I almost never rerun a blog. But today I ask you to click this link from 3 years ago just as the national insanity and fearmongering campaign took off.
http://commotioninthepews.com/?p=12319
Amidst the blitz of work this past year, audio books are at the top of the heap. But Rodger Ruge and I wrote the devotional REASONED RESILIENCY: A RATIONAL DEVOTIONAL FOR FIRST RESPONDERS along the way. This month I’m turning it into an audio book.
While I’ve been working on it, I’ve shared a few of the devotionals with people I know who need that specific day’s encouragement. It might sound egotistical, but Rodger and I really hit some deep truths in this book. Perhaps it’s from our combined 126 years of living, and over 30 years of Law Enforcement and Military experience. Perhaps it’s because God gave us good stuff to write.
No matter how you cut it, I look forward to sitting down to read another 30 devotionals in the next few minutes. I don’t look forward to editing 368 files when it’s all recorded. Oy, the work.
Just wanted to share with you that God works in mysterious ways. Me and Rodger to be precise.
I’m in the studio working on our devotional REASONED RESILIENCY: A RATIONAL DEVOTIONAL FOR FIRST RESPONDERS and it dawned on me that some of you would like a free audio book.
Actually, I have several to share, and all I ask is that you 1. Immediately download it when you get the code 2. Do a fair and honest review on Audible 3. Share it on your social media that you liked it. Or that it was the worst thing ever. (I am confident in the former.)
If you would like to review a couple of audio books for me, I have a handful that are new with no reviews, and a couple of older ones that are selling well but not a lot of review activity has taken place
Reviews are priceless, as they change the algorithm for Audible/Amazon and boost the work in the search engines.
How can I give away all these books? Simple: every book I narrate has at least 25 free downloads so that I can publicize it. I WANT to give these out to get reviews. You get them free, they cost me nothing except time, and everyone wins.
So, here are the books you might get (The devotional isn’t ready yet, RAIN will be out next week, and the others you can have today.)
Put in a comment and they will all be sent to you shortly. I very much appreciate the help!
Joe
I will never give that answer when asked what I’m up to lately.
I just finished a new audio book, RAIN by Dana McNeely. It should be coming out for sale on March 8th. It’s pretty danged good. The story is excellent, and my babbling is up there in quality. Links to the recording when Audible posts them.
Our devotional, REASONED RESILIENCY: A RATIONAL DEVOTIONAL FOR FIRST RESPONDERS is getting praise all over the place.
Here’s one video review by Brock Bevell, that Rodger and I really liked:
So, here’s the good news: Rodger and I are producing an audio book version of the devotional. I have about 2/3 of it recorded, and we hope to have it available in early April, if not sooner. And, yes, I am finding mistakes that I missed before when I read it out loud. Such is life.
Now, out to the tree farm to water the plantains and mangoes!
This past Saturday I walked the Ave Maria 1/2 Marathon. I finished with a time of 4:45:09, a blistering 2 seconds faster than my time last October in the Sebring 1/2 Marathon. (Although, I did finish first in my division for age in Sebring. Nobody else 60-64 Male was entered….)
Big deal, right? Yeah, it is. It was freaking hot by the end of the race, about 88 degrees. I don’t know about most of you, but that’s at the upper limit of what I can handle. During my daily walks, I cut the temperature off around 80-82. Anything more makes me sick.
And…. well, today I look like I drank an entire bottle of tequila and have end-stage alcoholic bloat. I am not a pretty vision as a result of becoming completely dehydrated and then filling the tank back up. It goes well with the blister on my right foot – about four inches wide and two inches across. The entire ball of the foot to be precise.
However, and this is important to me, it was way hotter than expected, and until I hit the 1/2 way point, I was burning along at a 20 minute/mile pace. For an old guy who walks, that’s fast. The speed fell off as the temperature passed 80 and by race end it was a chore to schlump along to the finish.
But I did. I set the goal of doing the race and did it. I even trimmed a little time off of last fall’s race in much warmer conditions. I practiced what I preach in Navigating Adversity. (I missed my time goal by less than 16 minutes, so pretty happy still!)
The best part of the race? Justin Morris, a young friend (who is a fire fighter) from church was running his first marathon and told me his goal was 5 hours. I told him I’d wait for him at the finish line and cheer him on as my goal was 4:30. He lapped me three times during the race. He finished an hour ahead of me, and took 3rd place in the standings! Now that’s one heck of a first marathon.
I got to the finish line and he and his cousin, a young lady from my church named Codie, were there cheering loudly as I crossed the timing strip.
I’ve finished countless 1/2 marathons – I mean, I literally lost track at around 20 of the things. And of all those 1/2 marathon finishes, I don’t remember a sweeter experience than seeing those two there at the finish line. It was a complete, and wonderful, surprise.
And here we are at the finish. I love doing this, I love my wife, my church, my work, and these two friends. Life is good.
