Newsletters

The site is finally back. . .

This past week, the site www.ashevillechristianwritersconference.com has been down. It's been a two-day ordeal and hours on the phone to get it repaired. Funny thing was, today I called Eddie because, EDDIE KNOWS EVERYTHING, and asked him to take a look before I called the host back. Well, he was seeing the silly thing down too, but as we spoke, he shouted..."I'll be. It's working."  We have no idea why, but as my Momma says, Eddie must have been holding his mouth just right! Because it started to work. 

YEAH!

So visit the site. Look over the critiques and mentoring page. Check out the contests. Get involved. Remember, to plan now for incidentals, like your paid critiques, mentoring, buying books, and purchasing the mp3s of the conference.  We provide you an amazing book with all your handouts and when you purchase the mp3s - you have the complete conference AND THE NOTES.
 
For our newly registered conferees and those who drag their heels...
LET'S GET ON WITH IT . . .Yes, I'm repeating myself, so don't you dare skip over this! :)
 
WE STILL NEED YOUR BIO AND .JPG.
Every year we compile a roster for your benefit. It has a dual purpose. 1) It allows our prayer warriors to pray specifically for you and 2) it becomes your introduction and networking tool for your peers at ACWC.  I understand what it is like to be new to a conference and that's why we work to compile this list. I want you to be able to put faces with names so when you walk in the door at ACWC, you feel your family - not like you're a stranger. Cindy Saab has graciously volunteered to do our roster. It's a massive job. So I encourage you to send her your bio and .jpg. THIS IS A MUST HAVE! WE MUST HAVE IT.

Below is the link for the bio form along with Cindy's email address in this letter. And here's a hint that will help us. We don't need a life history. Keep your bio at 75 or less words, include your email address.  When you send your ,jpg of yourself (for those who do not know what that is, it's a photo file of yourself. If you don't have one, ask a friend or a teenager to take your photo and help you email it) PLEASE DON'T SEND A FAMILY PHOTO.  If that is all you have, crop everyone else out of the photo. We love your families, but we only want your face. (There are security reasons for this - trust us).
Attach the .jpg and the bio form and email it to: [email protected]
Click here ->Directory_Form 4 (This should download to your computer or you can go to www.ashevillechristianwritersconference.com and click forms and newsletters. ) 

This roster is so important. Please be sure and send us the bio and .jpg.

___________

PLEASE CHECK THE WEBSITE. I'll be sending you more information as it comes. You may email me at [email protected] with questions or concerns.

FINALLY . . .

If you have not completed your final payments - please do so. I am expected to make a payment very soon to the Cove.

*We have room for 27 more conferees. The on-site housing is closed, but the three hotels we overflow into are literally just a few hundred feet from the Cove's entrance. There's plenty of housing off campus. Below are the links for final payment. Thank you to all of those who have completed your payment. I urge those with remaining balances to pay soon. Most of you are sharing as a DOUBLE. You will need to choose the room occupancy and if you paid the $95 pre-registration or if you paid $25 deposit at the last conference. You're going to see this every newsletter. Pay close attention to the links and pay according to your room choice. I have to nail down the reservations in November. Your promptness on this will be so helpful.  

God has instructed us to be good stewards of His provision, and that means paying our bills ON TIME if not sooner. He has blessed us at the end of each conference to be debt free and that happens because you are gracious enough to pay your conference registrations on time. Thank you for that.

If you have paid a deposit of $95 - Here is your link for final payments.  Choose your room and click and make your payment by November 1. All links have a $6.50 PayPal surcharge added. Sorry but processing costs continue to rise and we cannot absorb it - it will show as SHIPPING. 

Triple Room - (Please do not choose a triple unless you have roommates in line and have contacted me) - I know we have some writers groups and families who attend so I have you already. But it's those new ones that throw me for a loop).
Click here for a triple room less $95 deposit

Double Room - If you have paid $95 against your reservation for a double room 
Click here for double room less $95 deposit

Single Room - If you have paid $95 against your reservation for a single room
Click here for single room less $95 deposit

IF YOU PAID $25 deposit at Boot Camp 2016  these are your payment links and it's due November 1

Triple less $25 deposit
Click here for triple room less $25 deposit

Double less $25 deposit
Click here for double room less $25 deposit

Single less $25 deposit
Click here for single room less $25 deposit


Remember FINAL PAYMENTS ARE DUE NOW!


A health update - 
Thank you for your sweet notes of encouragement. It has been a long 3 months of serious headaches and hearing issues. What doctors have determined at this time, is I have a significant hearing loss in my left ear and some in the right. There is a thinning and wearing away of the snail shaped bone in my ears and this will require surgery at Vanderbilt. I had an MRI today to be sure there was nothing else causing this issue, and I won't have results of those test until next week. This has been my thorn in the flesh - the worry. I ask that you pray these MRI scans are healthy and clear so that we can move ahead with correcting the issues in my ears. I have good days and bad ones. But overall, the headaches are lessening. It's taken a toll on me. So please continue to pray for me.

Eddie will tell you, "Cindy is a worrier." And yes, I've done my share of that this past two weeks waiting on this MRI. But Sunday I came to the conclusion that how I handle adversity is directly related to how I really feel about God. And honestly, it shamed me.

The more I thought on this, the more I realized these same principles I've learned this past week apply to your writing life as well. We all hit snags, potholes, and adversity. Our first inclination is to whine. So what does that say about what you really think about GOD?

I've learned that being joyful and thankful through adversity has brought me to these conclusions:
1) Being thankful and joyful in adversity keeps me in HIS PRESENCE.
2) It helps me look for HIS PURPOSE in my life.
3) It brings me into submission of HIS WILL - this does something good for us - lessens our pain when we thank Him.
4) It reminds me of my utter dependance on Him
5) It gives me a testimony with a greater impact
6) It helps me to trust Him even when I don't understand why.
7) It helps me displace my own anxiety with His peace
8) It is essential in my rejoicing in Him
9) It teaches me to focus on Him over the circumstance.
10) It strengthens my heart

Now if I've learned all this from adversity in health, what have you learned when adversity hits you as a writer? It's certainly not to throw up your hands and run. God never once tells us to retreat. He tells us to advance. Move ahead. So when you feel as though you are banging your head against the wall, rejoice - be thankful. For in your adversity with thanksgiving, you find a deeper relationship with Him.  Good trade, I'd say.


HAPPY THANKSGIVING. May God strengthen your family ties as you rejoice in Him with thanksgiving.

Cindy Sproles
Director