Saturday November 30, 2019 after 16-18 hours on the road, we were finally home. We headed home from Chicago, after spending the week of Thanksgiving with my wife's family. We had fun and lots and lots of good food. By Wednesday, I was convinced that Chicago has some of the best food spots in America. We spent the week with family, saw friends and before hitting the road, made one final sightseeing stop in Chicago...the Obama home. Because we left before sunrise, our taking the moment in looked more like scouting the place! LOL We rode to St. Louis to take more pictures at the Gateway Arch then we were on the road with Texas on our minds. We made many restroom and snack stops so the trip that began at dark, concluded way past dark at home. Tired, yet somewhat energized by the safe arrival home, I began bringing our luggage in. On the second to the last trip inside though, I heard: "you're gonna write a book and release a song!" I'm working on that song, y'all...but I somewhat had an idea of what the book would be about. I was already working on making my dramatization an ebook so, there it was! Fleshing it out was no easy feat! I had already completed it in the design program but couldn't finalize it in there because I sized it wrong. After transferring the work to Word and back to the design program, I was stuck. I went back to Word to finalize it there and all that was left to do was present it. That's where I had the biggest problem. All the hours of research, all the months of learning book formatting, typography and the book industry didn't prepare me for the anxiety I regularly feel when it's time to present my finished product to the public! On one hand, it's procrastination and as I dealt with in "The Journey to Genesis", not even perfectionism is an adequate excuse for procrastination. So now that I've pressed through all the duress of preparation, what next? PRESENTATION! That's the scary part! You can pray in your private prayer closet and day by day check off items on your vision board, but everything changes when you have to take it outside, to the people! People can be mean, cruel and let's not even talk about the people who will try to be YOU and crush what you have. Going outside is dangerous, that's why most of us want to keep our kids in our sight when they go play. There's danger outside, but don't stay inside so long that your forfeit the DESTINY also waiting for you, outside! After recounting the shepherds' journey to Bethlehem, the gospel of Luke then tells us that Mary took the baby to the temple, which was customary. Jesus the baby was to be circumcised on the eighth day. As Mary and Joseph approach the temple, Luke begins to tell us about Simeon an old man. He was waiting at the temple for Jesus...unbeknownst to Mary and Joseph. Before he died, he was see the Messiah, that was the word promised to him and as he saw them approaching, the Holy Spirit told him who he was looking at. This was Simeon's praise after seeing Jesus, Mary and Joseph, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. (Luke 2:29-32, 34-35). As Simeon's blessing concluded, Anna began to also bless the Lord, "and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." (Luke 2:38) So while Simeon's life's promise had been fulfilled, Anna in her old age told the people about Jesus, also. Take a moment and drink that in... Now, back to us and this anxiety we face. After seeing Jesus, Simeon asked the God to take him because the prophecy over his life had been fulfilled and Jesus had another walking press release in Anna. We're not Jesus, but can I tell you that people are waiting on what God will (has) birth(ed) in/through you? Do you need more convincing? Not only do you need to go outside, but there's a set destination for your destiny. Don't be afraid when you have to take that "thing" (your baby) to a specific place or that you discover that it is destined to prosper in a specific place. While Mary pondered all she had experienced in her heart (Luke 2:19), the baby was not for her only, He came to save the world. She would go from pondering it in her heart to placing Him in the temple to be circumsized. The immaculate conception and miraculous birth weren't for Mary to keep to herself. What God has birthed in/through you isn't for you to only marvel at God's goodness. On some level, it will have to be shown. I have gone a full year having not said much about "They Saw Him First" though I have the copyright form, ISBN, cover I created and bookstore to buy it from. Yet when it came time to make the announcement, I couldn't do it. I put my phone down, I walked away from the computer. I struggled to find the words to put in the post. I didn't know what to do...well, I did, I was just too insecure to do it. The same thing happened earlier this summer when I released "This Crisis Is Not Cause for Alarm". I can't keep these book releases to myself because they aren't for me, they're for YOU! They're for the people waiting for answers from God, the people who have lost hope and the people looking for inspiration. Even more, it's for the people I don't know and have never met that the Lord will allow my words to speak to. The least we can do is go outside and make it available. Don't keep the people waiting, their faith in God is on the line! Luke 2: 21-39
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Mighty Pen PublishingIn our book blog, we're continuing the conversation with readers. We know that writing a thought provoking book will make you think, but what do you do then? Well, we hope to continue the conversation began by reading the book with posts here. Archives
October 2021
Categories
All
|