write this, I am sitting at my gate in the tiny Monterey airport with three of my new workshop friends (my roommate and another set of roommates).  We all took a taxi to the airport together and are all flying into Phoenix (which is the final destination only for Kristin); then I’ll head to Minneapolis, Melissa to Dallas, and Kim to Chicago.  A man in the terminal is playing his guitar and singing Jason Mraz and other things, and it’s all so tiny and intimate and funny that I can’t help but think how nervous I was only two days ago, and how today I’m waiting to catch a plane with my new friends, how I am on my way to a much more polished manuscript, and how I now know and deeply respect game-changers in the industry I love.

Do what scares me?  I am so glad I did!

 

Does OCD go away?

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Although I do know of a few cases where the OC seemed to be almost miraculously healed, OCD is almost always a lifelong disorder; however, if you learn how to put it under your heel, it is very manageable.

(Wow, I never, ever would have guessed that I would be able to say something like that.  I feel so unbelievably grateful that I can.)

This week, I was the guest speaker for an Abnormal Psychology class at the university where I am blessed to work.  The professor is a Facebook friend of mine and therefore knows that I’m very upfront about my OCD, so she asked if I’d be willing to come share with the students in her class.  She kindly allowed me to share for as long as I wanted in any format I wanted (a public speaker’s dream!).

I made a list of topics I wanted to touch on, and the list was LONG!  From my own personal story to common myths that need debunking, from OCD themes to effective treatment options, I filled the whole class period.  The students were wonderful; they stayed engaged and asked excellent questions (many of them were freshmen who are future therapists), and they were so respectful.  (I love Northwestern students so much!)

When I started to share what life was like with OCD, a true statement came boldly from my lips: “OCD is slavery,” I said, and I could feel myself starting to get emotional as I remembered the imprisonment, the guilt, the terror.  I don’t know why it surprised me to find that those awful memories would still nearly bring me to tears.

So, does OCD go away?

Yes– for a very, very small few.
Not really, but sort of– for those of us who have used CBT to master the disorder.
But then again, no– years of battle leave real scars.

sadstrong2

Photo: Tuana Art, http://tuana.se

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YES YES YES, Yes to everything Claire says!!!

Living With Me And My OCD's avatarLiving With Me And My OCD

This is a video in response to the new series on Channel 4, Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners. This programme has misrepresented OCD, and stereotyped the disorder, something OCD sufferers, OCD-UK and other organisations have tried to overcome for many years.

The initial programme only featured one individual with OCD, but with constant references to OCD, and quotes such as ‘The OCD Team’, Channel 4 have seriously overlooked the effects of this programme.

OCD is not about enjoying cleaning. You do not WANT to clean because you like it, it’s something you feel you HAVE to do in some cases or something bad will happen or because you want to reduce anxiety.

I have included the tweets that were posted on Wednesday night, during and after the broadcast. Some horrified me, with references to wanting this disorder that can ruin lives. There are also tweets from sufferers OCD and others who stating…

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Reblogged: Spiritual Journey: The Cold Season

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I love my friend Addie’s post today and hope you’ll check it out.  Here’s a teaser followed by a link where you can read the rest.

Spiritual Journey: The Cold Season

It’s that sudden fall from winter to winter that always catches me off guard.

We live in Minnesota, and it happens every year. It really shouldn’t surprise me all that much when the ticker on my phone tells me it’s -12 but it feels like -26 and we won’t get above zero today. But it always does.

We haven’t had a measurable snowfall since that magical December blizzard, and the whole world feels raw, exposed without its thick blanket of white.

The trees are stripped bare, and the homemade hockey rink on our pond is empty, and we have to pile on the layers and run fast from the warm car to the warm grocery store because the air all around is break-you-open cold.

These are the days I think about running away.

To read the rest, click here.