Author Kay Strom

Faith Affirmed byTragedy

Posted on May 23, 2013 by kaystrom

Newtown, Connecticut:

[Kay's note: could add Oklahoma, Sandy, fire victims, etc. ...]

“As I pondered what to say to the sorrow-drenched community, I felt my faith strangely affirmed, not shattered. . . I was drawn back to Bishop Desmond Tutu’s writings on his experience in South Africa. As head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he braced himself for a test of his theology, in part because “good Christians” had carried out so many of the crimes in his country (apartheid being the brainchild and official doctrine of the Dutch Reformed Church there).

“Day after day, Tutu heard eyewitness testimonies from the victims of brutal assaults. Afrikaner agents beat suspects senseless and shot them in cold blood. Blacks “necklaced” collaborators, hanging tires around their necks and lighting them on fire. Yet after two years of listening to such horrific accounts, Bishop Tutu came away with his faith strengthened. . .

“Despite the relentless accounts of inhumanity, Tutu emerged from the hearings with this conviction: ‘For us who are Christians, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is proof positive that love is stronger than hate, that life is stronger than death, that light is stronger than darkness, that laughter and joy, and compassion and gentleness and truth, all these are so much stronger than their ghastly counterparts.’”

from: National Tragedy and the Empty Tomb

by Philip Yancey

Christianity Today, April 2013 (p.24)

“Not even senseless murder can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.”

Philip Yancey

Posted in Blog | Tagged apartheid, Christianity Today, Desmond Tutu, global awareness, grief, Newtown, Oklahoma tornato, Philip Yancy, Sandy Hook, tragedy, Truth and Reconcilliation Commission, writers, writing | 2 Comments

Tribes, the book

Posted on May 20, 2013 by kaystrom

The good thing about a book club is that you read books you would never choose for yourself.

Well, that’s true, but not really applicable to this post, because I’m the one who chose the book. I bought it two years ago based on the “You have to read this! It will change your life forever!” exclamations of several people I admire. So I’ve had it for a couple of years, but I’d never read it. Hence, my recommendation to the book club.

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, by Seth Godin, is repetitive, redundant, and it says the same thing again and again and again. Also, many of its endless stories drift off into never-never land. Even so, we had one of the best discussions I can remember. (It might be partly because we met at a local winery.) The nuggets of insight really related to two areas of my life: writing and philanthropy.

In the old golden days of writing, I was sent on author tours. Publishing houses scheduled TV appearances and book signings, and paid all expenses. I did radio talk shows by the dozens. Then I went back to writing my next book and let the publisher’s publicist take care of the marketing. And that’s how I liked it. Sadly, those days are as gone as my old Mickey Mouse ears. Today, I need a tribe.

In my 21^st century abolition efforts, I see similar huge changes. (To be precise, I see the need for changes. Getting them implemented is an entirely different story.) Today we need new ideas. We need a new approach. Today we need a tribe.

Only about half our book club was able to attend.

From left: Husband Dan (my best editor), me, Terry Glaspy (editor at Harvest House), Carolyn McCready (editor at Zondervan), Nick Harrison (editor at Harvest House).

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”

Jane Howard, author

Posted in Blog | Tagged 21st Century Abolitionist, book club, global awareness, philanthropy, Seth Godin, social media, Tribes, writers, writing | 4 Comments

Social Media, Writing, Slavery and Me

Posted on May 16, 2013 by kaystrom

Okay, let’s face it. I’m an old dog, and social media is a new trick. It looks interesting, fun, and potentially profitable. But so does a squeaky toy and a nice long snooze in the sun.

Still, I’m fast being won over. Thanks to social media, everywhere is right next door. Just this morning I got a Facebook message about the growing persecution of Christians in Pakistan, and how Muslim extremists are masquerading as Christians and pushing their way into the affairs of the Church.

I also got a twitter message about a Chinese government three-phase plan to “completely wipe out house churches” in China. (I’m sure there is more to know about that situation. Not much can be said in 140 characters!)

Thanks to email, the children in my local church are sending messages back and forth with a Christian school in Orissa, India. Friends, they call each other. I love it!

I’m fast becoming a fan of texting. Oh, boy, does it save blabbing time! I just need to hone my skill. I mean Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness in sending me that nicely wrapped package. I cannot wait to open it! You will be hearing back from me soon. Love to all. absolutely must give way to thx. later. xo

Thanks to social media, many people who enjoyed watching The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Slumdog Millionaire—and even those who didn’t—know about my India-based fiction series Blessings in India ( Book 1: The Faith of Ashish, Book 2: The Hope of Shridula, Book 3: The Love of Divena.)

Oh, and Google… That’s how I know who’s checking up on me. Or is interested in my writing. Or shares my passion for the victims of 21^st century slavery. Or is sneakily “borrowing” my copyrighted information!

Good news. . . Even us old dogs can learn these new tricks. Because, thanks to social media, I get free tutorial help that enables me to plow my way through it!

“Social media is like a snowball rolling down the hill. It’s picking up speed. Five years from now, it’s going to be the standard.”

Jeff Antaya

chief marketing officer of Plante Moran

Posted in Blog | Tagged 21st Century Abolitionist, authors, Facebook, global awareness, Google, social justice, social media, Texting, Twitter, writer | Leave a comment

Accidents of the Pen – Rewrite!

Posted on May 13, 2013 by kaystrom

For Mother’s Day, my daughter posted a decades-old picture on Facebook of me with my two little ones. Along with a flood of sweet memories, it reminded me of why I so persistently proofread my work. And when a project is done, I read it one final time. Out loud.

I once wrote an article for some magazine or other about a great parenting moment. The specifics of the article don’t matter, just my finished manuscript. Referring to my blond boy, I wrote, “I looked over at my little two-headed son…”

Two-headed? Yikes! Of course, I meant tow-headed, but that’s not what I wrote.

I learned my lesson—sort of, but not quite. In a book I did with my daughter, The Wedding of Your Dreams at a Price You Can Afford, I referred to my niece’s wedding. I wrote: “She had always dreamed of a spring weeding at the botanic garden.”

Ummm, no. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch that one.

One time a renowned science fiction writer, speaking at the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference, told the crowd in the packed auditorium that no writer worth his or her salt should ever have to revise and rewrite. He certainly didn’t. Rewriting was for hacks. A really good writer says it right the first time.

At the break, I cornered that fellow. “Come on!” I said. “Is it true that you never revise and rewrite?”

“Of course not,” he said. “But that’s what these beginning writers want to hear, so that’s what I tell them!”

Shame on that writer! Rewriting isn’t an option. It is an absolutely necessary part of writing. Do it, please. As many times as necessary. Then do it again. And when your manuscript is finished, read it once more out loud. And should you be tempted to shortcut, remember my two-headed son and my niece out pulling weeds in her wedding dress!

“I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.”

James Michener

Posted in Blog | Tagged authors, James Michener, revise, rewrite, The Wedding of Your Dreams at a Price You Can Afford, writers, writers conference, writing | 6 Comments

Most Recognized Words

Posted on May 9, 2013 by kaystrom

Whenever I speak in another country, I begin by giving a few words of greeting in the local tongue. In China, I didn’t do such a good job. “Zao,” I said. Good morning. “Jian.” Thank you. But I just couldn’t manage for inviting me. The audience listened politely and suppressed their smiles. Through the translator I said, “In heaven, we will all speak the same language. We can start right now with the two words that are the same in every language—hallelujah and amen! That’s because they are heavenly words. One day we will gather around God’s throne and say together, “Hallelujah! Amen!”

A young fellow raised his hand and said in perfect English, “Madam, one more word is the same in every language.”

I told him I wasn’t aware of that. I asked him what that third word was.

He said, “Coca-Cola!”

Something I read in a recent Smithsonian Magazine reminded me of that fellow in China and the spectre of sitting around God’s throne saying “Hallelujah! Amen! Coca-Cola!” According to the article, “…it’s been said that the name Titanic is the third most widely recognized word in the world, after ‘God’ and ‘Coca-Cola’…’”

Whoa! Now that’s something I need to pause and think about. On so many levels!

“Each of the redeemed shall forever know and praise some one aspect of the divine beauty better than any other creature can. Why else were individuals created, but that God, loving all infinitely, should love each differently?”

C.S. Lewis

Posted in Blog | Tagged 21st Century Abolitionist, amen, C.S. Lewis, China, Coca-Cola, Hallelujah, Smithsonian, Titanic, words | 2 Comments

Writing Platform? Sigh~

Posted on May 6, 2013 by kaystrom

I just got this note from Shawna, who I met at a writers’ conference:

“I want to be a 21^st century abolitionist, too. That’s the topic of the book I’m writing. A publisher is interested in the book, but they keep asking me about my platform. What should I do?”

What you should do, Shawna, is get busy and build one. You’re caught in that old “which comes first, the book or the platform” dilemma. If you truly want to be a 21^st century abolitionist (and I am so glad you do!) get out the boards and nails, and start constructing that all-important platform!

Step #1: Gather your planks. In this day and age, the best lumber is social media. Create a presence on Facebook. Twitter, too. And join LinkedIn. Don’t be over-zealous here, or you won’t have time to write, but do make your presence known.

Step #2: Blog. Start a blog, and be regular and intentional about your posts. Do what I must admit I don’t always do: make certain every post ties in some way with your theme–in this case, 21^st century abolition.

Step #3: Share your expertise. Write: Volunteer to do guest posts on other blog sites, write articles, contribute to columns. Speak: at schools, libraries, churches–wherever. When your book comes out, it will give you leverage to increase your speaking opportunities. Try adding book clubs, conferences, interest groups.

As you gather your planks, fasten them securely with the rust-proof nails of persistence and excellence. Your platform will be well on its way!

How about any of the rest of you? Any platform-building supplies you care to add?

“Almost anyone can be an author; the business is to collect money and fame from this state of being.”

A. A. Milne

Posted in Blog | Tagged 21st Century Abolitionist, A.A. Milne, authors, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, writers, writers conference, writing, Writing platform | 4 Comments

A Very Special Mother’s Day Gift

Posted on May 2, 2013 by kaystrom

Every year I gave my mom a gift for Mother’s Day. At first, it was always a bouquet of flowers. But she said I shouldn’t waste my money, flowers die too quickly. So I started giving her sweet-smelling gifts—lavender soap, fragrant bath oil, powder/cologne sets. Once, when she said her feet were always cold, I gave her fluffy pink slippers.

Then, three years ago, I gave Mom something completely different: the gift of sewing training for a woman in India. In Mom’s name. “It will give that woman a marketable skill,” I told my mother. “She can support her family and send her children to school. And while she’s learning, she will be in a Bible study.”

My mom’s eyes lit up. “Sewing! What a wonderful gift!” Mom, a great seamstress, had once taught sewing for Singers in San Francisco. She looked at the gift card. ”To me and from me!”

The next year, I gave Mom the gift of a sewing machine for the woman her other gift had trained. But Mom died six weeks before Mother’s Day, so she never got the card. Even so, I’m certain she knew about the gift. And I’m positive she approved.

When I helped clean out my mother’s closets, I found every one of my sweet-smelling gifts carefully tucked away. The fluffy pink slippers were on a shelf, still in the box. (My mother was big on saving things for a “special occasion” and not just “wasting them on everyday.”) Oh, I also found the gift card for the sewing training. Mom had tucked it away in her jewelry box among her greatest treasures.

Do you want to send your mom the perfect gift this Mother’s Day? Check out all the options at http://www.harvestofhope.org/gifts.php#theme[]=.women

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”

Mahatma Gandhi

Posted in Blog | Tagged 21st Century Abolitionist, gift, global awareness, India, Mother's Day, Partners International, social justice | 4 Comments

Calling all 21st Century Abolitionists!

Posted on April 30, 2013 by kaystrom

With the morning dawn, gunfire echoes through the city of Bangui. Welcome to the Central African Republic (CAR).

Rebel Muslim fighters come from the north, and from Chad, and from Sudan. Remember the janjaweed fighters in Dafur? Yep, they are there, too.

Pastors in Bangui, CAR’s capital city, say that Christian leaders’ houses have been targeted and destroyed. Frantic people run to the forest to hide. They have no food there, no water, no electricity, no sanitation. In the Boye Rabe quarter, rebels carry a list of names, then they methodically hunt down the people listed. When a deacon tried to resist, his throat was cut. Some pastors were reported to be blinded.

“We cannot travel in to confirm the reports,” our friend there told me, “but if they turn out to be true, we have indeed reached the heights of barbarity.”

One pastor met with several Muslim Imams to plead for peace, but no one holds out much hope. My friend said, “The rebels’ mandate from the president of Chad is to make the entire country Islamic. He is encouraging Khadafy’s former henchmen from Libya, and fighters from the Gulf States, to come to our country and take away its riches.” Evidently that’s already happening. Both an army chaplain and a local pastor confirmed that a project is under way to build mosques on every military base in the country. Right now 35 Imams are being trained to fill those positions.

Thirty years ago, the CAR was 5% Muslim. Today it is 25%. No surprise, really. The country is bordered by some of Africa’s most troubled nations, all firmly in the hands of Muslim rebels who critics say are obsessed with controlling the country’s natural resources. Tomorrow, will the country be 98% Muslim? Or 100%?

So what can we 21^st century abolitionists do? Good question. We can:

Be aware. (Imagine how it must feel when people say, “Where? Is that really a country?”)
Share our awareness. (The more who know, the better.)
Pray. (Actually, this is the people’s greatest request!)

“We believe that God will dry the tears of our innocent people.”

Rene, from the CAR

Posted in Blog | Tagged 21st century abolitionists, Africa, Central African Republic, global awareness, Islam, Muslim, persecution, slavery, social justice | 6 Comments