Lynn Dove's Journey Thoughts

“Writing a book is easy, it’s all the other “stuff” that’s way out of my comfort zone!”  I said to a friend last week.

I know God has gifted me with some writing abilities…at least I am very comfortable writing and putting my thoughts on paper, but over the last few months I am realizing that God doesn’t want me in my “comfort zone”, He wants me to go so far outside of my comfort zone that I’ll know (and everyone else will know) that all glory must go to Him in the end.

I write because I’m not really a great speaker.  When I have been asked to speak at church or anywhere else, I usually read my speech.  I don’t dare adlib or else I’ll stumble and sputter my words and come out looking sort of like Spongebob Squarepants…bugged out eyes and all.  I am a blithering idiot (sorry Spongebob), when I public speak.  That’s why I write.

But last week, my publisher,  Word Alive Press, (who is putting together a marketing package that will go nation-wide to all the Christian bookstores in North America and the U.K. to promote the release of Shoot the Wounded , hinted that I need to prepare myself to do some media interviews and possibly some speaking engagements.  “They can’t be serious!” I complained to myself and then quickly ran to my closet to see if I could accessorize my “Spongebob” look when the time came.  Nothing!

Another exercise that is way out of my comfort zone is creating a website to promote the book.  Thankfully, Caleb Booth’s cover provides the best background for a web page but it’s the rest of the “building” process I have never done before.  I keep telling people that I know enough about computers to be considered dangerous.  I can crash a computer at ten paces.  A computer does not stand a chance against my technology-challenged attacks.  So last week I entered the “domain” (pardon the pun) of building a blogging website and I prayed all the while that the world wide web would somehow survive my attempts. Praying to God to help me through this new challenge, I’m convinced He led me to just the right, fairly “idiot proof” web building site, that allowed me to create a domain without too many glitches to my computer or to the web in general.

Check it out:  lynndove.com

So, God has once again proven to be faithful.  He knows my limitations, but still He challenges me to go outside my comfort zone and enter “domains” (pardon the pun again), that I would never have attempted before now.  No doubt if I think I can public speak on my own or attempt any of these other things that go along with publishing a book, I will eventually succumb to the “Spongebob-bugged-out-look” and it will be my own fault.  If I let God lead me and direct me, well, let’s just say, I will enter a whole new “domain” of experiences with Him!