Last year is when I decided I was going to get serious about becoming a published author. I’ve always been a writer and my dream has been to be a published author. I began by piecing together my manuscript of the first book God put on my heart to release. I participated in NanoWrimo for simple self-motivation to fill in the blanks of my book. It worked. I now have a two hundred and something page manuscript sitting on my bookshelf, next to my bed, staring at me every morning screaming “edit me!”

 

While all of this was taking place, I was rummaging through Amazon one day, looking for a Bible study workbook. I am one of those weird people who actually like school and learning. I already had my Bachelor of Science and then went on to get my Associates in Theology and I was missing that school-like atmosphere. I like interactive things. I like being able to have an outline to follow and something to write in, for obvious reasons. I searched and I searched. I couldn’t find one that I liked that had what I wanted and so I simply said, “God, help me find a study guide” and I heard, “Create one.”

 

“Whhhhaatt??? You’re crazy! Yeah right! Ha!”

 

And I heard it again, “Create one that you would use.”

 

Wow. Okay. “Then what?”

 

“Publish it.”

 

I sat there dumbfounded. I also sat there with an image in my head of exactly what I was looking for. So, I put pencil to paper and started creating. It came together so fast that by the time I was done, I was still dumbfounded.

 

I looked at it, and up to God and pointed to it and said, “Now, I publish it?”

 

“Yes, you publish it.”

 

So in 3 days of nonstop (seriously, very little sleep) investigation, research and attempts, I figured out how to self-publish, designed my book cover and formatted the first workbook. I was sitting there at my laptop getting ready to hit the big red button that would put my name out there and I heard His words, “you are about to be a published author.”

 

I froze. It was reality sinking in. It was a life-long dream coming to pass and for me, it was breathtaking. God makes things so easy. If we listen and follow, He makes it so simple. Huge, daunting tasks are no longer huge and daunting. He helped me get over a fear of actually publishing something. I hit the button and there I was, dressed in my flannel pajama pants, flip-flops and Star Wars shirt with my unwashed hair thrown into a messy pony-tail and pushing my glasses up my nose because my allergies were preventing me from wearing my contacts. Rock-star.

 

As a child, I used to dream about sending a manuscript off to a publisher and them actually picking me. As a young teenager watching Little Women, I used to come up with male oriented pen names thinking I would have a better chance at being picked by a publisher. Little did I know, the greatest publisher of all time would pick me to create a Bible study workbook. I currently have two available for purchase and am working on the third which I plan to have available in a week or two. It’s in the final process.

 

I am working on a 365 day devotional which I hope to have out fall of this year and then there is my first book. It’s been a long time coming. I’m not sure just yet how I am going to go about publishing that one. It seriously has been something I have worked on for 25 years or more. I’ve often wondered if it is going to be something I finish, edit and never publish just because of the love I have put into it. Can I send it out into the world? I hope so.

 

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you the workbooks. They are simple. So simple. I wanted a workbook that made me examine the Word and not the denomination of the person writing it or the religious quirks of the establishment submitting it. I wanted to break barriers between the world and the Word. Why was this my goal? It was a goal because the majority of people I have talked to, church goers or not, believe animals went two by two onto the ark. I don’t point this out to insult anyone. I too at one point believed there were two of every kind that trotted happily onto that great big boat. Then, in my twenties, I read the story, in the Word, in the Bible, and I was blown away by the revelation I had in that common kid’s story. If we are skewed on such a popular Bible story, how much more are we missing out on God’s goodness?

I created these workbooks with this in mind. To get to the nitty-gritty of the Word. To examine it for yourself. They are designed so that an atheist and a seasoned Christian could sit down, side-by-side, work their way through the study and learn something new. They are designed to NOT be overwhelming. We all have busy schedules but spending five minutes a day in the Word can make a World of difference.

 

They are not fancy. They are not eye-candy. They are workbooks. They are a guide. They are a game-plan to get your study time in. Plain and simple. This is a life-long project. I don’t know how many there will be total. I told God in the beginning, give me the vision of one at a time so I complete it. Once it is completed, give me the vision of the next one. He has done just that. The first workbook is titled Hebrews: Who is Christ? and is available through Amazon. The second one is titled 1&2 Timothy: The Heart of a Servant and is also available through Amazon.  You can visit my author page at www.mistymoonauthor.com through Amazon where all of my works are listed.

 

The third workbook is Ephesians: Growing in Christ and as I already mentioned, I hope to have it out within the next couple of weeks.

 

Jeremiah 30:2 (KJV)

Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.