Tuesday night, my Ladies of Grace gathered to celebrate the end of our summer Bible study…and kick off an exciting event. What was the highlight?

Hymn singing, prayer, praise, chat and chew time (oh, the desserts they carried) and….the making of GORP. Don’t know what that is? Read on!!!

Each of us brought one ingredient for GORP, which supposedly stands for Good Old Raisins and Peanuts. This crowd is MUCH too cool to stand for “good old” anything!!!

And would we concoct a treat without chocolate?

The ladies brought white chocolate pretzels, M&Ms of every size and color, apricots, almonds, cranberries, nut clusters, Reese’s Pieces, popcorn (cheesy and plain), Fannie Mae chocolates (yeah, we’re a classy bunch), and some dried fruit that disappeared before I could identify it. A bowl was designated for each snack treat.

Each lady was given a baggie, told to wash her hands. One, two, three, MAKE GORP!

A hole punch, tag, and ribbon later, and we had a special gift with to invite a special friend to our fall Beth Moore study, Wising Up!

Oh…the point? You wanna know what the tag said? (Edited version, of course!)

Of course! Y’all are readers! Writers!

“In 1 Corinthians 12:12-18, we learn that we are all part of the Body of Christ…As individuals, we use our gifts for the ministry of Jesus. 

“This GORP contains salty, sweet, crunchy, wrinkly parts. All have unique textures and tastes. But when mixed together, GORP embodies the exceptional qualities of all ingredients!

“As a unique group of Grace women, we come together in His name to love, pray, encourage, and serve, to make disciples, to spread the Good News.

“We would LOVE to have you join us.”

Hope you and yours can enjoy making GORP SOON! We Ladies of Grace had a blast!!! In fact, it has been trumpeted as an ANNUAL EVENT!!

What’s your favorite ingredient in GORP?

Lovingly yours, Patti

Yeah, you know about the writers conference. The funny noses.

Staff, 2010 Green Lake Christian Writers Conference

Did I tell you that Julie, my co-teacher, prepared SEVEN handouts? Maybe more…
All packed with facts. Dripping with drama.

Great learning tools.

But not the best.

Those circle critiques, where we listened, suggested, then sifted through the chaff to find pure gold wheat. Self-recognition. Aha! moments. 

That’s where learning happened.

That’s where writing notched up to a new level.

As John Lehman, nonfiction instructor, said, “It’s not what happens this week that changes folks. It’s the skills they develop that they can implement next week. The next.”

Huh. You mean it really wasn’t about Julie and me? Then why did we pack suitcases with shawls and jewelry and cool tops?

Folks, input is great. So are writing manuals. But concepts and methods have to coalesce in your brain and flow out in your own signature style.

Agree?

Disagree?

Stuck on the middle of the seesaw?

Here’s another question: How have you “notched up” your writing? DO SHARE!!!!

I’ve never liked clowns. Slapstick. Erma Bombeck’s columns and the movies A Thousand Clowns and Being There pretty much sum up my humor. 

But Erma’s gone. And how many times can you watch 1965 and 1971 films?

Sure, I hop over to Jeanette Leveille’s blog. Occasionally chuckle over the Zits comic strip.

But day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute, I’m not funny.

Fiction track, 2010 Green Lake Christian Writers Conference
(Back row: Joe, Patricia. Middle row: Judy, Bobbie, Caye, Sally, Carol)
(Front row: Julie Lessman, moi, Caitlyn)

So why did I howl when humorist Mary Pierce made us put on these clown noses at the Green Lake Writers Conference?

Perhaps a week’s work on death, family squabbles, battles, angst, alcoholism drove me to this.

Perhaps it was the look of cute Julie Lessman, turned into Santa’s reindeer with a Made in China novelty.

More likely, it was the mirror reflection of my own face, a study of circles with this latest addition.

Humor. We need it. We want it.

How do YOU get it???

Proverbs 15:13: “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart is the spirit broken” (King James version).

A husband, looking handsome as ever in his pressed camos.

Goodbye. See you…after the war.

Your graduate, backing a stuffed-like-a-sausage car out of the driveway.

Goodbye. See you…Parents’ Weekend.

Newlyweds, ducking as they run through the rice-throwers’ gauntlet.
Goodbye. See you…post-Honeymoon.

Writer friends, departing from conference.
Goodbye. See you…

There’s no guarantees here, you know.

See you…maybe never, this side of paradise.

It’s tough, saying goodbye.

To new friends.

To old friends.

Newborns.

Old-timers.

Sigh. To soulmate writers at Green Lake Conference Center.

Satan thought he got the last word on good-byes.

He was wrong.   

Peter 3:13 (NIV):  But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

When has the word “good-bye” split you in two? As recently as…this summer?

What Biblical promises offer hope? Comfort? Peace? Even…joy?

When’s the last time you stayed up all night, shooting stars in your sights…instead of the notes for tomorrow’s test?

Have you played in the sprinklers this week…or played it safe from your home base of the couch?

Why not run barefoot through a freshly mown field…though you last jogged five years ago?

A technique I apply in writing is to script a certain behavior from my heroine…then have her toss her pretty head and do exactly the opposite.

Transform a life.

A pleasant surprise.

Expecting the unexpected.

Supernatural.

Miraculous.

God.

The Holy Spirit can grab hold, whirl us around, and set us marching to the tune of a Different Drummer.

About that Green Lake, site of the writers conference? Think I’m diving in. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2v-wZP6I3c&feature=related

Romans 12:1-2: ¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual^[a] act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

WHEN’S the last time God whispered for you to do the unexpected? WHEN did you last DIVE IN?????

Staff, Green Lake Writers Conference 2009

Here we are at the Green Lake Christian Fiction Writers Conference.

Yep, Julie Lessman’s passion has sparked novel ideas, fanned dying embers of hope…and I’m thanking God for the opportunity to learn from those whom I’m supposed to be teaching.

It works that way, doesn’t it? That we teachers learn more than our students?

Ask anyone who is raising or has raised kids.

Oh. Back to the conference here in Wisconsin…

Can you see the sparkling green waters?

Hear the scratching of pens against paper? Okay, okay, the clicking of nails against laptop keys?

Feel the comaraderie of soulmates in your area of expertise. Yeah, they really GET IT when you ramble on about point of view.

Have you attended mandatory work-related conferences?

Optional work-related conferences?

Do you enjoy the break from routine or dread the droning-on of a boring instructor, the failed expectations, the waste of time?

If you could attend a conference about ANYTHING IN THE WORLD, WHAT would it BE?

Faith-related
Skateboarding?
Quilting?
Travel?

Any specific conference?

Blessings, dear ones! Missing y’all!

Yep! Another surprise here! TWO winners, thanks to y’all’s great responses!

A shoutout to Denise Rogerson and Patricia W.!

Winners, please e-mail your snail mail addresses to patti@pattilacy.com. 

I’ll get your books IN PERSON this weekend at the Green Lake retreat!

Thanks, all who entered the contest for Julie’s books!

Stay tuned RIGHT HERE for more secrets! More surprises!

Blessings,

Patti and Julie!!

Scarlett and Rhett…

Ruth and Boaz…

smoldering glances…

…blood-boiling kisses.

A big shoutout to Julie Lessman, author of Revell’s Daughters of Boston series and an exciting new novel, Hope Undaunted! Julie and I will coteach the fiction track this coming week (8/22-8/27) at Green Lake Christian Writers Conference.

Oh. I forgot to ask. Do you like romance–not as a concept, silly, as a reading genre?????

If the answer above is yes, name favorite romanc-ers (shorthand for romance writers).

If you DON’T cotton to romance, why NOT?

Oh, yeah. The name of our fiction track? A Week of Passionate Christian Fiction.

Oh, yeah, yeah. The contest? Leave a comment for a chance to randomly win YOUR CHOICE of Julie’s marvelous books!!!! SIGNED, SEALED, and DELIVERED…with a kiss! Contest deadline is midnight Saturday, August 21!

Stay tuned for sizzling posts. And never forget the single greatest act of passion: Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for you and me…

It’s official! I can announce that Bethany House will publish the latest story God laid on my heart, Reclaiming Lily. Two women. Two cultures. A teenaged girl who can unite them…or tear them apart. Literary-ish fiction that grapples with adoption issues. The tension between the U.S. and China. Between trusting fate and trusting God.

I’m open for questions, y’all. Have at me.

Yes, Monday approaches. The Mommas and Papas perhaps best captured what’s universally accepted as the Monday blahs. (Writerly types, not sure about their apostrophe usage on the album cover. Oh, well. We can’t ALL be grammarians!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h81Ojd3d2rY

Have you come back from the 60s, or are you still stuck on the fashion statements???? At least this Monday, I gifted you a laugh.

Keep reading.

George Bernard Shaw, with his quote, will gift you something more.

“This is true joy in life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”

Kinda an extension of Acts 20:35.

Do you think of yourself, through the power of kindredship with God by the gift of Christ’s sacrifice, as a “force of nature”? Why or why not?

Has God transformed you from a taker into a giver? From one, who through dying to self, bursts with life?

Sigh. I know. Heavy thoughts for a Monday. Blame that Francis Chan again. It’s all in Crazy Love. If you don’t have a copy, get one. Soon.