Saturday, October 8, 2016

How to Follow the Right Stream



Amazon told me to keep a top secret new plan of theirs hush-hush until they rolled it out. They unveiled it yesterday. They told me that one of my best-sellers, Joe-The Horse Nobody Loved, had been selected for their new 'prime reader' program. That means that anyone who has Amazon Prime can read Joe for free!

When I saw that the new program was up and running, I checked the status of Joe in the sales ranks on Amazon.
Joe was the #1 Best Seller in Horse books! And it didn't cost me one cent in advertising. Now THAT is good news. The book is still #1 this morning. All kinds of new readers must be reading my book. Being an author is not easy. The writing is easy, but the marketing and trying to put food on the table through my writing is not. There are millions of books on Amazon. If one doesn't continually seek new ways to get the readers' attention, the book will not sell.

I think I am a good writer...but a terrible marketer.

So this new program of Amazon dropped like a gift from heaven.

Ignited by this wonderful development, I spent a few hours on my sequel to Unlikely Friends.  I am loving the exciting new mystery that is developing in the sequel. I am not quite sure how I will solve it, which is something the author should perhaps know in advance, but I almost never do.

My books mirror life.

God sends us many mysteries. We muddle through, trying to do the best we can to sort the clues in how to best thrive in whatever situations we find ourselves in. We try to look at the big picture, but struggles have a way of narrowing our view. We stumble upon one solution after another. Some head us in the right direction; others do not. Often, when we look back, it all is so obvious. How could we have missed the right way so completely? The clues were splashing us in the face all along, rushing waters all heading over one particular waterfall, and we didn't see them.

Yes. God is the best mystery writer. He differs from me in that His plan was perfectly formulated before time began. He knows exactly how it all will end, should end, and He gives the characters every opportunity to follow the plot that leads to the optimal ending.

Fortunately, He also gives us a key to unlock His mystery. It outlines all the elements we need to follow to successfully solve everything we face. It is called the Bible. And then, as if that were not enough, He sends us a Helper that will guide and teach us if we are too thick-headed to understand His written instructions. The Helper is the Holy Spirit, and He is inside everyone who trusts Jesus as savior. He taps us on the shoulder when we face impossible divergent paths, and whispers in our ear, "THIS is the way."

We may choose not to read His obvious plan, or to ignore or not heed the words of His Counselor, but we cannot say He didn't warn us. We cannot say He didn't send guidance. All creation declares His glory. If we miss it, it is not because He didn't give us every opportunity to get it right.

Meanwhile, this is a no-brainer. You can read Joe for free if you are an Amazon Prime member. Just click here.
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Psalm 32:8 

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.


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