Yourself OR Others // Which Will It Be?
Here’s the question: Is your highest duty to yourself or to others? As a writer, as a mother, as a woman, as a follower of The Way, as a neighbor, as a sister, my answer is usually the same. Answering as a writer: myself or my audience? As a writer I am not just holed up in a corner of a hut journaling in a book I plan to burn before the ink dries–I’m out there, I’m blogging, I’m submitting articles, I’m pitching books to literary agents, I’m guest posting, I’m thinking about… Read More
4 REASONS YOU NEED A CONTENT CALENDAR
I officially started nerding out on content calendar creation in the year 2007. This was the year I was introduced to a marketing guru with a serious thang for Excel. I think I might have taken an online class, in fact, to get up-to-speed about how to navigate the (wondrous!) world of the big XLS. While I learned how to organize spreadsheets to the point where we’re about to leave the house to buy groceries and I’m like, “Hey, want me to just throw our grocery list in an XLS and organize… Read More
LEADERS: DO THIS, DON’T DO THAT.
I wrote this post as an article for the Leadership column of The Mennonite magazine’s most recent issue. There are powerful leaders and humble leaders, horrible leaders and questionable leaders. Throughout my adult life of working under various leaders—from churches to places of employment, from neighborhood associations to my children’s school board, from nonprofit organizations where I’ve volunteered to my own family—I’ve had varying experiences of leaders and come to understand that everyone is a teacher. They teach me what to do and sometimes what not to do. 1. Do this: Get your hands dirty When… Read More
MODELING IN MINNESOTA // A GUY WALKS UP TO ME ON A BRIDGE
A few weeks back my son and I decided to go for a walk on the Stone Arch Bridge after we dropped my daughter off at her guitar lesson. I remember it was a blustery afternoon and even though the sun was shining, the wind stung our cheeks and more than once it threatened to blow my fedora straight into the river. It wasn’t so much a walk as it was a desperate scurry to make it across the Stone Arch Bridge before we were sucked up into the air like Mary… Read More
Claire DeBerg // Writer 