Shannon McNear, Author

Drawn from a post to the ACFW email loop ... What I learned … wow, where do I start? I learned that I was right where I needed to be during the past year (esp. the last 6 months, when I followed a path that I knew was God’s leading but seemed to make no sense “market-wise”) … that this past year was specifically for growing … that the answer to crushing stress is “Be still and know that I am God.” I also learned how to manage the monster pile of research I’ve been wading through, and how to shape it all into the story I see. That I now have several “stories of my heart,” and that this is okay, and all have their own appointed time. And I learned all over again that if I never reach publication, it’s worth it for ALL the kewl people I’ve gotten to meet! Thanks to every one of you who encouraged me (and prayed with me!) and handed me Kleenex when I wept. And from the Southeast loop: I arrived back late Sunday night from the ACFW conference in Dallas … and I’m still getting caught

Time to post something again ... In about 38 hours or so, I'll be leaving to attend the annual ACFW conference, in Dallas again this year. I'm still in awe that I'm going ... wondering what God has planned ... trying not to second guess Him about either highs or lows. In preparation for this, several changes have taken place, and I wrote this piece while waiting for my husband's plane on September 7 ... This week marks the end of a life-season for me. Last Sunday, my youngest turned three. This week, she's weaning. Yes, I've nursed her (I mostly hate the term "breastfed," like nourishing a child from my own body after birth is some kind of aberrant behavior that needs its own clarification) for three years. That's a year and more past the others. I always said I wouldn't be in a hurry to wean her, knowing she was our last, but it's finally time. I knew this time would come--after all, somebody at some time would be the youngest child of

I have in the past struggled mightily with what one might term "professional jealousy" ... that ache that seizes a person when someone else gets their manuscript written (and seems to have more time to do it in), or signs on with an agent, or has a book accepted for publication. I'm better these days at fending it off, but this morning I had a really nifty thought ... Consider the stars in the sky ... is the significance of one diminished because of the others? Do they waste time in vying for the 'best' position in the sky? Does Arcturus suffer jealousy just because it is not Polaris (the 'north star')? I think not. The more stars we see, the more glorious the night sky appears. And not seeing the 'lesser' stars does not mean they aren't there, or that they aren't significant ... they all burn as brightly for their Creator. And I believe they are each fully aware of the significance of their place in the universe, and the glow we see is