Drafting Season

I realize it has been over a month since my last update, and I apologize for the delay (and I thank you for even noticing). But I am happy to tell you that there is a good reason for the delay:

I recently began drafting my next book.

Even though I am early in the drafting phase—with around 8500 words logged—I am excited to tell you all about it (and I hope you’re as excited to hear about it). Still, before we get to the present moment, I’d like to recap the journey I took to this point.

Catching Up

If you’ve been following my story this year, then you know how my life and work were suddenly set on a new trajectory when my wife Angela unexpectedly crossed the finish line into eternal victory almost six months ago.

About four months ago, I shared that the book I started drafting the week before Angela’s departure was officially on hold and that God was leading me to a new project.

Two months ago, I shared how this new project was taking shape much slower than I would prefer, amounting to nothing more than a smattering of notes. In that post, I further acknowledged that I knew I couldn’t rush the project. Yet I wanted to get rolling, even though I had no idea what it would take to gain traction.

Shortly after I posted that entry in early June, God showed me that at that point I had most—but not all—of the material needed. There was still one gap He needed to fill—and He did.

The Missing Piece

Angela and I would have celebrated our thirteenth wedding anniversary in June. A first anniversary alone is a heavy experience for anyone after losing a spouse. I didn’t expect my experience to be any different.

Still, I was grateful that the Lord opened the door for me to find a measure of joy and celebration that day, as a young couple from our church exchanged vows and embarked on their journey as husband and wife. I could not have asked for a more suitable way to spend the day than joining in their celebration.

The following morning, a friend (who also attended the wedding) and I were reflecting on the scripture that the couple chose, and the message that our pastor built around it. During that conversation, I shared the text that Angela and I used for our wedding and how it shaped our marriage.

That was the missing piece that I needed. I could use our wedding passage to tie all my scattered notes together into a cohesive book.

The Text

Angela and I selected the opening words of Philippians as the centerpiece text for our wedding. Now, this is not by any means a “standard” wedding text like 1 Corinthians 13 or Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. Here are the first few verses of that passage (for the full text, continue through verse 11).

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  – Philippians 1:3-6 (NIV)

Since this is not a normal wedding passage, we asked the officiating pastor if he saw where we were going with this selection. He responded, “Partnership in marriage.” We knew our wedding ceremony was in good hands.

(A quick aside: “Partnership” is a good word, but the corresponding Greek word, koinonia, is much richer and much bigger than its English counterpart. So I invite all my fellow word nerds to join my campaign to fully assimilate koinonia into the English language.)

Coming back to the present: While I was discussing the Philippians passage with my friend, it became clear that this text was the thread I needed to organize and bind my scattered stories. Each of these verses, individually and as a whole, would enable me to make sense of all of my misadventures in laundry from the past six months.

A Book about Laundry?

As a Christian writer, I don’t always get to choose what I write. Sometimes, the Lord hands me a project, and it is my job to obey and trust Him to guide me through it.

This is one such time.

But this will not be just a book about laundry. It’s about celebrating Angela, and all the good that she brought to my life and our marriage. It’s a book about the partnership that God built up in us and how our shared life shaped my understanding of the larger koinonia that Christians share with God and with each other. And it’s about applying these lessons as I move forward into a new season of my life.

And yes, it’s a book about how my struggles with all things laundry-related illustrate each of these points. But … why laundry?

The Seed of a Story

My first attempt to do a load of laundry after Angela’s passing was … well, it was an attempt. I described the experience in this simple 100-word account, which I submitted to the New York Times for consideration for their “Tiny Love Stories” column:

The Times did not select this story for publication, which is okay. Apparently, God had a different plan for these 100 words, a plan that He has now opened the door for me to complete. And it’s encouraging to be at this point, where He is leading me to my keyboard on as many mornings as my schedule allows. For the first time in six months, I’m back to feeling the burning need to write.

About that Burning

Two years ago, when I was drafting my first novel, Coin and Dagger, I came across a verse during my daily Bible reading that jumped off the page:

But if I say, “I will not mention his word

    or speak anymore in his name,”

his word is in my heart like a fire,

    a fire shut up in my bones.

I am weary of holding it in;

    indeed, I cannot. – Jeremiah 20:9 (NIV)

Now, Jeremiah was not popular in his day, mostly because he spoke truths that nobody around him wanted to hear. While I aspire to be more popular than Jeremiah (and pray that God gives me a more likable message to share); I was struck by his need—his compulsion—to speak up. God gave him something to say, and failing to say it would cause him no small discomfort.

When my writing is prompted by God’s plans, I experience a measure of this burning. If I have a drafting window in my morning and I don’t use it, I feel it. The only remedy is to release the words that God has given me.

I don’t always know what those words will be until they hit the page (digitally speaking), but I do experience the joy of knowing that God is present with me in my work. Not because I have figured it all out—remember, I’m the guy who spent months wanting to run ahead and write before I was ready—but because God is always faithful.

And His timing is always perfect.

Stay Tuned

I can’t tell you when my next book will be available. Beyond drafting, there is the whole process of revising, beta reading, revising, editing, and revising before I can even get to the format-and-publish phase.

But I trust that God’s hand will clear the path, His light will illuminate my steps, and He will nudge me back if I try to run ahead or veer off course. I invite your prayers as I proceed with the work He has given me, and I look forward to sharing updates with you here as my next book progresses.