I am a big fan of Joanna Penn. I love her books on writing and staying healthy while writing and writing as a business and actually everything she does.
So it's a little surprising that I missed the publication of her newest book Audio For Authors.
But that's okay. I've got it now. And, while I haven't even finished it, I'm already feeling inspired.
Audio for Authors covers both audio books and podcasting. As an author and podcaster who records her own audio books, Joanna Penn has a great deal of experience to share.
Audio for Authors covers both audio books and podcasting. As an author and podcaster who records her own audio books, Joanna Penn has a great deal of experience to share.
According to the book's introduction, half of Americans, age 12 and up, have listened to a podcast and audio publishers have reported seven years of double digit growth. More and more and more people are listening to audio everyday. Some, Penn stresses, don't consume books or articles any other way.
Audio for Authors goes on to cover a lot of ground, including types of audiobooks, writing for audio and tips on narration. It also provides some great information on podcasting (which is something the author does very well) such as equipment, distribution, podcast launchs and more.
While it didn't make up a significant part of the book, I found it interesting that YouTube was also mentioned
YouTube is not, strictly speaking, an audio platform but I listen to media all the time via YouTube Premium (which keeps the audio going when my phone is on standby). And I know a lot of other people who do that too.
When discussing YouTube, Penn relates that her own YouTube channel went audio only in early 2019. Even without video, she says, her subscriber list has continued to grow.
Penn's new book made me really think about my media.
I'm not sure that I'll go back to podcasting (or do audio only video) but I have decided that I am going to put a little more effort into my YouTube channel.
To check out that channel and track my progress please visit YouTube.com/c/BarbaraGraver or look for my videos here on the blog.
To buy Joanna Penn's book (in audio, print or ebook) please visit Amazon.
This S.O.A.P. note is on Acts 9:1-25, the story of Saul's conversion.
In this passage Saul is on his way to Damascus to persecute
the early church. Suddenly a light from heaven shines upon him and a voice
identifying itself as Jesus asks him why he is persecuting the church. Saul is
blinded by the heavenly light. But Jesus tells him to go on to Damascus
and do as instructed. When Saul arrives in Damascus, God instructs a
believer, named Ananias, to restore Saul's sight.
Ananias is reluctant because Saul has previously imprisoned many Christians. It is God's response to Ananias that I chose to focus on for this particular Bible journal entry.
Scripture
But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. - Acts 9:15 (NLT)
Observation
In this verse, God tells Ananias that Saul has a very
special destiny. He is to preach to the Gentiles.
I think the main reason Jesus chose Saul, who would
become better known as the Apostle Paul, was because he was the absolute best
man for the job. It seems that the particular destiny of Paul hinged on the
fact that he differed from the first disciples in several
very important ways.
Paul was a Roman citizen. He could read and write in both Hebrew and Greek. His Greek
was so eloquent that his letters contain some of the most beautiful
passages in the entire Bible.
Interestingly, Paul was also a Pharisee with a clear understanding of Jewish Scripture and Law. This gave him both authority and
confidence.
But it wasn't just about experience because Paul had important inborn gifts as well. He was articulate, analytical and a truly gifted writer. He was also a natural leader, able to take charge of situations, even when he was imprisoned.
But it wasn't just about experience because Paul had important inborn gifts as well. He was articulate, analytical and a truly gifted writer. He was also a natural leader, able to take charge of situations, even when he was imprisoned.
Like the other disciples, Paul was committed. He was as zealous in promoting the
church as he once was in persecuting it. When all was said and done, he
had delivered a message that was instrumental in bringing Christianity to the attention of the entire world.
Application
There is no doubt that we owe Paul a tremendous debt. But I can't help wondering how he felt about the commission he was given.
As his ministry took him further and further into the land and hearts of the
Gentiles, did he ever wish for the same success back home with his own people?
Possibly. But Paul embraced the special calling God had given him anyway.
I believe that all Christians are called to embrace their God-given calling in the same way. As with Paul, this may mean reaching out to others who are chosen,
not by us, but by God.
And this is as it should be. As Jesus made clear when He said to God:
I have revealed You to the ones You gave me from this world. They were always Yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept Your word. - John 17:6 (NLT)
We all have very different calls on our lives. For me that call includes writing. I don't know who God wants me to reach. It may not be those closest to me but whoever it is, I will do my best to follow God's lead.
Acts 9:15 reminds us to press on with our own personal calling, trusting that God has specially equipped us for the job.
Sometimes that kind of trust is a stretch but it is by stretching that we grow in faith. And so these words of Paul seem especially appropriate.
Sometimes that kind of trust is a stretch but it is by stretching that we grow in faith. And so these words of Paul seem especially appropriate.
...but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:12-14
Prayer
Dear God. Thank You for the upward call You have
placed on our lives. Help us to accept it and to act in accord. Thank You for
equipping us to do your will. And help us to grow in faith so that we may better serve You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
When I started this blog I decided to include a few of my posts from my old blog. This is one of my favorites.
A Butterfly in Need
On Sunday I stopped at a convenience store so my son could use the ATM. After he got his cash he stood looking down at something on the sidewalk while the other shoppers rushed around him, some obviously annoyed.
Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for our vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. “The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten... - Joel 2:23-25
Joel 2:23-25 talks about the restoration of the land after four years of failed harvest. And harvest is a theme for me.
We reap what we sow. Later than we sow. And pound for pound there is always more of what we harvest than there was of what we planted.
So we sow good and we get better. We plant little and get nothing.
Or we sow the wrong things. The bitter things. The things we meant to bury.
A law of nature. Not good or bad. But only reliable.
The laws of the harvest are the laws of life. But the promise of the harvest is of God. And his promise stands.
There will always be another harvest.
So today I pray for that future harvest, the one that I believe in even when I cannot see it.
I decided to start the new year and new decade with a SOAP note Bible journal entry!
How I identified with Ophelia once upon a time. There was so much drama in that darkness.
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