Updates and Goals: May/June 2011

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Chris

So I have been a little lax in updating here, or even posting at all. I hope to change that now.

Palace of Twelve Pillars: Still moving along with final edits. Projecting completion of this phase by the beginning of August, and will start pitching at the PNWA Writer’s Conference. I am going to explore the possibility of getting it as an ebook while I shop it with agents and publishers. I’ll let you know what I decide.

Palace of Three Crosses: Still looking for a new title. Almost through the preliminary phase of critique, edit and revision. Hoping to have this phase finished by mid-June. Then I will move to the second phase of rewrites with a goal for October 30 completion. By the end of the year I plan on having it in the hands of a copy editor.

Sanctuary of Nine Dragons: Writing is moving along. I have been handwriting for the most part, so I am not sure of the word count, but the story is moving forward and once in a while I even get in the zone where the story takes over. It has been a struggle because I am juggling all three books in the series and sometimes I lose track of what book something has happened in. In spite of that, the goal is to have the initial writing phase done by mid-June and then it will hit my critique group.

Myrria’s Legacy & Bjorn’s Revenge: Haven’t paid too much attention to either. Myrria is hopefully going to visit a teacher over the summer for some proofing and Bjorn will be brainstormed come October, for a November sprint.

Women of the Bible: A Study: I am currently and very slowly editing a proof copy from CreateSpace. Once the edits are finished I will probably publish through them.

As if those things were not enough to keep me busy and out of trouble, I am contemplating taking all the devotions I have written for blog posts over the years and compiling them into a book which I will publish through CreateSpace. This is just a thought of mine and won’t happen quickly. You can see, I already have a few projects on my plate as well as continuing to work with the fourth soon to be fifth graders at my daughter’s school. This being a vision I hope to expand on in the upcoming school year. We shall see. Doing lots of praying and hoping that this is God’s plan for me.

One other small detail: I plan on becoming more active in NANO prep this year. I have a half a brain out there with lots of good ideas, who promises to keep me on track if I do the same for her.

Read and Write On and God Bless,

Christina Weigand

Go Forth: The Sequel

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Chris

The Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from the land of your kinfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1, NAB)

When I posted this on Monday I started thinking about how things had changed since I first wrote it a couple of years ago. Then yesterday when I had tea with a friend, we were talking about how things had changed for me and her for that matter. She asked an interesting question: How did the changes affect my calling, that I had compared to that of Abraham? I had to stop and think about it.

So much has happened since God called my husband, daughter and I to make that move. What we moved toward joyfully and full of faith, didn’t take long to lose it’s sheen. The new job that had prompted the move, soon became a job lost. The home we thought was so wonderful turned into an oversized elephant requiring more work than we wanted for this stage of our lives. All in all I was left feeling that we had made a huge mistake and should have stayed on safe ground in Pennsylvania.

There’s that word safe. How does one decide when to stay safe and when to take a chance?

We had taken chances all our lives, but never as big as this one. Had we messed up? Had we listened to the wrong entity? Did we make our decision based on the promptings of Satan instead of God?

Time for another perspective. Good things, God things have come out of this move. We made some very dear friends, something we didn’t seem to do in Pennsylvania. We found a church and school that we love and they love us back. We live in a nice small town.

The biggest changes I see though have happened to me. In PA I was a homebody. I suffered from anxiety disorder, which I was on medication for. I had an extensive family to turn to and lean on, so I had few friends. My writing was done mostly in a solitary way in a repurposed room in our home. I did some online critique groups, but only had one face to face, who offered great critiques. Their critiques were so great, that I became discouraged and set at least two of my books aside, because the books were stuck in a rut that I wasn’t sure how to fix.

Anyway, long story short, when we moved out here a lot of things had to change. First things first, with no family other than seven year old daughter and husband, I had to make some friends. This is where church and school came in handy. These entities welcomed us with wide-open arms.

But, what about my writing. It is in this area that I have seen the biggest amount of growth. I like to say if we hadn’t moved when we did then my writing career would not be where it is today. Some of you may not think, I am in an enviable position, but I would beg to differ.

I’m still not making a lot of money with my writing, but I have heard God’s leading and am following His path. Working with children to learn to write and share God with others through my own writing is the path He is leading me on. If we hadn’t made that move 3 1/2 years ago, I don’t believe that I would have found this path.

But how do I look on this stepping stone in light of all the challenges we have faced since moving. After some retrospection I’ve decided to let God worry about it. Whether this is just another stepping stone or we stay here, only God knows. I will continue on the path He has set before me and enjoy the journey.

So in conclusion: When we moved we made the right choice, listened to the right messenger. God was leading as He still is.

All for the Glory of God,

Christina Weigand

Go Forth

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Chris

The Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from the land of your kinfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1, NAB)

Abram was happy and content with his life, so was I. We had a nice home, a grown family, a loving church family and my husband had a good job. Then like Abram, God started calling, first He gifted us with a fourth child, after having had my last sixteen years earlier. This led to a new home and going through raising another child. Of course after these major changes we thought God was finished with shaking up our lives. We were involved in church; we enrolled our youngest in a Catholic school. We prayed about our decisions and believed we were following God’s plan.

We didn’t anticipate the u-turn looming in front of us. Like Abram we were moving through our lives, when my husband was put in a position where he had to find a new job. He hadn’t hunted for a job in thirty years. We talked; we prayed and continued moving forward. God answered, practically dropping a new job in our laps. There was only one catch, we had to move across the country and leave behind the life we had built. Not so easy to follow God on this one. However, He continued to send clues that this was the right path to follow. First the new company wanted my husband right away and even offered a get out of jail card in six months if he didn’t like it. They met his salary demands and agreed to his time frame. Most importantly, they guaranteed that as Steeler fans, tomatoes would not be thrown at our house. What more could we ask for?

So in January, Al, my husband moved to the state of Washington and got a two bedroom apartment but we weren’t quite ready to commit. He began to search for a church, a school and a house. If we couldn’t find those then the deal was off. However, God really wanted us to make the move. A church and school quickly appeared on the radar. To make it even more appealing the church had a choir and a theater group, both of which were things we were involved with in Pennsylvania. All that was left the house.

Ana and I went to visit him in February and the last piece of the puzzle fell into place. We found a house that we loved. It wasn’t our Pennsylvania home, but a wonderful home to start a new life. God had put everything in place, laid enough clues for us to get the message. He wanted us to change our life, to move on with his plans for us and that meant uprooting our lives and starting over again. Like Abram we had been commanded to move on. What choice did we have, as God’s children the time had come? We would move on and follow His path for us.

Lord, let me see the wisdom in your clues and the faith to follow wherever they may lead.

Do you feel a calling in your life to change something? Make a list of the reasons to go, all the clues that are pointing to your move. Do they outweigh the reasons to stay? Open yourself up to the nudging, embrace what is up ahead, be like Abram, step out in faith with the knowledge God will watch out for you.

All for the Glory of God,

Christina Weigand

Book Review: Framing Faith

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Chris

Book Review: Framing Faith

Authors: Sarah Piccini & Ivana Pavelka

When I saw the opportunity to read and write a review for Framing Faith I was very excited on a number of levels. Upon reading the book and looking at the many photographs I was not disappointed.

I was a member of the neighboring Diocese of Pittsburgh, which went through some very similar changes at the same time the Diocese of Scranton was experiencing their upheavals. However, I was on the other side of the coin, living in the suburbs and feeling the strong need for newer and bigger churches and although aware of what was happening to those small city parishes, I did not feel the pain and sorrow that accompanied these changes.

With Ms.’s Piccini and Pavelka, the rich history, splendor and struggle was brought to light. As with the Diocese of Scranton, the Diocese of Pittsburgh shared similar histories full of immigrants struggling to make a life for themselves in a new world. Framing Faith gives the reader a little peak into how those struggles were managed and the immigrants faith maintained and even strengthened.

The people who could barely speak english, and made very little money in the mines and mills of Pennsylvania through the sweat of their own brows and a unwavering faith in God were able to build faith communities that today’s contemporary churches have a hard time recreating.

To think that these poor people often built the churches themselves, raised the money themselves and even repaired sometimes insurmountable problems themselves is a testemant to them. For today we build a church millions of dollars are spent, workers are paid to build the structure, someone is paid to make needed repairs. This isn’t wrong, it’s just the way of the world. But this reader thinks a precious asset has been lost in our fast paced contemporary world.

Thanks to Ms.’s Piccini and Pavelka for reminding this reader of her roots and helping me to see that my way is not the only way or even the best way.

Maybe when all is said and done, we will all learn that God’s way is the best way.

I recommend this book for anyone who loves God, the church and history. This book is full of all of them. The authors did an excellent job of travelling through history and capturing the essence of those first immigrant parishes and their people, because in the end the church is the people that make it up.

Happy reading and God Bless,

Christina Weigand

Book web site:

http://www.framingfaith.com

Book Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Framing-Faith/155670971158620?sk=wall

Sarah Piccini Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=30703496

Ivana Pavelka Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100002171373171&sk=wall

Tribute Books website:
http://www.tribute-books.com

Tribute Books Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Archbald-PA/Tribute-Books/171628704176

Tribute Books Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/TributeBooks

Framing Faith Synopsis:
Framing Faith tells the story of the faith of immigrants and their descendants, spotlighting ten Catholic churches in the Diocese of Scranton that were closed due to restructuring. The churches, SACRED HEART, MAYFIELD; ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA, SCRANTON; ST. JOSEPH, SCRANTON; HOLY FAMILY, SCRANTON; ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, SCRANTON; ST. MARY OF THE ASSUMPTION, SCRANTON; ST. MARY CZESTOCHOWA, SCRANTON; ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, TAYLOR; IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, TAYLOR; AND ST. MICHAEL, OLD FORGE have rich ethnic heritages. They are Polish, Slovak, Italian, German, and Lithuanian parishes with long traditions and deep roots. Each church was founded by immigrant groups who came to the coal fields of the Lackawanna Valley with little more than their faith in God. Their churches served as the center of the community and touchstones of the Old Country. Framing Faith traces their histories from small beginnings through baptisms, weddings and funerals to their final celebrations. Throughout the text are images from each church, visual reminders of what was for many an important part of their lives.

Sarah Piccini Bio:
SARAH PICCINI graduated from the University of Scranton with a degree in History and Communications. In 2010, she received a Master’s degree in History focusing on the ethnic and labor history of the Lackawanna Valley. She collaborates with the Lackawanna Historical Society on many projects and programs, and serves the Vice President of the board for the Anthracite Heritage Museum and Iron Furnaces Associates.

Ivana Pavelka Bio:
IVANA PAVELKA is a co-founder and co-manager of the photographic gallery Camerawork in Scranton and is a professional photographer who has had many solo and group shows. Her professional career includes teaching in the art department at Keystone College (La Plume, PA), giving workshops and residencies as a rostered artist in schools, and working as a commercial photographer. She is also a professional bookbinder who was trained in European methods in Prague, where she grew up. When she came to the United States in 1980, she free-lanced as a bookbinder for such institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has lived in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, since 1991.

Palace of Twelve Pillars

A place where angels and dragons muse, where princes and princesses find themselves. A place for God to share His word

Monthly Archives: May 2011

Go Forth