Deciding to Write
Many people have asked me since I surprised them with the publishing of my book, "A Different Kind of Prayer Journal," why I did it . . . and why didn't they know. The answers to these questions are something I had not thought about while creating the book. All I can say is that I felt very much like it was something I needed to do.
I used ideas that I had used in my own prayer journal full of blank pages to help myself fill them up. One day as I was writing, I thought to myself, "I wonder if other people have this problem?" I decided that I am not so special that I would be the only person with a problem and immediately started working on my idea of a prayer journal that is partly a devotional. All of the idea pages come from something I have done in my own prayer journal at some time, though I tend to be a little more informal about it. Instead of having a page titled "Sermon Notes," I have some titled things like "Words of Wisdom from Pastor Mielke." I do have prayer partner pages that look like sunbursts like in the book. I frequently copy a Bible verse and then record my feelings on it. And, yes, I do use different colored pens - on every page when possible :-)
As for the second question, I do not have a good answer for why I did not tell anyone about this project until it was finished. My husband was the first to be informed when I got my first proof copy in the mail, closely followed by a trusted Christian mentor who I asked to proofread it for me. I did not mention it to anyone else until the Facebook post with the link to be able to purchase it. The only explanation I have for this behavior is that although I felt led by the Spirit to write this book, I had no idea what people's reaction would be and wasn't sure I wanted to know. I apologize to anyone who was hurt that they felt a secret was kept from them - it's not you, it's me. I am so thankful for the support I have received in the last few days, and even though I'm not sure where I'm going from here with this book, I am thankful for the process of writing it and for anyone who grows closer to God by using it.
I used ideas that I had used in my own prayer journal full of blank pages to help myself fill them up. One day as I was writing, I thought to myself, "I wonder if other people have this problem?" I decided that I am not so special that I would be the only person with a problem and immediately started working on my idea of a prayer journal that is partly a devotional. All of the idea pages come from something I have done in my own prayer journal at some time, though I tend to be a little more informal about it. Instead of having a page titled "Sermon Notes," I have some titled things like "Words of Wisdom from Pastor Mielke." I do have prayer partner pages that look like sunbursts like in the book. I frequently copy a Bible verse and then record my feelings on it. And, yes, I do use different colored pens - on every page when possible :-)
As for the second question, I do not have a good answer for why I did not tell anyone about this project until it was finished. My husband was the first to be informed when I got my first proof copy in the mail, closely followed by a trusted Christian mentor who I asked to proofread it for me. I did not mention it to anyone else until the Facebook post with the link to be able to purchase it. The only explanation I have for this behavior is that although I felt led by the Spirit to write this book, I had no idea what people's reaction would be and wasn't sure I wanted to know. I apologize to anyone who was hurt that they felt a secret was kept from them - it's not you, it's me. I am so thankful for the support I have received in the last few days, and even though I'm not sure where I'm going from here with this book, I am thankful for the process of writing it and for anyone who grows closer to God by using it.
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