She is precious beyond words and a pure delight to my heart. Her name is Joanne, serving up her cup of blogging flavor over at One So Blessed. Beginning Monday, February 1st, Joanne will be hosting a month’s worth of guest interviews. You can read about some of them here.
I first “sort of” encountered Joanne back at She Speaks in 2008. We both attended a class on “how to plan a powerful, effective 15-minute publisher meeting.” The speaker offered many helpful tips, especially for those of us who had never been in a 15-minute publisher meeting… effective or otherwise! I left the class feeling flustered, thankful for the information, but worried about my assimilating the material into my first effective, 15-minute publisher meeting which loomed on the very near horizon. While sitting on the couch outside the classroom, I perused my notes and noticed a tearful gal on a couch within close proximity. She seemed as perplexed as me about the entire process; I wish I could have given her some of my energy at that time, but you know…
my first effective 15-minute publisher meeting!
There wasn’t time to offer her a Kleenex and some of my Harry and David’s chocolate I’d brought with me (Joy ate most of them anyway). I left her with her tears as I scurried off to my effective 15-minute publisher meeting, and while I would see her occasionally throughout the weekend, we never had the occasion to sit and talk.
A great regret on my part.
Since that time, we’ve talked frequently. Apparently, neither of us had an incredibly effective 15-minute publisher meeting, but we learned a lot that weekend.
About dreams.
About writing.
About how our dreams are weaved intricately into our writing.
About some of the hard knocks of the publishing industry.
About friendships that survive those hard knocks.
About phones that diminish the distance between hearts.
About laughter that strips away barriers connecting an East Coast gal with a West Coast one.
About the tie that binds our hearts in love.
About Jesus who keeps us, loves us and cares for us, even when the “future” isn’t painting a clear picture… especially in regards to our writing.
About the worthiness of sacred investment–of making a kingdom deposit into someone’s life, even when that deposit is something as small as a comment or a prayer.
Stuff like that.
And that kind of learning, friends, can’t be learned in a pre-conference seminar. That kind of learning exceeds a ten-step plan for success and simply relies on the human need for companionship as its teacher.
People are a fascinating business. We’ve all got a story to tell, and no one is more qualified to write that story than the one to whom it belongs. For nearly two years, I’ve been “reading” Joanne’s story, and she’s been “reading” mine. I am the better for having her in my life; I hope she could say the same about me. The greatest investment we will ever make into God’s kingdom agenda can never be quantified or measured by the outcome of an effective 15-minute publisher meeting. Kingdom investing happens when we take the time to personally invest our time and energies into the lives of the King’s created.
Joanne qualifies. So do the twenty-eight guests she will be highlighting at her blog in the month of February. So do you. So let’s get busy getting to know one another better; let’s stop the rushing with our blog hopping and take time to sit at the table with one another, enjoying a cup of flavor served up as only you, the writer, are qualified to serve it.
You fill my life with variety, and you enlarge my heart for Jesus. Blogging isn’t a game for me, friends. This is big part of my using the gift that God has given me to give back to him in some measure the “hugeness” that he’s so lavishly bestowed upon me. I count it a privilege to come alongside of you in small and big ways as the Lord allows. Would you join me this February at Joanne’s place? Her table has been set with enough seating for us all. As always…
peace for the journey,
PS: I’m closing comments on this post so that you can head directly over to Joanne’s and leave one there; plus, there’s a give-away–real coffee… the good kind! Shalom.
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