found this beautiful winter poem and thought
it might be a comfort to you. It was to me, and
it's very well written.



' WINTER '
a poem by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre


' SHIT, It's Cold ! '

The End

Dear God, I ask you to keep me clean and sober, and I believe you can restore me to sanity and I ask you to do that for me now and throughout this day... Heavenly Father, I offer myself to You, to build with me and do with me as You would. I ask You to relieve me of the bondage of self, that I can better do Your will. Take away my problems, that victory over them would bear witness to those I would help through Your Power, Your Love, and Your way of life... I ask for the grace I need to overcome myself, particularly in those situations where I tend to fall back into self, into my will and into fear.I ask that Your Holy Spirit give me guidance and direction-clear vision of what Your will is in all situations... My Creator,I am willing that you should have all of me, both the good and the bad. I pray that you will remove from me every defect of character that would limit my ability to be of maximum service to You and my fellows... I pray that Your Love will fill my heart-that I may spread Your Love throughout the world, touching everyone I come into contact with in a good and positive way. And that Your Love will help me to see the good in all people and situations... I ask You to bless all those people that aid in my recovery and that contribute continued growth-particularly my children, my sponsor, sponsees, and those people that touch me everyday. Bless them with Your Grace, Your Love and with all good things...And now Heavenly Father, as I go forth to live this day...I ask You to go with me...guide me, protect me and show me the way. Help, me to live this day in a way that is truly pleasing to you. Amen.

I just woke up and thought you might have opened your present from me! Glad you liked everything.
I was picturing us getting up years ago........"Let's go see what Santa brought!" There were these two little girls yesterday I gave bikes, too, that seemed like they had a bond like us. They were like 4 and 7 years old and you should have seen the looks on their faces when I gave them their pink bikes to ride!

A funny thing happened. There were just a few kids left from Sunday's giveaway that I couldn't stop thinking about because they weren't on my list so they didn't get one. Well, I made another trip to WalMart and those were the kids I saw yesterday who were totally shocked and delighted that I came back.

When I turned down the street with my window rolled down (beautiful summer day here!), I heard "The bike lady is here!" kinda like I was the ice cream man or something! I got to thinking I hope that doesn't happen every time I turn into the neighborhood now! :)

Anyway, it was the most magnificent experience and just made my Christmas season.

We even were able to get one for a single Mom who has been walking to her 2 jobs in the rain!

Love you and will talk to you soon and Merry Christmas!
Cindy

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Editor's Note
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I don't normally begin anything with a quote. But just this once, I'll break my own cardinal rule because the quote is fitting for this, my final editor's note to you.

I've had the pleasure of editing this publication for four years now, and during that time, I've observed that authorship gets better with time. I'm always elated to receive news of your success, whether in completing chapter one or in discovering the path to the perfect book signing.

This month, we focus on giving back to the community. In the Author Corner, we feature Reg Green and his stories of organ and tissue donation, including his own family's unforgettable donation experience. The Marketing Feature contains ideas for how you can give back to your community while generating interest in your book. And in AuthorHouse News, we announce the recipients of the 2007 Authors Across America publishing grants.

Let me leave you with one final inspiration: Keep writing, and as Emerson suggested, we'll each become better authors and book marketers with each passing word.


Kind regards,

Erica Dorocke (vip@authorhouse.com)
Editor


In This Issue:
Reg Green captures the transformative power of organ and tissue donation.
Author Corner >>
___________________________________
Darryl Rosen writes about covering the middle miles in business and publishing.
The Writer's Sense >>
___________________________________

Give back to your community by donating your book, time and expertise.
Marketing Feature >>
___________________________________

Six steps to make 2008 the year you publish your book.
Writing Feature >>
___________________________________

AuthorHouse helps make book publishing dreams a reality for deserving organizations.
AuthorHouse News >>




Author Corner

Reg Green Captures the Transformative Power of Organ Donation
Some moments in life change your worldview forever. For Reg Green, that moment happened in 1994 while on a family vacation in Italy. On the main road south of Naples, highway bandits fired two shots into the Green family's rental car, mistaking it for a jewelry delivery vehicle. When the family stopped at the scene of an unrelated accident to summon the Italian authorities, they realized the dire truth. "When the interior light came on, my son Nicholas didn't move," says Green.
Read more >>



The Writer's Sense

Darryl Rosen Covers the Middle Miles in Business and Publishing
I started running marathons when I was thirteen years old, the same year I began working in the family business. In those days, I thought running and working were simple and easy; I didn't know any better. After college, and a couple years of public accounting, I got a big shot of reality. My experience inspired me write my first book, Surviving the Middle Miles: 26.2 Ways to Cross the Finish Line with Your Customers, to help readers become successful in business and life by surviving the middle miles.
Read more >>



Marketing Feature

Giving Back to the Community
Millions of shoppers are looking for the perfect gift, making the holiday season a prime selling opportunity for your book. But the true spirit of the holidays is more about giving than buying, and you can give back to your community while marketing your book to new readers.
Read more >>



Writing Feature

Six Steps to Publish Your Book in 2008
With Christmas just a few days away, the New Year's resolution season is in full effect. Last year, we highlighted the top 10 resolutions for writers. Those tips can help people start writing and keep at it, but several AuthorHouse authors have asked about specific goals to publish a book. If you're ready to make 2008 the year you publish, consider these crucial steps.
Read more >>



AuthorHouse News

AuthorHouse Helps Make Book Publishing Dreams a Reality for Deserving Organizations
AuthorHouse announced it will help three deserving organizations this year. The Denver School Museum, SKIP, Inc., and the Rainbow Repertory Theatre will each realize their dream of publishing a book through a standard paperback publishing package grant through AuthorHouse's Authors Across America initiative.

Authors Across America, designed to inspire literacy and encourage authors to get published, is in its inaugural year of granting publishing services to educational and service-based organizations.

"Through this grant, we are giving a diverse group of writers who wouldn't normally have access to book-publishing resources the opportunity to have their voices heard," said Terry Dwyer, AuthorHouse's vice president of sales. "We're pleased to help these organizations achieve their goals through book publishing."
Read more >>
AuthorHouse Bookstore Top Sellers

Surviving The Middle Miles: 26.2 Ways To Cross the Finish Line With Your Customers
Darryl Rosen


Energy Transcendence: A Guide for Living Beyond the Ordinary Range of Perception
Dr. Larry Lytle


A Gift in Wolf's Clothing: Life With Diabetes
Rachel A. Gifford, RN, MN, CDE


Plum Gum and Other Chunk Poems: Teacher tested kid approved poems for building fluency through phonics
Adele Tolley Wilson


Montauk: The Disappearances
Richard Prince
See the top 100 sellers>>





Conferences & Events to Attend Contests to Enter
Find inspiration and education at a writers' conference near you in 2007.
View Conferences & Events >> Ready for a challenge? Put your writing to the test by entering one of these featured contests.
Contests to Enter >>



Author Corner | Writing Feature | Book Marketing | AuthorHouse News | Conferences | Contests

Terri Rimmer,

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Adoptive Support
To the editor: Thank you so much for your story “Healing Humpty-Dumpty” (April 6, 2005) on the TCU Child Development Institute’s adoption program, which I read recently. I placed my birth daughter for adoption in August 2000, so this article meant a lot to me. Thankfully she has never exhibited any destructive tendencies, but then I never abused or neglected her, either. Placing her for adoption was the hardest and smartest thing I ever did, and every day it is confirmed for me that I made the right decision when I witness her life unfolding before my eyes — a life she would’ve never had with me.
I think it’s great that these adoptive parents are getting the support they need and that much is being done to address these problems in kids who are adopted internationally.
Terri Rimmer
Fort Worth

My dog's name is Ripley because the day he showed up in my driveway he was already acting like a guard dog. And I thought, what's a good tough movie character? Ripley from "Alien." I don't look like my pet except when I need another dye job. If I could speak my pet's language, I'd say, "I couldn't have done it without you."

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Check out familywanted.com

Subject: How Your Help Is Keeping Dogs Out of the Cold This Winter







Notes on Angel for Animals Doghouse Deliveries (November 16, 2007)

"We dropped off two houses at the address. The dogs were again super-friendly. We removed the useless shelters that they had and set up two new homes for the dogs. We removed LOTS of broken glass, feces, etc., and set up new bowls for food and water. What I remember most about this stop was how good the dogs were while we worked. Because of the incredibly short chains, we had to dig, chop, and rake right next to the dogs. They didn't mind at all."

"This location had a young dog living inside a small pen on a concrete slab, with a tipped-over trash can for shelter. We provided a new house and moved the pen to a grassy area. We also put in some extra straw and reinforced the bottom of the pen as much as we could so that the dog wouldn't be able to dig his way out. Again, lots of treats, food, and water were provided. A caseworker will follow up with this one too."





Dear Terri,

Thanks to your support, 496 dogs can look forward to shelter in sturdy doghouses through the frigid winter months this year and for many years to come.

There are so many dogs facing months of sleet and snow while they are chained in freezing back yards with only the most decrepit shelter, if any. Helping these dogs is the reason why PETA created the "Angel for Animals" program.

For the past nine winters, PETA has driven into low-income, depressed areas and provided hundreds of durable, solid doghouses--free of charge--to dogs who otherwise would have to endure the bitter wind, ice, and snow without any shelter or with just a piece of metal or board up against the fence. Each doghouse is built to last and filled with straw bedding to help provide what--for some dogs--is the first feeling of warmth and comfort they've ever known.

Could you provide a doghouse for such a "forgotten dog" this holiday season?

Since its start, I've seen firsthand exactly how this program has improved the lives of needy dogs. The "before" photos can be deeply upsetting: dogs chained like bicycles to trash cans or trees or attached to a heavy chain--all of which is legal in the areas we visit. It's the dozens of "after" photos of these dogs' happy faces that illustrate how much dogs need the basic, vital comfort that sturdy, straw-filled shelter can provide.

You tax-deductible sponsorship gift will make a huge difference in the life of a needy dog.

Your Angel for Animals sponsorship gift of $265 can provide one durable, solid, lasting doghouse to a dog facing the cold of winter, long night after long night.

Your Angel for Animals gift of $530 can give homes to two dogs in need.

Your Angel for Animals gift of $1,325 can provide straw-filled doghouses for five dogs.
Please take a moment to read the firsthand account from an Angel for Animals worker who has delivered these doghouses. You'll see how, with your help, an Angel for Animals doghouse sponsorship can bring the joy and warmth of the holiday season to a dog who has never known love or comfort.

Thank you for everything you do for animals.

Kind regards,

Ingrid E. Newkirk
President

Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian
youth's rite of passage?

His father takes him into the forest,
blindfolds him and leaves him alone.

He is required to sit on a stump the whole
night and not remove the blindfold until the
rays of the morning sun shine through it.
He cannot cry out for help to anyone.
Once he survives the night, he is a MAN.
He cannot tell the other boys of this
experience because each lad must come
into manhood on his own.
The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear
all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely
be all around him. Maybe even some human
might do him harm. The wind blew the grass
and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat
stoically, never removing the blindfold.
It would be the only way he
could become a man!

Finally, after a horrific night, the sun
appeared and he removed his blindfold.
It was then that he discovered his
father sitting on the stump next to him.
He had been at watch the entire night,
protecting his son from harm.
We, too, are never alone.
Even when we don't know it,
our Heavenly Father is watching over us,
sitting on the stump beside us.

When trouble comes, all we have
to do is reach out to Him.

Moral of the Story:
Just because you can't see God,
doesn't mean He is not there.