Saturday, March 28, 2009

Burke Family News

Our family is having a busy spring!

We’re about half done calving. Tim moved the new babies and their moms to a pasture than I can see from our bedroom. I love watching the little baby calves running around the pasture.

Cody and Morgan are busy with school. This coming week they’ll be attending the FFA State Convention in Lincoln, where they’ll each participate in several events. Next Saturday, Cody takes the ACT test and has Prom. There have been—and will continue to be—cattle shows most Saturdays from now on.

I’m enjoying working on the paper—I think that if I could stay awake for 24 hours, I could fill all of them doing things with the paper and implementing new ideas! I am blessed to have something to do that I enjoy so much. When I feel overwhelmed, I’m reminded of Ecclesiastes 5:19, “. . . when God gives any man wealth and possessions and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God.”

My wealth is in the form of family and friends, I have plenty of possessions, and I am so blessed to be happy in my work.

Do You Want to Share the Paper, but Don't want to give up Your Copy?

If you’d like to share the Nebraska Family Times, but don’t want to give up your copy, contact me and I will send you up to five copies of the paper, FREE! We want to spread the news of the Nebraska Family times as an encouraging and positive source of Christian news.

To get your FREE copies, call me at (402) 993-2467 or (402) 750-3496; e-mail me at; shelly@shellyburke.net, or write ;Nebraska Family Times, 42887 G. G. Road, Genoa, NE 68640.

Looking Back . . . and Looking Ahead

Looking Back . . . and Looking Ahead

The April issue marks the 7th issue of the paper that will come out after I took over! I’ve had so much help from other people during these months—THANK YOU ALL for your encouragement, for answering my questions, and for your patience when I didn’t know quite how things were done.

Editing and publishing a newspaper was a completely new experience for me! I won’t say I’m an “old pro” quite yet, but I feel much, much more comfortable with the process after doing it for several months.

I’ve learned so much, made new friends, and pray that I’ve made a positive difference in the lives of everyone who reads the paper.

I’m looking forward to the future! I am continually working to improve the paper with new articles, sponsors, advertisers, columnists, and so on. My ultimate goal is always to bring Christian news, information, and encouragement to readers.

I think there are many, many people who will benefit from the Nebraska Family Times—we just have to figure how to let them know that this positive media source is available. I know there are many opportunites, and Marcie has already alerted me to several of them.

Thanks to everyone who has spread the good word about Nebraska Family Times! If you are interested sharing the Nebraska Family Times, see the next post.

New Nebraska Family Times Website on the Way!

A new Nebraska Family Times website is in the works! I would like to have a place where people can go to get information about the paper, subscribing, sponsoring, advertising, and so on.

We will also include selected information from the newspaper, on the website—upcoming Christian events, The Open Door column, and more!

The website will be set up by one of our advertisers and sponsors. Terry, who owns Web Tech Design Group, lives and works in Utah! It is amazing to me that with computers and the internet we can do business with people throughout the United States—throughout the world!

Watch for more information about the new website here, and in the next issue of the Nebraska Family Times.

April Issue

The April issue of the Nebraska Family Times will be printed Monday! On Tuesday, my mother-in-law, Anne, and I will pick it up in Norfolk and deliver there (Lori is substitute teaching so won’t be able to help this week, but I look forward to spending time with Anne!). The rest of the week I’ll get papers addressed and mailed.

The April issue is full of Christian news and information. I especially enjoyed reading “The Open Door” column but Marcie Sextro. Marcie is our new Advertising/Promotions person, and she has an extensive background in reporting Christian events. Marcie has some great ideas for promoting the Nebraska Family Times and I am so excited to spread the word and give people the opportunity to have a source of Christian news.

An event I just learned about (from Marcie) is the Christian Cross Festival, which, this year, will take place on June 7th in Norfolk, NE. You can check it out at www.christiancrossfestival.org. The Nebraska Family Times will have a display table at this event!

I’m so excited to see the new issue of the paper! I hope you are too . . . and I look forward to hearing your comments about the paper.

Monday, March 9, 2009

"Home is Where the Mom Is" special


I've self-published several books; my favorite one is Home is Where the Mom Is: A Christian Mom's Guide to Caring for Herself, Her Family, and Her Home.

I wrote Home is Where the Mom Is during a very special time in my life; my children were toddlers and I was a member of a MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) group. Many of my friends from MOPS (who are still friends today!) had suggestions for the book and encouraged me as I wrote it.

Home is Where the Mom Is is a comprehensive book, filled with encouragement, information, and "real life" advice for moms who have kids of any age. I pray that it reaches moms who read it, when they need what's provided in the book.

Since I've taken over the Nebraska Family Times, I have not had as much time as I would like to promote Home is Where the Mom Is. However, I still believe in the messages in Home is Where the Mom Is and I want to get the book out to moms who need the message of encouragement as they live their lives doing the most important job in the world--being a mom!

I've decided to offer a special on Home is Where the Mom Is. Regularly priced at $15 each, from now until May 15th, buy three copies for ONLY $25! That means you'll get three copies of Home is Where the Mom Is for just $25 + $5 shipping and handling!

Home is Where the Mom Is is the perfect gift for:


  • Any new mom, or mom with kids of any age

  • Birthday

  • Mother's Day

  • Baby shower

  • Christmas

  • just because!

If you don't have a specific mom in mind, consider donating a copy of Home is Where the Mom Is to your church library, local MOPS group, or city library.


With the special offer, you can do your shopping for all the moms on your list, for the whole year!


If you want to take advantage of this offer, send your payment via PayPal to shelly@shellyburke.net. Checks and money orders also accepted; mail to Shelly Burke, 42887 G. G. Road, Genoa, NE 68640.


Books can also be gift-wrapped and mailed directly to the recipient; e-mail me at shelly@shellyburke.net or call (402) 993-2467 or (402) 750-3496 to give me the details.




Time Flies!

And already another issue of the Nebraska Family Times has been put together, printed, delivered, and mailed out. March marks the 6th issue of the paper I put together (with a lot of help from former owner Vyckie, my assistant Lori, Promotions and Publicity person Marcie, and the support and advice of my family).

I'm learning more every month, and I'm as excited about the paper as I was the day I decided to take Vyckie up on the wonderful opportunity she offered me--if not more so! It seems that every day I get another idea about an article, or column, or something I want to share with my readers. I hope you are enjoying reading the paper as much as I enjoy writing it! I appreciate your comments, suggestions, and questions. Please keep them coming!