FTWTS: The Journey" Book Publishing
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"Finding the Wings to Soar: The Journey"
Is the title of my newest book. While a large portion of the book has already been written, I am embarking upon the publishing of this project and would really appreciate your help!
This project has been birthed out of a place of purposeful pain and yet I'm learning to use it as fuel rather than failure. That is what this project is all about and if by my experiences I can help others to do the same, it would've been worth the journey.
(*Permission to mention the publisher and our affiliation have been authorized to me by a representative of TBN/Trilogy)
I am signed with *Trilogy Publishing (A Subsidiary of TBN/Trinity Broadcasting Network) one of the largest Christian Networks in the world! The terms of the contract exceeded that of any of the other offers I’d received. I’m at peace that the message of this project will be presented in a way that reflects the true heart and purpose for which the book is written and will reach a much broader audience as it will be advertised everywhere that TBN and Hillsong is seen and heard!
The cost for the Premium package is $11,000 and includes full book/ebook publishing, all social media AND tv commercial promotions among other things. A down payment has been made upon the contract signing with the remainder to be paid.
So that you will have a better understanding of what this project is about, I have included the Introduction to the book as a way of providing you a glimpse into what is to come. I ask that if you are blessed by it or you know of anyone else who may be, that you would PLEASE Share, Post and Direct others to this page also to contribute and encourage others to do the same.
Your support is very much appreciated and will allow me to fulfill (what I believe to be) a mandate to serve others with the gifts I've been given. This is one way I will have done that. Thank you in advance! (The contents of the Introduction is copy written and neither it nor any updates (either in part or in segments) found in this campaign can or should be used to copy, share or distribute apart from this campaign. When sharing, always use the actual link (only) to direct others to this page. Thank you for respecting this request! )
"Finding the Wings to Soar: The Journey" Introduction
“Child, you have wings,
Fly, fly for me
You are free.”
(Excerpt from: Until She Flies - Heike McDoniel)
From the time I was a child, I’ve had dreams of flying. The sheer exuberance of the wind gently gracing the silhouette of my face as I soared high above the ground, until the cares of this world beneath me were unrecognizable. The scent of (what I didn’t know then, but can only be described now as) unlimited possibilities would be so pronounced at times, that I’d wake up and the faint aroma of them would still linger in the air.
As I became an adult, the dreams were not as frequent, but would often come at times I felt trapped, helpless or bound. Most dream analysts agree that these sorts of dreams represent a sense of liberation, accomplishment, rising above a situation or freedom. The euphoria I’d feel would be so liberating that waking up to the reality of what I was going through, would often leave me with a sense that there had to be more to my life than what my current situation had to offer and somewhere within me, was what I needed to rise above it all.
In all of my dreaming, rarely do I ever recall any flapping of wings or seeing any wings at all. I’d simply be flying. Sometimes, just above ground, and other times a little higher than the trees. But then there would be the times where that euphoric experience would take place and I’d be higher than the clouds and experiencing total peace. It was the place when I’d wake up and the gentle touch of rainbows would still be on my face and the smell of dew drops on the wings of Mourning doves remained in the air. These usually would occur at times I’d be challenged to move into places I’d never gone before, to do things I’d never done and to move into new levels of grace I’d never experienced.
It took me a while, but I finally realized that although I had hope and knew that the Lord was with me, this fact didn’t exonerate me from experiencing trouble. However, I learned that the trouble was only the agent God was using to force me into utilizing the wings he’d given me and to rise above it to grow in new graces and to take me into new dimensions. Through them, I’d display God’s glory in my life, such as now. It is a time where I’ve gone through and still experience certain challenges unlike any I’ve experienced before or for quite some time. Every place trouble could show up, it has. But I’m discovering that for every situation I face, I’ve got some wings for them. Nothing on this earth last forever and for everything under the sun, there is a time and a season. To master this thing called Life, we’ve got to know what season we are in, the purpose for it, and at the right time, use the right set of wings to overcome it.
This book is about discovering ours. As we embark upon this journey of discovery and all of the challenges of life with its tests, trials and the myriad of ups and downs they bring, our ultimate goal is to use our wings to soar above them. This is a product of just that and has actually been writing itself over the years through experiences I’ve had in the form of some being writings originated as blogs, others songs, and most recently, prayers. Seeking God’s word and the direction for my life was as much needed for me than oxygen to survive. I struggled with sharing some of them because of the transparency in which they were written. I never intended to write them for the purpose of sharing, but was led to do so and gathered them to put into a book for others who may be experiencing the same things I did. It was no longer debatable as soon after I began to write and format the book, I kept finding myself ministering to other hurting women right after I’d complete a subject that they were also experiencing. Then it was no longer “should” I do it, but I had to do it.
I’ve placed these wing analogies into four categories based on the characteristic they most resemble and they are: The Bumble Bee, The Butterfly, The Mourning Dove and lastly, The Eagle. In preparing to write and researching each of these, I was amazed at how the correlation of my own experiences, women of the bible and the particular subject all came together. It became clear to me that God has always used the things of nature to speak to His children. And when I was able to identify certain attributes that made each of these unique, I was then able to identify them in my own life. I also found for every weakness they possessed, they also had a strength that allowed them to overcome, in spite of it. So it is for you, and so it is for me. But it took me finding out the hard way.
To fly or not to fly
I was being transported into the emergency room after experiencing what I thought was a heart attack. Lying on that gurney, flat on my back and feeling completely helpless, I could hear the sounds of busyness (monitors beeping, nurses, attendees, patients moaning and announcements being made over the intercom) of those attending to my care and to the others around me. I don’t know what I must’ve looked like to them as I’m sure they see it all the time in emergency, but I’d catch glimpses of genuine concern, and for me, there was a weariness so heavy, that it was unlike any I’d experienced before. I was exhausted and mentally drained and remember that at one point, I only wanted to go to sleep, and sleep for a long time as a means to escape the turmoil going on in my life and inside of me. And If I never woke up again, at least I’d be free.
I’d been hyperventilating prior to entering the hospital and my heart was beating so fast and hard that I could literally see it pumping through my hand as it lay upon my chest. Somewhere between entering the building and laying there, the inability to catch my breath had turned into an uncontrollable weeping. I could feel the warmth of my tears streaming down the sides of my face, past my earlobes and finally resting upon the sheet on which I lay. In all of the pain I was experiencing, the oddity of it all was, as they were rolling me through the hallway, the brightness of the lights captured my tears, returning them back to me as beautiful prisms of light resembling a rainbow. It almost seemed oxymoronic that right in the midst of one of my lowest moments, something so beautiful would find its way there.
It didn’t take long as between the waiting room and being transported to where I’d be treated for the next seven hours; I heard the still, soft voice of my Heavenly Daddy say, “You’ve been carrying things you were never meant to carry. Now, LET THEM GO!” A peace suddenly came over me occupying the former space where fear and anxiety had been only seconds before. Immediately, I experienced the first of many moments that would follow that night, the comforting sound of ministering Angels while the voices of those around me became less and less pronounced like the muffled sound of being submerged in water. The water was my tears, and they’d finally made their way up from a deepened reservoir of months and years of suppressed pain. Pain I’d tried to ignore, hide and compensate for by taking care of everyone and everything else while neglecting and losing myself in the process. Somehow, the thought that I’d been walking in a form of pride by trying to control things up to that point, had never really crossed my mind. But over the next 24 hours, many revelations about questions and uncertainties I’d been having began to unfold. I knew then that I was going to be ok, but also that I wouldn’t be leaving the hospital that day.
It was fine with me as I relished in the fact that Daddy was using this opportunity to speak with His baby girl even in the midst of a room full of people who I knew loved me, but really couldn’t help me. Even though their presence meant so much to me, it was His voice I needed to hear and I welcomed it. Only a couple of weeks before He’d given me instructions to gather my writings for a book I was to write. I didn’t have a title right away, but day by day he’d give me a little more detail about what He wanted me to do. Although I welcomed the project as it seemed easy enough (I’ve got volumes of things I’ve written over the years so this should be a piece of cake), I did have concerns that this might be like all of the other books I’d started but never finished. Then to top it all off, one thing after another began to arise in each area of my life: I’d already been battling health issues like I’d never experienced before over the past year, expectations on my job had been raised and I was finding it hard to meet them, family concerns with my children, marital woes and financial stress all became a balancing act that I found myself failing miserably.
About a week before, I’d experienced a hurt so bad that I found myself crouched in a fetal position on the floor of my closet, crying out to God to make the pain go away. I was home alone which had been rare these days and felt like I could’ve just remained there all day. But somehow gathered up enough strength to finish the laundry I’d been doing that morning, preparing dinner for the family before they got home, get ready for work and put on my very best “I’m too blessed to be stressed” smile like everything was ok. So that mini breakdown I was having, lasted all but a couple of hours and I was on to the next performance. So by now, as I lay on that gurney, the reality of carrying things I was not meant to carry was glaring! I didn’t care what I looked like to anyone, I didn’t care how I sound, I didn’t care what anyone else thought and I surely didn’t care if anyone knew about the things I’d been caring about. So I made the conscience decision I wasn’t going to hold on to it any longer. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t and I realized that what I needed, I couldn’t get by doing the same things I’d been doing and expecting the results to change.
So I waited, waited for somebody in that emergency room to ask me “Why?” why I was there, but no one ever did. I was asked “What happened?, What were you doing before it happened? How did it happen? When did it happen? Has it happened before? What did you feel? How do you feel now?” But the one question I really needed to answer for myself was, “Why”?
I’d lost myself and I needed to find her again. I realized that no matter how hard you try to meet the expectations of others, if the expectation doesn’t align with God’s plan for your life and you don’t know or have lost sight of what that plan is, life will puppeteer you right into the looney bin (or for me the ER) if you let it. For far too long, I’d been seeking God for a word, would finally get one from Him, see or hear the word confirmed but then turn right around seeking validation from others. And if it challenged them in any way or they felt threatened by it, their rejection would often leave me doubting whether I’d really heard from Him at all. (Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?” Genesis 3:1) this kind of double-mindedness ALWAYS leads to confusion and instability. If not checked early, the pattern can lead to a kind of spiritual schizophrenia in which you cannot fully operate in the Gifts and Callings of God as you should.
I also realized that spending years of blaming others for what I had allowed would never change my situation. You can never change what you are not willing to take responsibility for, so waiting for someone else’s permission for me to be all God has planned for me, would only stunt my growth. I needed to take responsibility for my own life, determine that I WILL experience Life and it more abundantly and make the necessary changes for it to happen. I needed to find my Wings!
Since beginning this project, I’ve been amazed by how the universe aligns itself with purpose when we obey God. In sheer faith alone, I began to diligently write and He’s provided the people, time and what I know are the resources I’ve needed to get it off the ground. My prayer for you as you read through the pages of it, is that you read it through the eyes of Our loving Father, that you see the beauty in the flaws, not only in mine and the women of the bible that are included, but also and more importantly in you. And that you will use it to equip yourself to experience a journey that takes you higher than you’ve ever been before in spite of where you are in the process, and discover that “Baby, you’ve got Wings, now find them to SOAR!”
Sondra L.Lewis
Is the title of my newest book. While a large portion of the book has already been written, I am embarking upon the publishing of this project and would really appreciate your help!
This project has been birthed out of a place of purposeful pain and yet I'm learning to use it as fuel rather than failure. That is what this project is all about and if by my experiences I can help others to do the same, it would've been worth the journey.
(*Permission to mention the publisher and our affiliation have been authorized to me by a representative of TBN/Trilogy)
I am signed with *Trilogy Publishing (A Subsidiary of TBN/Trinity Broadcasting Network) one of the largest Christian Networks in the world! The terms of the contract exceeded that of any of the other offers I’d received. I’m at peace that the message of this project will be presented in a way that reflects the true heart and purpose for which the book is written and will reach a much broader audience as it will be advertised everywhere that TBN and Hillsong is seen and heard!
The cost for the Premium package is $11,000 and includes full book/ebook publishing, all social media AND tv commercial promotions among other things. A down payment has been made upon the contract signing with the remainder to be paid.
So that you will have a better understanding of what this project is about, I have included the Introduction to the book as a way of providing you a glimpse into what is to come. I ask that if you are blessed by it or you know of anyone else who may be, that you would PLEASE Share, Post and Direct others to this page also to contribute and encourage others to do the same.
Your support is very much appreciated and will allow me to fulfill (what I believe to be) a mandate to serve others with the gifts I've been given. This is one way I will have done that. Thank you in advance! (The contents of the Introduction is copy written and neither it nor any updates (either in part or in segments) found in this campaign can or should be used to copy, share or distribute apart from this campaign. When sharing, always use the actual link (only) to direct others to this page. Thank you for respecting this request! )
"Finding the Wings to Soar: The Journey" Introduction
“Child, you have wings,
Fly, fly for me
You are free.”
(Excerpt from: Until She Flies - Heike McDoniel)
From the time I was a child, I’ve had dreams of flying. The sheer exuberance of the wind gently gracing the silhouette of my face as I soared high above the ground, until the cares of this world beneath me were unrecognizable. The scent of (what I didn’t know then, but can only be described now as) unlimited possibilities would be so pronounced at times, that I’d wake up and the faint aroma of them would still linger in the air.
As I became an adult, the dreams were not as frequent, but would often come at times I felt trapped, helpless or bound. Most dream analysts agree that these sorts of dreams represent a sense of liberation, accomplishment, rising above a situation or freedom. The euphoria I’d feel would be so liberating that waking up to the reality of what I was going through, would often leave me with a sense that there had to be more to my life than what my current situation had to offer and somewhere within me, was what I needed to rise above it all.
In all of my dreaming, rarely do I ever recall any flapping of wings or seeing any wings at all. I’d simply be flying. Sometimes, just above ground, and other times a little higher than the trees. But then there would be the times where that euphoric experience would take place and I’d be higher than the clouds and experiencing total peace. It was the place when I’d wake up and the gentle touch of rainbows would still be on my face and the smell of dew drops on the wings of Mourning doves remained in the air. These usually would occur at times I’d be challenged to move into places I’d never gone before, to do things I’d never done and to move into new levels of grace I’d never experienced.
It took me a while, but I finally realized that although I had hope and knew that the Lord was with me, this fact didn’t exonerate me from experiencing trouble. However, I learned that the trouble was only the agent God was using to force me into utilizing the wings he’d given me and to rise above it to grow in new graces and to take me into new dimensions. Through them, I’d display God’s glory in my life, such as now. It is a time where I’ve gone through and still experience certain challenges unlike any I’ve experienced before or for quite some time. Every place trouble could show up, it has. But I’m discovering that for every situation I face, I’ve got some wings for them. Nothing on this earth last forever and for everything under the sun, there is a time and a season. To master this thing called Life, we’ve got to know what season we are in, the purpose for it, and at the right time, use the right set of wings to overcome it.
This book is about discovering ours. As we embark upon this journey of discovery and all of the challenges of life with its tests, trials and the myriad of ups and downs they bring, our ultimate goal is to use our wings to soar above them. This is a product of just that and has actually been writing itself over the years through experiences I’ve had in the form of some being writings originated as blogs, others songs, and most recently, prayers. Seeking God’s word and the direction for my life was as much needed for me than oxygen to survive. I struggled with sharing some of them because of the transparency in which they were written. I never intended to write them for the purpose of sharing, but was led to do so and gathered them to put into a book for others who may be experiencing the same things I did. It was no longer debatable as soon after I began to write and format the book, I kept finding myself ministering to other hurting women right after I’d complete a subject that they were also experiencing. Then it was no longer “should” I do it, but I had to do it.
I’ve placed these wing analogies into four categories based on the characteristic they most resemble and they are: The Bumble Bee, The Butterfly, The Mourning Dove and lastly, The Eagle. In preparing to write and researching each of these, I was amazed at how the correlation of my own experiences, women of the bible and the particular subject all came together. It became clear to me that God has always used the things of nature to speak to His children. And when I was able to identify certain attributes that made each of these unique, I was then able to identify them in my own life. I also found for every weakness they possessed, they also had a strength that allowed them to overcome, in spite of it. So it is for you, and so it is for me. But it took me finding out the hard way.
To fly or not to fly
I was being transported into the emergency room after experiencing what I thought was a heart attack. Lying on that gurney, flat on my back and feeling completely helpless, I could hear the sounds of busyness (monitors beeping, nurses, attendees, patients moaning and announcements being made over the intercom) of those attending to my care and to the others around me. I don’t know what I must’ve looked like to them as I’m sure they see it all the time in emergency, but I’d catch glimpses of genuine concern, and for me, there was a weariness so heavy, that it was unlike any I’d experienced before. I was exhausted and mentally drained and remember that at one point, I only wanted to go to sleep, and sleep for a long time as a means to escape the turmoil going on in my life and inside of me. And If I never woke up again, at least I’d be free.
I’d been hyperventilating prior to entering the hospital and my heart was beating so fast and hard that I could literally see it pumping through my hand as it lay upon my chest. Somewhere between entering the building and laying there, the inability to catch my breath had turned into an uncontrollable weeping. I could feel the warmth of my tears streaming down the sides of my face, past my earlobes and finally resting upon the sheet on which I lay. In all of the pain I was experiencing, the oddity of it all was, as they were rolling me through the hallway, the brightness of the lights captured my tears, returning them back to me as beautiful prisms of light resembling a rainbow. It almost seemed oxymoronic that right in the midst of one of my lowest moments, something so beautiful would find its way there.
It didn’t take long as between the waiting room and being transported to where I’d be treated for the next seven hours; I heard the still, soft voice of my Heavenly Daddy say, “You’ve been carrying things you were never meant to carry. Now, LET THEM GO!” A peace suddenly came over me occupying the former space where fear and anxiety had been only seconds before. Immediately, I experienced the first of many moments that would follow that night, the comforting sound of ministering Angels while the voices of those around me became less and less pronounced like the muffled sound of being submerged in water. The water was my tears, and they’d finally made their way up from a deepened reservoir of months and years of suppressed pain. Pain I’d tried to ignore, hide and compensate for by taking care of everyone and everything else while neglecting and losing myself in the process. Somehow, the thought that I’d been walking in a form of pride by trying to control things up to that point, had never really crossed my mind. But over the next 24 hours, many revelations about questions and uncertainties I’d been having began to unfold. I knew then that I was going to be ok, but also that I wouldn’t be leaving the hospital that day.
It was fine with me as I relished in the fact that Daddy was using this opportunity to speak with His baby girl even in the midst of a room full of people who I knew loved me, but really couldn’t help me. Even though their presence meant so much to me, it was His voice I needed to hear and I welcomed it. Only a couple of weeks before He’d given me instructions to gather my writings for a book I was to write. I didn’t have a title right away, but day by day he’d give me a little more detail about what He wanted me to do. Although I welcomed the project as it seemed easy enough (I’ve got volumes of things I’ve written over the years so this should be a piece of cake), I did have concerns that this might be like all of the other books I’d started but never finished. Then to top it all off, one thing after another began to arise in each area of my life: I’d already been battling health issues like I’d never experienced before over the past year, expectations on my job had been raised and I was finding it hard to meet them, family concerns with my children, marital woes and financial stress all became a balancing act that I found myself failing miserably.
About a week before, I’d experienced a hurt so bad that I found myself crouched in a fetal position on the floor of my closet, crying out to God to make the pain go away. I was home alone which had been rare these days and felt like I could’ve just remained there all day. But somehow gathered up enough strength to finish the laundry I’d been doing that morning, preparing dinner for the family before they got home, get ready for work and put on my very best “I’m too blessed to be stressed” smile like everything was ok. So that mini breakdown I was having, lasted all but a couple of hours and I was on to the next performance. So by now, as I lay on that gurney, the reality of carrying things I was not meant to carry was glaring! I didn’t care what I looked like to anyone, I didn’t care how I sound, I didn’t care what anyone else thought and I surely didn’t care if anyone knew about the things I’d been caring about. So I made the conscience decision I wasn’t going to hold on to it any longer. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t and I realized that what I needed, I couldn’t get by doing the same things I’d been doing and expecting the results to change.
So I waited, waited for somebody in that emergency room to ask me “Why?” why I was there, but no one ever did. I was asked “What happened?, What were you doing before it happened? How did it happen? When did it happen? Has it happened before? What did you feel? How do you feel now?” But the one question I really needed to answer for myself was, “Why”?
I’d lost myself and I needed to find her again. I realized that no matter how hard you try to meet the expectations of others, if the expectation doesn’t align with God’s plan for your life and you don’t know or have lost sight of what that plan is, life will puppeteer you right into the looney bin (or for me the ER) if you let it. For far too long, I’d been seeking God for a word, would finally get one from Him, see or hear the word confirmed but then turn right around seeking validation from others. And if it challenged them in any way or they felt threatened by it, their rejection would often leave me doubting whether I’d really heard from Him at all. (Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?” Genesis 3:1) this kind of double-mindedness ALWAYS leads to confusion and instability. If not checked early, the pattern can lead to a kind of spiritual schizophrenia in which you cannot fully operate in the Gifts and Callings of God as you should.
I also realized that spending years of blaming others for what I had allowed would never change my situation. You can never change what you are not willing to take responsibility for, so waiting for someone else’s permission for me to be all God has planned for me, would only stunt my growth. I needed to take responsibility for my own life, determine that I WILL experience Life and it more abundantly and make the necessary changes for it to happen. I needed to find my Wings!
Since beginning this project, I’ve been amazed by how the universe aligns itself with purpose when we obey God. In sheer faith alone, I began to diligently write and He’s provided the people, time and what I know are the resources I’ve needed to get it off the ground. My prayer for you as you read through the pages of it, is that you read it through the eyes of Our loving Father, that you see the beauty in the flaws, not only in mine and the women of the bible that are included, but also and more importantly in you. And that you will use it to equip yourself to experience a journey that takes you higher than you’ve ever been before in spite of where you are in the process, and discover that “Baby, you’ve got Wings, now find them to SOAR!”
Sondra L.Lewis
Organizer
Sondra L. Lewis
Organizer
Kalamazoo, MI
