Marilynn Dawson's Blog

Welcome to the End of February! Can you believe we're already two months into 2016??? Time flies! On top of that, Spring came early to the West Coast of Canada! Some cities already have blossoming cherry trees while crocuses are blooming and trees are budding in the Okanagan Valley.A tiny book gave birth as well this month. "Mom's Little Black Book: Godly Advice for the High School Graduate" now has a sibling, "Mom's Little Black Book of Skincare & Makeup: BE healthy, Look healthy". The new addition is 84 pages long, and features the advice that used to win me sales back when I used to sell skincare and make-up for Artistry in the late '90's. Just like the grad gift, this slimmer little book also contains charts, note sheets, tables and even an appendix where you can find links to further your own research into various statements made in the book. All yours for $5.99 USD on Amazon!Get both books for $14.99 USD if and only if you order directly from me! My grad gift went out to 32 graduates last year, something that just had me thrilled to pieces! I look forward to seeing this little book get into the hands of more grads this year!
This past week as we approach the end of February, I took a course about online marketing. As some of you know, this isn't my favourite topic, but what encouraged me to try the course out was the fact they offered to pay for each task I completed! I decided to see if they were telling the truth, and sure enough, I got paid for most of the tasks I completed. I am now at their "black belt" level and need to look at my calendar to fit in the advanced courses which you don't get paid for. I learned about another use for auto-responders which I need to give serious consideration to.
If I was to offer a series of emails related to a subject in one of my books or courses, would you sign up to receive it? Say for example, a series of tips emails sharing some of the wisdom I include in my course, "The Poor Man's Budget"? Would that interest you?
There was more covered in the introductory levels of this course than just that, so if you're interested in checking out the course and getting paid yourself, use my referral link here: http://shoemoney.net/r/284869
CONTINUING TO TAKE REGISTRATIONS FOR"The Poor Man's Budget (or Anyone for that matter): A Five Week Course - Learning to live within your means".That's right! After careful consideration, I am hosting this one-hour class in my home and via webinar. I am able to have up to 14 people per session in person, and up to 25 people per session via webinar. Each 1hr session costs $5, and there are four time slots to choose from when signing up. Those attending in person have the option to pay for the entire 5 week course up front. Information about costs, time slots, learning objectives, etc, can be found here: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-HK I'm not sure what March has in store, but it's that time of year when flowers bloom, grass grows, and businesses look for new clients while retail outlets look to draw in more customers. I'm looking for new outlets for my books where the people who want them tend to hang out or go shopping. If you think my books should be in a given location, reply to this newsletter and let me know your thoughts.
Don't forget that you can help me promote my books and courses as well, and get paid a commission for each sale you make! Check out the various affiliate methods you can use to get word out and earn something in return for your efforts. FIVERRAlso, just a reminder about my Fiverr profile. I just sold a second 4-line poem this past week to the same customer! Repeat customers are always a good thing! If you haven't checked out my Fiverr profile, take a look and then share it with your friends who may need my services. https://www.fiverr.com/songdove Wrap-up
What do you like about the winter or spring season? Do you look forward to stretching your legs again as the sun comes over the hill? Do you feel like the grass finally shedding a dark and heavy load? Or are you going to miss the days of cocoons, snowmen, hot chocolate and sparkling diamonds in the front yard? Giving birth to books isn't the only thing happening in my household right now. My daughter and her friend are trying to grow vegetables from seed this year! So far, we have spinach seedlings growing. Trying to get comfrey seeds going, and a whole range of herbs and other vegetables just got started this past week as well.
God speaks of growing things in His Word as well. Christ shared the parable of the Sower and the Seed, explaining the kinds of soil that various people's hearts represent and how well the Good news of the Gospel will or won't take root in their lives. Christ shared too about tares and wheat and what would happen to the tares at harvest time. God's Word also speaks of being careful what we allow into our hearts in both the Old and New Testament. Some people read these passages and feel that anyone promoting them is preaching a form of legalism. I saw a meme on Facebook once where one guy angrily says to another guy, "I HATE this FENCE!" and jumps over it. The other guy runs to the look over the edge and comments, "It wasn't a fence, it was a barrier" as his friend sails over the cliff. The boundaries God asks us to voluntarily place in our lives are there not to hem us in per se, but to keep us from falling over the edge into hell. God's commands are there for our protection so that we can grow strong in Him, not placed there for our detriment and to "ruin our fun", as some would say. The difference of perspective is all in where our focus lies.
I write about this extensively in my first series, "Becoming the Bride of Christ: A Personal Journey". When we move from obeying God's commands as a form of legalism to obedience done out of love for the Lover of our souls who gave His life in exchange for ours, then the desire to obey is much stronger than the desire to live close to sin and get away with it.
Winter is a time of rest, rejuvenation and refreshing. Winter is a time of germination as seeds lay dormant under the soil getting ready for the first signs of spring. As Spring arrives, rest turns to growth. For the poor peanut, this means the young plant heading downward to begin with as it exits it's protective shell. Then it must circle back up and force its way through the dirt to reach the sunshine! For many of us, life can feel as if we are headed the wrong direction, it seems as if life is going downhill for us and it's just getting darker. Hold on! Don't give up! Soon you'll be circling back up and heading toward the light! No, the going won't be easy, but eventually you will see the Sonshine once more! Stay the course, you're doing exactly what you were designed to do! View past newsletters. Latest Content on the Songdove Musings Blog:
Christian Rock Ruined the Atheist!From rock music to books, movies to games, the debate occasionally raises its head, "Is it Christian, or just created by a Christian?" While I've seen this question debated more lately surrounding book genres, I've seen this discussion around music for many more years than that. The general consensus is often put forward that Christians write, sing, play, act, or ���Read more.
Proverbs 13:23 Much food. . . is destroyed for want of judgement!Take a moment to read the following news article, then read on for my rather personal thoughts on this matter: http://www.castanet.net/news/Canada... I know about this problem all too well! Because a single parent doesn't bring in a large income when trying to split their time between being there for their kids and work, not to mention trying to keep house ���Read more. In a Troubled Economy, Do You Know How to Survive?It's been an interesting two weeks recently with the various articles suddenly appearing in the news. In general, Canadians are concerned about Canada's economic outlook now that the NDP have so solidly sunk Alberta! The global price of oil has had a direct impact as well, because for reasons I'll never fathom, Canada's own oil prices are tied to the ���Read more.

So I was sitting here with my calculator, spreadsheet, and using google search as a converter, to figure out whether it was cheaper to once again start making bread at home, or travel to the local discount bread outlet to get 10 at a time. It turns out, that living where we are now, and with current prices being what they are at the store (which I was able to check online now thanks to the new addition of "click and collect"), it is once again cheaper for me to make my bread at home! I figured the cost of gasoline into the cost of the bread from the discount store, then subtracted the total cost of the list of ingredients for one loaf of bread here at home using the breadmaker. I didn't factor in electricity as I'm sure that's in the hundredth decimal place anyway using a 110w outlet for 4.5hrs. Without gas included, I'm saving $.80 per trip to get more bread. But the gas-included per loaf calculation ends up saving me roughly 1.39km worth of gas, or .17 per loaf. Considering the discount store sells 10 loaves for 1.40 each, that's like buying 10 loaves, getting one free, plus .21 cents extra. . . gas included! Everyone likes "buy-x get-y free", and while that isn't always a good deal, I have to say that all the driving I'm now doing at our new place and everything flung so far and wide, that saving $.17 per loaf of bread, or the equivalent of just over 1.39km worth of gas at factory specs for my vehicle city driving, will be a benefit! Those are one-way calculations only for gas, as I usually try to ensure trips that far into town include multiple stops for other things as well. But the 1.39km saved by making one loaf of bread at home, is 13.9km (for 10 loaves) worth of gas or just over one trip to my daughter's horse or to her workplace elsewhere in the city. Considering my gas tank fill is often around the 60-62litre mark, making my bread at home saves me just over 1L of gas or just over $.99 at current gas prices.Making my bread at home doesn't just have benefit in adding up pennies and subtracting or redirecting gas expenditures, it also has the added benefit of reducing the unhealthy aspects of store-bought bread. The preservatives aren't there for starters, the unpronounceable ingredients aren't there either. There's no food colouring or "natural flavours" being added, and tonight's calculations used honey and butter instead of canola oil and sugar as well. Now granted these ingredients are not organic, so the price of the same loaf of bread would probably double with certified organic and certified non-GMO ingredients, but this is the price list of ingredients currently in our home and that currently sit on the affordable shopping list. This bread then is still not considered 100% healthy as a result, but it is healthier than what you'll get when buying store-bought bread as a general rule.If you want to learn how I did the math to arrive at this type of calculation, you'll have to attend my 5wk course, "The Poor Man's Budget", in person or online. I discuss in wk3, how to use math at the grocery store to save money at the till. Calculating the cost of baking a single loaf of bread simply takes the grocery store calculations and breaks them down further. Check out course details at this short url which leads directly to the course page on my website: http://ow.ly/XzsqO

If only because it's too late to say "Happy New Year!" But here we are at the end of the first month of 2016 already!How has January been for you so far? Did you make any resolutions? If so, are you keeping them? Why or why not?The only resolution I began the year with, was to figure out how to get the bills paid. When you work as a contract computer repair tech, this is your slow time of year and that doesn't work very well with debt payments and bill due dates. Family members have been unable for various reasons, to contribute their usual room and board, so January's challenge was to somehow overcome the hurdles and pay the bills. Was I successful? No. But I did realize it was time to step out of my little hole in the wall and offer one of my courses as an actual class here in the Okanagan. I'll share more on that below. Sometimes it takes extraordinary circumstances before we are able to open our eyes and see beyond the walls of the ruts we get ourselves into.If such a thing has ever happened to you, feel free to share by responding to this newsletter, or by sharing on my various social media newsfeeds. NOW TAKING SIGN-UPS/REGISTRATIONS FOR"The Poor Man's Budget (or Anyone for that matter): A Five Week Course - Learning to live within your means".That's right! After careful consideration, I am hosting this one-hour class in my home and via webinar. I am able to have up to 14 people per session in person, and up to 25 people per session via webinar. Each 1hr session costs $5, and there are four time slots to choose from when signing up. Those attending in person have the option to pay for the entire 5 week course up front. Information about costs, time slots, learning objectives, etc, can be found here: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-HKFIVERRLast month, I joined Fiverr.com and have several writing gigs up there. Writing gigs and floppy disk holders sit alongside vocal recordings and getting people set up on either Mail Chimp or MailPoet (the one I use) If you'd like to check out what's on there, go to my profile here: https://www.fiverr.com/songdove---Wrap-upThis is a shorter newsletter. Most of my focus this month was on surviving, so not much action took place other than trying to get the first class off the ground for my course. As a result, what can often turn into a mini-devotional in this space or a rant, is causing me to draw a blank. Instead, feel free to visit the latest blog posts linked at the bottom of this newsletter.I do request your prayers moving into 2016. There are a number of things going on in and around my home life that need God's hand of breakthrough, healing or provision.Thanks in advance.---View past newsletters.---Latest Content on the Songdove Musings Blog:---Isaiah 5:8 Woe unto them that join house to house,Isaiah 5:8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! This verse came back to mind as I was reading the news on ctv.ca. Two headlines grabbed me and it wasn't hard to understand the intent of the ���---The proactive bird gets the worm!Not the bird that runs around imitating quail caught in perpetual indecision. Not the bird running around imitating a dead chicken's nerves in the barnyard. No, we're talking about the bird who imitates the Robin, ear to the ground, following the sound of dinner as it invariably pops near the surface somewhere. The bird that imitates the ducks and geese ���---1 Samuel 7 - Prepare Your Hearts and Serve Him ONLY!1 Samuel 7:3-4 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. 4 Then ���

Are you concerned about the Canadian economy? Does your income seem to be disappearing faster than anticipated? Would you be interested in spending just $5 each day for 5 weeks to learn tips and tricks to better manage your household finances?

Then you'll want to sign up to take this course, "The Poor Man's Budget (or anyone for that matter): A Five Week Course - Learning to live within your means.

At just $5 per day, this course is aimed at those who are struggling with their finances. Anyone of any income bracket can take this course, because anyone regardless of income can find themselves struggling to make ends meet and occaisonally feeling financially poor.

Those wishing to attend in person, can pay the entire course amount up front if you wish. $125 is the total cost of attending this course.

If you don't have that much free right off the bat, don't worry! $5 per day will be just fine as well. Students attending via the online webinar will not have the option to pay up front and will pay the $5 fee each time they access the day's webinar.

For those who might miss a day's session, the online webinars will be recorded and require the $5 fee to view.

Each student is encouraged to pick up a copy of the Student Workbook. This will cost you $6.50 + $7 S&H. Order it direct through me, the author, at: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-EA and you will pick up your book in class shortly after it arrives. Online students will have your book drop-shipped to you directly.

For those who like to be organized before taking a class, the Three Month Journal is also available for purchase: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-Er for $10 plus $7 S&H. If you order this book and sign up to take the course, you will be notified when the next intake is closer to the end of your three month time frame.

The sign-up form (http://songdove.fa-ct.com/stuff/atten...) contains several choices: Your choice of what time of day would suit you best to take the course - how you wish to take the course, whether in person or online - which sum of funds you wish to pay - how you wish to remit payment. So pay careful attention to the form as you fill it out. A digital version is available here: http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-m.... Your email address will be added to a mailing list just for this course, so that information requiring quick updates to students can happen efficiently. After the course is over, you may unsubscribe, or your email will be moved to an alumni list for infrequent contact from me.

So pass this course announcement around to all your friends!

NOTE: I only have room for an in-person class of up to 14 people at any given time! You have four time slots to choose from, and three of them will be worked into any given intake session. (if the 11am slot is full, the 1pm slot won't be used but if the 11am slot is empty, the 1pm slot will be used, so I can eat lunch!)

That's right, we are in "the lull". This is that time of year when the celebrations are largely over for Christmas. They haven't quite begun for New Year's, and we are in between. In between isn't necessarily a bad place to be. Some of us need this time to recuperate from a busy holiday season. Some of us need this time to plan for 2016. Some of us use this time to reflect and look forward.I am in two of those groups, the recuperation and reflection groups. Tonight I went over 6hrs between meals which only added to the need for recuperation. Health needs combined with busy schedules will do that. December had been so busy that writing, blogging, and marketing and promotion all largely came to a halt. My first blog post of the month went up yesterday as a result, and kind of looks like a personal newsletter. As I share in that post, I couldn't get my head around marketing and promotion this Christmas. Eventually I agreed that people do like to find deals at this time of year and figured I'd put together a 10% off deal direct from my printer/shipper. After doing the math, I realized that anyone taking advantage of the deal for ALL my paperbacks, would in-effect, give themselves two of the books for FREE! This deal is still on till January 3rd, so if you have friends or reading groups, or even Bible study groups interested in new material, send them this link. https://www.facebook.com/notes/mari...
A new book came out at the beginning of December that you may only have heard about if you follow me on my social media accounts via LinkedIn, G+, Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook. The new book is enttitled, "30 Days of Advent Colouring Journal". Each of the 30 days contains an Advent thought, a Jesse Tree thought, Scripture, questions, an image to colour, and a place to journal your thoughts for that day. For years where Advent can end up taking 32 days, there are two "insert" dates at the back of the book, with notes in the front introduction suggesting where to insert them into your monthly celebration. Colouring images range from very simple to quite complex, allowing all members of the family to get in on the colouring and journaling. Buy a new copy of the book each year and develop colouring journal keepsakes where you can look back on thoughts God gave you in years past, as well as watch your family's colouring prowess grow with time. It is available via Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1928160115...) and other online locations for $8.49. Also new this month, I joined Fiverr.com and have several writing gigs up there. One poem gig has already sold, a floppy disk brochure holder has sold, and another gig is enroute to being delivered. If you'd like to check out what's on there, go to my profile here: https://www.fiverr.com/songdoveOne of the things people like to read when the year comes to an end, are Top 10 lists. Here is my list of the top pages and posts from my blog over the course of 2015. This was difficult to put together because the page/post trackers I use either don't track by year (only tracking for "all time") or they don't take into account ALL traffic in a given year, only focusing on NEW or Unique visitors! So I'll give you two lists:All-Time Top 10:Goal-setting. Revisiting an old Friend 276 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...Busy Weekend Coming Up! Christmas Sale and Google Play Winter Give-away! 247 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...A Conference, Zombies, the World Stage and the Christian ��� a word from a watchman! 105 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...Genesis 17: God, Will You Bless My Efforts on Your Behalf? 98 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...Every High Thing Must Come Down, So Lift Up the Mighty Shield of Faith, Because I���m Not Givin��� Up! 80 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...Review of The Name Quest, by John Avery 73 views
Deuteronomy 4: Of Words, Hearts and the Nature of God 71 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...Where is the Church in Our Throw-Away Society and its Accompanying Culture of Death?! 71 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...���Back to School Bundle for the Entire Family!��� 68 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...Welcome to a totally new rendition of ���The Twelve Days of Christmas���! 65 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...
Top 10 for 2015 - Unique Visitors Only:Mom's Little Black Book: Godly Advice for the High School Graduate 153 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...Valentine's Day Giveaway 140 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...Home page / Archives 107 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...A Conference, Zombies, the World Stage and the Christian - a word from a watchman! 97 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...(JVZ) Creating Your Very First E-Book! 70 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...Deuteronomy 4: Of Words, Hearts and the Nature of God 57 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...Where is the Church in Our Throw-Away Society and its Accompanying Culture of Death?! 57 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...Genesis 17: God, Will You Bless My Efforts on Your Behalf? 51 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...Songdove Books $15 e-Courses for the Aspiring Author 38 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress..."Back to School Bundle for the Entire Family!" 38 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...(jvz) So you want to be an author! 22-Day E-Course Based on Practical Thoughts on Becoming an Author" 37 views
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress...As you can see, there are some similarities between the two lists. These lists change again if I pull them from Google Analytics, but although I can get to be a statistics junky at times, I won't bore my readers with a third iteration of what visitors were tracked to come up with yet another list.I pray as you look back over 2015 this week, that you will see God's hand guiding you through the difficult times, bring blessings your way in the good times, and showing you the silver lining. I pray God's blessings over you in 2016 as well.

Songdove Books is offering 10% off all purchases made directly from Createspace now through to January 3rd. Filling your cart with every single paperback in this list will give you the equivalent of two books FREE! This sale includes all the recently-released books this Fall including the Study Journal for ���Becoming the Bride of Christ: A Personal Journey���, the ���One Year Prayer Journal��� companion to ���A Year in Prayer With Jesus���, the entire set, ���The Poor Man���s Budget: A Five Week Course - Learning to live within your means���, and the Christmas release, ���30 Days of Advent Colouring Journal���.All links are below. Remember to use the code: TSXQHAXR to get your discount! Because Createspace.com treats every sale as if it were unique, here is my shopping tip:1.Click the first link you wish to buy below.
2. Choose ���Add to cart���. When this screen opens and you can see your purchase. Close this purchase tab.
3. Click the next link you wish to buy from the links below.
4. Choose ���Add to cart���. You will now see both your purchases in the shopping cart. Close this purchase tab.
5. Repeat the above steps till you get to the last link you wish to purchase. Open that link.
6. Choose ���Add to cart���. This time, DO NOT close this tab. Instead, proceed to check out making sure you have added your discount code.

Remember, when you buy ALL the books in this list, you are in effect, giving yourself TWO FREE BOOKS for Christmas! That���s a pretty decent Christmas gift don���t you think?

Here are the links:

Becoming the Bride of Christ: A Personal Journey:
https://www.createspace.com/3672131 Volume One
https://www.createspace.com/3933868 Volume Two
https://www.createspace.com/3958072 Volume Three
https://www.createspace.com/3958097 Volume Four
https://www.createspace.com/3958124 Volume Five
https://www.createspace.com/3960362 Volume Six
https://www.createspace.com/3964570 Leader's Guide
https://www.createspace.com/5880758 Study Journalhttps://www.createspace.com/4249405 Mom's Little Black Bookhttps://www.createspace.com/4473695 Dressed for Eternityhttps://www.createspace.com/4757959 A Year in Prayer With Jesus
https://www.createspace.com/5865573 One Year Prayer JournalThe Poor Man���s Budget: A Five Week Course: Learning to live within your means:
https://www.createspace.com/5816567 Instructor's Manual
https://www.createspace.com/5816674 Student's Workbook
https://www.createspace.com/5862344 Three Month Journalhttps://www.createspace.com/5906459 30 Day Advent Colouring JournalMerry Christmas!

Many of you will be wondering what happened to the October newsletter. . . There is good reason for why it got missed this Fall. I and my family were moving across town that week. Boxes and small critters both proved more than my allergic asthma could handle, so if I wasn't packing, I was coughing and if I wasn't coughing, I was attempting to have the wherewithal to get anything else done, which wasn't much. We are no longer living in a small 2-bedroom apartment and instead are now in a roomy half-duplex! There is SO much room here, that we are still having to get used to the space. The rec room downstairs is currently populated with rodents, old dining room chairs, and craft desks made out of cardboard. We'll eventually have that room more usable.

So what exactly has Songdove Books been up to over the past two months?

October was largely spent packing up the house. In early October, I was pleased to be part of a blog tour for Corine Hyman's latest book: "Teaching Christ's Children About Feeling Angry". (http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/2015/10/05/book-review-teaching-christs-children-about-feeling-angry/) You can read that review at the link above.

Prayer cards for "A Year in Prayer With Jesus" got part way through the seventh month before packing got in the way both of creating more, and scheduling them for daily postings through hootesuite. So if you've wondered where they went and why they seemed to disappear, that's why. The second reason has been available time with unpacking at the new place and attempting to set down a new schedule. In some ways it has been easier to attempt new things, than go back to repetitive "old" things, if that makes any sense. I haven't completely left the concept of expanding "A Year in Prayer With Jesus" to prayer cards, in fact, a second idea hit me for that book after taking in a webinar a couple weeks ago.

The webinar I sat in on was about creating books in an afternoon. The general consensus is to scoff at that prospect, but a style of book was presented that we all see on bookstore shelves, stationery shelves, etcetera. That style of book is known as the day planner, journal, activity book, or colouring book. After taking this webinar, I was literally amazed at how quickly those books can be created, and created well! Since taking that webinar, the following journals now accompany a couple existing books, and a completely new project that I began in September and completed in late October. In fact the proofs for my newest project didn't arrive until the week after the move!

Let me introduce you to:

"The Poor Man's Budget: Or Anyone for That Matter - a Five Week Course - Learning to live within your means".

This course is broken down into an instructor's manual (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1928160069), a student's workbook (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1928160077), and after the webinar I took, a three-month journal (http://amzn.to/1PY95ng) that helps the student prepare for the five week course. This course takes the student

��� from understanding where their money is going,

��� to the concept of needs versus wants and

��� correctly identifying a need from a want,

��� discussing self-discipline and self-control as it pertains to curbing unnecessary spending and

��� using that "found money" to pay down debts and make needs easier to afford.

This course is great for benevolence ministries seeking to help their clients learn better financial management, great for outreach ministries to the community aimed at helping struggling folk get on their feet again, etc. Both the Instructor's Manual and the Student's Workbook cost $6.50 each, and the three-month journal costs $10.00 Instructors have full permission to photocopy worksheets out of their manual if cost is an issue and their students can't afford workbooks, or the instructor decides that binders would be better in their situation than the workbook. These are all available on Amazon as we speak, and will soon pop up on my blog store and other locations around the 'net as well.

"One Year Prayer Journal"

Another journal created because of this webinar, is "The One Year Prayer Journal" (http://amzn.to/1PATQCa). This journal can be used separately from "A Year in Prayer With Jesus", but is otherwise designed to accompany that book. It is available on Amazon now as well for $15.00 and offers 365 journal pages to help you record important thoughts and prayers as you go through each day's private devotions.


ADDITION TO THE BBOC FAMILY!

A third journal to come out of my time in this webinar is "Becoming the Bride of Christ: Study Journal". (http://amzn.to/1HlMnUW) That's right, "Becoming the Bride of Christ: A Personal Journey" now has a study journal to accompany the six volumes in the series. This JUST hit Amazon this very week! The cost is $9.75, placing it in the same affordable range as the rest of the books in the series. Now you can write down your favourite verse from each day's session, favourite song, the topic you want to explore further, and any musings and thoughts as you consider applying what you read to your own life that day. Currently, the colour on the cover of the study journal matches the Leader's Guide, however, if people request it, I can make more versions that match the covers of the other volumes in the series as well.

---
Wrap-up and Future Projects

Other potential journals in the works are an Advent/Jesse Tree activity journal where you can gather as a family to read God's Word, colour a picture, and journal thoughts around the table/couch/tree however you do family altar in your home. Another potential journal is a gratitude journal, encouraging the user to thank God more often for things, people, events, gifts, etc. that come their way. My goal is to provide one verse for each day of an entire year on the subjects of thankfulness, thanksgiving, and blessing God for all He's done for us. I've only come across 176 verses so far. A friend pointed out that if I included horizontal relationships as well, I'd have far more than a year's worth on the subject. But that is not the focus, the focus is thanking GOD for all HE has done through others or perhaps even directly ir indirectly. I'm four verses short of doing six monthly gratitude journals or two three month journals.

I'm hoping to get the rough draft of the Advent/Jesse Tree activity journal done before Sunday this very week so that I can begin using the readings for my own Advent celebrations here at home this year. We have been celebrating Advent and/or the Jesse Tree for the past several years, and my activity journal will feature a combination of Scriptures, headings, and thoughts that are combined and reworded from various calendars we have looked at as a family. There is a decided focus on Christ's soon return as opposed to His first advent here on earth. That advent is generously mentioned, but as the saying goes, we look back to look ahead. Many of the focuses necessary back then are just as necessary now, so the correlations are quite awesome!

As if packing, moving and unpacking weren't making me busy enough, this author, mother and computer repair tech is also getting active with her choir in taking the Gospel to the community! Our first performance out in the community is this coming Saturday and my daughter is playing her handmade pictish harp (http://ashgrove.fa-ct.com/) that same day, at the same venue herself. She now has a sampler CD out, so if you've never heard a pictish harp, you can pick up her sampler for $5 plus S&H at this url here: (http://kunaki.com/Sales.asp?PID=PX007081MP&PP=1)

I feel as if I haven't had time to truly catch my breath yet. The journals have been something fun, easy, and quick to do, unlike other projects I'd otherwise be working on that require more hours in my day than I have available right now. Unfortunately, work has been slow too, so the busyness has not translated into monthly income. I ask my readers to pray for an increase in my work schedule, pray that my books get into the hands of those who need them, and that the monthly prayer card decks that have been created so far will get into the computers of those who need them as well. I understand that not everyone wants what I write, so I need people to share about my books to help others who do want them, discover them. For those who are uncomfortable ordering anything online, I now have a PDF order form that can be printed and mailed directly to me, and I will personally fulfill your order and have it drop-shipped to you from the warehouse.

Maybe by January I will be able to catch my breath again and resume the more tedious projects that I have on the go. We shall see. In the meantime, as busy as the Christmas season can get at times for many of us, let us deliberately make time to enjoy the reason for the season and why He came! He didn't come to bring tinsel and candy. He came to die so that our sins would be paid for, and rise again so that we'd have eternal life with Him forever! Let us not get caught up in the materialistic nature of the West's consumerist culture, but let us instead be caught up in the greatest gift that was ever given to us, Jesus Christ Himself! The baby in a manger has grown up and now awaits reunion with His betrothed Bride, the Church. What gift are you giving Him this Christmas?

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View past newsletters. http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/past-newsletters/
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Latest Content on the Songdove Musings Blog:
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Ruth Chapter 3: Sit Still, my daughter. . .
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/2015/11/19/ruth-chapter-3-sit-still-my-daughter/

Ruth 3:18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day. I had been in prayer this morning, bringing needs before the Lord and thanking Him, showing appreciation for all that He has provided this Fall. I was ���

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From Destructive Sheeple Behaviour in Judges to the Determination of Ruth
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/2015/11/16/from-destructive-sheeple-behaviour-in-judges-to-the-determination-of-ruth/

My notes for the book of Judges were sparse to say the least. If there is a book showing the incredible yo-yo effect of followers rather than those who make solid choices, this book was it! The book of Judges also shows the dangers of not following God's commands fully, as nations they had not wiped out rose up time ���

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Judges 11: The Other Side of Jephthah's Story
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/2015/10/13/judges-11-the-other-side-of-jephthahs-story/

My blogging has been quiet through the Book of Judges so far. Israel was doing what it did best at that time, serving God and then whoring after other gods. God was keeping His promises, the positive ones as well as the negative ones, and ensuring that in His way of doing things, the beneficial or bothersome consequences of a ���

You are invited to take part in a special collaboration project to bring Scriptural encouragement and poetry into the lives of those who love to think, muse and mull over life by putting pen to paper.

I am looking for at least 30 entries that meet the following criteria:

- Poem must be four stanzas or shorter. If the poem is four stanzas, each stanza can have no more than 4 lines and will potentially be presented in a smaller font to fit it and other details on the same page.

- Poem must have been inspired by some Scriptural principle that can be encapsulated in a single Bible Verse. Please include verse reference with your submission.

- Author by-line includes full author name and website address. If you don't have a website or blog, please include your Amazon author page or other URL where your books and bio can be found, such as your Facebook Author page, G+ Author page, etc.

I reserve the right to vet poems so as to achieve the desired flow and feel of the journal.

Your poem will be presented across from a page where the reader can record their thoughts and musings.

Remuneration is in the form of sending people to your website to buy your books. (btw, that word is spelled correctly! http://grammarist.com/spelling/remunerate-renumerate/)

You may submit more than one poem, but only one poem will go into the book. If I get enough submissions over and above what one book will fill, I will consider a second poetic journal and perhaps turn it into a series of journals.

If I get enough submissions before Christmas, this book will be released in time to make it a great last-minute Christmas gift for the coming year!

I'm writing this now, as the few days that remain of September next week will be too busy for me to think about this. Even as I type to you now, the primary thought for the evening is "exhaustion"! The afternoon was spent going for a nice long walk with my daughter, followed up with a trip to our house guest's location where they had other stuff stored to pick it up and bring it home. In between those two events, cages were cleaned, vacuuming was done, etc. Upon return with more boxes, it was time to go through things and find homes for it all. To my pleasant surprise, most of our house-guest's things assimilated into our home without much hassle. Dinner was eaten, a few more details were tidied up including building a cardboard enclosure for one cage so it's occupant could skip around and dig without sending shavings all over the floor, and my lungs began to seize up. Exhaustion set in as my daughter practiced her harp. (https://www.facebook.com/ashgrovetunes) That was the perfect way to end a crazy second half of the day and she wrapped up by playing 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.

That is an apt song for this household right now. One of the items to enter our home was a handheld native drum given to our house guest years ago on Vancouver Island. Because they did not know the background of the gift giver, once everything was put away it was time to lay hands on the drum, wrest any dedication away from the enemy and dedicate it to the Holy Spirit's purposes instead, covering it in the Blood of Jesus Christ.

Now I sit here a) exhausted, b) glad an antihistamine appears to be kicking in, and c) most definitely telling God that we are trusting Him to help us as we reach out to help our house guest. If the faith walk in our home hadn't been one of adventure before, it has stepped up yet again. My monthly income was lower than it needs to be for the second month in a row and we are looking at moving into someplace larger to accommodate everyone more comfortably. We have an injured family member whose injury from April has not healed enough for him to return to work, so some of the cost-sharing that was going on has been affected as well. In the natural, what we are doing is crazy and won't make sense to those on the outside, but we are on a faith journey where God is calling us to trust Him in ever-increasing measure.

Not only that, but this entire scenario has given way to my writing a third course. This course is not writing-related this time 'round, and it has both an instructor's manual and a student workbook. This course is not taught via email snippets every day, but in at least 1hr minimum of class time with a group of students every day Monday to Friday for five weeks.

The title of this course is "The Poor Man's Budget (Or Anyone For That Matter) - Learning to live within your means. This course draws heavily on the lessons I have learned over the years living below the Canadian poverty line, which is actually quite high. Canada raise its poverty line into the low $30k range a few years ago, up from $28k or $29k annual income. I remember cheering one year when my gross yearly income actually topped the poverty line! However that was before they raised it. Considering income levels around the world, earning roughly $2k per month still places us in the well-off category in many countries. However, most people here in North America don't know how to live on just $2k/month. When they find themselves earning "so little", they scramble, not knowing how to pare back their spending to match. Low-income earners and "The Working Poor" often find themselves earning this much per month or less. When times get tough financially in the future, more people will need to learn how to look after basic needs, pay down debts, and generally survive on much less than they are earning now. There is a way to do that, and I teach how I've done it for decades, in this new course soon to be released this fall.

Editing so far has been minimal with one long-time editor of my books telling me that my spelling and grammar have drastically improved since she first began editing my rough drafts several years ago. I just need one more set of eyes on the course and then it will be ready for release to the public.

BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

The Fall Back to School Book Bundle is still on sale through to the end of October, so if you wanted to get it but were waiting for funds to come in, you still have time. It is only available directly through me and features the latest 3 paperbacks and one ebook for up to 25% off other online retail locations, including my own blog store! Use the paypal button at this url (http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/2015/08/24/back-to-school-bundle-for-the-entire-family/) to place your order. If you don't have paypal, use the credit card option after clicking that button instead. Be sure to include the mailing address where you want the books sent, and the email address where you wish to receive your ebook.

Prayer Cards From "A Year in Prayer With Jesus"

Month Six prayer cards for "A Year in Prayer With Jesus" are now completely scheduled through to October 13th which lands on the Tuesday following the Canadian Thanksgiving celebration! That means Months 1 - 3 are now on sale at 25% off with coupon code: pc-ypwj-123.

All decks, whether 30 days or 31 days, sell for $20 each and are usable as desktop backgrounds, in your screensaver app (randomly), or printed at 300 DPI on your colour printer.

You may purchase one copy for home, a second work, another for your office at church, etc. If you have a Bible study group you wish to purchase for, contact me and we'll discuss special pricing.

The first three months below now have their links reflecting the sale's coupon code so that you don't have to enter it. This sale will last till the next three months have been completed.


Month One: https://gum.co/PC-YPWJ/pc-ypwj-123
Month Two: https://gum.co/PC2-YPWJ/pc-ypwj-123
Month Three: https://gum.co/PC3-YPWJ/pc-ypwj-123
Month Four: https://gumroad.com/l/PC4-YPWJ
Month Five: https://gumroad.com/l/PC5-YPWJ
Month Six: https://gum.co/PC6-YPWJ

News Related to the Songdove Books Affiliate Program

Have you signed up as a Songdove Books Affiliate yet? I know some of you like to share my books with your online friends from time to time, so why not get 20% kickback for your trouble?

Click2Sell and JVZoo only offer this percentage on my two e-courses, however the recent additions this month of Gumroad and Payhip also let you earn this percentage on sales of my books too!

Check out this link on my site for more information. http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/become-a-songdove-books-affiliate/ Help me get word out about my books and e-courses, and get paid for every sale made from your efforts!

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Wrap-up

I am so tired tonight that I am going to keep this short. Blog articles lately have been a bit "in your face" and one of them is a scathing look at current events and the issues they are creating around us both in and out of the Church and what the Church either should or is already doing. My daughter has made me her own rendition of mulled hot cocoa and I've asked for extra turmeric both tonight as well as last night. So I will sign off and let you enjoy the three blog posts below.

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View past newsletters. http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/past-newsletters/
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Latest Content on the Songdove Musings Blog:
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Where is the Church in Our Throw-Away Society and its Accompanying Culture of Death?!
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/2015/09/22/where-is-the-church-in-our-throw-away-society-and-its-accompanying-culture-of-death/

Ok, I'm ticked off! Ticked off at our throw-away society in the so-called modern world! I won't use the term civilized, because that means different things to different people in different places around the world, and I'm not really sure that many areas of the globe are falling into that category too well right now. We used to use terms ���


A Conference, Zombies, the World Stage and the Christian - a word from a watchman!
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/2015/09/18/a-conference-zombies-the-world-stage-and-the-christian-a-word-from-a-watchman/

In a dream my daughter shared with me for a second time tonight, she and Isaiah had gone to a youth conference in another town, they went into an auditorium packed full of people. Much was being said and it was unsettling, but she had not paid attention to what exactly was being shared. They went back to the hotel ���


My Review of CrashPlan Unlimited Backup Service
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/2015/09/01/my-review-of-crashplan-unlimited-backup-service/

As a computer repair technician by day, I am a huge proponent of security! This means paying attention to how users behave online in particular, but it also relates to data security. It is not uncommon for me to inquire of a business client whether or not they have a backup system in place. I've had clients recently lose a ���

Fall has definitely kicked into gear around Songdove Books!

To begin with, we launched the Fall Back To School Book Bundle - 4 books for $74.49 when ordered directly through me, the author! This offer is not being offered anywhere but on my author blog and ends October 31st. You will receive up to 25% off the reguar retail price of other online retailers.�� Click here to visit the actual promotion to find the exclusive buy link for this promo: http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/2015/08/24/back-to-school-bundle-for-the-entire-family/

The second thing to happen this Fall is that we finally reached Month Six of the prayer cards based on "A Year in Prayer With Jesus"! Each deck contains either 30 or 31 days' worth of printable hi-res (300 dpi) prayer cards, 7 cards per day to match the seven prayer prompts in the book. These decks only cost $20 each, which is less than 20 cents per image. By most graphic artists' standards, that's a steal as they'd often charge at least $1 per card or more. However at that price, each monthly deck would cost well over $200! Multiply that by 12 months and the price would be $2,400!!! When I saw THAT figure, I squawked! Charging just $20 per monthly deck reduces the total outlay by the time you collect all 12 months, to just $240! That's much easier to swallow!

A section on my website will eventually contain all 12 months' worth of cards in a manner where you can buy just one or two or a small handful. They will be $1 each as downloads, and other prices as you turn them into cards or stickers or other options that are available. I still haven't found the best way to present them on the site yet. It appears that even standard screensaver technology still won't let you display certain cards at certain times of day either, so it's not just photo galleries not having this capability yet. I'll find it eventually.

In the meantime, I am pleased to announce that Month Six has finally been completed, and in celebration of getting half way through creating these printable card decks, the first three months are now on sale for 25% off! Use the following links to make use of this sale:

Month One: sale https://gum.co/PC-YPWJ/pc-ypwj-123
Month Two: sale https://gum.co/PC2-YPWJ/pc-ypwj-123
Month Three: sale https://gum.co/PC3-YPWJ/pc-ypwj-123

This sale is only good for the length of time it takes me to complete the next three months' worth of printable prayer cards! So we'll see how long the next set takes to complete.