“Oh, Loretta, you should make a book out of all your poems,” a friend said.
“Who? Me?” My hands grew sweaty, and I choked back feelings of incompetence. Fear gripped my throat, and a shaky voice slipped from my lips. “Ah, thanks, but I don’t know anything about publishing. I just write poems when I feel inspired, and I share them with family and friends.”
The thought of putting my poems into book form almost made me hyperventilate. They weren’t your typical prose, nor were they written with literary intelligence. I just wrote the way the words flowed from my heart. Words rhymed, and sentence length varied.
To this day I still know nothing about the art of writing poetry—wish I’d paid more attention in English and literature class when I was in high school. But I do know that every poem I’ve written has personality. When read, some require a soft tone, some call for a whisper, and some are jubilant, but others come across bold and forceful. Crazy, isn’t it?
The more I pondered the idea of creating a poetry book, the more I surfed the Internet to figure out the process. It was quite comical how I put it all together. Are you ready?
I opened two or three books that were stacked on my desk and guessed at the formatting. Are you writers cringing? Ha-ha! From there, I formed an Endorsement page, a Table of Contents, and a Preface. Then the thought came to me that I should put a Bible verse and a prayer with each poem and make it a devotional poetry book. Hmm, sounded good to me.
In the end, Good Ole Spiritual Food, Inspirational Poetry for the Hungry Soul was self-published, and I was elated. Who knew that one day I would move on to writing romantic suspense novels? Only God.
For the fun of it, I’d like to share the opening poem of my book with you:
Good Ole Spiritual Food
When life is a weight that continues to pull you down,
And circumstances hold you at a constant frown.
When things don’t seem to matter nor satisfy your mood,
Where else is there to turn, but good ole spiritual food?
If John 3:16 doesn’t tug on your heart,
Try Hebrews 13:5, where Jesus will never depart.
If love is a problem and the answers are not there,
I Corinthians 13 will lift you out of despair.
Perhaps you are discouraged in receiving what you need,
Luke 17:6 reveals faith the size of a seed.
Maybe you are depressed and feel life has no length,
Look to Nehemiah 8:10 where joy is your strength.
Frustration settles in; you continue to be bored,
Isaiah 40:31 says, “Wait upon the Lord.”
When you’re feeling hurt by those who are around,
Apply Matthew 5:11 and Christ’s love will abound.
Most of all, please take a look at your innermost part,
Luke 4:18 says, “He heals the broken heart.”
There are so many truths to supply food to your soul,
If you would only go to God, His Word would make you whole.
That’s why each time the devil comes trying to deceive,
You’ll find truth in God’s Word while sinking to your knees.
So, when you feel starvation rising and don’t know what to do,
Remove the dust from “The Book” for some good ole spiritual food.
This book was self-published by Xulon Press back in 2003. I worked a full-time job and knew nothing about marketing, but it was a learning experience. I’m surprised that after all these years it can still be found online at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Loretta+Eidson?_requestid=7890921 and https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=a9_asc_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3ALoretta+Eidson&keywords=Loretta+Eidson&ie=UTF8&qid=1538953920 as a paperback or eBook.
I said all that to tell you this, dreams and desires for the future will never become a reality if you don’t put forth the effort. Even in my ignorance, I reached for my goal and made it happen.
I challenge you to do the same, only do it the right way. Don’t guess at it like I did back. Learn and move forward, even if it’s baby steps. No one can live your dream but you.
What dream(s) have you put on hold? What will you do now to make it happen?
For all who respond, I’ll put your names in a drawing and the winner will receive a copy of Good Ole Spiritual Food.
Blessings,
Loretta
Love this, Loretta! Good for you for following your heart. We all need to do that!
Thank you, Darlene. It was a learning experience, but I’m glad I pressed in and completed the project.
I love your poems!! They are very meaningful.. it was always fun to hear the story behind each poem. I remember you telling about waking up in the middle of the night with one or two sentences and you would write them down and the next day the rest of the poem would come to you. Many heartfelt poems!!
This is true, Tina. There was always a story behind each one. Those middle-of-the-nighters were extra special to me and seemed to speak to me in extraordinary ways.