December 17, 2009

I have always loved books. When I was a kid, it seems like we were always going to the library to return the books we had and to check out some more. When I got my driver's license, the first place I drove by myself was to the library - it helped that it was just a couple of miles from home. In high school, we usually had a book that we were supposed to be reading for English class. But whenever I could, I would get in a book that I wanted to read as well.

That love of books continues now. I always have a book that I am reading, although it takes a while for me to read it. I like big, thick books, usually non-fiction history books about a particular person or event. The longer, the better, although that does mean that it takes me longer to read it. A length of 500 pages is a good starting place. I typically only read a few pages today, but that's fine with me. If it is a really good book, there is a slight bit of sadness once it is over, because I have invested several months, sometimes up to a year, with that book. But then I have a big stack of books that I haven't read yet, so it is usually easy to move on to the next one and start another reading adventure.

Somewhere along the way, I got the idea that I could write a book. I have had a friend or two write books, and I thought it was something that I could do. I did have all those English classes in school, after all - might as well put that to some sort of use. And with various things on the internet, I've discovered that I enjoy having people read what I write, even if it is just a goofy saying on Facebook. "You are so funny," people would say, "you should write a book!"

But the problem was coming up with a subject. I had kicked a few things around over the last few years, and none of them really seemed like they would work. And then who would buy a book of just a bunch of one liners like my Facebook posts? I really thought I should try for something slightly more serious, perhaps. But I couldn't come up with the right thing.

Then, in the summer of 2008, Laura and I went on a mission trip with our church youth group to Jamaica. It was a fascinating experience for me, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Once we got back home, I kept thinking about things that happened and telling stories to people, whether they asked about our trip or not. I started writing about it right here on this site, and the more I wrote, the more I thought of to write. Finally, I had a subject that I thought I could work with.

So then the writing began. I took the bits that I had written here and expanded them quite a bit, as well as writing a whole lot more to go along with it. Different events and experiences started to fall into chapters, and organizing became relatively easy once I had made a start. Selecting pictures turned out to be an easy task as well. I had taken so many pictures, as I usually do, that it was no trouble at all to find a picture to go along with what I was writing about.

As things started to all fall into place, I put it all into more of a book format, setting up all the pages, making sure everything was ordered correctly and looking like I wanted it to look. I even designed the cover, once again using one of the pictures I took. And eventually, I had a finished product, with even more pages than what I had set for an original goal.

I gave it the rather unoriginal title of On A Mission, with the somewhat long subtitle A First-Time, First-Hand Mission Trip Account. Evidently, coming up with a title and self-promotion aren't exactly my strong suits. But hopefully the content is better than the title or the description on the back cover.

And now that finished book is available for anyone to read. Hopefully someone will, and maybe even someone will get something useful out of it. That is the real reason for writing, after all - to share with others.

For information on how to order a copy, just go to the On A Mission page on this site. Or if you put in the title and my name on Amazon.com, it should come there as well.

Now, what can I write about next?

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. - James 1:22

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