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.

Advice for Aspiring Writers

Study to Show Thyself Approved 

The best advice I can give an aspiring writer or editor is to begin immediately to prepare for the task God has called you to do. Regardless of your career choice, being an approved workman should be the goal of all of God’s children. Study to show thyself approved, a workman that need not be ashamed. . . (2 Timothy 2:15).

Doctors, lawyers, teachers, ministers, welders, electricians, mechanics, graphic designers, technology gurus—every career choice requires extensive training in order to achieve success. Why should it be any different in the field of writing or editing? Yet many people attempt to write or edit without ever having any professional training. Without training, most of them will fail.

When my husband felt called by God to become a pastor, we had just moved into our new home. He had recently been promoted to supervisor at GE and I was teaching first grade. We had four children (ages 3-14).

His first reaction was: “I don’t know anything about being in the ministry. I have to go back to school and prepare for this task God has called me to do. This will change our lives dramatically. We’ll have to quit our jobs and move to the seminary.”

What was God thinking? It seemed impossible! Four months later we were at seminary, and the whole family was enrolled in school.

When I decided to become an author and editor, I had an MA Ed in education and had recently retired from teaching, but I realized I needed specialized training before I could move to a new career. I knew I had to invest time and money to make this dream come true. I took many online and community college courses and attended several writers’conferences to prepare for the ministry of writing and editing.

Do you dream of becoming a writer or editor? What kind of sacrifices are you willing to make? Do it now! Enroll in your first course today and begin the journey. Check out the "Classes Taught by Ann" on this blog. You can make that dream come true.

Write Pathway Welcomes Jo Huddleston back!

Ann: Hello Jo, and welcome to Write Pathway where writers and editors meet. We are thrilled to have you back with us today.

Let’s begin today with a little information about you; then we’ll merge into thoughts about your book. Tell us about Jo Huddleston.

Jo: I like to laugh with people but not at people. The beach is my favorite vacation spot. I don’t like to see or hear about people or animals being abused. I’m a spectator fan of several sports, my favorite being tennis. I don’t like being in the dark and am fearful of snakes!

I’m is a multi-published author of books, articles, and short stories. My debut novels in the Caney Creek Series are sweet Southern historical romances. My forthcoming novel, Wait for Me, is another sweet Southern historical romance and is book 1 in the West Virginia Mountains Series. I’m a member of ACFW, the Literary Hall of Fame at Lincoln Memorial University (TN), and hold a M.Ed. degree from Mississippi State University. I live in the U.S. Southeast with my husband and close to our two grown children and four grandchildren. Visit me at www.johuddleston.com where you can sign up for my newsletter and read my blogs.

Ann: Jo, you are not the only one who is afraid of snakes. And I switch the channel when those ads come on about abused animals. Love my dog!

What would you do with your life if you didn't write?

Jo: I’d have more time to read!

Ann: If you were a style of music, what style would you be?

Jo: Soft instrumental jazz.

Ann: Who or what inspired in you a love for books? What are some of your favorites from the classics?

Jo: My seventh grade homeroom teacher. She arranged for me to work in the school library where my exposure to all those books took root as a love to read.

Ann: What was your favorite book as a child?

Jo: As a child, our house didn’t have books to read. The only books I had were coloring books. In college I minored in English. When I took the course, Children’s Literature, I first met Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh.

Ann: How many books have you published? Do you also write other things—articles? short stories? Etc.

Jo: I’ve traditionally published 3 nonfiction books and 3 novels. I’ve self-published 2 nonfiction books, one coauthored with Vickie Phelps. Yes, I write devotions, short stories, magazine articles, and wrote a regular inspirational newspaper column for seven years.

Ann: We all know that publishing is an arduous process and often takes many rejections before we get published. How many rejections did you get before you published a book?

Jo: Oh, my! I didn’t record a count of my rejections. I’ve had plenty.

Ann: Which character in your present release, Wait for Me, do you find most interesting?

Jo: The heroine, Julie. She’s spunky, determined, and won’t stop at anything to reach her goal.

Ann: Tell us a little about your book.





Jo: I’ll share the book’s back blurb here:

Can Julie, an only child raised with privilege and groomed for high society, and Robby, a coal miner’s son, escape the binds of their socioeconomic backgrounds? Set in a coal mining community in West Virginia in the 1950s, can their love survive their cultural boundaries?

This is a tragically beautiful love story of a simple yet deep love between two soul mates, Robby and Julie. The American South’s rigid caste system and her mother demand that Julie chooses to marry an ambitious young man from a prominent and suitable family. Julie counters her mother’s stringent social rules with deception and secrets in order to keep Robby in her life. Can the couple break the shackles of polite society and spend their lives together? Will Julie’s mother ever accept Robby?

Ann: Wait for Me sounds like my kind of book. You know I loved you Caney Creek series. I look forward to reading this book.

Would you share a favorite Scripture verse or passage of Scripture that means a lot to you?

Jo: Philippians 4:8. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Ann: Is there anything else you’d like to say?

Jo: Ann, thank you so much for having me visit with you and your readers. One of the commenters will win an eBook copy for Kindle of Wait for Me. Good luck to all in the book drawing.

Ann: Where can we find you online, Jo?

Jo: You can find me at:


Website www.johuddleston.com


Blog http://www.johuddleston.com


Blog http://lifelinesnow.blogspot.com


Facebook https://www.facebook.com/joshuddleston


Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1615694.Jo_Huddleston


You can purchase eBook for Kindle and print copies of Wait for Me at: http://tiny.cc/xndfwx


Ann: Thanks again, Jo, for sharing with us about yourself and your book. I look forward to the new series.

You're going to love Jo's Sweet Southern Historical Romance. Leave a comment for a chance to win an eBook of Wait for Me to read on your Kindle. Be sure to note if you are a follower of this blog and your name will be included three times in the drawing. Leave your email address written like this: ann (at) yahoo (dot) com . The contest will end June 14 at midnight EST. Good luck!

Welcome Sandy Ardoin!

 WRITE PATHWAY WELCOMES SANDY ARDOIN







Ann:  Hello Sandy, and welcome to Write Pathway where writers and editors meet. We are thrilled to have you with us today.

Let’s begin today with a little information about you; then we’ll merge into thoughts about your book. Are you a native Carolina girl?

Sandy:  Ah, Carolina Girls … love that song. No, I was born in Indiana and moved to Texas when I was sixteen. I’ve been in North Carolina for the past (almost) 19 years.

Ann:  What would you do with your life if you didn't write?

Sandy:  Clean house. J I’d probably also roam the streets looking for antique shops to prowl through. I’d do more gardening.

Ann:  If you were a style of music, what style would you be?

Sandy:  Country. More specifically, Country-Pop—a little bit country and a little bit rock ’n roll. Not too wild, but definitely not citified.

Ann:  Who inspired in you a love for books?

Sandy:  Dick and Jane. I still remember reading those and getting caught up in the stories of Spot and the pony (maybe because I wanted a pony so badly myself).

After that, it was Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Little House books (my historical side). Then I graduated to gothic mysteries—Jane Eyre, Rebecca—and then more contemporary romantic mysteries from people like Phyllis Whitney and Mary Higgins Clark.

I don’t come from a family of big readers, so I’m not sure where I picked up my love for reading.

Ann:  How many books have you published? Do you also write other things—articles? short stories? Etc.

Sandy:  The Yuletide Angel is my first published book—a Christmas novella. My first novel (a follow-up to the novella) releases in January of 2016. It’s working title is A Reluctant Melody.

I’ve been publishing since 1986—short pieces like cards, posters, devotions, short stories. In June, my short story “Ellie’s Escape” appeared in Splickety Prime. It was exciting to be in the same issue as Jerry Jenkins.

Ann:  Well, congratulations on getting in Splickety Prime with Jerry Jenkins.  

We all know that publishing is an arduous process and often takes many rejections before we get published. How many rejections did you get before you published a book?

Sandy:  Book rejections? More than I care to remember. Before The Yuletide Angel, my agent submitted three other books—two of them multiple times. Between those three, I’d say I’ve racked up at least twenty rejections.

Ann:  Which character in your present release, The Yuletide Angel, do you find most interesting?

Sandy:  That’s a tough one. I love my hero’s character. Hugh is really sweet and protective. He looks beneath the surface. My heroine, Violet, starts out shy and withdrawn, but she has an inner grit that I like in a female character.

Ann:  Tell us a little about your book.

Sandy: The Yuletide Angel is Christian historical romance set in 1890. Here’s the back cover blurb:

It's Christmastime in 1890s Meadowmead, and someone is venturing out at night to leave packages at the homes of the needy. Dubbed The Yuletide Angel, no one knows the identity of this mysterious benefactor. 

No one, except Hugh Barnes, a confirmed bachelor who finds himself drawn to the outwardly shy but inwardly bold Violet Madison, a young woman who risks her safety to help others. 

When Violet confesses her fear of eviction from her childhood home, Hugh longs to rescue her. His good intentions are thwarted, however, when Hugh's estranged brother shows up in town ... and in Violet's company. 

But Violet faces an even bigger threat. A phantom figure lurks in the shadows, prepared to clip the wings of The Yuletide Angel.

Ann:  The Yuletide Angel sounds like my kind of book. I look forward to reading it. Got it on my Christmas list.

Would you share a favorite Scripture verse or passage of Scripture that means a lot to you?

Sandy:  I have several, including Jeremiah 29:11, but I really like Isaiah 55:8-9.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Those words remind me of the awesomeness of God and that He is in control. I can’t do anything, think anything, plan anything that equals what He can do or who He is.

Ann:  Is there anything else you’d like to say?

Sandy:  Thanks so much for having me here, Ann. I’ve enjoyed answering your questions and introducing your readers to Hugh Barnes and Violet Madison, the main characters of The Yuletide Angel. 

Ann:  Where can we find you online, Sandy?

Sandy:  Here are a few places:

http://sandraardoin.wordpress.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/SandraArdoinAuthor  
The Yuletide Angel: Sandra Ardoin: 9781941103890: Amazon.com  

https://twitter.com/SandraArdoin1 

http://seriouslywrite.blogspot.com/2014/04/aha-now-youre-on-to-something-by-sandra.html 

Ann:  Thank you for sharing your debut novella with us, Sandy. We hope when the next book comes out, you'll revisit us here at Write Pathway.