So, as it is my third day into my new occupation, I figured it's about time I wrote about it. That's write (hehe)...I have begun work on THE BOOK. (We were discussing last night, to our sudden dissatisfied realization, that the book has no title...I mean, we can't just call it THE ANCIENT MAN BOOK - THAT would be sure to draw readers! Unfortunately however, the whole project has been unofficially named just that: the Ancient Man Project, sometimes abbreviated AM - which I've always found confusing because that immediately makes me think we are working on a morning project... HEY we could call Pastor Don the AMPM...the ancient man project manager...okay, maybe not... Sooooo until further notice, I will continue to refer to the...project...as the ancient man book.)
ANYWAYS, as I said, it is my third day in and I am having a blast. I mean, it's not exactly the kind of summer day in the sun most people envision as a party (there's no warm sand squishing between my toes, no cool water to float around in, no beach balls or sunscreen or rock and roll or barbequed hot dogs or chips) but the joy of working on something I am passionate about keeps me high all day. (And I still get to relax with friends in the sun... when we all aren't working, and I've already been out to the rodeo...watching Annie's little ones, and up to the lake...where we all got eaten by monster hordes of mosquitoes, and my chillaxin music makes my working hours basically a party and a half.) Really, I suppose a lot of people would not find this type of summer exactly to their liking but it has so far been a huge blessing to me. I am praising God each day for bringing me out here, for surrounding me with so many great people and entrusting me with a project in which I can serve Him the best I can.
Back to the project, I have started off with Pastor Don's (PD) stuff, basically the first section of the book which explains the premise of our research and the biblical base that we are basing our study off of. I've had the enjoyable challenge of figuring out how to organize, rewrite, and edit ten pages of fascinating work. What is my job in this project exactly? Well, it's hard to explain. See, I'm not really a researcher (though I did have to do a little research before writing the preface as...neither I or PDknew what exactly one writes in a preface) and I'm not exactly a writer (as I'm really just taking other people's work and reorganizing or editing it) but I'm not really an editor (because I'm doing way too much additional writing and research)... Basically, I do whatever comes along. If the writing is already done by a member of the team, I just go through it so it flows with everything else; if the writing needs to be done, I write from scratch; if we need more research, I engage in some Googling. The team calls me "wordsmith" which is an shorter, easier title to explain I suppose but seems a bit exaggerated (it refers to an expert in the use of words or a person skilled in the use of words) but I suppose with God guiding me, I can embrace this job of wordsmithing, knowing He is the ultimate Wordsmith out there!
I'm finding it both exhausting and exhilarating and I've only just started! It is a little daunting...okay, let me be completely honest...a LOT daunting, rather terrifying actually, to think of all the stuff that's got to be done but I don't really let myself do that. I'm taking this one step at a time because that's all I can do. I've almost finished my first run through of PD's work and I think it's given me a really good understanding of what he wants this book to look like. I'm really excited to see the rest and get started working it all together. I really think God is going to use this book for His purposes and I am thrilled to be a part of it.
Please continue to pray for me and the whole team as the summer progresses and the book comes together. We really want this to reflect the truth of Scripture and to be a great resource (and wake-up call) for Christians. It is evident that God is doing most the work here and we are all just blessed to be tools in His hands.
Until next time, I remain yours,
Wordsmith, tool of the Master
No comments:
Post a Comment