contest

Mothers: How You Could Get Published in the New NIV Mom’s Devotional Bible

 

Are you a mom? Love to write? A devotion about parenting or mothering written by YOU could be published in Zondervan's newly updated NIV Mom's Devotional Bible, due in stores spring 2013. We're excited to see your submissions! (Enter the contest by March 14, 2012)

 

What We're Looking For

Your devotional entry should be encouraging or inspirational in tone, and written from the perspective of a mother.

Your entry should be original, 250-300 words in length, and focusing on ONE of the following passages from the Bible:

  1. Deuteronomy 6:6–9
  2. Proverbs 22:6
  3. Proverbs 31:10–31
  4. 1 Corinthians 13:4–8
  5. Ephesians 2:8–9

The Lawyers Made Us Say This Part: Your entry must be in English, previously unpublished, and not submitted or accepted anywhere else at the time of this contest. And don't forget, your entry should be original to you and only about one of the five Bible passages listed above!

 

If Your Entry Is Selected…

Authors of the winning submissions will have their devotion and a short author's bio printed in the upcoming NIV Mom's Devotional Bible. Winners will also receive a free copy of the Bible.

So what are you waiting for?
Enter the contest at Facebook.com/MomsDevotionalBible.

 

Sample Devotionals

If you would like to see an example of what we're looking for, here are two:

Passage:
Genesis 1:26–31

A mother tends to define herself most easily in terms of externals: I am a mom. I am a wife. I am a daughter. I am a graduate. I am a teacher. I am a volunteer. I am what I do. I am what others need me to be. I am what I accomplish.

While these descriptions may be true, they are incomplete. They overlook the vital fact that we are made, inside and out, by God. We are created in his image and for his purposes.

When we gaze into the mirror of God's Word, we find that God has stamped on our being a reflection of his character, his essence, his being. That is not to say we are mini-gods in any sense. But just as children reflect the physical, mental and personality traits of their parents and even adopted children share the mannerisms and habits of their adopted families, so we who are fashioned by God manifest elements of his character in our beings.

Who are you, Mom? Genesis 1 and 2 spells it out. You are God's image-bearer (see Genesis 1:26–27). God expresses his being through both genders, male and female. You are a co-laborer with all of God's people in his world (see Genesis 1:28– 31).

When you live in the fullness of who you are, you show your children, your family and your world a full and accurate picture of your God.

So there, Mom. Take the definition for who you are from how God made you. You are a unique being fashioned after the God of the universe — inside and out!

Think about this: How often do you define yourself by the negatives? Who you aren't, what you haven't accomplished, what you aren't doing. How might this negative definition of yourself affect your mood as well as your daily choices? How might it impact others around you? Switch your sight to God's view of you and get ready for great changes!

 

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Learning When to Say Yes [Contest]

 

 

 
 
   
 
Signed copies of Beyond Boundaries
 
 
 

One of my favorites lines from the Beyond Boundaries webcast that Dr. John Townsend did several weeks ago was: "You've learned how to say no, now you can learn when to say yes."  This really resonated with me and I tought that it would be great to share with each other about saying no.

How to Enter:
In 75 words or less, tell us about a time you said 'no' or how impotant one of the original Boundaries books was to you.

The Prize:
We have several (quantity will be a surprise) signed copies of Beyond Boundaries to help you learn when to say yes.

Deadline: Comment before 8:00am Thursday November 3rd, 2011. We'll randomly select and anounce the winners before noon.

Legal Stuff: Due to shipping restrictions the giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada only. Everyone is free to share their stories though. Zondervan Blog's managing editor (Adam Forrest) will contact the winners via email to retrieve their shipping address.Winners will need to provide a physical address, no P.O. boxes.

Looking forward to your stories!

- Caleb, Zondervan Internet Team

(This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's opinions are their own, and are shared for information purposes only. To receive new blogposts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)


 

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Jonathan Friesen Hosts “The Last Martin” Writing Contest for Young Adults

 

Author Jonathan Friesen loves to help young adults share their stories with the world. Find out why in this guest post, and learn how young writers can enter “The Last Martin” Writing Contest, open through June 1, 2011.

 

Learn More about The Last Martin The Book
The Writing Contest

One of the benefits of writing books for young people is that you get to visit schools. Lots of them. Elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, home schools—I love them all. And when I release a new book, it gets even better. Take this last month; I’ve been able to travel across North America talking about The Last Martin, the funniest, most intriguing middle grade book you’ll find. (If I do say so myself!)

 

But I digress! I was talking about visiting schools. When I do, I often ask, “How many of you like to write?” What do you think they say?

 

In elementary school? Most. By middle school, fewer than half tell me they enjoy it. When I ask a room filled with high schoolers, only two or three hands shoot up.

 

I think tha’s sad. Where does all this writing passion go? I have my ideas. (I’m putting on my teacher hat.) I think we teach writing like we teach math. “This is right. This is wrong. This is how you do it.” That’s what we say. When really, writing is an art, like painting. Adults never look at kids’ watercolor creations and say, “This splotch of yellow is all wrong!” Nope, they hang them on their refrigerators.

 

Why tell you all this? I can’t bear to see passionate writers lose their desire. God gives us each stories. Only we can tell them. If kids lose their willingness to share these precious tales, the world loses. We all lose.

 

It’s important to me that kids pass on their own sacred stories. It really matters. That’s why I spend time investing in young writers who still want to share their gift with the world.

 

And it’s why I’m so thrilled Zondervan is holding a writing contest in conjunction with the release of The Last Martin. Few activities kindle writing flames like contests, and this one is more than special.

 

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Zondervan and the iTunes Bookstore

Ibookstore  

Zondervan Publishers is excited to announce
that many of its titles will be available at the launch of the iTunes bookstore
this morning. Zondervan is one of the first publishers with books in the new Apple
iTunes Bookstore.

In celebration of this fact, Zondervan is giving away 50 iTunes
gift cards that can be used to get ebooks from the new iTunes bookstore. To
enter, fill out this form by Wednesday, April 7, 2010.

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First Novel Contest

Coming soon!  Bookmark this blog posting. We will be posting up more details in the coming days.

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