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* Advertise in the CWAHM Weekly Newsletter and reach over 4,500 subscribers!

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Great Sites For Moms!

Stuff I've found useful and think you might, too!

CWAHM Blog - Join us for Mentoring Mondays, book news, giveaways and much more!

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The Story of Jesus - Have someone you want to share Jesus with? Send them here! You can download the story of Jesus in print and audio. Or listen/read it online!

CWAHM FYI's:

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Verse For The Week

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”

Galatians 5:13 (NIV)

Visit the Spiritual Growth Section on CWAHM! Also, visit the Spiritual Growth Forums on the CWAHM Message Board to connect with other Christian Moms!

"Blessed to be a Christian Work at Home Mom"

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15 Minutes For Mom

Five Ways to entertain your kids: (part 2)

#2 - Playtime

If your children are 4 years old or more, you can many times help them start an activity that they can complete. Put a small table near your desk and allow them to play with play dough, do a puzzle or a simple craft project. Take a break every so often to check their progress and help them if needed.

With older kids, you can have them sit at the kitchen table or somewhere else out of hearing range to do an activity or craft suitable for their age and interests.

Tune in next week for #3!

~ Jill

Please feel free to forward this issue to friends and associates. Anyone can subscribe for free at CWAHM.com.

To contact us:
Christian Work at Home, Inc
CWAHM.com
14607 Willow Ck 68138
jill@cwahm.com
(321) 806-1855

CWAHM Message Board | CWAHM T-shirts | Book Reviews | Free Stuff

I have 2 copies of The Restorer to giveaway! This is an excellent book - read my review here!

About the book: "Meet Susan, a housewife and soccer mom whose dreams stretch far beyond her ordinary world. While studying the book of Judges, Susan longs to be a modern day Deborah, a prophet and leader who God used to deliver the ancient nation of Israel from destruction. Susan gets her wish when she stumbles through a portal into an alternative universe and encounters a nation locked in a fierce struggle for its survival."

Any prayer requests? We'd love for you to share them with the CWAHM Prayer Team.

Blessings,
Jill

* To build my business and team for Purse Party I hold an "Evening Of Opportunity." Each of my consultants can bring 2 friends and we have a nice evening with the girls!!! We sit and I explain Purse Party to them, but keep it very short. I ask them all a simple question: "Where would you like to be in 5 years and how can I help you get there." This truly makes them think and then they realize the business may be for them. I also put together a packet for each of them with all the new consultant information and also have a table set up with what comes in our kits.

Amber Gain
Purse Party Senior Consultant - Leader

* Write Down Your Tasks and Clear Your Head. Several years ago I worked for wonderful lady that left a lasting impression on me. Not only was she a Christian (and the person responsible for bringing me to Christianity) but she was also a highly organized, business-minded individual. Besides giving me the ultimate gift of faith, she also gave me another fabulous gift…piece of mind and a good nights sleep (before I had children of course!). How did she do that you ask? My mentor taught me a very simple but valuable tool for work, business and even play, write down everything you want to do for the next day at night before you go to bed. Simple, yet highly effective. This tool is three fold; first it frees up your mind, in turn, you can relax and sleep better without worrying about the tasks you have to do tomorrow and maybe forgetting to do one or two. Second, writing your “To Do” list of tasks to accomplish the night before prompts your subconscious to work on your plans and goals while you sleep. When you wake up, you feel ready to tackle your list of tasks or goals. Third, writing your tasks or goals down on paper that you want to accomplish makes them more concrete. There is a connection between mind and hand. When you write your tasks down, they become clear. Don’t, and they become fuzzy. An added bonus to writing your tasks down, the satisfaction of crossing off an accomplished goal. (This is my favorite part.)

Rebecca Hurt
Noah's Ark Animal Workshops

We'll be featuring new Business Builders each week, so
don't miss an issue!

* Want your name and business mentioned in the CWAHM Newsletter? *

We are looking for YOUR Business Builders! Send us your tip! If it's published you'll reach over 4,400 subscribers! We are looking for ideas on how you make your businesses BOOM. Email me with your ideas at jill@cwahm.com and I'll share your ideas (and a link to your business) in the CWAHM newsletter!

Book publishing can be a very confusing industry to navigate whether you have written a book for the Christian audience or not. As a Christian book publisher I have found that many authors struggle with separating the ministry of a book’s content from the business side of publishing.

I have found that a lot of authors will cut corners during the publishing process just to have their manuscript put into a book format because they believe that “the book will sell itself once people hear about it and it ministers to them.” So the end result is a poorly produced book that sits on a shelf because no one wants to read it because the cover is not appealing, the interior is hard to read, or worse the pages are falling out.

Another problem many Christian authors struggle with is pricing their book. Some authors will price their book too high and others price it too low. If a book is priced too high no one will purchase it, and if a book is priced too low the author stands the chance of never recovering his or her investment.

When it comes to publishing a book, especially when you are on a budget it is important to understand the business aspects of the industry so that you can properly prepare yourself mentally, emotionally, and financially for the journey.

So what is ministry as it pertains to book publishing? Well it’s simple…the manuscript God told you to write is ministry as it should have ministered to you first. Being able to put the manuscript into a book format is ministry because your book can cross oceans and touch people you will never meet. When you conduct seminars or conferences based on the content God gave you – that is ministry. Our everyday life should be a ministry from the way we walk, talk, and interact with people. Understand that if God told you to write the book, the content is going to minister.

When it comes to book publishing it is important to remember that it is a business. An industry where Americans spend over $30 million dollars a year (Book Industry Study Group, 1995). Every part of a book has monetary value:
• Book Cover: A good book designer will charge between $250-$500.
• Interior Text Formatting: Unless you know how to format your manuscript so it will fit neatly and attractively between the covers of your book, you will need to hire a typesetter who charge between $250-$300.
• An Editor is a necessity if you are wanting to create a strong impression. Everyone is not fortunate to have a book editor in their family who will not charge for making their manuscript error free, so an editor will be in order. Some editors charge per word (three to five cents) while others charge per page (two to three dollars). You may also find some editors who charge according to the number of pages in your book. You can expect to pay $250 or more for this process.
• An ISBN or International Standard Book Number is needed if you want to get your book into bookstores. This number allows your book to be placed into an international database so that your book can be ordered by bookstores around the world. You must order these numbers from R.R. Bowker and they are sold in bulk. The smallest number you can order is ten and will cost $250. There are some companies that will “sell” individual ISBN’s to people for $25-$100, but know that it is illegal to sell ISBN’s in this manner.
• The Barcode is created from your ISBN and is used by bookstores to track the books that are sold in their store. Your book cannot get into bookstores without the barcode. Barcode designers do not cost much but the charges begin at $25.
• Printing Costs: your manuscript won’t be considered a book until it is printed and bound into book form. Book printing costs are based on the number of pages you have in your book and the size of your book. Some printers allow you to print one book at a time and other require you print in quantities as low at 25 or as high as 250. You can expect to pay between $3.00-$5.00 per book – the cost can be higher or lower depending on the printer, the number of colors used on your book cover, and the number of books you order.

So I’ve given you a quick run down of some of the immediate expenses you can expect to encounter when publishing your book. These are not all of the expenses and we will cover them in this series, but your having this information up front will help you to budget effectively.

It isn’t necessary to purchase all of these at one time, if you begin early enough in your process you will be able to budget each month to acquire one of these “book essentials.”

About The Author:
Tamika Johnson is the CEO of Anointed Word Media Group an award winning Christian publishing company. She is the founder of Anointed Enterprise Magazine, a Christian business magazine, launching September 2007, and is an award winning author. For more information log onto: www.publishyourchristianbook.com or www.tamikajohnson.com.

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Find these listings and more at CWAHM.com! CLICK HERE!

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Cake:
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. butter flavoring
1 1/2 oz. bottle of red color
3 tbsp. (level) cocoa
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. baking soda

Cream shortening, sugar, eggs, and flavors. Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring. Add to first mixture. Alternately add flour and buttermilk. Mix baking soda and vinegar in small bowl; add to batter. Blend. Bake in three 9" or 10" pans for 20 - 25 minutes at 350°. Let cool completely. Cover with frosting.

Frosting:
2 packages cream cheese (3 oz. each), softened
6 tbsp. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups sifted powered sugar

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Recipe Source:
Submitted by: Sharon Kaye Lee, Bizymoms Host
Bizymoms Cookbook by Diana Ennen & Kelly Poelker
Virtual Word Publishing, Inc.
http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com
diana@virtualwordpublishing.com

Find additional recipes on the CWAHM Message Board!

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These elegant (but so simple) beaded bookmarks make great props for Get Caught Reading Month (May).

MATERIALS:
Beads
Hemp thread (or heavy jewelry cord)

Time needed: Under 1 Hour

1. To make one, first tie a bead onto one end of each of three 2-foot lengths of hemp thread or heavy jewelry cord. Add a few more beads to each strand, then knot the strands together 1 to 2 inches below the last beads. Braid or knot the threads as you like, then knot them all together again about 5 inches from the ends. Add more beads to each individual strand, then tie on an end bead, like the first, to keep them in place.

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Found at FamilyFun.com

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Feature from The Restorer Giveaway!
by Sharon Hinck

The Restorer takes us into the life of frustrated soccer mom, Susan Mitchell. Her life has become a series of hum-drum events and she longs to serve the Lord in a mighty way.

Susan inadvertently stumbles into an alternate universe and a string of adventures like none she has ever dreamt of. The country she finds herself in is in the midst of a turbulent struggle for its own survival. Susan must find a way to survive this foreign world and find a way back home.

Befriended by strangers whom she fears, but is forced to trust, Susan leans on the Lord for strength. But, is God present in this strange place?

Sharon Hinck, the author of the mom-lit Becky Miller books enters a new genre with The Restorer, the first book in The Sword of Lyric series. Hinck blends her traditional mom-lit with fantasy and the end product is a unique blend of genres that is refreshing. Readers will find that The Restorer appeals to a wide range of reading tastes.

One of the most enjoyable elements of fantasy is that you never know what to expect. The Restorer is no different. The story holds you on the edge of your seat and a number of twists keep you reading.

Review by:
Jill Hart, CWAHM.com