One of the most satisfying experiences
of my life has been to assist others in leaving a legacy of their
lives to their families and friends.
To date, I've helped personally about a
dozen friends not only to think about writing their life story and
firing them up to get started, but to aid them all the way through the process to the
excitement of holding their finished book in their hands.
They've told me that it's something
like birthing a baby from conception to delivery—and it does take
struggle and sometimes pain, overcoming obstacles, intense work and
prayer, and always patience. But difficulties are forgotten when you
finally see your “baby!” It is worth it all!
Most of those happy campers who wrote
their life story are not writers in any professional sense. They
simply write in a home-style way what they want to say to their
families as a historical record and heritage keepsake. They finance
their own production and printing. There is no thought about making
money selling their book because it turns out that they generously
give away most of the copies as their Christian witness. It's not a
heavy financial burden since their press run for a first printing is
often only about a hundred copies. If the demand is greater, reprints
take only a few weeks.
I published a book THIS IS YOUR
LIFE! WRITE IT! to walk
you through the entire process of writing your story from idea to
where and how to publish it or even simply duplicate copies.
I'm
offering to any of my blog viewers in the U.S. a FREE copy of
my $10 paperback of 115 pages just for the cost of postage ($4.00)
only from now until October 15. Don't miss this offer even if you
are just thinking about it. Contact me leonachoy@gmail.com.
and send me your mailing address and postage.Or...do you know a friend who should be thinking about writing their story?
Pictured here is the most recent book I
had the joy of helping to its birth. And it's loaded with family
photos! The author is my childhood friend, Sue. Both of us are
great-grandmothers, and this was her first book released on her 90th
birthday. You can do it too! To inspire you to write your
story, I'll quote from her introduction:
“Today as I looked out of my bedroom
window, I saw a small lacy Japanese Maple leaf clinging tenaciously
to a thin branch moving in the breeze. It is late winter. The
deciduous trees have long shed their leaves. I saw small bulges in
the branches indicating where new growth is waiting to sprout to take
their place. Much like a relay runner it is waiting to pass the
little “baton” on to another. But this little weathered leaf was
the only one to remain on the tree outside my window. I kept watching
it swing back and forth, still clinging to its life from the limb.
Very soon, it too will slip away as did other leaves. It's just not
time yet.
“As I watched it swing in the breeze,
tears started rolling down my cheek. “Hang on there, little leaf,”
I kept telling it. “Please don't give up yet.” Once strong, deep
red, and beautiful, it was now showing its age and beginning to get
smaller. It reminded me of old age—this “late winter” stage of
life that I was now experiencing. Old age is like that. Once we were
strong, physically attractive, and vibrant, exciting! But gradually
the sap in our energy starts giving out, and we begin losing the
strength and energy that once was ours.
“As I looked out the window I saw
that other “leaves” had long departed, much like other dear
friends and loved ones whom I have known. Gradually, one by one, they
slipped away, giving way to the next generation to take their place.
Now they were gone. New life began for them.
“This morning I too saw myself much
like that single leaf, still attached to the living branch, and
tenaciously hanging on. I love life! I love living! I long for that
vibrancy and energy of what I once did and felt. It hurts to grow
old. It's hard to keep clinging, but I'm still hanging on the
branch. Maybe, however, it is the Branch that is holding on to me.
“It” is my Source of Life. Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ is my
Branch. He alone is my “All sufficient strength”--my El Shaddai.
Only He will know the right time to bid me, “Come Home, little
leaf.” Only then will I fly away! Until then I will cling to the
promise He has made: “My grace is sufficient for Thee; My strength
is made perfect in your weakness.”
“But look! Those little tiny nubs of
promise are already forming on those winter branches. Soon there will
be new life coming in the springtime of resurrection. God promises
hope and life everlasting to all who claim Him as Savior and Lord.
The best is yet to come!”
Coincidentally, my next door neighbor
Doug, a budding novelist and poet in his retirement, penned a vivid,
sensory poem recently that goes right along with Sue's theme. I share it below:
A
Single Leaf Falling
Watching
for wildlife
on
my forested ridge,
I
espied instead
the
falling of a single leaf.
The
unhurried dropping
of
one oxygenating remnant
caught
my attention,
as
though a yellow-brown
raptor
were plummeting.
Looking
downward and around,
summer's
leafy green
canopy
still sheltered the foothill --
with
only a hint of autumnal
changes
peeking out from tree to tree.
Strange
that just one contribution
to
September's offering plate
would
evoke a sense
of
pending transition
from
Pentecost to Advent.
On
this, I'd now meditate.
Pausing,
I realized
that
one hint of camo-color
harbingered
so much more.
Did
I hear bells tolling a new season?
Did
I feel the wind stirring
something
stronger than a breeze?
Did
I taste the tang of a crisp morning?
Did
I smell the drier air inhaled with ease?
Affirming
responses
sent
echoes of happy resonances
bouncing
off my soul as I sat here head askance,
noting
a few chords of nature
(that
each moment await our watchful ear).
I love the literary
reproduction adventure of inspiring my friends to release their own
writing gift. It is my joy to showcase their writing to bless others.
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