A pre-release reader contacted me today regarding JotBooks – they are mentioned in both Your Life, a Legacy and Poetry – Touch the World With Your Art & Soul. These idea catchers are the size of a business card making them easy to take almost anywhere or stash in the places your ideas most often show up.
You can purchase 3 JotBooks for $6. This price includes sales tax and shipping/handling HERE.
Your story matters,
Joy
I’ve already heard from a couple of you who have asked, “Who is the little girl on the cover?”
She is me.
When considering cover graphics for Your Life, a Legacy, I decided to use photographs from my family collection. This picture of me is one of my mom’s favorites.
The couple in the other photo are my maternal grandparents, Ed and Joy Johnson, on their wedding day in the early 1930s. I love them dearly and miss them greatly. (I say love in the present tense although they have been gone from this life for a long time – their passings didn’t stop me from loving them – only from actively showing them that love.)
Today to celebrate the release of the ebook, I’m printing the cover on good paper and will frame it to hang in my office. A good friend took my ideas, the graphics I liked, and designed it for me. I think she did a beautiful job!
I’ve already had requests for the print book. That will be released as soon as the cover is done. I’m working with CreateSpace on that – the will be slender (approx 40 pages) and I needed some additional expertise with that. I’ll let you know as soon as it’s available.
Thank you all for asking,
Joy
I had breakfast at one of my favorite restaurants today – Perkins. There I watched a one year old show off her walking skills. Each step was intentional and a big accomplishment. She only fell when somone distracted her from her efforts. Determined to succeed, she got back up and took another tiny step.
Legacy writing is similar in the following ways:
You can do this and the small (soon to be released) book, Your Life a Legacy can help.
The ebook will be released on January 16th for $4.99.
Graphic purchased from fotolia.com © Svetlana Fedoseeva – Fotolia.com
When Zeke’s publicist approached me about a guest post and interview, I was hesitant for a moment – submission is a struggle for me. I know it’s in part because it’s been “mis-preached” to me, and I was nervous about another person cramming the wife/woman submission thing down my throat. (Just so you know: the church Jon and I go to doesn’t cram anything down anyone’s throat although our pastors preach the truth without apology.)
That’s not what Zeke gave me in this guest post or in the interview that will be posted here on December 27th.
Welcome to my blog, Zeke! I look forward to reading this book.
Biblical Submission
The idea of submission is both challenging and vulnerable. Whether it be as a child or teenager, the very moment we begin to develop opinions of our own, the struggle to submit begins. Why? Well, to borrow a saying from friends at Burger King, we want to “have it our way”. This struggle takes place between parents and children, husbands and wives, bosses and employees, and must unfortunately it occurs among Christians between us and our Lord.
Submission makes us feel vulnerable. We feel like we are letting down our guard and letting another person control aspects of our life that belongs to us. Therefore, we either refuse to consent or we obey begrudgingly. As we dissect this truth concerning submission, it is critical that we keep in mind that the core of the issue is clearly a spiritual battle. The enemy and our flesh know how powerful the Christian life can be when we operate under Biblical submission. In other words, when you and I properly submit to our authority, the enemy is frightened because we are aligning our lives in proper order to see the power of Christ magnified through us.
Yes, first and foremost, our commitment is submission to the commands, leading, and voice of the Father. This is clearly taught in the Scripture; for example: Romans 13:1-7 discusses subjecting ourselves to authority yet ultimately it revolves around subjecting yourself to God. Whether it is parents or governmental officials, God establishes all authority on this earth, and when we obey His command to submit to them, we submit to Him.
Properly aligning the authority in our lives leads to a level of Biblical submission that will look strange to this world. It is just not popular in our society. This world equates submission with weakness. This could not be further from the truth!
I have spent years of my life trying to control my direction. It created a life filled with frustration. Until I relinquished to the voice of God, I did not get to experience the fullness of Christ in my life. In order to properly submit to Jesus Christ, I had to drop all my securities and desires and fall back into His arms. Everyone around me thought I was going crazy and making very un-wise decisions. Little did they know that one step of obedience was going to radically alter my family’s life.
This brief testimony leads me to the final area I want to address in relation to Biblical submission, which happens to be the theme of my first book. Submission to the leading to our Lord is the most critical move we can ever make. Personally, I did not have an issue with submitting to earthly authorities as directed in God’s Word. My struggle was being willing to trust and release fully to His voice. If we would be willing, you and I can learn the most valuable lesson in life from perhaps the dumbest animal on the planet.
Read John chapter 10. Despite their complete inability to provide for themselves, sheep have grasped a principle that we desperately need: they follow only to the voice of their shepherd. In addition to following his voice, they quickly flee any strange or threatening voices. If Christians today would operate in this fashion, a level of submission would manifest in our lives that would change this world!
Zeke Lam
To order Zeke’s book click HERE.
This is a question authors get hear all the time. Today my guest blogger, Naty Matos, shares her answer. Welcome Naty!
I like to show the lighter side of life. I remember the pastor at a church I used to attend who said that if the joy of life was taken out of you by your dirty floors, start looking at the ceiling. I’m sure that he didn’t mean that we should live in filth, but at the end of the day spending twenty extra minutes with your family it’s more important than vacuuming the floor right this minute. And, that it’s easier to turn on some music and sing like a lunatic in traffic instead of having a stroke trying to yell at the car next to yours. I promise you the traffic will not move any faster, and you will do better without a stroke.
God created us for a purpose, and I don’t think we do enough to pursue that purpose, not understanding that when we tap into it, life feels so right. We believe we’re unequipped to do anything for others. I know; I have felt that way, and then I have to realize that I don’t equip myself, He does it for me. There’s so much that we can do, and we don’t realize it, something as simple as a smile to that knucklehead co-worker that is always grunting, trust me, give it time and prayer. He or she will change. Besides it must be very miserable to have an ulcer from being angry all the time. These are some of the things I highlight on my book Growth Lessons, including how the Word of God supports these principles.
On the fiction side of my writing, I like to write about life tragedies. With that I’m not saying that tragedy is fun or needs to be glorified, but it’s a reality of our lives. In the midst of the pain brought by our misfortunes many stay stuck and miss the opportunities that each life experience brings. Getting past the pain is not easy, but very possible. There’s not a single human being who cannot overcome something, but they need the right tools and the desire to do so.
Having had a share of difficulties in my life and seeing how God was there every step of the way, I can’t do anything but share that there’s hope and light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how bad it looks now. My fictional stories are filled with raw emotions, some graphic situations that are very real in our society: sexual abuse, domestic violence, divorce, losses, addictions, but with the hope that there is always a way out to a better life. Am I an eternal optimist? Not in the any sense of the word. But I’ve had the opportunity to see with my own eyes lives being transformed by the touch of the Lord, and it would be so selfish of me to hold that in and not share it.
For example, my next book, “The Door Home” which will be released in the spring of 2012, is the story of a woman looking for love in all the wrong places and suffering the consequences from her decisions. After overcoming several life obstacles with the help of her best friend, she finally finds the true love of her life, but she can’t be with him just yet. She needs to figure out a personal dilemma to be able to be with her lover forever. The door home is the journey, she endures to open that door that will take her home to her beloved.
I share with people from all walks of life whose pain has kept them from receiving the love of God, and it grieves my heart. Through my writing, I think I can show that even in those dark places, there’s a ray of sunshine that was designed specifically for them. I certainly don’t have all the answers; I can only share what has worked for me and I can also show them the way to the one who does have all the answers.
Join Naty Matos and 9 of her author friends at Women’s Literary Cafe’s Christian Book Launch, December 13-15. Ten authors will discount their eBooks to just 99 cents. Buy 3 get 1 FREE!
http://www.womensliterarycafe.com/content/december-2011-book-launches
About Naty Matos
Naty Matos was born in the city ofNew York, from Puerto Rican descendant parents. She grew up in the beautifulIslandofPuerto Ricoand now lives in the city ofAtlanta.
She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Clinical Psychology with a Minor in Mass Media Communications and a Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling.
Naty writes Christian fiction and non-fiction. She’s the author of the live changing devotional Growth Lessons. She maintains a blog on Christian Living Topics at www.therisingmuse.com
Growth Lessons on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Growth-Lessons-ebook/dp/B005WZ1BGK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321557564&sr=8-1
Naty Matos on Twitter @natycmatos
Naty Matos on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Naty-Matos/172298772847562
To order Naty’s book via amazon, click on the cover.
Want to learn more about why I wrote a pro-life novel? Here’s a link to an interview where I told PR specialist Penny Sansevieri.
http://www.fascinatingauthors.com/?s=Joy+DeKok
Part of the publisher’s press release:
Controversial novel brilliantly examines the volatile issues of abortion and infertility.
Rain Dance delves into the often silent battles and surprising hypocrisies found in the lives of women facing these two personal crisis.
Publisher and editorial director Joan Shoup contracted Rain Dance because it fits the editorial guidelines and the commitment of Sheaf House to publish novels written with excellence, that are unafraid to dive deep into the heart of sometimes “untouchable” topics, and offer a powerful redemptive message for readers.
“Rain Dance is the perfect fit for Sheaf House,” Shoup says. “The author has written a beautiful story her test readers and reviewers love. She didn’t shy away from the difficult and refused to end the novel with ‘happily ever after.’”
Author Joy DeKok comments, “I’m dedicated to writing with integrity – my faith demands it and the story, which is both plot and character driven, required it. I didn’t choose this topic. It chose me one day while I was cleaning the house. I told God I thought it was a great idea and I hoped He’d find an author for it. Although I argued with Him for almost a year, I realized, He already had His author. Me.”
Endorser Sue Liljenberg, International Director, of Healing Hearts Ministries says, “This book is a must read for all women. Although it is a fictional story the author has brilliantly captured the many issues that women struggle with and offers hope that can only be found in Jesus. She also shows how looking beyond our own circumstances can bring blessings into our lives and the lives of others. I’ve ministered to broken women for over twenty years and I’m thankful for resources like Rain Dance that will reach women who are hurting and give them hope.”
This is a very interesting question. I write both fiction and non-fiction. For the non-fiction side, I like to write about the reality of life. I think as human beings we spend too much time worried about the wrong things and wasting life that could be used in what really matters. Guilty as charged, I used to be a repeated offender and still every now and again I have relapses. A society filled with addictions, and compulsions tells me that we take each other too serious or not serious enough.
