FREE E-BOOK

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The Clay Papers ebook, a collection of sometimes funny, sometimes poignant stories about lessons learned in pottery class, is free on Amazon from today (6/3/16) through Wednesday (6/8/13). The stories are pictures of God at work in everyday situations. Don't miss it.

Here's the link: The Clay Papers

I'm hoping to give away thousands of e-books, so don't delay. Download. Share with your friends. Enjoy. 

(I don't make money on free books, but free purchases raise my Amazon rank and improve the visibility of the book. It's a perfect example of "more blessed to give..." Thanks for your help.)
#freeebook #kindle #free

Flashback Friday: Getting Centered

“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…”   Hebrews 12:2

“Getting the clay centered is the most important step,” he cautioned.  “It determines everything else that happens to the clay.  Don’t try to form anything until you have it centered.”  

I, of course, found it hard to wait until the clay was set just right.  

Repeatedly, the potter wrapped his big hands around mine and centered the clay.  He wanted me to feel the difference in centered and not-centered clay.  

Repeatedly, I thought the lump was ready when it wasn’t. Over and over, I would call to the potter.  

“Check it now,” I’d say.  “I think I have it.”  

Every time, he’d just smile as he looked at the clay and say, “Not yet.  You’re close, but not quite there.  Keep trying.”  

His experienced eye could see the wobble without even touching the clay.

I learned quite a bit about what happens when the clay is not centered, because I found it so hard to slow down and wait until I had it right.  

It is tough, if not impossible, to make a bowl when the clay is off-center, and it is extremely frustrating.  Most of the time, my efforts just became “wibbly-wobbly” and collapsed into a little lump before I was through.  

Occasionally, the entire lump of clay flew right off the wheel, hitting the student at the next station.  She was gracious about the first few slimy lumps of clay that landed on her arm or in her lap, but it didn’t take long for her to be almost as frustrated with my efforts as I was.  

“Don’t you feel the difference?” the potter asked as he used my hands to center the clay once more.  

Of course, I felt the difference!  I simply was not willing to wait, so I struggled with the clay instead.  

“When the clay is centered and the wheel speed is right, all you will need is a light, firm touch to make what you want,” he promised.

Having a life that is properly centered is sometimes difficult, too, isn’t it?  There is a tendency to want our dreams fulfilled NOW.  It’s as hard to wait for what we want in life as it was for me to wait until the clay was centered.  

Teenagers find it hard to wait until marriage for sexual fulfillment, hard to wait until adulthood for independence.  Young couples find it hard to wait to have the home and furnishings they’ve dreamed about.  Even middle-aged adults find it hard to wait for the level of financial security they desire.  

Unwillingness to wait often causes us to rush ahead, to take risks, to make choices that are unwise.

Are you struggling with waiting?  

Are you focusing on what you want rather than the things that truly matter in life?  

Slow down and examine your priorities, as well as your methods for obtaining them.  Begin to focus on Jesus Christ and all those “things” will look less important. Before long, you will find that everything else in life will begin to come together.  

As the potter said, getting centered really IS the most important step in determining the quality of what you make – with clay and with life.

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In case you missed one of this week's posts, here are the links:  The Monarch Migration Badge,  The Sermon Without Words,  A Matter of Perspective, Living in Goshen: God's Best, Embracing Our Personal Gethsemane, What is the Point of Suffering: Extracting the Precious, and Mamie and the Ink Stain.

#centered #Christian #wait #theclaypapers

Becoming a Writer: Cover Reveal and New Book

Disclaimer:  For those of you who have followed and supported my writing for years, this may not seem like a momentous announcement. If it's anticlimactic for you, I apologize in advance. I admit this looks like the cover to my first book. It is very similar, but Ryan (my son) has modified it for Kindle. 

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I was still working at IMA in Tupelo when it all began. I overheard two of the nurses talking about pottery class and I took a step closer to eavesdrop more effectively. 

"Pottery class? Did I hear you say you're taking a pottery class?"

"Yes," they said, beaming. "Titus Riley has decided to teach one more class and we signed up."

"I've always wanted to take a pottery class."

"You should sign up, Dr. Hollis. We can take the class together. It'll be fun!"

I was less adventurous back then. It seemed a shocking idea, but, for once, my desire would not be denied. I signed up. The first class was so deeply spiritual that I rehearsed it in my head all the way home from Peppertown. 

By the time I pulled into my driveway, the words were crystal clear in my head. By the time I reached my computer, the words would not be silenced. I wrote them and, in a bold stroke of daring, I emailed them to all 200 people on the roll of the internet prayer ministry I coordinated. 

Every week, I attended class, drove home with words bubbling over in my heart, and headed to the computer. Every week, I emailed the lessons I'd learned to my list of pray-ers.

Before long, people began to reply with comments that described me as a writer. Writer? I am a writer? I couldn't believe it. I thought of a writer as someone who smoked and drank whiskey in Paris cafes. (Yes. My imagination tends toward fanciful.) What did I know? Apparently, not much.

Several people suggested I publish the stories in a little book. A book? Me, write a book? Nothing seemed more unlikely, but the idea would not be squelched. It took me years, but I finally started a little publishing company and published the book. The book still sells in paperback today.

I love these stories. 

It's a tiny book. There's only eighteen stories, but they represent my birth as a writer. They are my favorite stories of all I've written because they are so fresh and pure. There's no "technique". I didn't know about technique back then. It's just pure Leanna, written straight from my heart. 

Those stories were used by God to change me, to force me out of my comfort zone and bring me to the place I am now. Writing full-time. They were the first daring step on this journey of words, and they changed my life.

Two years ago, I intended to convert the book to Kindle, but encountered a formatting problem and gave up. This week, I decided to give it a try again. I was stunned to find that I was one step from being ready to publish. Ryan helped me. He explained how to make the table of content hyperlinks. In under two minutes, the manuscript was done. 

A few minutes more and Ryan had reformatted my original cover for Kindle. We uploaded the files. The format is not as pristine as in the print book, but the stories are all there. It's online already and available for purchase in the Kindle store. (You don't need a Kindle device. You can download the Kindle app and read it on your smart phone or your computer.) Here's the link: The Clay Papers. (Be sure to leave a review.)

I'm selling it for 99 cents. I make 35 cents for every sale, and I have to pay taxes on that. Obviously, this is not about making a ton of money. It's about sharing stories I love. It's about pointing people to the Master Potter and helping them to take a step closer to becoming moldable in His loving hand.

I hope you'll read it. I hope you'll share the post with everyone you know. I hope my little book will sell and people will remember my name when my novels are finally ready. (Those will be for profit, I hope.) 

Most of all, I hope people will be drawn to Jesus because of the words I've written and that they, too, will allow Him to mold and change them into all He intended them to be. I hope The Clay Papers will be used by God to create a desire for discipleship in the hearts of readers. If that happens, I'll have achieved my goal in publishing this book. 

Enjoy, sweet readers. I'm sharing a piece of my heart.

You can read more of the story of how I became a writer in this blog post about Unexpected Blessings: Becoming a Writer.

My advent book is available on Amazon and is also 99 cents for the Kindle version. Here's the link: The Road to Bethlehem.

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: How to Recognize Good News, Removing the Callus, Refillable Nespresso capsules,  The New Normal, The Blessing Disguised as Coincidence, and The Blessing of Protection.

The most read post of the past week: Removing the Callus.

#coverreveal #Kindle #ClayPapers #becomingawriter #disciple