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MY BOOK IS LAUNCHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From Our Fall is launching on Barnes and Noble, Amazon and Westbow Press.
Launch Journey
So, I was trying to think about how the journey of writing this book and what it meant for me. This book started several years ago and I am very excited to launch it, but I never really set out to write a book in my life. It was never one of my goals. This book was simply a response to life around me and failing to succeed at any of the things I always thought I would do.
Little did I know, my response was actually to a calling from God. Now, I don’t mean some grand calling, to converts thousands or millions and sell millions of books (though that would be awesome). I mean a simpler calling, just me attempting to meet needs that I saw. Mark Batterson (a pastor and best-selling author) once said, “every book sold is a prayer answered.” That’s what I hope my book does in some small way.
I was listening to a sermon by Tim Mackie yesterday and he helped me frame it well.
Feeding the 5000
In Matthew 14, Jesus performs one of his more famous miracles, Feeding the 5000. This miracle comes on the heels of some devastating news to Jesus, the death of John the Baptist. As such the Jesus is emotionally drained and is trying to get away from the crowds. He and his disciples get on a boat to get away, but when they make landfall, the crowds have followed. Jesus has compassion on the crowds, so he goes on to teach and heal. Now, this is where the story shifts focus to the disciples.
It’s becoming late and the disciples mirror Christ’s compassion noticing how hungry the people are. They suggest to Jesus to send them away, so they can eat. Jesus, however, turns it back on them. It is a good thing that the disciples were aware of the crowd’s needs, but now they get a chance to serve. Jesus tells his disciples to feed the crowd. The disciples offer a tiny meal, all they have, of five loaves and two fish. Jesus gives thanks, breaks the bread and then sends the disciples out to feed the people.
I imagine the disciples coming back to Jesus and forth to the crowds and back and forth and back and forth until everyone is fed. Imagine their reactions as the food just seems to keep coming. Jesus just keeps vending food to them until everyone has eaten, and there are even some leftovers. Everyone gets blessed by coming to Jesus.
A Small Offering
How does that apply to me? I am a disciple and I saw a need. My book is this tiny offering of a few fish and loaves to feed the multitude. I am turning my work over to Jesus. I have offered all I have. My time and preparation in writing the book, my limited marketing abilities, and my attempts to involve as many people in the process as possible. Now, it is up to Jesus to keep vending out, as Batterson said, answered prayers. So as I launch this book, I give thanks to God and Jesus and stand ready to pass out as many blessings as possible.
The cool part is that I am not the only one involved in this process. I am not the only disciple. I have a church family around me, social media followers, and friends both near and far. You can be like the disciples in the story of the feeding of the 5000. What we are doing may not seem much but I say let’s see what God can do with our tiny gift. Let’s see what kind of magic and wonder he can work. I believe Jesus can do miracles if we keep coming to him.
5 Methods of Continued Support
- Tell your friends about it if you liked it.
- Share about the book on social media
- Write a review on Goodreads or Amazon. – This is huge. Many authors pay for reviews just to get them started. If you liked my book a lot and have some time, write a review. For example, a Kirkus review costs $400 dollars. The more reviews the more visibility after that tweet or Facebook post. You could just copy paste that Facebook post into a 5-star review.
- Connect with me on social media. If you are on Instagram or Twitter there is going to be some awesome content coming your way. Share it, like it, retweet it.
- Share my blog articles. A get people who come up to me all the time and say how much my latest articles helped them. If my article helped you share it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. It’s not plagiarizing, it’s sharing. There is a difference. You can also add how the article affected you in your post.
Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
