Marilynn Dawson's Blog, page 5
June 24, 2014
Welcome to Songdove Books Newsletter: June 2014
First off, welcome to all the new subscribers over this past month! It's great to have you all along for the ride as we delve into life at Songdove Books once a month. This particular issue will be more a case of social housekeeping than anything else. BUT, that means it could be a bit long, so grab your favourite beverage, put your feet up, get comfy in your favourite chair, and let's get started.
New Book Project Update!The big news this month is that this book is going on a pre-launch virtual book tour! Editors and reviewers are coming back with very little to report, so we're on tour across 11, hopefully 12 different blogs (if I can find another blogger to replace the one who had to bow out). The twist with this particular tour, is that each of the bloggers hosting myself and my book, are being featured on my own blog as well! You get to meet each blogger before they engage in their stop along this tour.
Secondly, whether it's on my blog or on a tour blog, you have the opportunity to download a free single-day prayer guide taken from somewhere within the upcoming book. If you download them all, you'll have 24 different single-day guides from this new book. In addition, you'll have a chance at each stop on tour, to enter for your own copy of a full one-month sampling of the book.
You can view the full tour schedule at the FB link here: https://www.facebook.com/events/880095405340333/?ref=2&ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming Just click the description box to view the whole 8 week timeline.
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!"Practical Thoughts on Becoming an Author" has become an e-course! This is a 19-day course that comes to you via your inbox once per day. Most of the sessions are short, with a daily task to be completed at the end of each session. Who might be interested in such a course?
- The person who has had an idea for a book bouncing around their thoughts, but never written it down.
- The person who has begun a rough draft, but unsure what to do next.
- The person who thinks it costs too much to break into publishing.
- The author who is looking for a cheaper way of getting their books out there.
Contents of this course will cover:
- tools that cost very little to no outlay at all.
- Tips on why those tools are needed.
- Instructions on how to use one of them to prepare your manuscript for self-publishing printers.
- Links where you can download various tools
- Links leading to resources and information
etc.
The cost of the course is only $15 and it's a one-time fee for the full 19 day duration of the course. Because this is an e-course, from time to time content may change or get updated to reflect new information coming down the pipe. If you get word of a significant change that you want to walk through, you are more than welcome to purchase the course again to learn the new content.
More information and the purchase link can be found at this link: http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/so-you-want-to-be-an-author/ The little giftbox icon beside your name box when you click "I want this", allows you to purchase this course for a friend as well. Feel free to pass this link around to those you know who may be interested in what it takes to get a book idea from concept to print-ready with very little financial outlay.
Be sure to add the course's email address to your whitelist so that you don't miss out on any of the daily sessions.
GRADUATION IS ALMOST OVER!"Mom's Little Black Book: Godly Advice for the HIgh School Graduate" has now been purchased for eight high school graduates this year! That's 8 students entering college or university or diving into work, armed with tidbits of both parental advice as well as guidance from God's Word. If you know a graduating student, why not get this as a grad gift for them too?
Don't forget that this grad gift is currently being bundled with "Dressed for Eternity" to create a gift bundle worth $48, for only $40 plus shipping and handling. This offer is good through to the end of July in an effort to catch as many graduates around the world as possible! Click this blog post URL to get to the paypal button at the bottom: http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/2014/04/29/peer-pressure-and-grad-gift-bundle/ Your order will be shipped to you as soon as possible.
Wrap-up
Well, now the moment I've been waiting for! Just a few more bits of news, a minor rant, and we're done. Still with me? If you didn't sip any of that cool beverage before, now's the time to pull it out. If you weren't in a comfortable chair before, now's the time to move toward it. Are we ready?
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Amazon has just released a new tool for Twitter, that is really quite cool for those of us who are writers, authors, and bloggers! The tool, when seen on Twitter, is simply a hashtag that you type into a response. If this response is to someone posting a link to an Amazon product, that hashtag will tell Amazon to add that product to your Amazon shopping cart! The next time you visit Amazon, you'll be able to complete your purchase without having to track down that particular product again, or forget that you wanted to order it.
This becomes a new way for product reviewers to share their reviews and for those reviews to draw in potentially further sales for the product being reviewed. This is a new way for authors to share their books and tap into a potential market already present on Twitter.
This means adding to my hootesuite scheduling now. For those of you who like daily Bible verses, those will always show up at 8:30am unless I make a mistake somewhere. Every Friday at 10am, a different location around the world is presented where any of my books may be purchased. Some locations offer paperback, others offer digital, others offer both. Some locations are in North America while other locations are from other continents. Starting soon will be a single Amazon product link to each of my books available there, one per day. If you miss a day when a given book was offered, you can get to it either via my author name on Amazon, or waiting for that link to come around again in rotation. Right now, that is an 11 day rotation, soon to be 12 come the Fall. This schedule will be inserted at 12:30pm every day. At 2:30pm, tweet promos for my e-course will resume, and at present there are 14 different tweets that you're welcome to RT when you see them. Just 5 paid sign-ups every day would ease the financial picture quite a bit! Those of you who have signed up during the pre-launch tour and lead up to my next book being launched, may have taken the course for free. But if you know someone who might be interested in the course, gifting it to them will help out them as well as myself. When the pre-launch tour is over, the new-subscriber gift will change.
Of course, sprinkled through these various time slots will be links to various blog posts that come up each week, links to each month's newsletter when it is posted online, Listia's automatic tweet whenever a book is relisted there, etc.
That's three to four guaranteed tweets every day, and random two or three more on days when they hit.
It's been suggested to me that I short-list those I am following on Twitter, so that scouring for things to RT that augment the message I want to get out there, will be a quicker task to accomplish. Up until now, Twitter has been difficult to deal with simply due to all the wasted time looking for decent tweets to RT. So this concept of only checking lists is something I'll be finding time to test out.
When it comes to social media, I've been dragged into each new phase all but kicking and screaming! From the time I was first invited until I finally got dragged in by a Pastor's wife, it took two years just to get me started on Facebook. That was back in 2007. It would be several years before I'd hit Pinterest and LinkedIn almost at the same time in the year 2012. The reasoning was book promotion, getting word out about the message God had given me to write. I held off joining Twitter for even longer, but finally gave in somewhere between 2012 and 2013. Google Plus has been the latest hold-out in my list, but I am finally there as well. The major frustration there is that Google insists on it's single-sign-on thing which drives me NUTS! My preference is to use my own email address for various services, but Google has also insisted that if you have a gmail address, even if it's never used, that such an address will be the default for ALL services under it's umbrella! Ugh! My youtube account is not under gmail, my Google Play account however, is. My Google analytics are, unfortunately under gmail, but I wanted my g+ acct to be under my own email address! Unfortunately, Google can't remember which service uses which email address, and automatically assumes I am logging in under the gmail acct! So I find myself having to log out, then log back in to use most google-related services including G+. Worse yet, I found 5 followers on the gmail g+ user! Double ugh! I've left a message on that account urging the followers to find me at the account I actually set up.
I have however, been learning how to use these various social networks. LinkedIn is still a bit of mystery to me. I have Facebook pretty figured out, along with Pinterest. I will be looking at a way to tame Twitter, and I think I've found some groups on G+ that I'm dipping my toes into. But yes, I've been a bit of a rebel the whole way along in this world of social media. That admission may be hard for some reading this to accept. I'm the one talking about how on and offline life is often no different. I'm the one talking about the benefits of taking Christ to the grid, and my FB avatar displays this. I'm the one talking about how people are freer to express themselves in a more anonymous setting than face to face many times. I'm the one promoting ways prayer groups can meet across time zones around the world. Ah well, it's a good thing we all have areas in life where we are growing, stretching, and being taken to new heights. Once I conquor all there is to social media, there will be a new hill to climb.
For those that may not be aware, this is the current list http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/how-to-reach-me/ of where I can be found online, separate from, but in some cases joining with locations where my books are also sold.
Pinterest, Goodreads, Shelfari, Freado, Twitter, Chapters, Barnes & Noble, Librarything, Slideshare, Facebook, Youtube, Google+, Wattpad, linkedin, Authorsdb, Hubpages, Squidoo, Godtube, Inkbok, Smashwords, Deeper Shopping, Amazon, Cafepress
Visiting any page of my blog will offer you a "follow me" pull-out on the right-hand side where some of these places are listed as well.
I think that's all for now. Some months are quite short, other months I just have a lot to say. Hope to see you around the blog tour.
**********************Want this newsletter in your inbox each month? Sign-up here and a get a free gift: http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/sign-up-for-songdove-books-newsletter/
May 31, 2014
$15 e-course smashes barriers to publishing!
This is the write-up I am sharing via classified ads:
*****************
19-day e-Course based on “Practical Thoughts on Becoming an Author"
This 19-day course comes to you via your inbox once per day. Most sessions are short, with a daily task to be completed at the end of each session.
Who might be interested in such a course?
- The person who has had an idea for a book bouncing around their thoughts, but never written it down.
- The person who has begun a rough draft, but unsure what to do next.
- The person who thinks it costs too much to break into publishing.
- The author who is looking for a cheaper way of getting their books out there.
Contents of this course will cover:
- Tools that cost very little to no outlay at all.
- Tips on why those tools are needed.
- Instructions on how to use one of them to prepare your manuscript for self-publishing printers.
- Links where you can download various tools
- Links leading to resources and information
- etc.
The cost of the course is only $15 - purchase/sign-up link for this course is: https://gum.co/eCPTBA
******************************************
The link I'm sharing to the presentation is: http://www.slideshare.net/songdove/ecoursepresentation
And the link to the promo page on my site is:
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/so-you-want-to-be-an-author/
This is the promo graphic that I've created:
*****************
TWITTER TWEETS:
Want to become an author?$15 e-course offers to take your book from idea to reality in 19 days! http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Want to publish a book?Affordable 19d e-course offers to take your book from idea to reality! http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Learn about tools & methods that lower the cost of book publishing with this $15 19 day e-course: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Smash the publishing barrier with this $15 19d e-course filled with no-to-low-cost tools &tips: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Publishing a book? Save your cash with tips and tools offered in this $15 19d e-course:http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Book formatting nightmares? Learn tools & methods in this $15 e-course that will make it easier: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Got a book idea? Learn no & low-cost ways to capture & publish it in this $15 19-day e-course: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Pitching a book idea? Learn about the changing publishing landscape in this $15 19-day e-course: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Wondering about self-publishing? Learn tools & methods to lower costs via this$15 19d e-course: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Publishing doesn't have to break the bank! $15 19-day e-course offers low-cost methods and tools. http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Break into self-publishing without breaking the bank w/ this $15 19-day e-course! Learn more here: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Realize your dream of writing that book with this $15 19-day e-course's daily instruction & tools: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Learn about methods & tools that can make your book-writing easier & cheaper. $15 e-course: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Questions about copyright and ISBN's? Discover answers in this $15 19-day e-course's daily emails: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
*******************
This course is based off my book:
If you'd like to help spread the word, feel free to use any of the tweets or links offered in this post, as well as the promotional image.
2:30pm tweets going out on Twitter for the next 14 days! Follow songdovemd and retweet if you'd like to help spread the word about this course. Feel free to repin here on Pinterest, and to share on LinkedIn, Facebook and other social networks as well. All I need is 5 paid sign-ups a day.
Health and Financial Update, as well as Request for Word-of-Mouth Generation for e-Course
Some of the fans here may remember me entering a rough patch with my health a year ago. As June's nightmare eventually began to sort of settle down by August, I was left asking God what I was supposed to be doing while I rested. The only response I received was "write". That response would birth my latest book "Dressed for Eternity", but also see me get my feet wet with freelance writing.
This year, I can tell you that I am healing up, can still overdo things so still need some sort of restful employment to pay the bills. I'm still doing techsupport here and there, still doing soundtech here and there, but rounding it out now with two freelance writing sites, one of which has spun off one client so far. I have another book in the works now, "A Year in Prayer with Jesus", and just this past week, I launched my e-course for "Practical Thoughts on Becoming an Author".
I was doing math yesterday when I realized that at just $15 for the e-course, if I was to get 5 sign-ups every single day, I'd have my income largely looked after just with that! However, 5 daily sign-ups requires some serious word-of-mouth viral behaviour! This is something I can't generate all by myself. I have one person taking the course right now, so far without any glitches that I can tell, and none have been reported to me.
I need a group of people to help me get word out as wide and far among prospective writers as possible! I've created a static page introducing the course on my website, as well as have now created a slideshare presentation that I linked to on 12 classified ad sites today.
This is the write-up I am sharing via classified ads:
*****************
19-day e-Course based on “Practical Thoughts on Becoming an Author"
This 19-day course comes to you via your inbox once per day. Most sessions are short, with a daily task to be completed at the end of each session.
Who might be interested in such a course?
Contents of this course will cover:
The cost of the course is only $15 - purchase/sign-up link for this course is: https://gum.co/eCPTBA
******************************************
The link I'm sharing to the presentation is: http://www.slideshare.net/songdove/ecoursepresentation
And the link to the promo page on my site is:
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/so-you-want-to-be-an-author/
This is the promo graphic that I've created:
*****************
TWITTER TWEETS:
Want to publish a book?Affordable 19d e-course offers to take your book from idea to reality! http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Learn about tools & methods that lower the cost of book publishing with this $15 19 day e-course: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Smash the publishing barrier with this $15 19d e-course filled with no-to-low-cost tools &tips: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Publishing a book? Save your cash with tips and tools offered in this $15 19d e-course:http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Book formatting nightmares? Learn tools & methods in this $15 e-course that will make it easier: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Got a book idea? Learn no & low-cost ways to capture & publish it in this $15 19-day e-course: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Pitching a book idea? Learn about the changing publishing landscape in this $15 19-day e-course: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Wondering about self-publishing? Learn tools & methods to lower costs via this$15 19d e-course: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Publishing doesn't have to break the bank! $15 19-day e-course offers low-cost methods and tools. http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Break into self-publishing without breaking the bank w/ this $15 19-day e-course! Learn more here: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Realize your dream of writing that book with this $15 19-day e-course's daily instruction & tools: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Learn about methods & tools that can make your book-writing easier & cheaper. $15 e-course: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
Questions about copyright and ISBN's? Discover answers in this $15 19-day e-course's daily emails: http://wp.me/P3IQLk-dm
***************
I would be very grateful for those who choose to jump on board and help me get the word out. Still thinking of some sort of reward for the assistance, but I know I can't do this on my own!
So any ideas you may have, suggestions you may have, as well as any publicity you wish to give to this, would be great!
Thanks in advance.
PS: If you wish to give this e-course as a gift to someone, clicking the purchase link and then the "I want this" button, will show you a tiny gift box icon in the name field. Clicking this gift box will completely change the form so that you can purchase this course as a gift to someone else.
May 24, 2014
Announcing the 19-day e-Course based on “Practical Thoughts on Becoming an Author”
Songdove Books Newsletter - April 2104 - BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
Songdove Books Newsletter - May 2014 - BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
Almost the end of May already! Where did the time go?! Does time ever seem to get away on you too? Incidentally, that's what the last two blog notes written this past week have been about . . . time. More specifically, time spent busy, or in God's presence and why that matters.
As fast as May has gone by, I've found myself twiddling my thumbs at times as I wait for reviewers/editors to get back to me on my latest book project: A Year in Prayer with Jesus. An interum report from three of them surprised me, as only one of them had found two edits in the first 50 pages! Another was ready to write a glowing review and she hadn't even proofed the whole book yet. A third loved the layout, and I am waiting to hear an interum report from the fourth.
While I've been waiting, I've taken the workshop notes that would have been shared back in April, merged them with my ebook, "Practical Thoughts on Becoming an Author" and created an e-course based on that book. This is a 19-day course that comes to you via your inbox once per day. Most of the sessions are short, with a daily task to be completed at the end of each session. Who might be interested in such a course?
- The person who has had an idea for a book bouncing around their thoughts, but never written it down.
- The person who has begun a rough draft, but unsure what to do next.
- The person who thinks it costs too much to break into publishing.
- The author who is looking for a cheaper way of getting their books out there.
Contents of this course will cover:
- tools that cost very little to no outlay at all.
- Tips on why those tools are needed.
- Instructions on how to use one of them to prepare your manuscript for self-publishing printers.
- Links where you can download various tools
- Links leading to resources and information
etc.
The cost of the course is only $15 and it's a one-time fee for the full 19 day duration of the course. Because this is an e-course, from time to time content may change or get updated to reflect new information coming down the pipe. If you get word of a significant change that you want to walk through, you are more than welcome to purchase the course again to learn the new content.
The purchase/sign-up link for this course is: https://gum.co/eCPTBA The little giftbox icon beside your name box when you click "I want this", allows you to purchase this course for a friend as well. Feel free to pass this link around to those you know who may be interested in what it takes to get a book idea from concept to print-ready with very little financial outlay.
"Mom's Little Black Book: Godly Advice for the HIgh School Graduate" has been purchased for 5 high school graduates this year so far! That's 5 students entering college or university or diving into work, armed with tidbits of both parental advice as well as guidance from God's Word. If you know a graduating student, why not get this as a grad gift for them too?
Songdove Books has just made an appearance on eBay as of this weekend (http://www.ebay.ca/usr/songdovebooks), so feel free to try bidding on it at a cheaper price than the $10 or $12 you'll find it elsewhere online. All paperback books to date under the Songdove Books imprint are now available on eBay as well. Clicking my songdovebooks username will take you to my profile, where you can then click "see all items" to see all 9 paperbacks in print. Shipping is $7 standard shipping, or $22 expedited shipping. Shipping times vary by location and size of the order.
There isn't a lot of news this month. I've been taking the May 2014 Book Marketing Challenge, which helped firm up the plans I've had for my tiny ebook and light the fire under me to get the course ready for launch. You can learn more about the Book Marketing Challenge at this link here: http://buildabusinesswithyourbook.com/access/aff/go/songdove
We're a few days early with this newsletter, but I wanted to fire off this newsletter to time it with announcements to the world about the e-course. So that's the news for today. I encourage you to visit my blog and read the entries on time and rest. http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/
May 15, 2014
Updated 2014-05-30 Poetic Invitation to Review:
Books were made out of paper,
and words were made out of ink.
Stories were all strung together,
To entertain and to teach.
They all lived happy forever,
In dens and bookshelves alike.
The Internet made it's debut,
and gave each book wings to fly.
Mysterious worlds of the author,
began to show under lights.
Readers could contact the writers,
and fan clubs were born overnight.
Authors saw how they progressed,
by watching reviews and sales.
Five stars and comments were welcome,
not flames and trolls that prevailed.
Too many authors and books now.
It's hard to find those you like.
So if a book's heart does grab you,
Be sure to share far and wide.
Reviews and ratings are welcome,
To tell the world what you thought.
Below, a list has been offered,
To help you reach those you laud.
(yes, I just jotted that down now as part of this post. If you want to re-use it for your own list, please give proper attribution? Thanks)
Amazon: http://www.smarturl.it/MarilynnDawson
Deeper Shopping: http://www.deepershopping.com/marilynn-l-dawson/homepage.html
Boomerang Books: http://www.boomerangbooks.com.au/author/MS-Marilynn-Dawson
Chapters: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/home/search/?keywords=ms.+marilynn+dawson
Barnes & Noble: http://my.barnesandnoble.com/songdove-library/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/10989028-marilynn-dawson
Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/search/books?Keywords=Marilynn%20Dawson
InkBok: https://inkbok.com/users/marilynn-dawson
Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/Songdove/documents
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=Ms.%20Marilynn%20Dawson&c=books
My website: http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/store/
fReado: http://www.freado.com/users/34318/marilynn-dawson
Kobo: http://evocalize.com/consumer/business/520e6ea22f18b/search?term=Ms.+Marilynn+Dawson
Librarything: https://www.librarything.com/profile/songdove
This list above is made up of all the places I currently know of, where you can leave reviews for books you read, by clicking the book and typing out a review. Many of these places also have a ratings system, typically of 5 stars allowing you to add a ranking as well. While all the links offered here lead to my own books, you are welcome to use each site's search bar to search for other books you wish to leave a rating or review for as well. My books are in more places than just these locations, but these are the locations where I KNOW a review/rating feature exists that can be used by the reader to leave a written impression of the book.
Poetic Invitation to Review:
Books were made out of paper,
and words were made out of ink.
Stories were all strung together,
To entertain and to teach.
They all lived happy forever,
In dens and bookshelves alike.
The Internet made it's debut,
and gave each book wings to fly.
Mysterious worlds of the author,
began to show under lights.
Readers could contact the writers,
and fan clubs were born overnight.
Authors saw how they progressed,
by watching reviews and sales.
Five stars and comments were welcome,
not flames and trolls that prevailed.
Too many authors and books now.
It's hard to find those you like.
So if a book's heart does grab you,
Be sure to share far and wide.
Reviews and ratings are welcome,
To tell the world what you thought.
Below, a list has been offered,
To help you reach those you laud.
(yes, I just jotted that down now as part of this post. If you want to re-use it for your own list, please give proper attribution? Thanks)
Amazon: http://www.smarturl.it/MarilynnDawson
Deeper Shopping: http://www.deepershopping.com/marilynn-l-dawson/homepage.html
Boomerang Books: http://www.boomerangbooks.com.au/author/MS-Marilynn-Dawson
Chapters: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/home/search/?keywords=ms.+marilynn+dawson
Barnes & Noble: http://my.barnesandnoble.com/songdove-library/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/10989028-marilynn-dawson
Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/search/books?Keywords=Marilynn%20Dawson
InkBok: https://inkbok.com/users/marilynn-dawson
Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/Songdove/documents
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=Ms.%20Marilynn%20Dawson&c=books
My website: http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/store/
fReado: http://www.freado.com/users/34318/marilynn-dawson
This list above is made up of all the places I currently know of, where you can leave reviews for books you read, by clicking the book and typing out a review. Many of these places also have a ratings system, typically of 5 stars allowing you to add a ranking as well. While all the links offered here lead to my own books, you are welcome to use each site's search bar to search for other books you wish to leave a rating or review for as well. My books are in more places than just these locations, but these are the locations where I KNOW a review/rating feature exists that can be used by the reader to leave a written impression of the book.
May 8, 2014
When Seasons Collide . . .
For most, the coming day we celebrate for Mothers, is all about blessing Mom! She gets breakfast in bed, perhaps a manicure or massage downtown. She might be treated to lunch or dinner out, be showered with cards made of paper and money. She might be given a rose in Church and her kids often make her special Mothers' Day crafts and draw her their best childhood drawing.
Those kids grow up! My own kids are now 18 and 20, and last June, they both graduated from High School! That's right, two kids graduated from two different schools in the same year. No, they are not twins. One repeated a grade and the other started school early, resulting in them being in the same grade during their elementary years.
So here I am in 2014, with both kids out in the workforce now, and looking at Mother's Day from a whole new perspective. Last year around this time, I was just clicking "approve" on the gift I intended to give both my grads on their special days in June. I couldn't announce it to the world very well, because they are both online and I didn't want the surprise wrecked before the big day. This year, I can say something, and find myself saying it around the Mother's Day season.
Is this a coincidence? Somehow this year, I don't think so. The title of the book I wrote for my graduating teenagers was, "Mom's Little Black Book: Godly Advice for the High School Graduate". The focus was me offering pithy tidbits of advice, one per page, that would seek to guide my kids into the adult world in areas such as spiritual growth, grocery shopping and food management, household financial management, car care, personal care, interpersonal care covering such things as dating and friendship. Because I'm a hands-on person, I included sample personal devotional charts, a grocery budget sample, and other charts and tables to illustrate the various tips offered. Turning to Scripture for these various areas revealed more than I needed at only one verse per page. By the time I was done, my "little" 4x6" book had over 300 pages in it! That's almost enough for one tip per day for a year!
This year, instead of being the one to receive all the gifts and accolades, why not be the one to give them instead? Why not turn the tables this Mother's Day and surprise the graduate in your life with a gift they'll remember for years to come?
This year, I published another book that would make a good companion gift, called "Dressed for Eternity". This book takes a look at the foundations of the New Jerusalem and the stones of Aaron's breastplate, asking why God chose those stones and do they have properties and application to the church today? The same thing is done with the clothing and jewelry God adorns Jerusalem with in Exekiel and the robes described in Isaiah. The book discusses things that can soil or wrinkle our spiritual clothing and how to do spiritual laundry. Lastly, the book discusses the thorny issue of modesty!
In my research for that section of the book, it became abundantly clear that too many youth and young adults today are thoroughly burned by how the church is presenting the modesty issue. Teachers in the church mean well, but they are unwittingly contributing to the rebellion we are seeing in our youth. I had two very opinionated people read this section in order to get their take on it, and to my relief, both loved it!
"Mom's Little Black Book: Godly Advice for the High School Graduate" is available at most places online for roughly $12 plus shipping for the paperback version, and $5+ for the PDF version.
"Dressed for Eternity" is available online for anywhere from $49 to $68. But if purchased from me at my blog's store, storenvy, or as of today, gumroad, it can be purchased in paperback for $36 plus shipping, or $9.95 for the electronic version.
I'm offering both books in paperback as a bundle from my blog website, for $40 plus shipping from now until July 31st. The link to get this offer is:
Click the paypal button at the end of the blog article.Mother's Day and graduation season have collided. While everyone else is out spoiling you, why don't you slip under the radar and surprise your graduating family members as well?
April 27, 2014
Welcome to Songdove Books Newsletter: April 2014
So how was your Easter this year? Are you the type to go hunting for easter eggs, buy lots of chocolate, and have a big turkey dinner? Or do you prefer your celebrations a bit smaller? Is it your time to gather family around the table, or take your first spring camping trip?
In our house, we celebrate Christ's death and resurrection by way of remembering the Passover feast. Easter weekend was filled with choir singing engagements, doing sound for a funeral, and of course time spent in my Father's House Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. This meant having our meal Thursday evening. You can find a bit of a write-up I did about Easter on my blog at this link here: http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/2014/04/17/the-lamb-who-takes-away-the-sins-of-the-world/
NEW BOOK PROJECTS IN THE WORKS!
Two new book projects are in the works! That's right, I said TWO! The first is my next book, "A Year in Prayer With Jesus". This book, as usual, darn near wrote itself, and is now in the hands of reviewers/editors as of roughly 2 weeks ago. I'm looking forward to their feedback as I prepare this book for publishing.
If you've ever wondered how to use The Lord's Prayer as a prayer guide, this book will be for you. Read more about this new book at this link. http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/2014/04/12/introducing-my-latest-book-project-a-year-in-prayer-with-jesus/
The second project just began a week ago, and is a collaborative work with my daughter, who is sharing lessons God has taught her from life spent working with horses. Titles are still being bantered around, but the early stages look good! We've already picked out cover art, but won't be sharing that with you till her book enters it's own review/edit phase. So stay tuned!
IT'S GRADUATION SEASON!!!
Have you bought that grad gift for your high school graduate yet??? If you are a parent of a graduating teenager, or know a parent of a graduating teenager, or perhaps you know youth pastors of Senior Highs, send them over to Createspace to buy their grad gifts early! (https://www.createspace.com/4249405)
If they prefer digital books, head on over to Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=f7TYk-aPDdwC&rdid=book-f7TYk-aPDdwC&rdot=1&source=gbs_vpt_read), Scribd (http://www.scribd.com/doc/148810037/Mom-s-Little-Black-Book-Godly-Advice-for-the-High-School-Graduate), New Christian Books (http://www.songsfromtheword.com/idevaffiliate/idevaffiliate.php?id=123&url=32), or get them a monthly subscription at Inkbok.com and direct them to this book first among the many they will read. (https://inkbok.com/book/moms-little-black-book-godly-advice-high-school-graduate)
Every parent wants to be sure their graduating teenager enters life on the best footing possible. This book contains practical tidbits of advice from a Mother to her teenager, along with verses from Scripture. In addition, there are sample calendars for things like chores, daily devotions, etc. The section on food has a sample grocery list, and the financial section contains a sample budget sheet.
At $10 - $12, I'm told the price is a steal for a paperback book of this size. Digital prices are roughly half that. Youth pastors looking to get a bundle for their youth group's graduating class should contact me about potential discounts.
Wrap-up
Over the past few weeks, we have celebrated Christ's ride into Jerusalem on a donkey with the people crying "Hosanna!". We have contemplated and expressed gratitude for Christ becoming the ultimate sacrifice to take away our sins and make way for mankind to once again enjoy direct relationship with the Triune God. We have rejoiced at the celebration of Christ's Resurrection, again expressing gratitude for offering us eternal life with God forever! And now we wait. . .
40 Days after Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended into heaven. The heavenly Bridegroom still sports the scars created by the nails that held Him to the cross as He took the sin punishment for His Bride, the Church. He promised to send a Comforter and Teacher who would guide us into all Truth. The disciples were told to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit's advent. Another 40 days would go by before that amazing day when the Holy Ghost rushed into that upper room, filling every person present with His power and might to go out and turn the world upside down!
Waiting has it's challenges. It can be boring. It can cause fidgiting. It can lead to fear and doubt. In the disciples' case, they lived in fear that the ruling religious leaders would come looking for them at any moment to drag them off to prison for being heretics. Now their fear did actually come to pass, but not before the Holy Spirit had landed and given them ample opportunity to begin spreading the Gospel. The first martyr would be a man named Stephen.
Sometimes our fears do come to fruition. It's important to remember our focus when we are in a season of waiting, and not let fear, doubt, or anxiousness and that antsy feeling that can give way to taking matters into our own hands, get the best of us. Sometimes when fears arise, we become fearful of our fears and they become our focus! But when the Holy Spirit brings the awaited answer, promise, or open door, our focus should be on Him and what He is doing instead. It isn't up to us to order our steps. God says in His Word that He orders our steps. Many times, what we fear and/or worry about, never comes to pass. But if it should come to pass, we can know that God has a plan through it all that we would not have seen on our own.
The Early Church suffered many things, but that suffering and scattering meant that we have the Word of God today, and can celebrate with them in Heaven at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
So how are you handling the wait?
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April 21, 2014
With apologies to T.C. Spellen: Initial thoughts on The Waiting Room
Journalling, what used to be known as "Dear Diary" decades ago when pen still touched paper, has always been something I've struggled with. I start, sometimes go for up to a month or more at a time, then life happens and it's hard to get back at it. Journalling is supposed to be a private expression of the struggles, thoughts, and processing that goes on in one's heart and mind. But the most effective way for me to process, has been in a manner where at least one other person sees it. I've learned however, that it's not just any person that I can "journal" to. The person has to be deeply trusted. If I sense alterior motives on the part of the person I am journalling to, I am not as willing to journal to them. If I get the feeling they don't care to the level I need at the time, my journalling will cease too. The idea of journalling to God is something I have tried a few times to start, but for whatever reason, it hasn't stuck.The logic there is missing a few details, because God does read my emails to people and many times responds faster than they do! I know God reads email without a shadow of a doubt! I know He reads what I write when I'm journalling to someone, because half the time, the first journalled email will end up with a second or third by the time some major issue being mentioned is addressed, and it wasn't the recipient doing the responding, it was God the entire time! I've seen this happen too often to mistake it for anything else.
Blogging and Facebook notes have made it a bit easier to process my thoughts in a more public setting. However that too has it's limitations. There are things I would not be able to blog or write a note about in public, because someone in the list might read it and it could be involving them. But on the whole, this form of communication has made it easier for me to process among a wider group of people.
Many people keep prayer journals of their conversations with God. I agree that this is great for helping people look back and see just how many prayers God has chosen to answer and how He answered them. While I was going through my self-guided trip through the Psalms back in 2009 and 2010, I would journal every day's thoughts on each chapter I read. Sometimes this meant taking two days for a given chapter, or in the case of Psalm 119, a day per alphabet stanza. Many of those notes made it into my first book project in some form or other as God continues to take me down the journey of learning to live everyday life as the Bride of Christ.
I am currently reviewing a 31 daily devotional by T.C.Spellen, a review I'd promised a full year ago now! She offers helpful habits to the woman waiting in the wings for God's special man to come along before marriage. One of those habits she mentions, is this concept of journalling. For her, it is an act of obedience to process what God is talking to her about, and to process what is going on in her life at the time she puts pen to page.
Scripture does tell us to meditate on His Word daily. The Scriptural concept of meditation is not to clear one's mind as in the case of Yoga or other eastern forms of meditation, but to fill one's mind with thoughts about a given passage of Scripture, mulling it over, thinking about it from different angles, finding out how it applies to one's life situation in some fashion and then seeking the Holy Spirit's guidance in applying that Scripture to everyday living. In this manner, obeying God's directive to meditate on His Word is accomplished by many in the form of journalling.
For myself, when journalling via Scriptural meditation, I have to have my electronic Bible open on my screen, because some thought will jump into my head related to the passage I am reading, and I have to jump right back into the Bible in order to look up what else God says on that thought, and typically end up quoting those verses in my writing for that moment.
Discovering what God says about a given passage via other passages of Scripture will do two things: A) It will allow you to view the thought in context of the rest of Scripture, and B) it will show you if that thought has been taken out of context, or if it genuinely is what you began thinking it was. Sometimes we get twisted ideas of what given passages mean, and we will even hear those twisted versions taught by big-name preachers and teachers. But when we ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance in understanding God's Word, we will be able to discern when we've mistaken a verse to mean one thing when in reality it means another. Remember that God's Word is profitable for reproof, for correction, for encouragement, and for training in righteousness. Sometimes our preconcieved notion of a given passage needs to be challenged for us to get a better and deeper understanding.
Engaging in journalling of this nature can drastically lengthen one's private time every day. For example, today's thought began with reading today's devotional pages almost half an hour ago, and here I am 26 minutes later, still typing!
I apologize to T.C. Spellen at not getting to her book, "The Waiting Room: A 31-day Daily Devotional for Single Women Waiting for the Right Husband" till now, but I am reading it now.
