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Meetings Interrupted by Sickness

Posted on by Robin Ulbredtch

For the last two months, unfortunately our meetings have been cancelled. My husband and a friend who is living with us both came down with Covid-19. Steve’s son was also sick and I came down with some sickness that caused head congestion and set off my asthma. Our whole household has been sick, so I’ve cancelled the meetings to deal with that sickness and to keep the sickness from spreading to you, writers.

I am happy to announce the meeting scheduled for this coming Saturday will be held as schedules, Lord willing. Please bring your workbooks and some projects to work on. I look forward to getting together again.

Sincerely,

Robin Ulbredtch

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Posted in Meeting Summaries, Uncategorized

Meeting Update: April 9, 2022

Posted on by Robin Ulbredtch

Our meeting on April 9th was a success even though a few members could not attend. We worked in our new “Writers in Residence” books by Debra Bell which were published by Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. and purchased from http://www.christianbook.com for an amazingly low price. These books may be going out of print, I don’t know for sure, but were offered at a great price for as long as they last. We are working in the beginning level book. Though the books teach things we have learned before, they have new tips and information as well. These books are great for reminding writers about the rules and for using as a resource.

We have worked through Module 1 and are beginning Module 2. We reviewed verbs and learned that using vigorous verbs make our writing more interesting by creating a word picture in the minds of our readers. In Module 2 we are looking at nouns. We are learning about general and specific nouns, common and proper nouns, and seeing how correct word choices can improve our writing. Though our writers are long out of school, some of these lessons were not emphasized when we attended school.

A few of our writers have published books and poetry. Three of our writers are presently working on books for future publication. There are a great many testimonies of God’s work in our lives to be told to our audience.

One of our writers participated in a contest held at our local library. Most of the writers who entered the contest were youth but a few adults competed as well. Our writer told me she was blessed to hear the written works of these young readers.

Our next meeting will be April 23, 2022 at the East Bonner County Library in Sandpoint, Idaho, from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Anyone over age 16 who is interested in improving their writing is welcome to join us.

We are looking at the possibility of putting together a booth or table at the upcoming Christmas Fair this November. More discussion and research about this is needed before a decision can be made.

We are all praying for the situation between Russia and Ukraine. We are saddened by destruction and loss of lives. We are also praying for comfort for families who have lost their family members and homes.

For more information about North Idaho Christian Writers you can email me at getrobinu@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Robin Ulbredtch

Posted in Uncategorized

January 8th Meeting Cancelled

Posted on by Robin Ulbredtch

I looked forward to our first meeting of 2022 and working from the new ‘Writers in Residence’ books. I think writing about our favorite childhood memories and working on our unique individual projects for the Lord will be a fun and challenging goal for the new year. Hopefully we all learn to improve our relationships with God and one another and we learn a great deal about improving our writing so we bring God glory.

I was disappointed to have to cancel our meeting. However, with the recent snow storm dumping between 10 and 18 inches of snow in our area within the last few days I knew the driving would be dangerous, if you could get out of your driveway. I experienced the horrible driving conditions when I had to take my husband into the hospital on Friday for a minor surgical procedure.

First I had to back out of my driveway in about 10 inches of new snow. The streets of Sandpoint had snow burms on both sides and piles of snow in between the two sides of the street. Many of the streets had ruts that were deep enough to bounce your car around on the icy roads and the streets were narrow, some with cars parked along the side of the road. I drove at a snail’s pace to do my best to keep from sliding into another vehicle. In addition, the parking lots and sidewalks were extremely icy, making it dangerous to walk. As a result I decided to cancel our January 8th meeting.

Our next meeting is scheduled for January 22nd at the library at 1:30 p.m. I look forward to seeing you all again and to starting the lessons in our new book. If you have a book at home I encourage you to get it out and work through the first part of the lesson. I believe the sections are 1.1 through 1.9. Do not fill in the graphic organizer or write your 10 sentences on the page in the book. Try to draft them on a piece of notebook paper and bring them with you to the meeting. We will look through them together and see if we can make improvements before writing the final sentences in the workbook. Also, if you are working on writing projects at home, I encourage you to bring them along and we can spend some time working on them as well.

If you have any questions or comments, please call or email me at getrobinu@gmail.com. I am happy to talk with you or meet you in town somewhere to go over the material. Otherwise, take care until we get together again on January 22nd.

May the Lord bless you all!

Sincerely,

Robin Ulbredtch

Posted in Encouragement, Uncategorized

Looking Forward to a New Year

Posted on by Robin Ulbredtch

I thank God for sending His Son, Jesus, into the world to pay the penalty for our sin. As most of you already know, “Jesus is the reason for the Christmas season!” I look back at the miracles Jesus did and the suffering He endured to be our example of love to one another. As Christians, we know the true love from God sacrifices for the betterment of the one who is loved. God’s agape love is not self-centered, thinking only about what self will get out of it. No, as Jesus suffered, died, was buried, and rose again, He provided the ultimate demonstration of love when He endured the suffering on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. This is an incredible reason to celebrate His coming into the world to bind up the broken hearted, set the captives free, and be our Lord and Savior. Christmas is truly a celebration of Jesus Christ.

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas celebration and took time to remember Jesus, the reason for all of it. I hope you had a wonderful time sharing the love of God with your family, friends, and others. Now we look forward to a new year. We need to look forward and focus on Jesus, the hope of glory. When everything seems to be going downhill we need to look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. When this world is falling apart, Jesus is our blessed hope. He will come again to take us to heaven to be with Him. He is our hope and He will not fail us because He is faithful.

As we enter January 2022 I look forward to another year of serving God. I look forward to helping you with your writing projects and working toward their publication. Our next meeting in on Saturday, January 8th at the East Bonner County Library. Don’t forget to bring your writing projects and your new workbooks.We will have a great time sharing childhood memories.

You have been a blessing to me and I love teaching you what I have learned over the years. I truly believe we are going to get God’s message out to those who need to hear it. Everyone needs God even if they don’t realize it themselves. God is the only answer to the challenges we face in the future. He has us in the palm of His hand. I look forward to seeing what He has in store for us in this new year!

 

Posted in Meeting Summaries, Uncategorized

Writer’s Meeting June 26, 2021

Posted on by Robin Ulbredtch

Our second meeting, though we only had two attending, turned out well. God met with us and did some healing work in our hearts and minds. We discussed the Christian writer is a Christian and all of our writing endeavors are worship before God. We also discussed various purposes for our Christian writing including, but not limited to, sharing the gospel, sharing testimonies of work God has done in our lives, and encouraging others.

We also reviewed choosing specific words over general words. We discussed how you can bring the five senses (sight, smell, hearing, taste, touch) into your writing to add life and variety to it.

In our discussion of improving our word choices, we also discussed using adjectives sparingly and not loosing our readers in too much description. A writer can often cause the reader to lose track of the story line if they put in too many descriptive words.

A handout was given out discussing the responsibilities writers have when making word choices. Words can be powerful and dangerous when used in the wrong context by the wrong person. Anger, malice, and mob mentality can be sparked by choosing the wrong, exceptionally intense words. Expressing opinion should be done with carefully planned word choices to avoid creating or encouraging angry people to do bad things. We have all witnessed, on television or in real life, how an emotionally charged speaker can stir up anger in a crowd, often resulting in violence and even death. As Christian writers we need to make responsible word choices.

Posted in Meeting Summaries

Writers’ Meeting June 12, 2021

Posted on by Robin Ulbredtch

Our North Idaho Christian Writers Meeting on June 12th was a success. We had four writers attend, some from our gatherings before Covid-19 shut down the library meeting rooms, and some new people.

We began the meeting with prayer and introductions. We proceeded to discuss the definition of a Christian writer. We also talked about the purposes God has for us as His Ambassadors.

We also talked about “choosing words that sing” in our writing pieces and saw some poetry that provided examples. We spoke about general words, their interpretation, and the benefit of choosing specific words instead of general words.

Posted in Uncategorized

Writer’s Group Starts up Again on june 12th

Posted on by Robin Ulbredtch

I am pleased to announce that North Idaho Christian Writers group will start up again on June 12th after a long break due to Covid-19. We will be gathering in a meeting room at the East Bonner County Library on Division Street in Sandpoint. I will arrive at the library about 1 p.m. to set up, and the meeting will run from 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Our meetings will be structured the same as they were before our Covid-19 break. There will two meetings each month, on the second and fourth Saturday. The first session will be a business and teaching meeting and the second will be a workshop.

Please bring a notepad (for taking notes), writing instruments, writing paper, and some samples of your writing to share and/or work on during free time in the meeting. You can also bring any questions you may have, related to your writing.

On June 12th we will spend time getting to know each other, reviewing some previous meeting notes, and discussing our various expectations, goals, writing projects, and some valuable resources. I look forward to meeting each one of you. If you have any comments or questions, please email me at getrobinu@gmail.com

Please mark your calendar for the following meeting dates and times:

June 12, 2021 1:30-3:30 p.m. Sandpoint Library

June 26, 2021 1:30-3:30 p.m. Sandpoint Library

July 10, 2021 1:30-3:30 p.m. Sandpoint Library

July 24, 2021 1:30-3:30 p.m. Sandpoint Library

August 14, 2021 1:30-3:30 p.m. Sandpoint Library

August 28, 2021 1:30-3:30 p.m. Sandpoint Library

There is no cost for the meetings but each person is responsible for bringing their own writing materials.

Anyone interested in improving their writing skills can attend the meetings. However, the meetings will include Bible discussions and Christian topics as the group is focused on Christian writing.

Since the meetings will be teachings and work sessions, I prefer that children under age 12 not attend the meetings as they can be a distraction for others. Any child under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult. If you have any questions or comments, please email me at getrobinu@gmail.com

I look forward to sharing what I have learned about the Bible, Christian living, and writing for the glory of God with you. As the apostle Paul told Timothy, “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:6-7 NKJV)

Posted in Encouragement, Uncategorized

Press On With Your Writing!

Posted on by Robin Ulbredtch
Be diligent!

April 4, 2020

Authors and Writers,

It’s unfortunate that our meetings have been put on hold until this corona virus runs its course. However, I constructed this website so that I can still communicate with you. I hope to continue our meetings at the Sandpoint Library when we are free to do so.

I am also praying that God will bring in more Christian writers to join our group. The more writers we have, the greater the impact for Jesus Christ.

In the meantime, I want to encourage you all to keep writing and keep in touch. My email is getrobinu@gmail.com  I will keep adding more information to this website to help you in your learning process. Also, I am praying for each of you for protection from the virus. I encourage you to read Psalm 91 in your Bibles because you are truly under God’s wings and He is taking care of you.

I look forward to the day when we can meet in person again. I enjoyed our time together. Let’s keep focused on Jesus Christ and know that whatever we are going through, He is bigger. We don’t have to worry about our future because we know who holds our future.

Sincerely,

Robin Ulbredtch

Posted in Meeting Summaries

Meeting 1-A-Jan. 11, 2020

Posted on by Robin Ulbredtch

On January 11, 2020, we had the first meeting of North Idaho Christian Writers. Even with about 8 inches of new snow, we had four people, including myself, attend the meeting. I began the meeting with prayer, then introduced myself. Two handouts “Member’s Information Sheet” and “About Robin” were passed out. Those attending the meeting were asked to fill out and return the Member’s Information Sheet.” Introductions were made.

After the introductions, our group went over the Goals, Rules, and Vision for North Idaho Christian Writers. Eventually I hope to add these to this website. Following the information on North Idaho Christian Writers we did an activity called General Words, Interpretation, and Specific Words. It sounds complicated but it was a lesson on choosing words for our writing.

For the activity I made a worksheet with three columns: General Word (s), Interpretation, and Specific Words. I listed General words in the first column and we used those words to fill out columns two and three. For example, the first General Word was “Dog.” I asked each person what thought/picture came into their mind when they heard the word “Dog.” That thought/picture is what they listed under interpretation. Each person had a different interpretation of the word. An example might be “puppy” or “poodle.” Some people had their feelings about “dogs” come out, such as cute, warm, fuzzy, etc. Then they had to determine which breed of dog brought forth that emotional response.

Then each person had to check to see if they had a specific word (which would create imagery in the reader’s mind). For example, “puppy” would need to be a collie or specific breed of puppy. By using the word “puppy” by itself, the reader can insert their own meaning or vision into your writing. By writing the words “collie puppy,” the writer gives the reader a clearer image of the specific dog he/she is writing about. It was fun to see the wide variety of responses to each individual word.

Following the word activity, we took a short break. Then we went over two mini-readings I put together with information from the book An Introduction to Christian Writing, 2nd. Edition, by Ethel Herr. These were entitled “Wanna-be, Would-be, and Already-be Writers” and “What is a writer?”

After the mini-readings, we did another worksheet activity where we practiced choosing words that added clarity, color, and senses to our writing. We used some words such as fruit, lasagna and pizza. By the end of the activity we were getting hungry.

I wrapped up the meeting by thanking the people who came, reminding them of our next meeting, and asking if they had any comments or questions. Our meeting did run over the scheduled time but I will keep a closer eye on the clock next time. As far as I know those who attended learned something and enjoyed the meeting as well. Praise God!