Archive for the ‘Vocation’ Category

12 Mar

So Far: My First Blogiversary

Posted by Jennifer Clark Tinker in Inspiration, Vocation. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

20140311-234459.jpg

~ ~ ~

I can’t believe that it has already been a year since I started blogging here at Living Faith! What’s even more astounding is how many folks have come along for the adventure!

I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I started my blog. I never could have guessed where it would bring me in one short year, but I’m sure glad I’m here!

At first when I seriously considered starting a blog it was for the sake of staying connected with people after they hear me speak. As a “freelance” speaker & preacher I meet people in various locations and I wanted a way to maintain a presence in people’s lives after the speaking events or worship services.

But once I started the blog, then it began to take on a life of its own and I’ve done relatively little speaking & preaching compared to what I had hoped. So the blog itself became an entry-point for connections.

And then there were more and more connections through the blog!

Even people from my small town, people from my own church began getting to know me more deeply on the blog before hearing much from me live and in person or up front from a pulpit.

And then the other opportunities started coming along, some highlights of which were joining the staff at Life & Liberty, and getting my first real writing contract! Then a bunch of preaching and speaking opportunities came all at once in December which was cool.

My depression–which kept me from writing for so long–has tried to hold me back even since I started this blog. It has been particularly bad since December. I am getting help though, so that’s a good thing. And I am not letting it stop me from writing!

The biggest way I am combatting the depression is by trying to get more and more clarity about what I want to do with the blog and with my writing in general. I figure if this blogging & writing stuff is taking off for me, I want to be crystal clear about my purpose in it all.

I am particularly excited about the new series about “Receiving Others as Gifts” that I announced last Friday. It is exactly the kind of thing I need to be about with my writing and fits beautifully with my life message. I hope you will follow that series each week and let me know how it resonates with you.

This is for keeps now people. I am really, really, really doing this writing thing, and I look forward to many more blogiversaries! Thanks for being with me in this!

14 Feb

So Far: 100 Posts -plus- Seven Things I Would Do 100 Times

Posted by Jennifer Clark Tinker in Community, Vocation. Tagged: , , .

So, I’ve been sick this week and got to today and realized it’s blog day–Friday is my day that I post something original here whether I feel like it or not. But my head is so cloudy that I didn’t know what I was going to write about. But then, I noticed that I have published 99 posts and this would be my 100th!

So, In honor my 100th post, I’m going to share some other things I would do 100 (or more) times:

  1. Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario: This is my all-time favorite vacation place. I would go there 100 times if I could. My husband and I learned of a lovely cottage there by referral from my mother. We haven’t been there in years, but I’d love to go back time after time after time.
  2. Doodling my name: I love all forms of handwriting and handlettering. I could sit and doodle my name over and over 100 times in different styles and scripts.
  3. Carmine Park: There is a little park in the middle of my small town in Texas. It has natural interest, with a creek running through it and a lovely valley at one end, but it also has lots of great play equipment. I like to take my son there to blow off steam. Sometimes I play with him, but sometimes I take a notebook and sit and write. I could go there 100s of times.
  4. The library: I love to go to the library–sometimes to get books, but sometimes just as a quiet place to study or write. My son likes to go there too. It’s especially great to go there when the weather makes outdoor play unpleasant so we don’t go stir-crazy. I could go to a local library 100s of times and enjoy it every time.
  5. Pedicures: I haven’t had one in months, and I think I’ve only done it half a dozen times, but I would get a 100 pedicures if I had the chance! What’s really interesting too is that my favorite pedicurist told me that it was her favorite part of her job, I just loved going to her.
  6. Frozen: Okay, I have to say it. Frozen quickly became my all-time favorite movie. I know we joke about kids watching their Disney movies over and over and making us sick of them, but I personally could watch Frozen 100 times and not get sick of it. (To read more of my thoughts on the movie, try clicking these titles: Disney’s Frozen and the Misuse of Power, Disney’s Frozen and My Rant About the ‘Rents, and Disney’s Frozen and Using Power for Good.)
  7. How Great Thou Art: Somehow this one has become my favorite hymn and I love belting out all four verses (from memory) at the top of my voice. I could sing this one 100 times. I sometimes dream of recording myself singing it and then sharing it online, but I’m too chicken for that.

20140214-163409.jpg

Now it’s your turn! I’d love to hear from you: what are some things you would do 100 times if you could? Comment below or post to your own blog and be sure to give me a link. Or send me an e-mail at livingfaithjct (at) gmail (dot) com.

12 Feb

I Signed My First Real Writing Contract–Photo Album

Posted by Jennifer Clark Tinker in Vocation. Tagged: .

I wrote last Friday sharing that I was getting my first real writing contract. See that post for the details. Well, I signed and faxed the contract today and my husband and I documented the whole thing in photographs. Because, you know–my first real writing contract! And real cash money for my work!

I hope you enjoy the photo album below. The captions tell the story….

20140212-151225.jpg

I’m holding the contract in my very own hands!

20140212-151330.jpg

I’m super excited to have received this thing!

20140212-151408.jpg

I have the contract before me and the pen in my hand…

20140212-151521.jpg

Here I sign, I can do no other.

20140212-151615.jpg

I’m a happy writer, today. 🙂

20140212-151728.jpg

The contract is all signed now!

20140212-151752.jpg

I’m handing the contract & fax cover letter to my husband, David, for him to send it from the church fax machine.

20140212-151825.jpg

David is dialing the fax number for Pat at Augsburg Fortress who is waiting to receive my contract.

20140212-151906.jpg

David is pressing “send” on the fax machine. This is it!

20140212-152122.jpg

Pat at Augsburg Fortress acknowledges receipt of the contract (and a tax form).

Thanks to Augsburg Fortress for giving me my first real writing contract! I can’t wait to get started on the project!

7 Feb

This Writing Thing -or- And Now for Some Good News

Posted by Jennifer Clark Tinker in Vocation. Tagged: , , , .

20140207-144243.jpg
I have some good news for y’all about this writing thing…actually a couple of newsy bits…

A Real Writing Contract

The first news I want to share with you is that I am getting a contract to write for a Lent devotional for 2015 for Augsburg Fortress (the official publishing house of my denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)! I’ll post pictures when I get the contract in my hands, but I couldn’t wait to tell you about this. [UPDATE: I signed the contract on February 12, 2014 and you can see the pictures here.]

One of the coolest things about this gig is that it came totally out of the blue for me. I have this tension between wanting to put myself forward as a writer but also wanting to let the formal publishing side develop naturally. I can self-promote with the best of them, but it is tiring. And it can be discouraging when I don’t feel like I’m getting “noticed” despite my best efforts at promoting my own work. So to have a real publishing house come to me is a pretty nice bit of notice!

The other cool thing about this gig is the nature of the project. It is a devotional based on the book of Ephesians–which is one of my favorite books of the Bible. The deal is that I am assigned scriptures and a compelling photograph for each of my 15 entries. Then I find a non-biblical quotation and write a reflection. I love the call for a non-biblical quotation because I always have other sources floating around in my head that influence how I process my faith.

And finally, this gig is pretty sweet because I’m getting paid real cash money to write these! I mean, maybe the fact that I told you there was a contract involved implied that I was getting paid. But I wanted to make sure I highlight that because, well, real cash money!

A Promotion

The other bit of news is that I’ve been given a promotion at Life & Liberty. I am now the chief editor! It sounds so glamorous, right? Well, the truth is that it is work. But it is work I pretty much love. I’ve edited newsletters before, but then I had to deal with all the printing part. Publishing online is all the work I love about doing print publications with none of copies, labels and mailing.

I’ve made Life & Liberty my online home away from my own blog. You’ve probably noticed a lot of times I post here and then link to something over there. I’ve been pretty involved over there, helping to promote the site, posting with increased frequency, and learning the ropes of a bigger, self-hosted platform. And I truly believe in the vision of what Life & Liberty is all about–to promote a society that is spiritually grounded and truly free. So, this is a pretty natural progression for me to get to take on even more responsibility over there.

There are several benefits to me working over at Life & Liberty, but one that I most cherish is the way that I am encouraged to find my voice there. Any time I’ve asked if I could try something that seemed crazy to me, I’ve been given permission to do so. And as I try to hone my unique message for the world, I find that platform draws out some of my deepest convictions. There is a whole lot of nuance to my worldview and it is scary to say what I really think about things, but it is just a little less scary to say it over there among like-minded folks.

Along with my promotion to chief editor at Life & Liberty, I’ve also been encouraged to post there with even greater frequency. I’m not sure how often it will be, but at least weekly and I may settle in at twice a week or so. I will continue to post links here for my work over there. I don’t want you to miss anything there because, like I say, that place pulls something deep and important out of me.

This Place

Rest assured, even with my snazzy writing contact and my posh promotion I will still post something original here at Living Faith at least once a week. My standard day for posting original content here is Fridays.

I hope you will purchase boatloads of the Lent devotional next year and that you will click over to all my great content at Life & Liberty! But if not, just know that I appreciate you reading here and walking with me on life’s journey.

I owe a lot to the ongoing positive feedback that y’all give me. You keep me going and propel me toward these cool new milestones in this writing thing. So, let’s keep doing this “Living Faith” thing together!

P.S. Although my devotional project won’t be ready until next year, you can order the 2014 version online now: Too Deep for Words: Devotions for Lent 2014, based on Romans.

27 Jan

Learn from Disney’s Frozen about Using Power for Good

Posted by Jennifer Clark Tinker in Community, Family, Vocation. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

sisters

Queen Elsa’s empowerment in Frozen shows us three conditions that facilitate being able to harness our powers and abilities for good. First, we need freedom from oppressive people and situations. Second we need healthy, loving, outward focus. And third, we need the support of others who truly care about our best interests. I’ll describe how each of these conditions helped Elsa and how they can help us too…

Read the rest of this essay at Life & Liberty to find out what I have to say about what Frozen can teach us about using our powers and abilities for good. Click the photo above to read the essay.

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »