AngelaBenson.com

Maybe I should have titled this post, Making Time for Friends.

I just spent a few days with four ladies (Darlene, Cassandra, Brenda and Linda) who went to undergraduate school with me at Spelman College in Atlanta way back in the day. Three were absent from our gathering this year (Valerie, Marilyn and Shirley), so we were down a bit.

We were all in a dual degree engineering program, where after spending three years at Spelman and two years at Georgia Tech, we were to be awarded bachelor’s degrees from both schools. Things changed from freshman year to senior year, with a couple of us continuing the dual route (five years) and the rest taking advantage of the corporate opportunities available at that time (and they were numerous) for math/science four-year graduates.

Though we all went the corporate route after graduation, none of us are in corporate America now. Four of us are educators, one’s a small business owner, one’s a federal employeee, and one’s a technical consulant. I guess the technical consultant could be considered a corporate worker, but since she’s taking a break from that right now I’m counting her on the other side.

When I look at our lives, I see differences and similarities. Three of us are single, no kids; two of us are divorced (one with kids, one without); and two of us are married with kids. No one among us is a grandparent yet, but a couple have children that put them at risk (smile) for becoming the first one to attain that title. We’re getting older so we’re seeing various health issues crop us. We’ve had classmates and parents pass away. We’re living life so we experience the ups and downs of life in our group.

The good thing is that we’re all Christians. We typically set aside some time to pray for each other the night before we leave. I had to leave early this time to get back for a meeting and we were all rushing around so we didn’t have a special prayer time before I left and I feel that I missed something special. If it’s possible, I’m going to get back up there to spend that last evening with them. We meet at Brenda’s house in rural southern Tennessee, which is only about 3.5 hours from me, so the return trip is doable.

We have another tradition as well. Darlene, the poet amongst us, writes a poem each year as her gift to us. Though it wasn’t finished (by her standards), she shared it with us before I left. Let’s just say, she’s gifted in that area, and the poem really ministered to us as a group. She’s going to mail me the finished copy and I’ll share it with you when she does. We also did a photo shoot this year, with a professional photograher. I’ll share those photos, after getting permission from my friends. Don’t worry, it was a fun shoot. We wore our group t-shirts and goofed around a bit.

Back to the title. . .making time for friends.

Even though this trip is always a wonderful time for me, every year I drag my heels about getting ready for it. It really makes no sense. It’s as though I can see all these other things that I need to be doing, when in fact nothing that I could do would be as encouraging or as important as what we do together for those few days.

My word to you (and to myself): Value the people that God has placed in your life. Love them with all your heart and do things that show them that you love them. One of the easiest things that you can do (and the hardest) is spend time with them. Stop making excuses and do it!

Keep counting those blessings! Your friends are among them.

Have a great week!

For the last six weeks or so, I’ve been involved in the painful process of finding a car. My mind has been filled (to overflowing) with questions: used or new? lease or buy? sedan or SUV? msrp or invoice? Okay, the answer to that last question was easy — invoice! Actually, since we’re in the model year closeout period, “under invoice” is a good deal.

After all the dilberations, I’ve finally settled on a car. I drove it home last night and I go back today to sign all the papers. The good news is that now I can focus on something else as this car thing has completely consumed me. I won’t even talk about how much money I’ve had to spend to rental cars. Let’s just say that National is probably going to send me a holiday card.

Now summer fun can begin. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to put about 2000 miles on the new baby.

Speaking of babies. My new book is due September 1 which means things are going to get tight as the deadline draws closer. The good news is that I’m on track to finish in time.

Back to the car. You know, I did all the reasearch (Edmunds, CarsDirect, and the especially informative, leaseguide) and contacted a variety of dealers for quotes. Guess what? I ended up with what I wanted–my best offer came from a local dealership withou that much haggling. Yes, God takes care of the everyday things like cars as well and He knows more about cars than I do.

You gotta count those blessings!

Have a great week!

Okay, I know that’s an odd title for a post but it captures well my thoughts this morning. Can I be content being content? I have a full-time job that I love and a blossoming writing career. I’m happy with both.

BUT. . .Yes, there’s a but.

Because I have a full-time job, my writing life and career differ from that of other writers. Just the other day, I got a notice from a writer friend, Jacquelin Thomas, who’s done an Amazon short. Now I’ve wanted to do one of those for my non-fiction book but I’ve never gotten around to it. Getting Jacqui’s e-mail made me feel badly about not gettting around to it. When I see the innovative and creative promotional activities of other writers, I begin to think that I need to do something. I’m not sure what, but definitely something.

Here’s where we get to “Content being Content.”

I have to live my life. I can’t live Jacqui’s life or the life of any other author. My writing career exists within the broader boundaries of my life, which includes the full-time job that I love. This means that I can’t do all the things that full-time writers do. I can’t do all the conferences, my e-mail responses aren’t as prompt, my blog is not updated as often. Sometimes I get overwelmed thinking about all that I could be doing.

So I have to prioritize how I spend my time. The writing has to come first. I’m learning that I have to delegate many of the non-writing actitivies to others. So I have to hire people to help me with those things that I can’t do personally. I just have to get organized enough to figure out when and where I need help. I would love to have a personal assistant (perfect part-time job for a student), but I need to figure out what the personal assistant would do. You see my problem?

On a more urgent note. . .

The trade paperback of The Amen Sisters releases in November and I know I’ll need help promoting it. I have a great Internet publicist on my short-list but her schedule is pretty packed and she’s not sure she can take on my book, so I need help. If any of you know any publicists who may be able to help me, let me know. I need to make a decision within the next few weeks.

Content being Content. . .That’s going to be my motto. I have to “do me,” as the kids would say, and you have to “do you.” Let’s not forget that.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. -1 Timothy 6:6