Someday - What a wonderful song!

It's Time to Grow Again...

I'm humbled in many ways to watch God's hands work in the lives of our writers and audiences. So many have grown. It's truly exciting.

As we step farther into the dawning technology that the internet provides, I'm pleased to announce that the Next-Step-of-Faith website is also getting more tech savvy.

WE ARE ALLOWING LINKS TO OUR WRITER'S PERSONAL BLOGS!

For a long time, I've intentionally tried to decommercialize the Next-Step-of-Faith website. I've not wanted one reader to feel like they were being asked to give anything more than their time or their feedback to receiving the talents on our website. I'm chosen to protect my writers email addresses from spam robots by not providing direct emails.

However, the good news is that several of our writers have bloomed to start their own web blogs, a place for their own stories to be told, and their own writing practice to be improved. I am very proud of all of you, and I am blessed to know that in some small way, the Next-Step-of-Faith website helped to encourage you to take your writing seriously.

So, starting this month, the Next-Step-of-Faith website will be adding links to all writers' bio pages who have blogs. We encourage all of you to add a text or graphic link to the Next-Step-of-Faith website. I've uploaded the HTML code to the "For Writers" page on the website.

If you have any questions, just let me know. I am looking forward to the May Issue of the "Relative Steps" to announce this new feature to our readers.

To give you just a few examples of blogs using the logo, check out:

Joanne Sampl

Write Coaching

I look forward to hearing from all of you soon about your blog interests.

Blessings to you all,

Joanne Sampl - Editor

Gearing Up for Slowing Down

It's funny how our gears need to shift with the seasons. We gear up for the busyness of spring and summer, and then even need to gear up for the slower seasons of the fall and winter. Do we have the groceries we need ready for the indoor cooking instead of outdoor barbecue for meal preparation? Have we check our closets for warmer clothes (that fit, ofcourse)? Shopping for school supplies and organization accessories fill the month of September for me.

It seems with every season change there is a realm of transitioning that goes with it.
For the Next-Step-of-Faith website and newsletter, I find it is no different. We are growing and improving every month. Our writing coach, Margaret Cook, has stepped up to help me edit, spell check and grammar check each written entry to give our readers a better experience on our website. We have new writers sending in articles every month, and new readers passing on the link to the website more and more often. It is a good season of growth for our website.

I am blessed to be your editor, your friend and your fellow writer for the Next-Step-of-Faith. Thanks so much for the privilege of sharing this experience with you!

Pulling it all together...

In November 2007, Next-Step-of-Faith will be celebrating it's second birthday. It's been my prayer from the beginning that the website would be a blessing to our readers and we would continue to grow with more writers having more stories to tell about the way God works in their lives. I'm so humbled to realize that God has answered my prayer already. Thank you to each of you for the way you have contributed.

It's with the joyful success of all the work you've done that I've started a new prayer. It seems very doable now, with my background in graphic design and desktop publishing and your plentiful contributions to the website, that we could actually compile a "best of" devotional book. There's a lot of work to be done, and possibly many of you will be asked to touch up some of the works you've already submitted so that we can improve on the quality of the publication, but I believe it will all be worth it.

Please check this blog often for more information about the compilation book, and let me know what you think about it, okay?

God is working to pull us all together on a website, and now we are looking at what He could do to pull us all together in a devotional book. Isn't He just wonderful????

Cherishing Time

It's June already. Where has the time gone? I realize that every moment is valuable and should be cherished, but am I constantly amazed at how quickly time flies by. Has it been over a year since I started the "Relative Steps" e-newsletter for our website? Has it almost been two years since I launched the "Next-Step-of-Faith" website? Oh my! What an exciting blessing this website and it's e-newsletter are to so many.

As many of you know, I've had some recent health concerns. In fact, because of my back and other complications, I wasn't able to produce the May 2007 issue of "Relative Steps." It was our Anniversary Issue, and I was deeply disappointed that so many things got in the way. However, I am delighted that so many writers responded to my request for new material in May, that the June edition and our website now features over 15 new articles and devotionals. And, I still have a few articles already lined up for the July edition. Thank you all!

But most importantly, I hope that each of the NSOF writers realizes what a gift from God it is to write and express what He's doing in our lives. And, then, it is such a humbling pleasure to be able to share our website with new people we meet every day. With all the doctor and hospital stuff I've been through lately, I am amazed at the opportunities God gave me to share our web address with so many. When people asked how I was coping, I gladly responded that I am a woman of faith, and that our website is a place of encouragement and comfort.

So, even though I didn't have the time to get the website updated and the newsletter out, I still had some incredibly cherishing times telling others about God is doing in our lives.

I hope you also cherish time and the opportunities you have to share the love of God with others.

Blessings to you all,
Joanne

Another Cold Snap

In the midwest, we've had some blasts of cold lately. Of course, we're not the only ones. The conversations about the weather across the country are long and windy in many ways. As the Weather Channel illustrates, belowing freezing temperatures for over a week are not nearly as dramatic as the 6 to 7 feet of snowfall in New York state. Winter is definitely here and it doesn't feel like it will be ending any time soon.

So, what about other "cold snaps" in our lives? Where do unexpected blasts of stress, turmoil and even tragedy freeze your heart and your faith?

Recently, the third anniversary of my mother dying came around on my calendar again. Has it been that long? After posting a few dear friends to keep me in their prayers, I managed the day fairly well. I took my Dad out to lunch and reminisced down memory lane with him for a few hours. The day came and went just like any other day does. I assumed my grief was healing and my sadness from lossing her was diminishing.

Then, almost a week later, it hit me. I stood in my kitchen cooking dinner and the old habit of picking up the phone to chitchat with her while I heated and stirred consumed me. I froze. Had it been three years since I've heard her voice?

The wise words of a dear friend came to me warmly. She told me that the loss of a mother doesn't go away because the pages of a calendar advance. My grief doesn't consume me, but the memory of her and our times together will always linger. The hope of seeing her again is much farther away than Spring, but at least I know I will see her again...someday.

The Next-Step-of-Faith Website is full of warmth through the "cold snaps" of your life. Our writers are ordinary women like you who have been through a lot and yet still have the warmth of the Love of Jesus carrying them through. Several new writers have joined us to make the site even more interesting and special. We have regular contributors for devotionals, poetry, testimonies, and even humorous excerpts from life.

No matter how cold or warm it is where you live, you can always enjoy a fresh breeze of hope and encouragement from the Next-Step-of-Faith Website . Check back soon and be sure to sign up for the monthly Relative Steps e-newsletter.

Improvements on Next-Step-of-Faith

There is so much on the Next-Step-of-Faith Website that I've had to add a new feature. If you go to any of the pages now, on the sidebar on the left, there is a Google Search link. That will bring you to a Search Site Page where you can type in any author's name, any word, any subject, anything, and you'll find it if it's on the website. I'm pleased that this new feature will help our readers and each other find what we're looking for.

And, by using this Google tool, we'll all have an easier time of being found when someone searches for our names on the internet. I'm very excited that this should help us improve our readership and the way people find us on the net. How fun is that???!!!