#310: Book Launch for Kingdom Writers

Welcome to Kingdom Writers, where we help equip and empower Christian writers of all genres to share your unique gifts with the world. We're your hosts, C.J. and Shelli Hitz.

This podcast is filled with spiritual encouragement as well as prayers to help you overcome the resistance you face as a writer. Your story matters.

Hey, Kingdom Writers. My name is Shelly Hitz.

And I'm CJ Hitz.

And we are your mentors and we are excited to share that. We have written a new book called Kingdom Writers. And this book is different in that it helps you incorporate your spiritual life with your writing life. There are not many books out there that do this, and so we are so excited for God to use this book to help you write words that will impact lives and words that will outlive you. You know, will you give God your. Yes. We are thrilled you're here. So, cj, why don't you say a prayer for each of these Kingdom writers today?

Father, we. We just lift up each person that endeavors to be a Kingdom writer. We just thank you for the calling that you put upon their hearts, the giftings that you've given them. Yes, those desires to honor you in that way. I just pray, Lord, that you would allow each Kingdom writer to be fruitful for you in this 2022. We thank you so much for the things that you're going to birth through each person. And we do pray, Lord, that that this book as well would be a. An encouragement and a challenge and a sharpening tool that you use in each person's life to allow them to thrive and flourish in their own writing and to accomplish more than they ever thought or imagined. We just thank you for empowering them and allowing them to go forth, Lord, in that calling. And we ask this in Jesus wonderful name. Amen.

Amen. And as C.J. often says, you are the priestly pens in the hands of the author of life. And we are so excited to see what God writes through you and how he uses you to impact lives all over the world as you take this courageous step of faith to write, publish and market your books. So thank you for being here. Thank you for your support and purchasing the book Kingdom Writers. We pray it is a huge blessing to you and brings breakthrough in your life. I wanted to share an excerpt with you from our book Kingdom Writers. And so I'm going to read to you the introduction that I wrote. The sun was shining down on my face As I gazed out to the ocean that never seemed to end. I felt the white sand from the Pensacola beach between my toes and my heart was full as I looked over at my sister. Spending a week of quality time with my family was just what the doctor ordered for me. That June 2016, near the end of my vacation, we walked into my sister's church for Sunday services. During the worship time, while we were singing, I sensed God speak to me. Now. It wasn't an audible voice. However, he said three powerful words very clearly to me in my spirit. Finish the book immediately. I knew which book you see. About a year prior, I wrote the first draft of my book, Broken Crayons Still Color. However, I was stuck and I never finished it. And honestly, I didn't want to finish it because it was a difficult book to write. In it, I share the stories of my life, including the brokenness and trauma I've experienced. In one chapter, I share about the sexual abuse I experienced, and in another chapter, the addiction to Internet pornography I struggled with for two years as a Christian married woman. This isn't a book about my victories. It's actually a book about my biggest failures. Many times, what we see as our biggest regrets, failures and mistakes become what God uses the most in our lives. God transforms our brokenness into something more beautiful than we can even imagine. He takes our mess and creates a masterpiece. So no matter what you have done or what has been done to you, there is hope, healing and freedom through Christ are available to you. You see Broken Crayons Still Color. However, shame often tries to stop us from telling our testimonies. I heard shame whisper to me, shh. You need to be quiet. Don't tell these stories. People will look at you differently. They will see you as a perverted and disgusting. If you publish this book, it will only lead to heartache and embarrassment. After that vacation, I returned home and I knew what I needed to do. No matter how difficult it was, I knew I needed to obey. I began writing the book again, not in my strength, but in his.

That's why I take pleasure in my weakness and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Second Corinthians 12:10. Five months later, I finally finished the book Broken Crayons Still Color. I published my greatest failures for all the world to read. People tell me that by simply reading the title of the book, God has brought healing to them. You know, I've received emails, more than I can count from readers who have been impacted by this book. I'm humbled and amazed. Even with all the brokenness and trauma in my past. God is using my story in incredible ways for his glory, and he wants to do the same with your writing. God wants to use your words to impact lives for eternity. Kingdom Writer, it's time to write words that will outlive you. Will you give God your Yes.

I hope you enjoyed that excerpt and the introduction. It gets me every time. It's five, no, almost six years later and I still get chills or want to tear up a little bit when I reread this story because it's as if I was there. It was like as if it was yesterday. And I've seen what God has done because I took that courageous step of faith. And so we have written this book to help you do the same. And that's what gets me so excited, is that God has more for you. He has more for your writing. And so I encourage you to get a copy of the book. You can get the book at trainingauthors.com or forward/ book and make sure to also check out the bonuses that you can purchase as well. We have 15 prayers for writers you can get and then after you purchase, you have the opportunity to also join our Kingdom Writer Renewal Workshop. This is going to be an incredible time of just seeing God working to win that war in our minds so that we can release the words that he has for us to the world to impact lives. Right? And so it's gonna be an amazing time. Lots of great content and teaching for you. But the first step is to get the book. So go on over to trainingauthors.com book and we will see you on the inside.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Kingdom Writers. We believe that you, as a Christian writer, have a specific role to play in the Kingdom of Heaven to impact lives for eternity.

And because of this, we choose to pour out our lives into encouraging writers like you to not only tell your stories, but to take the courageous step of self publishing your stories in books that will outlive you and leave behind a powerful legacy. This podcast is sponsored by Christian Book Academy, where we help you give birth to your books. We invite you to join our community of Kingdom writers.