success: n. The achievement of one's aim or goal; financial profitability; the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame.
I received a book in the mail yesterday, a complimentary copy from the publisher of the book I wrote. To use publishing terms, the book has gone "live," it has been "launched," and the receipt of it verified that fact. It is in print and is available for purchase.
This blog came into being over five years ago. I have always viewed myself as a musician, a pianist, not an author, and I still struggle with applying that term to myself. "Story teller" or "scribe" is a better description, I think. I am most comfortable with the idea I simply relate personal experiences or share insights learned in my daily life.
Once the seed of an idea is planted within my mind, I am unable to ignore it. Coming from the mind of God, it doesn't go away, but grows and grows until I take action. That is how Tidbits and Pearls--A Book of Essays on Living Everyday Life with God came into being. I cannot tell you when it happened, but at some point it seemed like a good idea to gather together several of these posts under one cover. And so the process began.
Rome was not built in a day. Neither was developing "the book." It turned out to be one of the most challenging, difficult things I've done--and I've had some doozies. The focus from the beginning was to point the reader Godward, to challenge status quo thoughts, to open up possibilities for new thought, to encourage focus on the spiritual rather than the short-term physical.
I am now a published author, a success, according to some. My take on that is a person can do most anything if they are willing to pay for it. I chose to self-publish a compilation of blog posts so I could maintain control. While that sounds a bit like I have OCD or Obsessive Control Disorder, in reality I didn't want to be under contract to a publisher or have an editor telling me what I could or couldn't say. It was bad enough that the company I chose wouldn't allow me to describe war as "hell."
Success is a heady word. It suggests personal accomplishment, especially when compared to failure. After all, we all want to succeed rather than fail. The numbers game is important when the world speaks of success--the larger the number, the greater the success. Often that is translated into dollars, the world's measure of success.
Think about that for a moment--a person's success is determined by the money made or shown on a profit/loss statement, a net worth, the larger the more successful. That is not how God measures success. Value and worth as a person can never be evaluated by a currency.
In my finite mind I would love for my book to be known around the world. Its message, that of God's desire for friendship and relationship, is an important one, and I feel it is one the world needs to hear and know.
God, however, does not play the games the world plays and has brought my focus to "one.. for the sake of one." If only one person is pointed to Him as a result of reading those things given me to write, then the book will be a success.
My challenge to you is to consider/reconsider how you measure success. And may it be in spiritual terms instead of those of the world. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matt. 19:19; "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." Matt. 22:37
I am honored to be chosen to deliver His message.
"What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray." Matthew 18: 11-13
Friday, May 31, 2019
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
"On the Things I Learned While Writing a Book"
author: n. The originator or creator of a work, especially of a literary composition.
scribe: n. Someone who writes; a draughtsperson; a writer for another; especially, an official or public writer.
It started with a thought--one, single thought that harkened back decades.
Many years ago--well over fifty, in fact--I was given a note written on a small piece of paper taken from a legal pad, one of those with yellow paper. On it was written the truth of God's love for me and this: "Soon you will write psalms."
I shared it with no one and tucked it away in my wallet, occasionally taking it out to read the message even though the words were fading and it was falling apart. My purse, with the wallet inside, was stolen and, with it, the note. I felt that loss more than the loss of my Social Security card, bank cards, and checkbooks. However, I never forgot its message.
The key on my piano refused to produce a sound when I played it--an f note to be exact. A dialogue began floating around in my mind making the point of how important each one of us is in the whole of things. There are no substitutes and no one can take our place. One note does not a symphony make, but there are voids, empty spaces when a single note is missing.
I put the thoughts into words and began writing, dipping my toes into the writing pool, testing it out. I shared it as a Facebook post. The door had opened, and I walked through it.
A high school friend encouraged me to begin writing a blog, a place where I could share. That was five and a half years ago. The posts accumulated until there were nearly two hundred of them. What would happen if I compiled them in a book?, I thought. The journey began.
I printed out all of the posts, and the challenge was on to make a cohesive manuscript out of them. It needed to present a message and make sense; it couldn't just ramble all over the countryside. The first thing I learned was that I needed God's hand, wisdom, and guidance. This was not going to be done without Him.
A theme developed, that of God's desire for friendship and relationship with us, His creation. He took me back to my early teen years and an experience at church camp when I responded to His call. That experience became the introduction and is the foundation, the setting for Tidbits and Pearls: A Book of Essays on Living Everyday Life with God.
I am not a trained writer. I have no professional instruction other than Mrs. Wilshire's AP English class as a senior in high school. I quickly learned that following the lead of God isn't always easy as self-doubt and self-incrimination filled me--for days, weeks, and months. "I'm not an author. I am not a writer. There's no way I would ever put myself in that class."--all in comparison to those who are. I learned that never bothered God in the slightest as He asked me to simply share from my heart.
Another thing I learned is that "Rome wasn't built in a day." And neither was what I thought would be a simple task of making a format of several blog posts. I have tried to place a time frame on when the seed was planted but am unable to. I know it has now gone into years rather than months. Often it has felt like the longest pregnancy on the face of the earth.
Writing a book has been one of the hardest, most challenging things I've done in my life. And I have several to choose from. Had it not been for the knowledge that this is what my Heavenly Father wants, I would have got buried in the sheer detail of it all.
The book has never been about me. It is about God and His love for us all. It matters not if only one person reads it. If the message is taken in, settles within and grows, its purpose will have been fulfilled--that of pointing the way Godward.
Vulnerability has been by my side as this book nears release. I know myself; I know my life. I know standing before God asking forgiveness for wrongs and hurts I've caused others, for rebellion and resistance against Him; I know His forgiveness as I remind Him, unable to let go of the memories and self-blame, and He says, "I don't remember what you're talking about." In the writing I am exposed--How can you know the truth of what I tell unless it is that way? I know my state--I am human.
In the past I have viewed myself as being a pretty patient person--at least when I think of years gone by. I have learned, however, that impatience has become my constant companion as the manuscript has gone through the process of becoming published. The reminder from a daughter just yesterday that "It's all about the timing" has tempered my impatient disposition.
I am sitting on the cusp of the release of "the book." The representative from the publisher said she hoped it would be today. And I am learning, "It's all about the timing."
A marketing representative contacted me asking me what my marketing plans are and who I hoped to reach. I told him "word of mouth, Facebook, and the world." He laughed and commented I would probably reach thirty or so people. While my response was quite grandiose, the message of Tidbits and Pearls is that important, and I want it shared with all who will listen--God is love. He wants your friendship--and mine as well--and wants to be part of our daily lives. He made possible a way for that to happen. It is our choice.
I have been given unlimited, unfathomable, unconditional support from you, my family and friends, on this journey. And that is another thing I have learned. I could not have written a book not only without God, but without you. Each one of you has played a role in the creation of this symphony of words.
Thank you.
scribe: n. Someone who writes; a draughtsperson; a writer for another; especially, an official or public writer.
It started with a thought--one, single thought that harkened back decades.
Many years ago--well over fifty, in fact--I was given a note written on a small piece of paper taken from a legal pad, one of those with yellow paper. On it was written the truth of God's love for me and this: "Soon you will write psalms."
I shared it with no one and tucked it away in my wallet, occasionally taking it out to read the message even though the words were fading and it was falling apart. My purse, with the wallet inside, was stolen and, with it, the note. I felt that loss more than the loss of my Social Security card, bank cards, and checkbooks. However, I never forgot its message.
The key on my piano refused to produce a sound when I played it--an f note to be exact. A dialogue began floating around in my mind making the point of how important each one of us is in the whole of things. There are no substitutes and no one can take our place. One note does not a symphony make, but there are voids, empty spaces when a single note is missing.
I put the thoughts into words and began writing, dipping my toes into the writing pool, testing it out. I shared it as a Facebook post. The door had opened, and I walked through it.
A high school friend encouraged me to begin writing a blog, a place where I could share. That was five and a half years ago. The posts accumulated until there were nearly two hundred of them. What would happen if I compiled them in a book?, I thought. The journey began.
I printed out all of the posts, and the challenge was on to make a cohesive manuscript out of them. It needed to present a message and make sense; it couldn't just ramble all over the countryside. The first thing I learned was that I needed God's hand, wisdom, and guidance. This was not going to be done without Him.
A theme developed, that of God's desire for friendship and relationship with us, His creation. He took me back to my early teen years and an experience at church camp when I responded to His call. That experience became the introduction and is the foundation, the setting for Tidbits and Pearls: A Book of Essays on Living Everyday Life with God.
I am not a trained writer. I have no professional instruction other than Mrs. Wilshire's AP English class as a senior in high school. I quickly learned that following the lead of God isn't always easy as self-doubt and self-incrimination filled me--for days, weeks, and months. "I'm not an author. I am not a writer. There's no way I would ever put myself in that class."--all in comparison to those who are. I learned that never bothered God in the slightest as He asked me to simply share from my heart.
Another thing I learned is that "Rome wasn't built in a day." And neither was what I thought would be a simple task of making a format of several blog posts. I have tried to place a time frame on when the seed was planted but am unable to. I know it has now gone into years rather than months. Often it has felt like the longest pregnancy on the face of the earth.
Writing a book has been one of the hardest, most challenging things I've done in my life. And I have several to choose from. Had it not been for the knowledge that this is what my Heavenly Father wants, I would have got buried in the sheer detail of it all.
The book has never been about me. It is about God and His love for us all. It matters not if only one person reads it. If the message is taken in, settles within and grows, its purpose will have been fulfilled--that of pointing the way Godward.
Vulnerability has been by my side as this book nears release. I know myself; I know my life. I know standing before God asking forgiveness for wrongs and hurts I've caused others, for rebellion and resistance against Him; I know His forgiveness as I remind Him, unable to let go of the memories and self-blame, and He says, "I don't remember what you're talking about." In the writing I am exposed--How can you know the truth of what I tell unless it is that way? I know my state--I am human.
In the past I have viewed myself as being a pretty patient person--at least when I think of years gone by. I have learned, however, that impatience has become my constant companion as the manuscript has gone through the process of becoming published. The reminder from a daughter just yesterday that "It's all about the timing" has tempered my impatient disposition.
I am sitting on the cusp of the release of "the book." The representative from the publisher said she hoped it would be today. And I am learning, "It's all about the timing."
A marketing representative contacted me asking me what my marketing plans are and who I hoped to reach. I told him "word of mouth, Facebook, and the world." He laughed and commented I would probably reach thirty or so people. While my response was quite grandiose, the message of Tidbits and Pearls is that important, and I want it shared with all who will listen--God is love. He wants your friendship--and mine as well--and wants to be part of our daily lives. He made possible a way for that to happen. It is our choice.
I have been given unlimited, unfathomable, unconditional support from you, my family and friends, on this journey. And that is another thing I have learned. I could not have written a book not only without God, but without you. Each one of you has played a role in the creation of this symphony of words.
Thank you.
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