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| Margot |
I spent all day yesterday doing page layout and editing to finalize the Devotions from A - Z e-book. It has 53 pages of devotional content, one devotional for each letter of the alphabet. It also has 26 journal pages for keeping your thoughts and prayers as you go through each devotion. You may remember reading the original drafts of these devotionals last April during the A-Z Challenge when I first wrote them. I have a tab on this site so you can still get to them easily.
My original goal when I started this blog was to write enough content for a 365 day devotional. I currently have 420 published posts. At the start of this journey the idea of writing every day seemed so huge, I did not know how I would manage to pull it off except for the Lord's hand upon the project. The first year of writing I was constantly amazed at the things I would manage to write on days when I was sick or un inspired. At this point, half way through the second year of writing, the things that were challenges before are no longer big deal. Daily writing has become a way of life for me. At this point the bigger challenge is how do I create regular and residual income so that I can support myself and my family so I can keep writing and creating. In my mind the Lord who owns the cattle on a thousand hills is my provider at the same time it has been my prayer that God would bring an increase to my household. We live on a pretty tight budget with not a lot of extra's. I have been thinking about trying to find a job or trying to go back to my old job and both of those options leave me feeling sad. It feels like going backwards rather than moving forward by faith. So I have to ask myself if I have some value and self worth issues that I need to overcome. Probably. Those kind of issues tend to surface when you go to put a price tag on your work. Are my financial struggles a result of my own feelings of inadequacy or feelings that I don't deserve to be paid for my labor. Am I alway too ready to give things away for free. Even putting a price tag on this particular e-book is a struggle for me. I'd like for you all to have a copy and to allow you to freely share it with as many people as you like. At the same time I can't really do this alone. I need partners, prayer warriors and financial supporters. My gut feeling is that this is just one of many e-books that the Lord will lead me to create and make available. Maybe even printed publishing at some point. I would like to move from writing to being invited to speak at churches and ministry events. These things seem as big and overwhelming as it did to take on the challenge of writing daily did when I first started. I will probably look back in much the same way and find that the things that were once challenges have become a way of life.
Here's the thing to remember the Lord sees the end from the beginning. He created the map and the plan and knows how to get you and I to his intended destination. The verse today reminds me a lot of another one that says Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. I set out to write these devotionals because I felt that God was calling me to write them, I was not particularly concerned with who would read them, or how to finance it. My major costs are in my time. He was calling me to make my writings available to people even in their raw an imperfect form. He was challenging me to be open and honest about the things I was struggling with and to share with others the things I have discovered while walking daily with Jesus.
So the book at this point looks good to me but I'm not the best proof reader. Plus I have spent too much time looking at it so I'm sure I couldn't see a typo even if it stood up and waved and shouted at me. So I've decided that I will just briefly post a sneek peek of a flipable version of this e-book so you can see it. You can help me if you see any typos or glaring layout issues by leaving me a comment with the page number and what needs fixed. I guess I am hoping that you will see it and start to make a mental list of people you might want to bless with a copy of it.
The final version will be set up so that you pay for the copy using an easy and secure pay pal check out platform. You will be given an instant download link as well as be sent an e-mail with that link. I may be able to also include a link to the flipable version. You can download it and print the whole thing or just the pages you want. I am looking into what print versions in a magazine or manual format might cost. Lots of things to consider.
Today I am just excited to be able to allow you a peek inside of this project that I have been working on for the past year. Your feed back would mean a lot to me. I want make the e-book version available as soon as possible but defiantly in time for the next A-Z challenge in April, which I plan to participate in again this year.
Prayer: I pray the Lord will help you to take the next steps on your faith journey. I pray also that he will allow you to stand on a high place and look back over where you have come from. That you will be reminded of his faithfulness in bringing you from then to now. I pray you will in that moment gain the courage to go on from here to there to that distant place in the future.
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