A Cup of Tea for the Heart

Have you ever had one of those days when it seemed like you had a bottomless “to do” list?  Well, I have.  In fact, that pretty much describes my whole week.  The Lord has moved our “A Cup of Tea for the Heart” series along so fast that it frequently leaves me breathless. 

We have  almost 100 stories (and always need more, of course) and the ones that arrived by late May were submitted to our editing committe for them to read and determine which ones they felt fit best with the first book of this series – “Tough Times Don’t Last But Tough Women Do.” 

 Talk about “tough!”  They tell us it was a “tough” decision, especially with so many heart-warming stories.  The big decision was to decide which stories would fit in each of the first six proposed books.  (If you will check the “Guidelines” section of this website the six books are described and you can submit an article for consideration in any of those categories.  Be sure to indicate which book you are writing for and include lots of advice for dealing with your particular challenge.)

On Tuesday of this week, Rita and I set a crazy deadline of June 17 to have the first draft completed.  We knew it was crazy —-  just 3 months after the first inkling of an idea for a single book, a simple project —- but somehow that date rung a bell for both of us and so we decided we could focus and get it done.  Then, after a couple of conversations with publishing companies, on Wednesday morning we set a totally outlandish deadline of 5 PM on Thursday 6/10/10 —- TODAY!!!  

YIKES!!!!!

So when the selected articles hit our desks, we went to work……and worked feverishly!!  And YES!!!  We made it at 4:36 PM TODAY!!!!  Yes, that is right, the first draft of the first book in the “A Cup of Tea for the Heart” series is ready to be presented to the publisher and/or agent of our choice.  Wahoo!  We are movin’ on!!!

Oh….and this outlandish schedule would be why we haven’t taken the time to blog the last 3 days. 

When I started graduate school I had been out of college about 10 years. I had forgotten how to study and the first few weeks it seemed that everything I read just went in my eyes and out my ears without ever pausing in my brain. I cried a lot until I figured out that the key to learning was to never stop learning. These last few weeks since Rita and I started the “A Cup of Tea for the Heart” book series I have never been so glad in my life that I learned that lesson so many years ago.

The entire publishing industry has done a 180 in the last few years. When I published my first book 18 years ago the publisher provided a publicist who wrote my press releases, provided press kits, scheduled radio and TV interviews, along with book-signing schedules, all over the nation. Today it is all social media and 90% of it is done by the authors.

If you don’t know what that means, you know where we were 10 weeks ago. I could hardly say “social media” much less understand the meaning of it. Rita and I have been on a steep learning curve that has taken us to conferences, teleseminars, books, Q & A sessions and through a great deal of research. We have learned so much more than we knew about how to utilize our own website, e-notes, Facebook and Twitter accounts, internet radio programs, product designs and much more. We have discovered that putting the books together is just the beginning of our jobs.

But in all truth, it has been one of the most exciting, stimulating and productive times of my life. One thing for sure, if knowledge is power, then I am on my way to becoming King Kong!
~ Donna

It is always amazing to me how often we are inspired by an unexpected event or accidental meeting.  The Lord is always at work in our lives and if we make time to be just a little observant, great things often happen.

While on the trip to Branson in April, Robert and I were having dinner one evening at Mel’s Hard Luck Diner with our friends Sheila and Stan.  Mel’s is a great place for two reasons:  1) they have good food and 2) they have wonderful singers who are their wait staff. 

A few days later Stan and Sheila were in there again and one of the female singers asked who we were and as Sheila was explaining, she also told the story of the Tea for the Heart series and how she was writing a story.  Bernie immediately began to share her story and it so touched Sheila that she insisted she write it for the Tough Times book as well.

Bernie is a award winning singer who was named female vocalist of the year two years running in Branson and yet she has had challenges that many of us would crumble under.  She was married to a man who was bipolar and in her story she explains what it did to both of their lives and how it eventually lead them back to the Lord. 

I met with Bernie the next time I was in Branson and she told me that her ex-husband has now written a book about growing up as a bipolar person and that they wanted to share his story with everyone that they could.  I said, “Have you written a song to go with this story?”   She said she had never written a song of her own.  I told her it was about time and that she needed to share what the Lord was putting in her heart so that others could learn and grow from their experiences.

The next day at lunch Bernie came running up to me with tears in her eyes and handed me the most beautiful song I have every read.  It was truly words from her heart and soon it will be on an album for all of us to enjoy!

We just never know what the Lord has in mind for us today.

“Be still and know that I am God.”  Psalms 46:10

Back to April…Robert and I had a Timeshare that was about to expire so we decided – in the middle of all of this, of course – to go to Branson, MO for a few days of what we thought were going to be R & R.  Little did we know, the Lord was still guiding our way! 

After a couple of days of rest and golf, Robert suddenly said that we should call some friends of ours who live up there.  We had not seen them in some time and I was very surprised that he suddenly had this “urge” to call them.  But they are great people and I thought it would be fun, so we contacted Stan and Sheila.  We spent a couple of days with them and “goosebumps” started all over again!!

Stan spent 22 years leading a team in translating the New Testament into conversational English, called The Great Book (which is wonderful, by the way) and just “happened” to have a very close relationship with several publishers, a Spanish translator, recording studios and connections to numerous very caring and talented performers in that area…all of whom were more than willing to talk with us about our newest project.  It was amazing and totally overwhelming, especially due to how positive, encouraging and even helpful all these folks were about A Cup of Tea For the Heart book series. Everyone expressed the need for the first book to be published as quickly as possible, most mentioning specific needs that would be met by the series. 

The fun continued!  I talked Sheila into writing for our book and she has a beautiful story of how she found the Lord after some very devastating years in her life, of course with some very insightful advice she now passes on from her experience. And then she introduced us to another beautiful lady, Branson’s female vocalist of the year multiple times over. Bernie also agreed to write and her story is breathtaking…but time is up so you will have to check in next time to hear her story.  You don’t want to miss it!

WOW Rita!  Goosebumps!!  There have been so many things happening in the last two months that my head is spinning!!  I don’t know how we will ever be able to share this story completely.  I know that our contributors for the first book or two of the A Cup of Tea For The Heart series are wondering what happened to us.  We promised to keep them updated on all of the activities but we had no idea that the Lord was going to work this fast.  We can’t even keep updated!!! 

Maybe the best way to share this story is just to start at the beginning. 

About three months ago Rita and I had lunch one day and began to renew a 14+ year relationship, since she had just moved back to Edmond from the west coast.  She was helping me to edit my newest book project and as our conversations progressed through many emails, she sent me an email one day about a little book she had seen that was designed for women.  As I was receiving a follow-up email from her suggesting that we should write something similar together except with a lot of inspirational advice from the lives of “real” women who are experiencing the ups and downs of a “real” living, I was sending her an email with the same suggestion.  That was our first “goosebump” experience.  It exploded after that and we will try to tell you a little about all the wonderful experiences that the Lord has led us through as we blog, so stay tuned.  This is one story you won’t want to miss!!

One thing I can tell you for sure is that knowing and working with Rita Goad is a tremendous experience.  She is one of the most talented and God lead ladies I have ever had the privilege of knowing.  (Now don’t take this out, Rita, it is the truth!)

I do have one request.  Please keep us and our project in your prayers.  We so badly want to do the Lord’s will and be of service to Him in all things.  We would cherish those prayers.

Have a great day!  Talk to you soon….Donna