So How's the Book Coming?

I get asked that question a lot nowadays. In fact, I am nearly three-fourths done by virtue of the chapter count. I have no way of knowing how far I am toward being done by the number of pages, as I don’t really know how many pages there will be, until I am actually finished.

Below is a listing of the chapters, as I have them planned for now. In italics beneath the chapter title is a brief explanation of the contents of the chapter. Following that is a note in parentheses as to the status of that chapter. I have noted that the first eight chapters are "virtually finished" as these are never really finished until they are in the hands of the publisher. For example, I am currently contemplating a two page addition to the first chapter to address an issue that had been brought up in our small groups. And it seems like every time I read the draft over, I find a clumsy sentence to re-write, or a clearer way of saying something, or some other thing like that.

So then, here is my first progress report, and your first peek into "Going Forth in the Name".

GOING FORTH IN THE NAME

The Full-Time RVers’ Guide to Living the Christian Life on the Road
By Glenn Rivers

I. A New Phenomenon

An introduction to what it means to be a Christian in the full-time RV lifestyle.
("virtually finished")

II. "Following the Son" A Life in the Spirit

What it means to follow the Holy Spirit
("virtually finished")

III. What is "The Church?"

A brief theology of the concept of the "Universal" Church
("virtually finished")

IV. What is "A Church?"

The nature and functions of the local Church
("virtually finished")

V. Selecting a Local Church

Staying connected to the Body of Christ while on the road
("virtually finished")

VI. Bible Reading and Bible Study

Self-explanatory
("virtually finished")

VII. Prayer

Self-explanatory
("virtually finished")

VIII. Christian Literature

Self-explanatory
("virtually finished")

IX. Praise

The necessity of praising God
(almost finished)

X. Ministry

Everyone has one, what is yours?
(in progress)

XI. Stewardship

Being a faithful manager of what God has given
(in progress)

XII. The "Fishbowl" Lifestyle

In summary, living your life before the world
(in progress)

Planned appendices:
i. A one-year daily Bible reading plan for beginners, and re-beginners.

(In progress)
ii. A note to my Catholic friends (not yet written)

Also, please pray with me about selecting a publisher. The self-publishing industry is huge, and there are many out there to consider. I am particularly considering one secular publishing house that, for reasons I will not detail right now, seems to be an answer to prayer.

Let me say at this time how much I continue to appreciate your prayers and support. The enthusiasm and encouragement that I have received from all of you has been used by God to keep me going. Without you I could not have come this far. My goal is to have the book finished by the end of this year, and to have the editing done, and the finished product in the hands of the publisher by the time I get back to Adventureland next season. That will probably put a finished product out and available for sale by next May or June.

Thanks for your support, and thanks for sharing this moment with me today.

Puzzles and Plans

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11, NLT)

The weather is changing here in Iowa. It is obvious that Fall is upon us. Last week, after several weeks of summer heat and sunshine, there dawned a day that promised to be cool and cloudy, with maybe even a little drizzle.

As Abby and I went for our walk that morning, I met another Workamper along the way. She asked if I had heard a weather report, and I relayed what I had seen on Weather.com just a few minutes before. To this she replied: "It sounds like a good day just to stay inside and work a puzzle or something."

I didn’t say anything, but my first thought was "I really wish I had so little to do that I had time to work a puzzle!" I don’t know about you but sometimes I really feel harried and harassed. With a to-do list that seems to get longer instead of shorter with each passing day, I haven’t worked a puzzle in years!

And then I thought again . . .

The main reason that I haven’t worked a puzzle in so long is that God has this plan for me. He has given me this mission to write my book, and this blog, and to teach His word in small group studies, and that’s why I don’t dare to take the time to do a puzzle. And I’m glad of it too, now that I think of it.

In the above passage of scripture Jeremiah says to the nation of Israel that although they are in captivity in Babylon, their current trouble is just temporary, and that He still has plans for them that are for good, and that He will (and in fact did) carry them out.

Many commentator "scholars" like to point out that this was addressed to the nation of Israel, and they sort of scoff at the idea that we would want to apply this to ourselves as individuals. I don’t know about you, but I believe in a God that knows and cares about each individual in His creation, and I don’t think it is a bit out of context to see a level of meaning in this verse at which we can hear the voice of God saying to each of us "I have plans for you, plans for good and not for disaster. I want to give you, my child, a future and a hope.

So God has given me a future. You don’t hear just an awful lot of people among us Seniors who talk much about the future, at least beyond the next six months. But the future that Christ has secured for us is a future for this life, first of all, and then the brightest of futures beyond.

He has given me a hope.

He has a plan for me, once again, not just for the eternity beyond, but a plan for this life and the days ahead.

And so, I don’t have time for that puzzle, and I praise His holy Name for that. So excuse me, I’ve got to get back to writing that book. Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.

Your Comments Please!

This post will be instructional rather than inspirational. Since I began this blog, almost a year ago, I have been puzzled by the fact that there have been few comments, two to be precise, and have quite frankly, been wondering if anyone was reading. Some of my friends, who I know have been reading have commented to me personally about some of the things I have written. One in particular, the illustrious Bob Johnson, expressed that he had some difficulty in placing a comment. I decided to check this out, and so I signed onto the blog from the outside (I usually come in from the blogger.com dashboard). I also used one of my other screen names that was not registered with Blogger.

Lo and behold, it is not as easy, I found, as it should be (I’m finding that several things at Blogger.com fall into this category). So here are the instructions as to how to leave a comment:

At the end of each post, there is a note giving the number of comments that have been posted. It looks like this;

0 comments

click on that, and a dialogue box will open.

The first thing you will see is a text box. Type your comment in the text box. Following the text box is the ominous statement (which I did not write) that states; "Comment moderation has been enabled. All comments must be approved by the author." Don’t let this scare you. All this means is that once your comment is made, it will be presented to me for approval before it is added to the blog post.

The next item will be a "word verification". This is designed to protect the site from spam-like comments generated by robotic software. The "word" is actually a group of letters that mean nothing. They are usually visually distorted. These cannot be read by robot software, and by replicating the letters, you are proving that you are a real person and not a robot. Type the letters you see in the box provided.

Next you will be asked to "choose an identity". There are three choices. Choose "other", even if you have either a Google or Blogger account. This will make it much easier on you. You may then leave your name and your own blog site if you wish, or leave the identification boxes blank.

Finally, you need to push the button that says "Publish your comment". Now the comment is posted, and the next time I sign on, I will be prompted to approve it, which I will do, as long as it is fit to publish.

In my very first blog post, "New Decade, New Beginnings", back in November of 2006, I made the following comment:

"For now, I have enabled readers to post comments, and your respectful comments are welcome. I am however, a sensitive guy, and in the event that the comments become disrespectful (as I have heard that some do) I will turn the comments off. I do not ask that you agree with me (though I hope you will) but I do insist that you refrain from name-calling, innuendo, etc."

I hope that I didn’t leave the impression that I wished to discourage your comments. I value what my readers have to say, and it not only lets me know that you are reading, but it gives an added dimension of combining your comments along with mine to give a broader picture of what we are thinking.

I look forward to hearing from you. In fact, why don’t you read one of the posts right now and leave a comment. It will let me know who is reading. If you wish, leave your e-mail address so I can respond to you.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.