I believe that we absolutely can, but it’s my heart that none of us ever does! Over a series of Live Destiny blog entries, I am going to demonstrate this as well as provide some helpful encouragements so that we do not miss out but rather engage in and thrive in our full destinies.
A generation of Israelites missed out on their destiny (Read Numbers 13-14)
Just as the Israelites who died in the desert missed out on their full destiny, so can we if we do not quickly respond to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. The generation of the Israelites who died in the desert stopped short of walking in their God-given inheritance. They had a window of time where they could have chosen God’s perspective and trusted in His leading but they allowed themselves to be crippled by fear, even seeking to stone the only two, Joshua and Caleb, who actually believed in God’s destiny for them. It wasn’t until after the Israelites got rebuked and schooled from God by their stoning behaviour towards His appointed leaders that they finally came to their senses.
BUT IT WAS TOO LATE
By the time the Israelites finally realized that their destiny truly was beyond the giants and within the Promised Land, they set out to respond to God’s earlier call on their lives. Only by this time, the window of opportunity had already passed them by. Yes, they finally were ready to fight and overcome these giants but now it was too late. They missed God’s heartbeat because of a wrong perspective and not being ready to respond immediately to His leading. They had their sights set on the giants in front of them blocking their true destiny, rather than on God who could have moved them into their true destinies.
REAL GIANTS
The giants in the Promised Land were real and the giants we have to fight through to take hold of our destiny are real. The credit crunch is real, rejection is real, misunderstanding is real, but if God really is over all and if He is leading us somewhere, the surrounding circumstances are irrelevant, powerless in comparison with His greatness. Regardless of what giants we currently face, God is greater.
WHAT IF?
If the Israelites of that generation had trusted in and believed that God wanted the best for them and responded to God’s earlier call to fight and enter the Promised Land, would they have gained the victory? What if they all had rallied behind Joshua and Caleb in full support of overcoming the giants, would they have thrived in the Promised Land and had a different end to their story? What does this story say to us about the importance of not only saying Yes to God when He leads, but the importance of responding in the moment as well? A generation’s destiny hung on a thread, on a moment. What would have happened if Martin Luther King Jr. did not respond to where God was leading him at the time to fulfill his destiny? What if he would have hesitated, asked how, or lived in the fear of the giants surrounding him?
If we hesitate or struggle to respond immediately when God speaks to us, what will happen to those around us who need for us to live our destiny so that it brings a shift in their reality? May we be a people who are so close to the Father that we know His ways and can discern His voice. May we be like Joshua and Caleb, full of faith and ready to respond immediately to God as He leads into our destiny, keeping our eyes on Him who is the Author and Finisher of our true destiny.
I am excited to introduce the newest member to the Silver to Gold team and leader of the Destiny Groups International, LaChelle Rector. LaChelle was one of the first to pilot Destiny groups while in Nashville earlier this year. I have enjoyed getting to know LaChelle and seeing her heart. I believe her passion to see people live their destinies and her inspiration in challenging people to follow God's purposes will greatly contribute to the S2G team. With no further ado, here's LaChelle in her own words...
Intersecting Silver to Gold...
I've spent a lot of my life trying to fit into a man-made mold. I had never felt fulfilled and quite honestly I was dying inside. But there has always been a drum beat stirring in my spirit saying, "It's time. Step out." It was a year ago that I responded to God's heart beat where I dropped the uncomfortable mold and started following things that made me alive. I met Jen at the beginning of the year through a divine appointment where God connected us even though we were living on separate continents at the time. The essence of Silver to Gold is my heart's cry, for it calls everyone to be equipped to hear the voice of God; when this happens they are challenged to move beyond just living so that they can thrive abundantly. I am thankful for my opportunity to partner in this movement. Jen's creativity connects to the heart of God and helps to free people from religion so that they can step into a life of purpose and meaning. This adventure is like no other and I want nothing more then to tell everyone not to settle for anything less than the gold our Creator has destined.
About Me
Adventure must be the main part of my DNA. I grew up in log cabin in Crossville, Tennessee. Even though it was a small town its where my heart started exploring. I explored through hiking, snowboarding, skateboarding, climbing, caving, and just anything else that could challenge me. After high school I moved to Nashville, Tennessee where I got a B.S. degree in Psychology with a minor in art and mental health counseling. As soon as I graduated in 2010 I spent nine days in Managua, Nicaragua and then jumped ship to Sydney, Australia to do YWAM. I got to live in a community that loved Jesus more then anything plus skateboarding and surfing!!! After exploring all that I could in AUS I came back to America where I started planning my next adventure. This brings me here to Redding, California where I am a 1st year student at Bethel’s School of Supernatural Ministry. If I could fly I would fly to the ends of the earth and then some…. Thank goodness I’ve become a part of Jen's team where creativity and adventure is part of the journey!
Jen recently finished her PhD (on healing and revival), which means now she is free to play! She is currently available to share with your group on any of the following messages below. Overall, Jen is passionate about inspiring people to take risks to move out of the comforts of an easy life and into the exciting and adventurous life in the kingdom of God. Two of her life verses are John 10:10 and Ephesians 3:20 which come through in almost all of her messages. All of her messages have been lived or experienced personally by her. See her BIO to learn more. Jen’s style is also to try and be open and sensitive to what the Holy Spirit might be saying to a specific community at a certain time. With that said, some of things on her heart at the moment are (click titles to learn more):
Water into Wine
Are you experiencing God’s abundance in your life? Do you believe that it’s His heart to bring you lasting joy? Jesus’ first miracle in the book of John was not multiplying bread or healing anyone, but making an even more exciting party. Sometimes God wants to do miracles in our lives not necessarily to make us more effective for His kingdom but simply to demonstrate His specific and overwhelming favor just because He loves us. This is based on her recent and personal experience of Jesus turning water into wine in her own life when she went to the Canary Islands in December of 2010 followed by her trip to Cana of Galilee in 2011.
Silver to Gold: Moving from the deserts of freedom and into the promised land of abundance
How many people do you know that are settling for less than God’s best in their lives? Just as Caleb and Joshua had to fight to enter into their inheritance (Numbers 13), so must we take risks to move out of our deserts of freedom and into our God given destinies. There is always a fight that must be won before entering into the Promised Land for our lives; this is not a fight for freedom but a fight for abundance. It's safe and comfortable in the silver, in the desert, but God has destined us for the GOLD, to dwell in the Promised Land. When we don't walk in God's destiny for our lives, it's easy to get drawn back into our old life. “You have dwelt long enough at this mountain. Turn and take your journey...See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess this land which has been promised” (Deut 1:6-8). Read Silver to Gold: A Journey of Young Revolutionaries or connect to above link to listen to a recent talk on this.
Spirit Flood: Hungering for floods of living waters
A hunger to be overwhelmed in the Spirit was part of initiating a worldwide revival at the Azusa Street Revival in 1906. What if something similar occurred today? What does it look like to be flooded by the Spirit and how many times can that happen in our lives? Looking also at the progression in Ezekiel 47, an invitation to completely let go and be flooded with the Spirit is presented. To learn more, you can read Spirit Flood: Rebirth of Spirit Baptism for the 21st Century or listen to a talk here.
Healing on the Streets: Taking Risks and learning to respond to the Holy Spirit
Do you believe that you can miss out on the fullness of God’s destiny for your life? Can you miss out on the fullness of the kingdom if choosing not to take risks in response to the Holy Spirit’s nudging? How do you even know if it’s the Holy Spirit leading or if it’s just your own thoughts leading you? This message will teach how to discern the voice of the Spirit, encourage people to take risks even if they are unsure, and demonstrate the impact of stepping out in faith regardless of if there are visible results or not. Every time we pray for people, God is at work whether we see it or not. Healing on the Streets stories or legs growing, etc. You can access recent talks on this here.
Faith in the Midst of the Credit Crunch
Are there any promises that God has spoken to you in the past but have yet to be fulfilled? Revolutionary Perspectives: Carrie Judd Montgomery was led by the Spirit, discerned what God had spoken to her in the midst of conflicting voices around her, and she acted in faith even when she didn’t have the money. Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 13) believed in the promise, wholly followed after God regardless of their surrounding circumstances, had a right perspective of God and chose to remember His faithfulness, and they were not afraid to fight for what they believed in (or they were, but they chose to trust God anyway!). What does it look like to live by faith and also responsibly at the same time? It is important to follow God's destiny for our lives regardless of our present circumstances.
Healing and Revival: A Forgotten Revivalist, Carrie Judd Montgomery, inspires today
What can we learn from life of forgotten revivalist, Carrie Judd Montgomery, and others that can inspire our faith today? Montgomery was one of the most influential people in the Divine Healing movement and also played a significant role in the expansion of global Pentecostalism. She initiated the first healing home on the West Coast in 1893 and it was through her ministry that John G. Lake and many others were first introduced to divine healing. She played a significant role in the development of healing in the atonement and her life of faith and total surrender to the Spirit will inspire us to walk in a similar way.
Make You Feel My Love: There's Nothing That He Did Not Do
Bob Dylan's song sung so beautifully by Adele has re-emerged within this generation for a reason. The lyrics of this song are a prophetic call to this generation to receive His love afresh. Whether one is already a Christian or not yet, there is so much more love He is longing to pour out if we would just open our hearts and receive all that He has for us.
Jen has preached internationally, mainly through Vineyard and also through Iris Ministries, in Africa, Europe, New Zealand, the UK, and in the USA and has also designed and implemented trainings, talks, and seminars on various topics such as discipleship, leadership, healing, team building, worship, ministry, prayer, living a life of faith, evangelism, the Holy Spirit, and revival history. For Revival history, her main areas are the Divine Healing Movement, the Azusa Street Revival, the Holiness Movement, and female revivalists. For Theology, her areas are the development of the doctrines of sanctification and of healing in the atonement, and Spirit baptism. You can learn more about what she is passionate about at JenMiskov.com or email her at JenMiskov@silvertogold.com for availability.
"While we don't have to live anyone else's dream, we do have a responsibility to live our own. Each of us has a dream inside of us. Some of us more than one. A difference can be made in the live of others when we step out and fulfill our specific, and I believe our God-given dreams. Beauty comes as a result when we follow our hearts. Others are blessed, challenged, and empowered when we take hold of our lives and make decisions towards living our passions, towards following our deepest desires.
There are people around us who are waiting for us to come alive, people who need for us to live our dreams so that their lives will be better. It was Martin Luther King Jr. who once said, "I have a dream," and look what happened when he followed his heart. It's time for us to do the same.
So now, because other lives depend on it, including our own, may the True Revolutionaries please step forward and march toward your destinies."
Some notes and audio for talk at Aliso Viejo Vineyard, CA Sept. 19, 2010....Special thanks to Ted and Ginger for sharing what a life of living by faith looks like and also for Kent Larson for being so gracious for inviting me into his life and ministry there.
Are there any promises that God has spoken to you in the past but have yet to be fulfilled?
Revolutionary Perspectives: Carrie Judd Montgomery was led by the Spirit, discerned what God had spoken to her in the midst of conflicting voices around her, and she acted in faith. To read the account I talk about go here.
Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 13) believed in the promise, wholly followed after God regardless of their surrounding circumstances, had a right perspective of God and chose to remember His faithfulness, and they were not afraid to fight for what they believed in (or they were, but they chose to trust God anyway!).
There's always a battle before entering into the Promised Land for our lives. Note that THIS IS NOT A FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, BUT A FIGHT FOR ABUNDANCE.
It's safe and comfortable in the silver, in the desert, but God has destined us for the GOLD, to dwell in the Promised Land. Conversely, when we don't walk in God's destiny for our lives, it's easy to get drawn back into our old life (Galatians 5:16).
Are there any necessary battles that you are avoiding or running from? Are your eyes on God and His promises or on the obstacles before you? What steps of faith can you begin to take today to move closer to the destiny God is calling you to?
"You have dwelt long enough at this mountain. Turn and take your journey...into the Land of Canaan (The Promised Land)"...See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess this land which has been promised (Deut 1:6-8). "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and ALL these things shall be added to you (Matt. 6:33)."
"GOLD is our destiny...so Why settle for silver when we're meant for Gold?" I pray that the unique promises God has put deep within our hearts would be stirred up once again and that He would give us the courage to step out in faith towards those things this very day. Amen.
“Silver to Gold is an inspirational story to dream seemingly impossible dreams. It is an encouragement to press through every challenge and obstacle, until our vision becomes a reality. Jen is an awesome young revolutionary who has courageously pressed in to the dreams of God for her own life regardless of the cost, and counted it all as joy! I highly recommend this book to everyone who is not prepared to settle for anything less than the very best!”
-Heidi Baker, Ph.D, Founding Director, Iris Ministries, Inc.
“I have known Jen for over ten years and I have watched her live the Silver to Gold adventure. I have witnessed the birth of this book as she talked and wrote this epic story. It came out of her soul not just her mind. This adventure will stir, invigorate and compel you to go for the Gold. I highly recommend it.”
-Robert Fulton, Vineyard International Coordinator Emeritus
“This is a modern-day Pilgrim's Progress, a tale that resonates with both science fiction and allegory of a young woman who rejects a life of compromise and finds her true fulfillment in overcoming obstacles and discouragements to reach her higher goals. This is inspirational reading that will inspire and resonate with any of us who have been tempted to give up. Once you pick up this fascinating story you will not want to put it down.”
-Dr. Allan Anderson, author of Spreading Fires
"A revolutionary book/novel for 'young revolutionaries' (in the book's subtitle) written by a PhD student (at the University of Birmingham, UK) who aspires to inspire; the book comes with all kinds of added dimensions at the www.silvertogold.com website - its riveting prose will keep us enthralled even while its message - to inspire us all to reach beyond the silver lining& horizons that often limit us so that we can reach the gold standard! - means that it will work well as a gift to high school & even college graduates."- Amos Young, author of many books, one being The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh
"Jen, did you put superglue on my copy? Cause I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN!! Gripping, powerful, encouraging and challenging. Loving your work! The week after I got my job, I read Silver to Gold and, as well as being gripped by the story, I saw clear links with my own experience. I felt motivated to keep moving forward to the next goal, the next challenge, the next step. Silver to Gold challenges you to not settle for second best, but to push on towards the fulfillment of your dreams, and to encourage those around you to do the same. This book could change your life..." - Steve, UK
Many of my friends have come to me since hearing of me publishing my first book and have told me that they too want to write a book. I thought I would write done some of the things that I have learned in this process to help others who will be doing the same thing soon. Here’s a little bit about my process in writing and publishing my first book along with some tips that will hopefully be helpful to you in your journey.
Get Writing
Thinking of writing a book is an overwhelming concept when you think of it as a whole. If you take it section by section it’s more manageable. I highly suggest setting aside time each week to write. It doesn’t matter what you write, just make it a habit that you dedicate time to and get your creative writing juices flowing. I had been stuck, crippled with writer’s block after so long and then I read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and started doing some of the weekly exercises in there to help unleash my creative juices. By writing 3 pages in my journal each day, thoughts, prayers, complaints, whatever, helped me get into a habit and get rid of all the concerns in my head that hold back creativity. By having an artist date once a week where I do something creative all by myself whether that be paint a picture, put together a collage, go to an art gallery, learn a dance, play guitar, it helped me to sow into my life in other creative areas. A couple times I wrote one random line on the top of a page (“the green monster”) and then let my words flow and I ended up writing two children’s short stories from those times. It was nice to get away from the towering project of Silver to Gold that had been looming over me for almost 7 years by that point. Un-engaging and then re-engaging helped me a lot.
Practically speaking, I encourage you to take one chapter, one section at a time. Set realistic deadlines or else you will never finish. You can work backwards in setting your goals by figuring out when you want to have you release party of the book to when the manuscript draft needs to be finished to each chapter drafted and so on.
Perfectionism is the Enemy
I really don’t think your book should have to take 7 years as mine did. Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird helped me to understand when enough is enough, when it’s time to finish and move on. She writes about how an author can know when they are finished with the book. She says that “perfection is the voice of the oppressor” and she goes into a good analogy of trying to get all of an octopus’ legs in the right place at the same time, the legs being the plot, dialogue, setting, etc, then right when you think everything’s set, another leg flops out of order. Then she goes on to say that you know you are done when, even though you know the manuscript is not perfect, that you have absolutely “no steam left in the pressure cooker” and you know it is time to move onto something else (93-94).
If I didn’t finish and publish my book, even though I know it can always be better in one way or another, it would have killed me! There’s other things in my life that I need to move on towards, other books I need to write but I needed to finish Silver to Gold before I could fully move on and move forward. I highly encourage you to set a goal, a timeline and move towards it.
Semantics
Writing is a true craft that can be learned. I had my basic story and I knew what I wanted to say but I had none of the tools to know how to add meat to the bones, to make dialogue sound real, develop characters. There are lots of good books that can help you refine your basic writing skills. For fiction I found the The Art and Craft of Story Telling by Nancy Lamb helpful as an overall how to structure and develop dialogue, character, etc. I am completely sold on Hooked by Les Edgerton for creative ideas in how to refine the beginning of your story. There are even interviews by literary agents, editors, and publishers in the end of the book to know what specifics they are looking for when reviewing a manuscript. These and other resources like writing groups or networks on line are great places to get advice.
Feedback
Initially, I would pick no more than 3 people to help give you consistent feedback on your writing. This group of 3 should be diverse and should be people who are for you, who want to see you succeed, who can give you the time you need, and who can also give you honest and constructive feedback. A manageable way to make it easy for these to help you is by refining your chapter and then giving them one chapter at a time to look over and give you feedback on. Ask them specific questions to look for problem areas you have identified. If you give someone the whole draft of your book to read and get back to you, they might be overwhelmed. Small junks keep them from becoming burnt out.
Get them to look at big picture stuff first, more globally and then as you are nearer to the end, focus in on who can do more in depth and detailed copy editing and sentence structure refinement.
Professionals
If this book is truly your “baby,” I would suggest that after you have got the draft as great as you can get it with the help of your feedback friends, that you do two things. Get a manuscript evaluation of the story to give you an idea of any holes or problem areas you hadn’t seen before. After reintegrating all the new changes and getting feedback and making the draft as near complete as possible, I would hire a professional editor to help do the final edit. There are several different types of edits one can do. There is a content edit and a line edit. Content is an overall feel and the line edit is grammar, punctuation, more detailed help. Content editing comes before the final line, or copy, edits. Determine which ones you need and look for your editor accordingly. Some editors will do both.
There are several services out there where you can receive a free sample edit of your work before investing money in the editor. I high recommend doing this before you enlist an editor or else you can loose lots of money and not be satisfied with the final result. This can be done in the early stages of writing, Once you have a chapter that is polished off, you can submit it to different editing agencies and the editors interested will do a sample edit of your chapter for free as well as give you a quote for the whole project. This enables you to be able to find the right person who sees the vision and has the skills to refine your manuscript to your liking so you know who to choose when you're ready. A couple of these agencies arebook-editing.com and pronovelediting.com. Overspending time in reading the final draft and having others read as well before submitting for publishing will eliminate extra fees for having grammar mistakes and other errors once its already sent for print. Once you have your final edit returned and you revise it, you are ready to move forward toward publishing.
Endorsements
Plan ahead to find endorsements that will help with your target market and audience. Send them the best copy you have. I ended up sending people unfinished drafts of my work just so I could hear back from them in time but this is not ideal. You want to give them your best possible draft and give them at least a month to read and get back to you.
Decide whether you want to go with a traditional publisher or if you want to self-publish
I followed the Wayne Jacobsen’s advice in an article describing the process he went through in relation to the book The Shack. From this advice, I have decided to start my own publishing company and sell 2,000 copies on my own before connecting with a formal publisher. There are lots of reasons why I chose this but that’s for another time or you can read the article for more information.
Self-Publishing
Invest the little extra to buy your own ISBN number because then you will have all the rights to your book and any printers can not have exclusive rights that tie your book to their ISBN. Many places offer a free ISBN to you but the only problem is that it will tie your book to their company.
Submit your best and final draft. Spend the most time proofing the draft that you will be submitting for publishing. Have others help you. Eliminate all unnecessary errors. Pretend like what you turn in will be your actual book. If you spend your time getting that draft great, you will avoid unnecessary correction fees later on. Then when they return the formatted version to you, spent your time proofing and having others help you proof for any errors they have made. Once it looks like the best, approve it and off you go.
For book covers, I decided to go with a design company and hire them. The nice thing about that was that any last minute corrections or minor changes didn’t incur extra charges because they were very graceful although most publishing firms will charge you per change, even if it’s minor.
Time Lines
To avoid higher rush fees, realize it will take a good 8 weeks + most of the time to do the whole formatting process. Once you have your print ready files and cover prepared, print time plus shipping is usually only around 2 weeks but verify this through whatever company you choose to go through. I prefer companies that have a 24 hour email response time and a contact person I can call with any concerns.
Marketing and Pre-Sales
I focused on marketing before I had even finalized my book. I highly encourage you to network but to spend the majority of your time and energy on completing the manuscript and then begin building into marketing.
I sold over 300 books before my book was even printed and released through Pre-Sales. My strategy was to have people buy multiple copies because the way that most people read and buy books is by word of mouth. So if I have friends who know me and believe in my as my ambassadors to people I might not necessarily be able to reach, then my book is hitting a more diverse crowd. I sold through personal contact as well as through my website. The moment I determined the page number of my book, I could determine the retail price and thus I started presales then. I also printed 2,000 copies of a rough draft of Silver to Gold and passed them out for free in 2003 so many people had already been aware of this project and expectant. More on marketing in the future when I learn more myself!
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
This book helped me break out of my writer’s block and gave me activities to do to help me get the writing juices flowing again.
The Art and Craft of Storytelling by Nancy Lamb
This is a great basic overview for fiction writers who might be new to writing in this genre.
Hooked: Write fiction that grabs readers at page one and never lets them go by Les Edgerton
Besides really liking the cover design of this book, it’s a whole book written on the fact that if you don’t hook people in the very beginning of your story, they won’t make it to the end. There’s good question and answer section in the back to learn more of what literary agents, publishers, and others in the industry are looking for when they receive a manuscript on their desk.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
This is part instructional but mostly reflections on the writing process by the author herself.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
This is an excellent book when thinking though some ideas of how to market successfully.
I hope that my process in writing my first book will help support you to finish and publish your first book as well. I would love to hear from you if this has helped in any way. Good luck and keep writing!
UPDATE November 2011: I have had tons of people coming to me for advice in helping set up their books so if you would like to learn how to set up self-publishing for the cheapest way possible where you can also make 40%-80% royalties on every book sold, I can help you HERE.
