Blah Update

I see I've not even posted a picture this month (September).

I feel like I have a lot to say, but I don't want to, for various and sundry reasons.

Dad's passing has really affected me.

I hardly even feel like visiting with people. As a pastor, that ain't a good thing.

Fatigue is my companion. I feel like I could sleep for a week.

It is hard to even write these words.

My appetite hasn't diminished. That ain't a good thing, either.

I could sure use one of those 100 baht foot massages that we could get in Thailand.

I've exceeded my allowed chiropractic visits for this year. That is a very bad thing.

Things are going very well at church.

My older daughter made Spanish Club queen and is in the running for Homecoming Queen.

My younger daughter was honored as having the highest EOI score in English in her school for last year.

My wife has to have  benign cyst removed.

We are going to Israel after Thanksgiving.

I haven't been fishing this whole year.

My best friend is going to retire next spring after he turns FIFTY. (that's just wrong)

Blah.

Jackpot Update

Nothing of real news to report except for an interesting incident.

Literary agent, Rachelle Gardner was conducting a webinar on writing query letters.  Rachelle has an incredibly wonderful blog where she gives hints, tips, and other information regarding writing and publishing.  If you are interested in writing or publishing, I'd recommend you checking out her blog.

In any case, it was a live 90 minute seminar on the Internet.  After logging in, Rachelle spoke for about 45 minutes or so telling how to write a query letter and all the ins and outs of the process. 

As advertised, 5 lucky people would have their submitted query letters critiqued live by Rachelle for all the world to see.  Everyone else would have their letters critiqued by her, but not live.  Five others won a 20 minute phone call from her!

It was an extremely interesting seminar.  At the end of the 5 live critiques, she indicated she had a few more minutes to do a couple more critiques.

MINE WAS ONE OF THEM!!!!

My excitement was short lived.  She had a few good things to say about my query letter, but then the other shoe dropped.  She said that from my letter, my main character didn't look very appealing, being selfish, angry, and self-centered.  She said the story line as presented didn't appeal to her being that Owen wastes his money on things that we probably wouldn't want to read about.

At first I was devastated.

However, as I was able to think about it, I got really excited.  An agent who I highly respect (and would LOVE to have for MY agent) gave me her insight as to why my query letter didn't appropriately represent what my book was about!

In her words, she said it was about a selfish man who wins the lottery and spends the money on stuff he shouldn't. (obviously not an exact quote)

However, that isn't what my book is really about.

My book is about a revenge, redemption, forgiveness and reconciliation.  The lottery just happens to be the catalyst that gets everything going. 

My problem in writing the initial query was that I focused on the secondary storyline, i.e. lottery, instead of his journey to redemption.

After giving it a lot of thought, I see this as a huge blessing from the Lord.  I was trying to land an agent with a query letter that didn't reflect the essence of my story.  Now, I'll be able to "fix" it and query agents based on an accurate representation of my work.

To be honest, the crafting of this query letter has proved to be harder than writing the novel itself.  I realize how important it is and why it is necessary.  I just don't like this process.

I'd love to have you support this project by becoming a fan of Owen Rigsby on Facebook and/or followoing him on Twitter.  As of writing this post, Owen has 198 fans on FB and 284 followers on Twitter, including @RachelleGardner!

A Little Busy

Ok.  So you noticed I haven't posted much lately.  Well, I hope you've noticed.

I've been a bit busy.

July gave opportunities for me to serve as camp missionary at Kiamichi Baptist Assembly and we had our Vacation Bible School at our church.

I feel like I've met myself coming and going.

In any case, I hope to be more regular at blogging this month.

Jackpot! Update

I received my manuscript back from Dave Scott, my friend who has been editing it.  I drove to Vinita last Tuesday to pick it up.

I was very happy to find that a major re-write wasn't required!  In fact, most of the corrections concerned deleting superfluous words, correcting punctuation, and some minor "clean-up" of ideas for the sake of the story flowing.

The only criticism (constructive) came when he suggested that I add four or five chapters, utilizing an omniscient narrator to further develop some supporting characters that the first person point of view wouldn't be able to accomplish.  We discussed this because Dave said, "as a reader, I really wanted to know more about these characters."

So, with that, I have completed the clean up and the first of four or five additional chapters.

I'm hoping to be in a position to seek literary representation by the end of this month.

In the meantime, please support me and this work by becoming a fan of the main character, Owen Rigsby, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OwenRigsby.  You can also follow Owen on Twitter at www.twitter.com/OwenRigsby.

Thanks for your encouragement; it really means a lot!

Book Progress Report

I heard from my friend who is editing my manuscript that he is on target to return it to me by the end of this month.

I am very excited about receiving it and evaluating the recommended adjustments and making it presentable for marketing.

Since this is my first one, I have no idea how long it will take me to finalize this process, but I hope no more than a month.

As soon as I finish my corrections, I'll begin seeking literary representation.

Basically, I have to find an agent who believes in my work and thinks they can sell the idea to a publisher.

It doesn't stop there.  They have to have marketing meetings, sales meetings and more before they actually accept it for publishing.

It could very well be a year from now before we see it on the shelves.

In the meantime, in my attempt at pre-publication publicity, I have created a Facebook Fan Page, www.facebook.com/OwenRigsby and a Twitter feed, www.twitter.com/OwenRigsby.  Owen has 172 fans on FB and 248 followers on Twitter, as of the writing of this post.

I find it interesting the number of people who have mis-understood the intent and think that Owen is a real person.  I have had several very interesting conversations with people and in some cases, had to tell them that he is a fictional character.

In any case, I would appreciate your supporting my work by becoming a Facebook fan or following Owen on Twitter.

Thanks in advance!

Thoughts about pastoring

I fondly remember the day I moved into my church office; "The Pastor's Study" as it says over the door.  I had no idea what I was supposed to do.  I spent the first week moving in and getting established.

When I first arrived, the church was nearly dead.  The Spirit had not left, that's why it was still alive.  We had no real ministries to speak of.

No youth group because we had no youth.

No children's Sunday School classes because there were no children.

No outside ministries, except for a nursing home service once a month.

Week after week, there was no one else in the building throughout the week.  I had to leave the church building to have any face to face contact.

But God has moved greatly here at Immanuel Southern Baptist Church. 

We have Sunday school classes for all ages.

We have a youth group.

We have a choir and music program.

We have visitors.

We have an outreach program.

We have a Food Pantry Ministry.

We have a Cookie Ministry to prisoners.

We still visit the nursing home.

And we have plans for another outreach ministry which we will vote on during our next business meeting.

And someone else has asked about yet another outreach ministry!

Seldom am I alone in the church building.  In fact, there are so many people here during the week, it is almost hard to get my sermon preparation and other things done!

But that is a problem I'll gladly live with, for God is at work at Immanuel Southern!

Nothing to Report

Several folks have asked for an update of the progress on "Jackpot". 

I am waiting on the editor.  Since it is "pro bono" I haven't given a deadline and am grateful for the service provided.

As soon as I know something, I'll let you know.

Meanwhile, follow Owen Rigsby on Twitter or Facebook!

Mall Shooting in Muskogee, OK

Saturday afternoon, just after Audrey's birthday party, 3 men entered Arrowhead Mall in Muskogee, OK, and opened fire.  When the shooting was done, a total of six people were hit, one fatally.

The police say it was "gang related."

Gang related.

How stupid can you be?

Supposedly, it is a turf war between the Northside Boys and the Southside Boys.  The mall is in the South and evidently, some from the north were "trespassing" for the Chili Cookoff for the Azalea Festival.

They came to murder another human being because they were protecting their turf.

They ended a life for the pride of the gang.

They ruined lives because of some messed up values.

There is a whole generation that has lost their way.

It isn't just in the big cities.  It touches our whole country.

I think every law enforcement officer in NE OK came to the mall that afternoon.  They had all three "suspects" in jail by yesterday afternoon.

GOOD JOB, POLICE, SHERIFF, and STATE TROOPERS!

The Bible says that in the last days, lawlessness will increase. 

How true.

Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM)

Monday and Tuesday of this week, I completed the final course necessary to seek Chaplaincy Endorsement by the North American Mission Board.  I attended and completed the course "Critical Incident Stress Management" at the Oklahoma City Police Department Training Facility.

Sgt. Greg Giltner

OKCPD Sgt. Greg Giltner conducted most of the training, but Chaplain Jack Poe provided several segments.

CISM is recognized as the "standard" for assisting folks in crisis.  We learned about Compassion Fatigue, Coping Skills, and Critical Stress Indicators.

This morning, I completed and emailed my application to the North American Mission Board for endorsement. With this particular course and their endorsement, I will have internationally recognized Chaplaincy credentials. 

Chaplaincy Training

I completed the initial two day Chaplaincy training at the BGCO in Oklahoma City.  My friends from Thailand, Robert and Faye Griffin, were kind enough to provide me lodging for the event.

It was conducted by Dr. Naomi Paget, FBI Chaplain and literally the Author of the Chaplain's Manual.

The training was never boring, and that's really saying something coming from a short attention span person who is EASILY bored.

My next step is to take the Critical Incident Stress Management course offered at the Oklahoma City Police Department on April 5-6.

After completing these two courses, I will then apply to be endorsed by the North American Mission Board.  This will afford me the Chaplain's credentials to serve outside the borders of Oklahoma as an SBC Disaster Relief Chaplain.

Sally

We just found out early this evening that my wife, Sally, passed the two examinations she took last month for the Oklahoma Alternative Certification to become a school teacher in Oklahoma!

The two tests she took were the basic education test and middle-level mathmatics test.  This will allow her to be a junior high or senior high math teacher here in Oklahoma!

She has pretty good connections in Muskogee, since she works for the Board of Education already.  She knows about 5 different math teacher openings for this fall.

We, however, are praying that there will be a position open with the Wagoner Public Schools and she can get hired here.  This would change our family dynamics greatly as she wouldn't have to drive to Muskogee everyday.

Will you join us in praying for her to get a teaching positio here in Wagoner?

CONGRATULATIONS SALLY!!!

First Draft Complete

I am extremely pleased to report that I completed the first draft of my novel, Jackpot!

Of course, that is just the pre-publication title that I have given it. The publisher has the option to title the book anyway they please.

Now, the next procedure in this project it to re-write the book, cleaning up messy plot lines, weak verbs and sentence structures and such before I have it edited. Since I've already done some preliminary self-editing, it shouldn't take too long.

Update on My Book

Just in case you've been wondering how my book is coming along, I thought I'd give you a brief update.

Today, I passed the seventy thousand word mark. I had been aiming for 80-100K words, so I'm getting pretty close.

I should be done with the first draft this month. Then, I'll start my re-write, then send it off to my friend for editing, then fix things from his recommendations.

Once I've done these things, then I'll start looking for a literary agent to sell the book to a publisher.

I have no disillusions. After I finish my manuscript, the real work begins. Finding someone who believes in my book and representing it to publishers is both a big deal and lots of work. While my family, friends, and even I believe that it is a good work, finding someone in the business is a little harder.

Even if I find a publisher, that doesn't guarantee success. I happen to think I'm on to something special; there are few other books with the same subject on the market; hardly any of them in the fiction genre.

I pray that the book will be a success, not just for the financial rewards, but that it would honor God by helping people to search for Him. I'd covet your prayers as I complete my part of this project.

Please join me in the support of this project by "following" my main character, Owen Risgby on Twitter and becoming Facebook fan.

Final (Hopefully) Pneumonia Update

I'm hoping this will be my last update about my illness. I finally received word back from the doctor regarding my blood tests.

Everything was within normal limits with no abnormalities remarkable.

He said I look great on paper.

I told him I look even better in person.

I want to thank everyone who has prayed me through this illness. God is good! You can take me off of your "sick list" prayer list. Please keep praying for me, otherwise!

Pneumonia Update

I finally made it to the pulmonologist in Tulsa yesterday. They measured my lung/breath capacity, took blood, took an X-ray, etc. The doctor seemed to be extremely competent with the obligatory dry sense of humor.

After a lengthy interview, he hummed and hawed quite a bit and finally said, "I don't know what you have." In a moment of levity, he then quickly said, "well, I know what you have, I'm just not going to tell you!". I thought that was the funniest thing I'd heard all day!

The long and short of it is this: I'm improving. I don't have a fever. The blood test MAY tell what I had. He didn't give me any more medicine. I have a follow up appointment in two months. If my condition worsens, I'm to contact him immediately.

He suspected it was a fungus of some sort. Didn't know if it came from Africa, Asia, or my CPAP machine....

In any case, thanks to all who have been praying for me. I feel so much better and praise God for it!

Pneumonia Update

Just to keep you up to date on my recovery process....

• I have been fever free for 9 days!
• My cough has diminished impressively!
• I still get out of breath very easily.
• I still have little stamina.
• Because of all the coughing, I am prone to pretty severe muscle cramps in my sides from time to time.
• I still haven't received an earlier appointment with the pulmonologist.
• I only have one more anti-fungal pill to take, then I won't have any more medicine (at least until I see this next doctor)

Thanks so much for your prayers! Keep praying!

Update

Just to let everyone know what is going on:

• I still have a very deep, very aggravating, unproductive cough.
• I have an appointment with a pulmonologist on Oct 8, but am on the "cancellation" list to get an earlier appointment.
• As of 10 am this morning, I have been without a fever for 24 hours!
• I am still weak and get out of breath very quickly.
• I will not be preaching this Sunday.
• I plan to get back to work next week.
• My mind seems to be quite a bit clearer these past three days. (I've felt like I've been in a fog of sorts for the past two months; probably the fever)
• I am ready to be well.

This has been a particularly frustrating two months. I haven't felt like doing anything and when I did do anything, it sent me further "down". I am so far behind and have let so many things slip I can hardly stand it!

But, God is good! I haven't had any problem finding folks to fill in for me for sermons and teaching my Sunday School class. Church folk have mowed our grass three times and brought some meals to help out Sally. I think this has been harder on Sally than it has been on me. I thank God for a godly wife!

Thanks for your prayers; continue to pray for me as I deal with whatever is still down in my lungs, whether it is an atypical pneumonia or if it is some sort of fungal process.

Hang in there

Folks, I promise I have NOT abandoned you. I simply haven't felt like posting anything.

As a quick update, the EARLIEST I can get an appointment with a pulmonologist is Oct 8! No big deal; there is only either an ATYPICAL PNEUMONIA or some sort of FUNGUS growing in my lungs. I'm sure it can wait ANOTHER MONTH! (If you think that's bad, wait til the government "fixes" health care!)

I spoke to my local doctor about waiting that long and they are giving me another round of steroids that should tackle fungus.

Don't worry; soon I will be back to my regular, opinionated, snarky self and will write some fabulous stuff worth taking the time to read! ;-)

CT Scan Update

I just heard about my CT Scan. First of all, there were NO SPOTS on my CT Scan! Praise the Lord and thank you for praying for me.

The result of the CT Scan was that I have an opacity in the lower right lobe indicating an atypical pnuemonia or some sort of a fungal process. They are referring me to a pulmonologist in Tulsa next week.

I want to thank everyone who has prayed for me and my family and ask that you continue to lift us up through this. Thanks to everyone who has provided meals and mowed our lawn. Your acts of kindness we count as God's love in action.

Prayer Request

Will you please take a moment and put me on your church's prayer list for tonight? I went back to the doctor on Tuesday because I was running a fever. They did a couple of chest x-rays and found that the pneumonia is now in both lungs. Also, they found some spots on my right lung. The doctor didn't know what the spots were so I have to go have a CT scan tomorrow.

Pray that I could get rid of the pneumonia; pray that the spots won't be there tomorrow on the CT scan; pray for Sally.

Thanks.