I did it! I hit the “send” button!

Reading time: 2 minutes, 26 seconds

Yesterday was the day I'd dreamed of for years. I hit the “send” button and shipped my manuscript off to the publishing company. I'm talking about my new memoir, Please, God, Don't Make Me Go! A Foot-Dragger's Memoir.

Here's the book description from the back cover:

What’s a comfortable—and cowardly—suburbanite to do when her husband wants to move their young family to Colombia, South America, so he can teach missionaries’ kids?

Linda K. Thomas has always planned to chase the American dream. Adventure doesn’t appeal to her, and she’s ill-equipped for missions work. She begs God, “Please, don’t make me go!” but after months of soul-searching, she hears Him say, “Go!”

So, with flimsy faith and wobbly courage, she sets out with her husband and kids on a life-changing adventure at the end of the road in the middle of nowhere with Wycliffe Bible Translators.

When culture shock, tropical heat, and a boa constrictor threaten to undo Linda, she’s tempted to run away and hike back to the U.S. Instead, she fights to settle in and soon falls in love with her work alongside modern-day heroes of the faith disguised as regular folks. God has sent her where she didn’t know she wanted to go.

Once life is under control and easy, she gets a surprise—a request to go to one of the world’s most dangerous drug-dealing regions where hundreds of people have lost their lives. Colombia is perilous in other ways, too. Marxist guerrillas don’t like Americans or missionaries, proving it with bombs, kidnapping, and eventually murder.

Linda won’t trust God to help her make the trip, and she can’t trust herself, either. Gripped by anxiety, she longs to stay in the only safe place, the mission center. She prays, “Please, God, don’t make me go!” But once again He urges, “Go!” Thus begins a fierce internal battle.

In this heartwarming, sometimes humorous, sometimes shocking memoir, you’ll walk alongside a young wife and mother as she faces two universal struggles: 

• choosing between her plans and God’s, and
• choosing faith and courage over fear and cowardice.

Please, God, Don’t Make Me Go! will motivate the timid to cancel membership in the Society of the Faint-Hearted, and it will inspire every reader to enjoy God more and embrace new adventures He dreams up.

I was ready to send the manuscript a year ago but ran into one technical problem after another after another. The past year has been a nightmare as far as technology goes. But I sure did learn a lot! Too bad using one's brain doesn't burn calories. . . .

When you're ready to publish, contact me and I'll share tips to help you avoid the snags I encountered. Publishing my first memoir, Grandma's Letters from Africa, was much easier than publishing this second one. I willingly chose the method I used this time. It's just that I bit off more than I could chew.

They say old age isn't for wimps. Let me assure you, writing and publishing a memoir isn't for wimps, either. 

Don't let me scare you out of publishing our own memoir. The bottom line is this: It is possible for you to write your memoir and get it published. Yes, it is. Never doubt that.

You just need to commit to doing it and seeing it through all the way until you're holding your memoir in your hands and thumbing through the pages. You can do this!

I nearly melt in tears when I think of all the people who helped me get the manuscript polished, the interior formatted, photos just right, and the cover designed (well, actually . . . ahem . . . redesigned). And I thank God for His help and for sending good people to walk me through the technical parts.

I admit it: I'm tuckered out.

For now, here's my encouragement to you:

Keep writing.

Keep praying while you write, too.

Check out the Facebook Page for
Please, God, Don't Make Me Go:
A Foot-Dragger's Memoir

Tuesday Tidbit: Where do you find the guts to climb over or break through or dig under?

Reading time: 55 seconds

Following up on Thursday’s post, Even if I must drag myself on bleeding hands and knees to get there, yesterday David Ramos, Author, spoke to exactly where I find myself:

"The three ingredients for a miracle:

Start where you are

Be thankful for what you have

Give everything you’ve got.

So often we think we’ve hit a dead-end

When in reality, the wall isn’t telling us to turn around.

It’s seeing if we have the guts to climb over

Or break through

Or dig under.

Miracles don’t happen when there are other, safe, more practical options on the table.

They show up for those who have nothing left

The ones who show up in obedience

Raised their arms in courage

And spoke out in faith.

You are not stuck.

When you can’t seem to find a way out

That’s when you need to start paying attention to how God is finding His way in."

And dear Chuck Swindoll—yesterday he, too, encouraged me. He writes:

“If you want to . . . replace excuses with fresh determination and procrastination with tough-minded perseverance, you need discipline. Winners know that disciplined persistence must be a major part of their training. That’s the only way victory becomes an attainable reality rather than a distant dream.”

You and I can do this!

Let's remember God's encouragement:

Don't panic. I am with you.

There's no need to fear for I am your God.

I'll give you strength.

I'll help you.

I'll hold you steady,

keep a firm grip on you.

Isaiah 41:10, The Message

With God’s help—

and with each other’s prayers and practical help—

we can publish our memoirs!

We will publish our memoirs!

Even if I must drag myself on bleeding hands and knees to get there

Reading time: 1 minute, 51 seconds

My memoir should have been in print months ago.

I’ve fought hard to finish this book, keeping my eyes always on the mountaintop—that sometimes-elusive “Published!”—hiking foothills, surmounting rocky outcroppings, enduring loneliness, slogging through inevitable valleys between peaks, persevering despite summer’s heat and winter’s ice.

Standing victoriously on that topmost peak requires a ton of hard work.

Like Vince Lombardi said, “The man on top of the mountain didn’t fall there.” (Duh. . . .)

It’s a struggle. A fight. Sometimes it’s an all-out war.

And my battle has tuckered me out.

I gave myself a couple of months to catch my breath, to regain strength and enthusiasm.

Now the time has come to throw myself back into this culminating scramble—to tackle the final sheer vertical ascent to that mountaintop.

But technical problems have left me immobilized. I struggle to pick myself up and fight the final challenge, to finish. I’m stuck.

Maybe you’re stuck, too.

A few weeks ago on Facebook, Mick Silva of Higher Purpose Writers wrote, “Mondays can come with a hefty dose of guilt and shame for once again having to concede you don’t have a work completed. . . .”

He nailed it. And the ridiculous thing is that, if I worked diligently, I could have this memoir ready to publish in less than a week!

Yes, I feel the guilt and shame.

But I don’t want to give up!

I want to conquer—to stand atop that mountain peak named “Published!” even if I must drag myself on bleeding hands and knees to get there.

And so I pray a lot, and I cling to God and a number of Bible verses. 

I hope these will strengthen you, too:

• Let’s approach God’s throne boldly and confidently, trusting Him, because there we’ll find mercy and grace to help when we’re in need. Hebrews 4:16
• Help me, O Lord my God! Ps 106:26a
• God is . . . an ever-present help in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1
• It is God who strengthens me. 2 Samuel 22:33
• God is my helper, the One who sustains me. Psalm 54:4
• Don’t panic. I am with you. There’s no need to fear for I am your God. I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you. Isaiah 41:10, The Message
• Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
• You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you. Isaiah 26:3, GNT

So, Friends, continue climbing those rocky, steep mountains!

Keep praying.

Trust God with all your heart.

With His strong assistance, scale those scary crags.

Clamber.

Persevere.

Prevail.

Triumph!

If you’re struggling to complete your memoir,

let us know how we can pray for you.

Leave a comment below on the blog,

or on Spiritual Memoirs 101 Facebook Page,

or send a private message.

Tuesday Tidbit: “The 100 Best Websites for Writers in 2019”

Reading time: 39 seconds

I’m excited to point you to a whole bunch of excellent resources!

No matter how new—or not—you are to writing, you’ll find a wealth of instruction and inspiration from among these 100 websites.

I follow a number of them and—Wow! What valuable resources they have been for me over the years!

Dana Sitar has organized her long list into the following categories:

• freelancing
• inspiration
• writing tools
• blogging
• creativity and craft
• editing
• podcasts
• marketing and platform building
• writing communities
• publishing

Set aside some quality time to scroll through Dana’s list and get acquainted with a number of these websites.

Some won't be of interest to you, but you’ll definitely find gems that could make a huge difference in your writing journey.

And this is important to remember: Websites aimed at novelists can also offer helpful tips for those writing nonfiction (memoir, creative nonfiction). Look into them!

Among many other valuable links you'll find there, check out Manuela Williams’ post, Using Fiction Writing Techniques to Enhance Your Creative Nonfiction. (Memoir falls in the creative nonfiction category.)

There you have it, your Tuesday Tidbit.

Happy Writing!

Tuesday Tidbit: Think of your words filling the pages

Have you worked on your memoir in the past few days?

Following up on our last post, Is this the year you’ll finish your memoir?, let me ask again: 

Is this the year you’ll finalize your manuscript?

Is this the year you’ll pin down your memoir’s title?

Is this the year your book will get its cover design?

Is this the year you’ll publish your memoir?

Is this the year people—even strangers—will buy and read your memoir?

Is this the year your story will change lives?

Here’s a quote to spur you on:

There you have it, your Tuesday Tidbit.

Now, get off the internet and go write!

Is this the year you’ll publish your memoir?

Whew! Are you like me? When Labor Day is behind us and the kids start school, I catch my breath and mentally turn and step into a different chunk of the year.

Summer has lots of distractions—fun distractions, usually—but when we flip the calendar page to September, thoughts shift to upcoming frost, shorter days, and indoor activities.

And that brings me to this indoor activity: How are you doing on your memoir?

Is this the year you’ll finalize your manuscript?

Is this the year you’ll pin down your memoir’s title?

Is this the year your book will get its cover design?

Is this the year you’ll publish your memoir?

Is this the year people—even strangers—will buy and read your memoir?

Is this the year your story will change lives?

If you’re like many of us, over the summer you took a break from writing to spend time with family and friends, and now you need motivation to continue authoring your story.

Are you struggling to find that motivation—that incentive, that enthusiasm? If so, you’re not alone.

Mick Silva at Higher Purpose Writers posted on Facebook a couple of years ago:  “ . . . Everyone says [persistence] is the most important part of writing. I’ve said it to all my clients: Most people don’t finish. Even if they finish a draft, they don’t follow through with the rewriting, or the rereading and editing. They just stop. . . .”

Refuse to let that happen to you!

Mick also offers this encouragement: “Consistent baby steps are important for when passion wanes.”

So you need to persist and recognize that baby steps result in progress.

And here’s a Nora Roberts quote to inspire you to keep working:

“. . . You have to be driven. You have to have the three D’s: drive, discipline, and desire. If you’re missing any one of those three, you can have all the talent in the world, but it’s going to be really hard to get anything done.”

Here’s my advice: Pat yourself on the back for how far you’ve already come.

Since the clock is ticking, be intentional: Keep penning your first draft. Don’t judge your writing at this point. Sure, you’ll have to fix it, but you’ll tackle that later. For now, just write!

Focus. Resolve to complete your book.

Persevere.

Pray.

Writing and publishing your memoir is not a hobby—it’s a ministry.

You can do this! You can!