Associated Content

I write articles for a Website called: Associated Content. This is a wonderful way to make some extra money for the holidays, to pay the unexpected bill, or if you are very good at the craft of writing, you can even earn enough to pay all of your monthly bills, provided of course you are not a big spender.

I write most of my articles on topics I am knowledgeable about. Topics like parenting, homeschooling, housework, baking, pets. I write about what I am interested in, what fastinates me and about topics that I feel are important to my readers.

One of the forums I visit wahm.com has a folder for those who write from home and I found information about Associated Content one day while I was reading posts. I was intriqued that there existed a place where I could write about any topic I desired to write about and someone would pay me to do this. I average $8 to $10 per article.

If you would like to be paid to write articles follow this link:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/join.html?refer=11861

Please use the link just as I have it pasted here. I earn a referral fee for every one I send to Associated Content who joins and publishes articles. It is not much, but every little bit helps. Once you join, you will have a referral link also to send all of your readers to.

If you would like to read the articles I wrote and have published on Associated Content, please click on the link below, thank you. (do not use this link to join Associated Content, use the above link to do that please).

http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/11861/laura_quintile.html

Out Of The Depths Of Misery Comes Grace

Have you ever felt like Job, from the bible, full of despair and deep in the throes of Misery? It is Sunday today, and I am on day 4 of a miserable cold. Today, I am reading from Job 18: 1-11. The Word speaks of Job being in the depths of misery because of his afflictions, he was physically, mentally and emotionally distraught and brought to his knees by illness, suffering and loss. He was so buried in his misery that God had to come to him in a whirlwind so that Job would take notice of God's presence. We have all from time to time been there, in the depths of misery because of illness, loss or through suffering, feel the total desolation of despair. It feels isolating and lonely to be in such a black hole by ourself. God reaches us and grabs our attention to remind us that He is above all things, and nothing happens to us without first going thru God's filter.

As horrible as I feel in the depths of my cold, there has been a reason for my affliction, a sense of purpose to my suffering. I have been forced to rest, something I normally do not do on my own. As a fulltime mom, fulltime college student and online business owner, rest is not normally a part of my days and a stranger who visits for just part of my nights. God has to sometimes grab our attention and bring us to our knees to listen to His wisdom and remember that He is Sovereign. He alone is the filter in our lives. Through our suffering, we are brought to our knees, where we remember to be with our Father in Heaven and to stay close to Him who guides us and protects us, because He created us and loves us dearly.

It is good for me to be reminded that I do not have to do it all on my own. I do not have to be "Super-Mom", or "Perfect Straight A College Student", or even the "tycoon of the internet". I certainly do not need to be all three at once or even one at a time. I simply need to be me, the wonderful being that God created. Life is easier when we take the time to be in God's Word, early each morning to drink in the wisdom God has written there for us. Spending time with God in His Word, and in prayer, gives direction to our lives, His direction. Direction that steers us to the many blessings that God prepares for us.

My forced days of rest has given me plenty of time to heal, not only from my cold, but from my need to be "Super" at all I do, I have remembered how important it is to rest when needed, and to be happy with the me that God created, rather than the "me" that I created.

What is a writer to do?

It started with a sore throat, then a fever of 100.8, then a persistant and hacking cough - I was sick! How could I be sick? I have two kids and 7 pets dependent on me for thier care, there simply is no time for mom to be sick, right?

Apparently, colds are rude and have no sence of fair play! Thank goodness, my youngest has acquired a knack for meal preparation and with the help of her 12 y/o sister they managed to survive my illness. Thank goodness for microwave hotdogs!

It amazes me how when your head feels like cotton, your creative juices seem to evaporate. I am afraid I did nothing for the past few days in regards to earning a living online. I will need to kick some serious creative butt next week when I return to the land of the living. In the meantime, I will lay back, sip my hot tea and try to feel more human again.

I did manage to add adsense to my blog, my one and only accomplishment this week.

Thank goodness my daughters have so far managed to stay away from my cold germs. I pray they remain healthy.

Submitting to Blog Directories

One of the things I have been doing is submitting my blog to blog directories.

This is my list of blog directories so far.....

http://www.daypop.com - this one was offline when I tried to submit
http://www.blogwise.com
http://www.popdex.com
http://www.blogarama.com
http://www.syndic8.com
http://www.blogdigger.com/add.jsp
http://www.weblogalot.com

those of you who are blogging too and would like to submit your blog too, have fun!

My New Writing Project

This is exciting! I have finally learned how to create PDF files. I am now able to express my thoughts in ebook format. I have listed a few of my original ebooks on my website Joyfulwraps.com

Now to find some good topics to write about that my readers are interested in. I have discovered some good tools and am learning how to use these tools.

One tool is great for finding niche markets based on keyword popularity.

The tool can be found at: http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion

Well, I am off to discover more about writing ebooks and creating new ebooks.