So many people feel over worked, over stressed and things are are way over complicated! Technology for example is supposed to make our life easier, but it doesn’t. In most cases because just like with many procedures and processes, PEOPLE make it way more complicated than it needs to be. Personally, I like to use the “KISS” method, “Keep It Simple Silly!” It’s just a… wait for it… Common Sense approach to business practices. Or as I call it nowadays, “Rare Sense”. Because common sense isn’t so common anymore! We have to try to remember 100 different log ins and security protocols for everything we need to access, and heaven forbid you have both business and personal accounts! Then there is Google always trying to “remember who you are”, and all of our personal information… Yeesh, give us a break already!
Thinking
about the technology
driven world
we live in now, we seem to be online just about every day. We are
always searching, researching, paying
bills, and
socializing… And
when
searching just about any topic online, especially on Google, you will
notice that so many search
results
are
about “Best”, “Top”
and “Lists”. Search
engine algorithms tend to like those keywords.
God’s Top 10 List
So
like a coffee pot on a Saturday morning, this got my brain
percolating! What
would be THE Top 10 List of all Top 10 Lists?
Google
and I would have to agree to disagree on the search results for this
topic. For me,
there was no
question
and only one search
result came
to mind. That’s
right, God’s
Top 10 List,
The Ten Commandments!
Some
say there were actually 15 commandments, but one of the tablets fell
and broke, and that’s how we ended up with 10. Take
it easy, kidding of course, it’s just a joke! But
seriously, can you think of any better example of simplicity
and common sense?
In
our over-bloviated society, don’t sweat the small stuff, but do
remember and enjoy the simple things that
God has bestowed upon us!
And
look,
we all like stuff! We like to have nice cars, nice houses, a pool…
and there’s nothing wrong with that. I believe that God wants us to
be happy and enjoy life, to have a sense of humor and laugh. I’m
sure that he may question and shake his head sometimes at my sense of
humor, but I’d also like to think that I give him a chuckle from
time to time. In
my opinion, it’s ok to not feel guilty about enjoying those things,
as long as we remember that they are just that. Material things.
Things for our pleasure, but certainly not the most important things.
I think the most important thing that we have is our faith and belief
in God. If
you didn’t have any of those things, if all those
things
went away, remember that you can still be
rich in Christ.
I say we keep God’s Top 10 List number 1 on our chart, and keep God number 1 in our heart! And hey, I’m no theologian, I’m not even that smart. I’m a “Christian under construction”, because I need God to work on me every day! But I try… I hope you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to share it. Have a blessed day!
Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who lost their life while serving in the United States military.
So thinking about that… There are SO many who have given SO much, and yet have asked for SO little…
These
service members from every color, creed, and nationality proudly and
courageously stood and fought for the flag, family, and country. They
made the ultimate sacrifice!
So
as we get to celebrate at a BBQ, maybe share a little extra family
time, and just enjoy life in general… all I’m saying is, let’s
just remember, and think about (even if only for a moment), why and
how we get this luxury. I hope this blog article inspires a little
awareness and just gives a shout out and a toast to all service men
and women who
have served, and who do serve
currently in our military. We
appreciate you!
At
this time, I would like to take the opportunity to give a shout out
and a BIG
THANK YOU
to just a few of my friends who have served in different branches.
Ken King – MS – United States Army
Justin
“Flic” Posey – Brookhaven, MS – United States Army
Greg
Marlow – Brookhaven, MS – United States Army
Thomas
Davis – Brookhaven, MS – United States Army
Dennis
Brewer – Brookhaven, MS – United States Army
Brad
Pope – Jayess, MS – United States Marine Corps
Tammy Boone – Prescott, AZ – United States Marine Corps
Chris
King – Jayess, MS – United States Air Force
Carlos
Gallo -Prescott, AZ – United States Air Force
Memorial
Day History.
So here’s a little history and what the Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs says.
Today, cities in the North and the South claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1866. Both Macon and Columbus, Ga., claim the title, as well as Richmond, Va. The village of Boalsburg, Pa., claims it began there two years earlier. A stone in a Carbondale, IL., cemetery carries the statement that the first Decoration Day ceremony took place there on April 29, 1866.Approximately 25 places have been named in connection with the origin of Memorial Day, many of them in the South.
Official
Birthplace Declared: In
1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y.,
the “birthplace” of Memorial Day. There, a ceremony on May 5,
1866, honored local veterans who had fought in the Civil War.
Businesses closed and residents flew flags at half-staff. Supporters
of Waterloo’s claim say earlier observances in other places were
either informal, not community-wide or one-time events.
By
the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held
on May 30 throughout the nation. State legislatures passed
proclamations designating the day, and the Army and Navy adopted
regulations for proper observance at their facilities.
It
was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded
to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Memorial
Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it
is still often called Decoration Day. It was then also placed on the
last Monday in May, as were some other federal holidays.
To
ensure the sacrifices of America ’s fallen heroes are never
forgotten, in December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed and the
president signed into law “The National Moment of Remembrance Act,”
P.L. 106-579, creating the White House Commission on the National
Moment of Remembrance. The National Moment of Remembrance encourages
all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on
Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who
have died in service to the nation. As Moment of Remembrance founder
Carmella LaSpada states: “It’s a way we can all help put the
memorial back in Memorial Day.”
Personal
Story.
My
uncle was like my dad, I mean sure I had a biological father who left
when I was really small, and I had a step-father who was a… (Well,
we’ll just leave it at that) Anyway, my aunt and uncle were always
there for me, and treated me like their own. My uncle, “pops”,
was really my only actual father figure and was just “my dad”.
Pops was a body man and painter, and worked for various car
dealerships around the New Orleans area. Some of the bigger places
like Benson, and some small shops too. But Pops was also a Navy
Vet who served in Vietnam.
My pops was a strong man, but he never really talked about his time in the military, heck I don’t even know what Navy ship he was on. But I can tell you this, one of the only things that he ever talked about REPEATEDLY to me and my two younger cousins was how he got to see Tina Turner perform in Japan! That… he went on and on about for sure. And hey, we all know that Tina Turner can dance her butt off!
One of our little jokes was that Pops made it through the Vietnam war ok, then he gets home and while riding his Harley, he hit a pothole and shattered his shoulder! But what I didn’t know or even comprehend at that time, especially being a kid, is what some of our military personnel go through just on a daily basis. It wasn’t till much later in life that I found out a couple of tidbits, such as… Can you imagine being on a ship at sea and having to walk by stacks of dead bodies every time you went to the bathroom? Can you? I mean, wow! Think about having that memory.
I then understood why Pops didn’t talk about it. And I also didn’t find out until years later, after he passed away, that he actually had been awarded a Navy Bronze Star.
So why did I tell that very personal story? It’s about awareness and understanding!
There
are so many wounded veterans out there who need help and support.
And it’s not always something physical and obvious that you can see. Just to name one organization who helps with that… WoundedWarriorProject.org
You’ve
seen the commercials… The Wounded Warrior Project is a charity and
veterans service organization that offers a variety of programs,
services and events for wounded military veterans.
Wounded
Warrior Project statistics show “more
than 52,000 servicemen and women physically injured in recent
military conflicts. 500,000 living with invisible wounds, from
depression to post-traumatic stress disorder. 320,000 experiencing
debilitating brain trauma.”
The
Wounded Warrior Project can help service members transition back into
civilian life, sometimes it can be tougher than you might think. And
for every warrior and family member, it can certainly be a different
journey and needs to be addressed on an individual basis.
Their
focus is on Veterans and service members who incurred a physical or
mental injury, illness, or wound while serving in the military on or
after September 11, 2001.
The
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a nonprofit veterans
service organization comprised of eligible veterans and military
service members from the active, guard and reserve forces. The
VFW is one of the most respected voices in Washington, D.C., and
within local governments across the United States.
The
VFW is the largest
and oldest war veterans service organization, they have a long and
proven history of providing vital assistance and support to America’s
military service men and women. The
VFW offers a wide range of assistance programs aimed at helping
veterans of every generation.
I would certainly be remiss if I didn’t mention a friend of mine, Mr. Greg Marlow who served in the United States Army and has been involved with this great organization for several years.
Commander Greg Marlow served at VFW Post 2618 in Brookhaven, MS.
Commander
Marlow is relentless in his passion to serve the VFW and fights for
the rights and support for American Veterans EVERY SINGLE DAY! God
Bless him!
In
closing…
When
and if you can, please consider these two great organizations when
donating. (Please remember that the VFW has local places, so check
your local listings.)
Thoughts
and prayers go out for all of our military personnel who can’t be
home right now, and their families. We appreciate you! May
God Bless you and keep you safe!
And… Please remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice!
From
sea to shining sea… Oorah!
The
Marines’ Hymn
From
the Halls of Montezuma
To
the shores of Tripoli;
We
fight our country’s battles
In
the air, on land, and sea;
First
to fight for right and freedom
And
to keep our honor clean;
We
are proud to claim the title
Of
United States Marine.
Our
flag’s unfurled to every breeze
From
dawn to setting sun;
We
have fought in every clime and place
Where
we could take a gun;
In
the snow of far-off Northern lands
And
in sunny tropic scenes,
You
will find us always on the job
The
United States Marines.
Here’s
health to you and to our Corps
Which
we are proud to serve;
In
many a strife we’ve fought for life
And
never lost our nerve.
If
the Army and the Navy
Ever
look on Heaven’s scenes,
They
will find the streets are guarded
By
United States Marines.
Please share this or any of the other blog articles that you like with friends and family. Thank you!
The
one thing that I can say for certain about the Post Office is that
they always, ALWAYS… make sure that I
get my bills on time!
HEY, just a little Postal humor!
The
Postal Service is one of our oldest federal agencies. And
although
a lot of us tend to take them for granted, we still rely on them
EVERY
single day!
And
let’s be real, I mean, would
you go get into your vehicle and drive somewhere to bring a letter to
somebody’s house for $.55 cents?
Probably
not, so let’s not complain about the cost of postage stamps
going
up to 55 cents… Have
you shipped anything with UPS and Fedex lately? Yeesh!
And
can you imagine way back when transportation such as railroads didn’t
even cover the whole country? We
had… the Pony Express baby! Those
horse mounted
Mail
Carriers
famously sped mail to
cover the entire
rest
of the country. For example like
the
1,800 mile route
from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, in which
mail got delivered in
just ten days.
Now
that’s dedication! And…
possibly a commercial for preparation H. Butt anyway… (pun
intended) Have you heard of this?
National
Thank a Mail Carrier Day!
Ok,
so how many of you know that February 4th
is “National Thank a Mail Carrier Day”?
Wait, let me rephrase that. How many of you that are notMail Carriers know that February 4th is “National Thank a Mail Carrier Day”? Exactly! I was thinking “why don’t Mail Carriers have a day? Maybe I’ll start one.” I thought that I was about to spearhead and create something special, but nope, after doing some research, I found out that it’s actually already a thing. I had no idea! But I guess that’s actually kinda the point of this blog article dedicated to our US Postal Workers. And we need to use February 4th as a reminder of appreciation that “SOMEONE” makes sure the mail gets through 6 days a week and 52 weeks a year! Bringing us toilet paper from Amazon, and masks, and all of our meds, while we got to stay home, safe in our beds. Because through rain, shine, sleet or snow… even in a pandemic, Mail Carriers are still on the go!
A
little Postal history.
The
U.S. Postal System was established on July 26th
1775, with non other than Ben Franklin as the first Postmaster
General. He put the foundation in place for many aspects of today’s
mail system.
During
early colonial times in the 1600s, few American colonists needed to
send mail to each other; it was more likely that their correspondence
was with letter writers in Britain. Mail deliveries from across the
Atlantic were sporadic and could take many months to arrive. There
were no post offices in the colonies, so mail was typically left at
inns and taverns.
In
1753, Benjamin Franklin, who had been postmaster of Philadelphia,
became one of two joint postmasters general for the colonies. He made
numerous improvements to the mail system, including setting up new,
more efficient colonial routes and cutting delivery time in half
between Philadelphia and New
York by
having the weekly mail wagon travel both day and night via relay
teams. Franklin also debuted the first rate chart, which standardized
delivery costs based on distance and weight.
In
1774, the British fired Franklin from his postmaster job. However,
the following year, he was appointed postmaster general of the United
Colonies by the Continental Congress. Franklin held the job until
late in 1776, when he was sent to France as a diplomat. He left a
vastly improved mail system, with routes from Florida
to
Maine
and
regular service between the colonies and Britain. President George
Washington appointed
Samuel Osgood, a former Massachusetts
congressman,
as the first postmaster general of the American nation under the new
U.S. constitution in 1789. At the time, there were approximately 75
post offices in the country.
Today,
the United States has over 40,000 post offices and the postal service
delivers 212 billion pieces of mail each year to over 144 million
homes and businesses in the United States, Puerto
Rico, Guam,
the American Virgin Islands and American Samoa. The postal service is
the nation’s largest civilian employer, with over
500,000 career workers. The postal service is a not-for-profit,
self-supporting agency that covers its expenses through postage
(stamp use in the United States started in 1847) and related
products.
So
let’s show
a little love, support,
and
appreciation to
our Postal Workers!
And
remember when February 4th
rolls around that it is National Thank a Mail Carrier Day!
Because
the
Post
Office
gets the mail delivered whether
it’s
rain,
shine, sleet
or snow… even
in the middle of a pandemic, mail
carriers are
still on the go!
I
hope this blog article brings a little happiness and appreciation to
all of you Postal Workers out there for the important jobs that you
do. From a humble Christian Author in Mississippi, We
appreciate you!
Special thanks to the History Channel and various other sources for their input on this article.
And if you enjoyed this blog, please remember to share this or any of the other blog articles that you like with friends and family. Thank you!
Dwayne Smith’s newly released “Squirrelly McNut Goes to
School” is an enchanting tale of a squirrel who goes to school and
learns many things, especially friendship.
“Squirrelly McNut
Goes to School” from Christian Faith Publishing author Dwayne Smith
is a wonderfully constructed masterpiece about a young squirrel who
gains many insights and experiences as he goes to school.
“Squirrelly McNut Goes to School”: a vividly illustrated book about a squirrel whose first day in school becomes a cherished moment filled with companionship and wisdom. “Squirrelly McNut Goes to School” is the creation of published author Dwayne Smith, a graduate of Topeka-Tilton High School in Mississippi who currently resides in Mississippi with his wonderful wife, Lauri, and their eight rescued dogs.
Smith shares, “Meet
Squirrelly in ‘Squirrelly McNut Goes to School.’ This is a story
that will just make you feel good!”
“It’s the first
day of school for our main character. He is excited, nervous, and a
little afraid. He discovers that school wasn’t as scary as he
thought it was going to be. He learned some lessons, made a friend,
and found out how much fun it could actually be to go to school. And
really, it’s everyone’s story in a sense; at one time or another,
we’ve all been a little scared or nervous about a new school, a new
move, or a new job. And for our main character Squirrelly, he soon
overcomes his fear and anxiety. He makes friends, has adventures, and
just may learn some good values and lessons along the way.”
“When you read
this story, I sincerely hope that you feel as good and happy as I
feel every time I read it. This is a short, simple, and wholesome
bedtime story that hopefully illustrates innocence, morals, and good
Christian values.”
Want to post a comment or find out about future titles in the Squirrelly McNut series? Please visit Squirrelly’s website, www.squirrellymcnut.com.
“And if you
really, really like the story, then tell everyone! Thank you!”
Published by
Christian Faith Publishing, Dwayne Smith’s new book gracefully
imparts resounding positive virtues to children that they can surely
practice toward others.
Follow the touching
adventure of Squirrelly McNut to school where he discerns new things
and meets new companions to call friends.
View the video trailer synopsis of “Squirrelly McNut Goes to School” on YouTube and Squirrelly’s website.
Consumers can purchase “Squirrelly McNut Goes to School” at traditional brick and mortar bookstores or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, Books-A-Million, or Barnes and Noble.
For
additional information or inquiries about “Squirrelly McNut Goes to
School,” contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at
866-554-0919.
Please share this or any of the other blog articles that you like with friends and family. Thank you!
So
at this point by now, you would have researched and found at least a
couple of publishing companies that you were interested in. After you
make contact, typically by phone, but could be by email or a “contact
us” form… The first thing that you are probably going to do is
submit your “manuscript” or story to a representative at the
publishing company, I emailed mine, emailing the document is more
than likely the preferred method, but I’m sure that you could send
it in a different way if you’d like. The publishing company will
let you know.
As
I’ve mentioned on my book’s website ( www.squirrellymcnut.com
) and in previous blog posts “Becoming an Author” articles part 1
& 2, my book publisher is Christian Faith Publishing. So
when I sent in my manuscript, it was forwarded to their “Review
Board” to see if what I sent in was good enough to be published and
if it was something that they might
be interested
in. This
took about a week or two, and I was called and given the good news.
And for me, it was an AMAZING phone call, I of course was THRILLED!
And
so it begins.
So
just to give you an idea of what kind of time frame
to possibly expect, I signed the contract / agreement in June 2019,
and my book was actually published in January 2020. The
paper work from Christian Faith Publishing (CFP) was pretty straight
forward and easy enough to understand, even for someone like me who
had never done this before. Although
I did have questions along the way simply because I didn’t know the
terminology and it was my first time going through the process.
I
was assigned a Literary Agent / Publication Specialist and CFP also
has an online “Author’s Portal” so
I was able to logon anytime to check the progress, updates, or for
any questions and concerns that may have come up. Although, my
Literary Agent always kept me informed and up to date with what was
going on. Also, everyone that I worked with at CFP was always quick
to respond back to me to answer any question or concern that I may
have had.
Everything
gets approved by you!
I’m
now
going to lay out kind of a timeline of the chain of events as the
process gets rolling. And, every step of the process had to be
approved by me before moving to the next step.
Editorial
Review:
An editor will thoroughly proof your manuscript for grammatical
errors,
spelling errors, and
redundancy.
They will identify any issues with sentence structure, word usage,
etc. This
process could take a couple of months to complete.
The “editing” part is typically considered the most grueling and
hardest part of the process for writers. So
try to
be
patient.
Typesetting:
A typeset artist will lay out the pages of your book and implement
elements of typographical style like for example font, font sizes,
line spacing, and page breaks to enhance the style and overall
aesthetics of the book. Basically trying to make the final product
the best that it can be! Your typeset artist will also properly place
any illustrations, photographs, etc as needed. This part of the
process typically
takes a month
after the editing is completed.
Cover
Design:
After
your approval is given for the typesetting phase, an artist will
start working on your custom book cover design using your input.
Illustrations:
The rest of the illustrations are completed as well. There was a
form that I filled out describing each character and every scene in
detail, the more details and descriptions that you can give will help
the artist doing the illustrations bring what you have in your head
to life. This part could take 2-3
months,
really depends…
Printing:
Once your cover design and illustrations are approved, you are sent
a
digital
file of
what your book looks like all assembled and ready for distribution.
If everything looks good and you approve, it will then be sent to the
printer to make a small first batch. This
takes
approximately a month.
Your
Copies:
Once the first small batch is printed, you will be sent copies. The
number
of
copies that you will get depends
on if you wanted your book to be paper back or hard cover, it
makes a difference (you get less with hard cover). Once you receive
your copies, you should inspect every one of them to make sure that
they look good. You will need to give your approval that they printed
correctly, no grammatical errors, illustrations are correct, no
smudges, etc. Once you give your approval, now
it goes public
and can be purchased!
Hooray,
you’re a published author!
You
are now a “published author”, congratulations to you! Can you
believe it? It was a long road to get here, but you did it. But also,
the
process isn’t quite over
just yet…
Video
Book Trailer:
Even
though the book is actually published,
Christian
Faith Publishing is still working for you. CFP creates a customized
book trailer that will highlight your book’s theme and will add a
little visual excitement to your title’s online listing to help
increase it’s online advertising potential. The video trailer will
be on their YouTube channel, their
website, and used in your book’s press release. CFP also creates an
“author webpage” for your book on their website as well, which
will have your book’s video trailer.
eBook
Creation:
After your printed books are completed and the video trailer is
created, they begin the process of converting your book to the
various eBook formats and upload them to online merchants like
itunes, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. You know, for those folks who
like to just download a
digital copy of books to read on their ipad, Kindle, and other
devices.
Press
Release:
Finally!
The
final step in the CFP publication process is to issue a press release
announcing to the world that your book is now available for sale. It
has arrived! I mean, technically it’s maybe been out there for sale
around 2-3 months already, but there’s a lot of people who just
don’t know it yet! You will get the press release “draft”
around a month after the eBook versions are done. And oh yes, you
will need to approve the press release before it is actually
“released”.
My
experience in a “Squirrelly McNut” shell…
So
I mentioned earlier that “editing” is typically the most grueling
and hardest part of
the publishing process for
writers, but
for me editing was a breeze. Really
the only thing that was suggested to be changed during the editing
process in my book was going from “present” to “past” tense,
which I was fine with. There
was one thing concerning peanut butter in this one line though…
They thought that I made a grammatical error, but I had to clarify
that I really meant “pea-nut butter” and not “peanut butter”.
My main character is a squirrel, and he’s from the south, and it’s
his favorite snack. I needed it emphasized…
For
me, the
illustrations proved to be the most challenging. I
think because I knew what I wanted in my head, I just had to convey
it properly to the artist doing the illustrations. It took a couple
of times, but then it was perfect.
Everyone
at Christian Faith Publishing has been great to work with, they want
to make sure that
you are 100% satisfied with the finished product.
I look forward to hopefully having a long relationship with them
continuing my Squirrelly McNut series.
Also
don’t rest on your laurels, or hardies, when
your book is “done”. Start creating a buzz about your book while
it’s in the process of getting published. And while a lot of times
we focus on and equate success with the book launch, yeah you want to
have a good launch, but think about long term. Long term is where the
sustainability is…
If
you want to be successful, you
need to market your butt off!
If you liked this or if it was helpful in any way, please share this or any of the other blog articles that you like with friends and family. And for more information about getting published, please visit Christian Faith Publishing. Thank you! And Good Luck!
