Workshop Testimonial, William Flowers, Columbia, SC

In June of 2012, I attended the Kentucky Christian Writer’s Conference. I chose the KCWC for several reasons, but primarily because the scheduled keynote speaker was Chonda Pierce, a well-known comedian that both my wife and I enjoyed.

Sadly, Chonda wasn’t able to make it, but as it turned out, the conference was life changing for me. Since I had signed up for the conference based on only one speaker, I didn’t know any of the other speakers. As a result, I had no idea which workshops to attend, and chose them all at random. Well, almost all. One class caught my attention: “Extend Your Ministry through Writing.”

In this workshop, Ann Knowles introduced us to an organization that I knew nothing about: Christ to the World Ministries. CTTW is an all-volunteer organization that broadcasts biblical radio dramas around the world, focusing on places where it is difficult or impossible to reach people through traditional channels, places where the message of Christ is restricted or banned altogether. But radio waves, it seems, are impossible to stop, and radio dramas that are translated into local languages have no literacy barriers. Feedback from many of these areas indicates that men, women, and especially young people, who would otherwise never hear the name of Jesus are not only listening to the dramas, but are turning to Jesus as their savior.

At the end of the workshop, Ann challenged us to consider writing biblical radio dramas for CTTW, and gave us the appropriate contact information. She said that the work was expanding rapidly, and the organization was in need of writers who would be willing to donate time and energy to this effort.

After returning home, I continued to think and pray about her challenge, and a few weeks later made contact with the editor at CTTW Ministries. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Since that time, I have written nearly 100 thirty-minute biblical radio dramas, some of which have been translated into thirty-two languages and broadcast in 50 countries, including Indonesia, Mongolia, South America and northern Africa. It is both humbling and exciting to think that I am part of an organization that is making a huge impact as Christ continues building His kingdom around the globe, one person at a time.

Ann will go to your writers’ conference to teach this workshop or any of her other writing workshops. She also teaches workshops online.

Learn more at www.write-pathway.com or contact Ann by e-mail.

Writing Contemporary Psalms

I was presenting at the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference. As an editor, it was my turn to meet with writers about their books and articles and to offer encouragement and suggestions for improvement.

One author sat across the table from me as I read several pages of her manuscript. It was amazing! I felt like I was reading the book of Psalms; only it was not about David or the other writers of Psalms. It was about her life experiences. God had given her a special gift: She had written contemporary psalms about her life and was completely unaware of what she had done. Truly, God had led her to do this for Him.

Has He given you this special creative genius? Would you like to find out?

Wait! Before you sit down to write psalms about your life, let me make a suggestion:

Discover how to write psalms of joy, praise, worship, prayer, and woe. Enrich your life by doing what God has called you to do for Him. In doing so, you will also bless those who read your contemporary psalms.

Using the Bible as our textbook, I teach a course “Writing Contemporary Psalms.” The cost is $40. It’s taught in four classes and begins the first Monday of every month. If you’d like to know more about the class or sign up to take the class, email me at annknowles03@aol.com and I’ll send you all the details.

Are Medicare and Social Security Entitlement Programs?

Are You a Maker or a Taker

Richard Leonard, Ph. D 

Write-Pathway welcomes Dr. Richard Leonard, long-time friend from the world of ministry and writing. Richard has given me permission to post this article which was published in the DAILY GATE CITY, Keokuk, Iowa, January 10, 2013. People who are interested in perserving our America the way it was in years past will appreciate the way Richard debunks the myth that our government is promoting that Social Security and Medicare are entitlement programs funded by taxpayers. Information is given below that will let you contact Dr. Leonard and thank him for taking the time to work through the process and inform the American people of the truth.

Recent political debate about how entitlements are stressing the Federal budget has raised the distinction between Makers and Takers. What percentage of the U.S. population are Makers, contributing to Federal revenues through the taxes they pay? And what percentage are Takers, who put nothing in but take out benefits the taxpayers are providing for them? And how long can we sustain a situation in which the benefits Takers receive exceed the resources the Makers provide through the taxes they pay — a scenario that requires the Federal government to go deeper and deeper into debt? 

As a “retired” recipient of Social Security benefits for a decade now, I wondered whether I myself had become a Taker instead of a Maker. With a work record beginning in 1958, I wondered whether the FICA withholdings from my paycheck through the years, plus my employers’ matching FICA taxes, were still paying for my monthly benefit. Or had my “contributions” been exhausted by this time, so that I’m being supported by other taxpayers? My question led me to some research, and the creation of a spreadsheet to figure out the answer. (Read more . . .)

The first step was to capture the record of all my wages that had been subject to the FICA tax; that was easily obtained through the Social Security web site. Then I had to apply the FICA rate (combined for me and my employers) for each year to my wages. (When I started work the rate was 4.5%; when I retired the rate was 15.3%.) The result was the amount of money that was put into the system each year on my behalf.

But that amount had to be adjusted to correspond to 2013 dollars. To do that, I used the average price of a gallon of gasoline each year, divided into the 2012 average of $3.29. For example, in 1960 my FICA combined tax was a mere $15.78, and gas was 31 cents a gallon. In terms of today’s purchasing power, however, that $15.78 became the equivalent of $167.47. I set up the spreadsheet to convert each year’s FICA tax to 2013 dollars. In this way $124,000 of FICA input became equivalent to more than $400,000 today.

I was ready to answer my question: was I still a Maker? I totaled all my Social Security benefits since I retired, at 65½ in 2004, through the year 2012. I used the total benefit, including the Medicare premiums that were deducted. (Yes, we “geezers” pay a premium for our Medicare!) I then subtracted what I have received thus far from the total of my FICA input as adjusted for inflation.

I am happy to report that I am still a Maker — there is still money in my “account” that was paid in on my behalf throughout a work record of 46 years. Estimating my monthly Social Security benefit in years ahead (it will go up some, of course), at age 74 I still have about ten years to go before I transition to Takerhood.

But wait — there’s more to the story! My annual FICA payments were simply absorbed into the Federal Treasury every year. The so-called “Social Security Trust Fund” is a myth. Politicians just took my contributions to the retirement system and used them to make themselves look like better managers of the nation’s budget. But what if my FICA payments had been shielded from raiding by demagogues, invested in the stock market, and allowed to grow?

To figure this out, I looked at the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1958 and compared the closing average each year with the previous year’s close. That gave me a growth (or reduction) factor for my hypothetically invested accumulated FICA input. For example, in 1981 the Dow closed at approximately 875; in 1982 it closed at 1047, nearly a 20% increase. I took the accumulated total in my “account” for 1981, added my FICA input for 1982, and applied the 120% factor to the sum, resulting in a new accumulated total as the base for the 1983 calculations. Those calculations would use the 1983 DJIA closing average to calculate the new factor — and so on down the spreadsheet.

True, the market has its ups and downs. In the 70s it had some negative ratios, and during that time my hypothetical investment accumulation sometimes dropped below the raw FICA total. However, since then the market has “taken off.” Over the years, in fact, the market has had an annual increase in value of better than 9%. As a result, if my FICA input into the Social Security system had been permitted to grow in this way it would today total around 2.5 million dollars. I could not live long enough to become a Taker, instead of a Maker!

A trained economist could probably refine my amateur approach to this question, but I believe his result would have been substantially the same. The point is: if you worked for four decades or more, paying into the Social Security system, and are now receiving retirement benefits, you probably can’t be accused of being a Taker instead of a Maker. The title of Taker should go to someone else. 

So what do you think. Are you a Maker or a Taker? Leave a comment below. 

If you'd like to write a blog that supports Seniors for Patches of Light, contact annknowles03@aol.com. Please tweet and share on facebook.






Published in the DAILY GATE CITY, Keokuk, Iowa, January 10, 2013.

Posted by Richard C. Leonard, Ph.D.

BEHIND THE SCENES AT BRMCWC
by Ann Knowles 



               The Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference is held at Ridgecrest, NC on the side of a mountain that defies simple words like beautiful, serene, and majestic. Busy people bustle and fro to help those who are coming in to attend one of the many retreats or conferences throughout the year. What many people do not know is the story “behind the scenes.”

            Ridgecrest welcomes 400 volunteers every year, most of whom are Seniors who have retired and are seeking a place of continued service. There are paid staff members in every department, but volunteers provide the broad base support system. They clean, repair, paint, garden, landscape, cook, and stand by to help in any way they can. Some shuttle staff members back and forth to the airport. As busy as they are, they are never too busy to offer a helping hand, directing you to the right building or class, sometimes walking beside you to show the way.

            Forty years later he returned again to volunteer and has been volunteering at Ridgecrest April through October for the past twenty-nine years, a fete which has earned him the title of “Mr. Ridgecrest.” At ninety-one, this former pastor drives up from Tallahassee, Florida every summer to take his place on the volunteer staff. Although they offer him free accommodations just to come as an inspiration, he insists that he must earn his keep. He continues to walk the mountain, keeping the grounds spotless and appealing to the eye of every visitor..

            During Jack’s lifetime, he served as a pastor and worked with the Florida Baptist State Convention. He also served in the Navy and Merchant Marine and worked at the shipyard during World War II—a productive and colorful life. Once he retired he wanted to continue to serve the Lord and it was natural to return to Ridgecrest, nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina where he began his in-depth spiritual journey as a college student.

            Many mountain stories are hidden behind the kind eyes and gentle smile of this devoted servant of God. Participants at the writers’ conferences count it a blessing to meet him and hear just one of those stories.

            Since it is a well-known fact that there are bears round about the campus, I asked Mr. Epps  if he had ever seen a bear at Ridgecrest. He said he had never seen a brown bear at Ridgecrest, but knew for sure there are bears around. He did encounter a bear at another location. Here’s his story about the bear:

            “I was coming down the mountain when I saw a bear coming up the mountain. The path was narrow and there was no way we could pass. The bear walked slowly up the mountain path and didn’t seem to be upset at my appearance. He didn’t appear dangerous, but I had been warned about the bears and didn’t want to take a chance. I turned around and started back up the mountain with the brown bear about five steps behind me. As soon as I came to a place where there was room to pass, I stepped aside and let the bear continue on his way up the mountain. He didn’t make any move toward me, but my heart pounded as I watched him pass by. He went on up the mountain and I continued my trek down. I guess the bear wasn’t hungry that day. Thank the good Lord.”

            Thank you, Mr. Ridgecrest! And God bless!

Book Giveaway: The Promise of Deer Run by Elaine Marie Cooper

This is a delightful historical novel set in the late 1700s after the Revolutionary War. A Continental soldier still awaits the return of his missing father, years after the last battle. Haunted by the memories of war and scarred from betrayal in love, the young man turns away from his faith. Then he discovers his hope is shared by a young woman, who understands loss and the longing for a father. As they encounter this unexpected connection, their hearts are drawn together. But jealousy, slander, and misunderstandings ignite a fire of doubt and mistrust--destroying their relationship. Can two souls longing for healing and trust learn to love again? Can faith and family be restored?

Enter the contest by leaving a comment below about this post. If you are a follower or become a follower, your name will be entered twice.Please send me an e-mail to let me know if you become a follower or tell me in your comment.  Please tell your friends about the post and encourage them to enter the contest. Thank you for visitng  "Write Pathway" and "Patches of Light" and helping me rejuvenate my blogs.