Even though September 1 does not mark the beginning of the astronomical fall season, it does mark the beginning of the meteorological fall season.
I’ve always sided with the weather man’s definition of my favorite season.
It’s fall, y’all!
I get unexplainably giddy every year at this time. (Smile.)
Wondering if giddy was the right adjective to describe how this season makes me feel, I looked up the definition at Dictionary.com. And guess what I found out?
The word comes from the phrase “possessed by a divine being.”
It’s true!
I am possessed by a divine being—the Spirit of Christ Jesus.
I love it that God is continually reminding me that I belong to Him and He belongs to me.
That I am His and He is mine (Song 6:3).
Okay, now I’m getting even giddier.
Allow me to tell you why fall is my “savorite” season:
- Gorgeous colors of the leaves on most trees
- Pumpkin spice flavored goodies begin to appear and quickly disappear from grocery store shelves (You better grab your can of Libby’s Pumpkin Pie Mix while you can!).
- Pumpkin pie, pecan pie, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin cake, carrot cake (Did I tell you I have a sweet tooth?)
- Breathing in the scent of my “Leaves” Bath & Body candle
- Breathing in the fragrance of my “Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin” Bath & Body hand soap
- Decorating my house with fall colors
- Morning coffee is more enjoyable in cooler temps
- Going for walks any time of day in the brisk cooler temps
- Grilled cheese and tomato soup season (Whole30, move over!)
- Soup season
- Makes me want to revert to my childhood and watch Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day
- Makes me want to watch Dan In Real Life and every autumn-themed Hallmark movie ever made
- Thanksgiving
- September is my birthday month. I’ll turn 53 on the 29th. I’m so thankful to be forever alive in Christ on planet earth at this time in history!
Not only does September 1 mark the beginning of the meteorological season of fall, it also marks the beginning of a new phase in the publishing of my book, His Banner Over Me Is Pursuing Love!
Just this morning, I signed the final approval for it to go to print. Whew!
It’s been quite a journey.
I started writing this book back in 2008, did a pilot study in 2010, purchased a self-publishing package from WestBow Press, the Christian self-publishing division of Thomas Nelson/Zondervan in 2012, submitted my first manuscript in 2014, resubmitted it in 2016, and now, after several revisions, it’s about to be released.
If all goes as planned (we’ll see), it will be in online bookstores by September 24. (Since this post was first published in September 2017, I pulled my book from WestBow Press and republished it through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.)
My book is an intimate, interactive devotional study on the first two chapters of the Song of Songs.
It highlights God’s pursuing love for His bride, the church (Christian men, you’re the bride too), and the great lengths He goes to in order to reveal His personal passion for her—to her (it’s a spiritual role, not a physical gender).
I am overwhelmed with thankfulness for the 83 people on my Pursuing Love Launch Team.
These team members will be sharing the news about His Banner Over Me Is Pursuing Love with people they know through e-mail and social media, which is a huge blessing to me.
If you regularly search the Internet, you already know there are tons of people self-publishing new books everyday.
That said, it’s not an easy thing to get your work noticed in this noisy cyber-world.
To be completely honest with you, promoting my book is my least favorite part (my favorite part was the actual sensing of God writing its words through me) of this process.
When you publish a book, you put your work out there for the world to either ignore, criticize, or praise.
And let’s be honest, no one likes being ignored or criticized (I’m not talking about constructive criticism).
I also don’t want anyone to think that I’m saying, “Hey, look at me! I’m somebody special because I wrote a book.”
The thing is, I was somebody special before I ever wrote a single word of His Banner Over Me Is Pursuing Love.
If you think I’m being arrogant, think again.
I am somebody special because Father God knit me together in my mother’s womb, re-created me in Christ when I believed in (into) Him, and loves me with the same intensity in which He loves His Son, Jesus Christ (Ps. 139:13; John 17:23, Eph. 2:10; 2 Cor. 5:17, 21).
My identity is found in Christ alone, not in the Amazon Best Sellers list.
Whether His Banner Over Me Is Pursuing Love flops or flourishes, my one desire is that God would draw every one who is ready to receive His extravagant love in tangible ways to relish this study.
If you are excited for what God might do through my book, would you pray for me and my launch?
Also, if you would like to be “in” on my publishing loop, you can:
- Like my Facebook author Page, Kim K Francis, click on the “Following” button to adjust your notifications to “See First.”
- Follow me on Twitter.
- Subscribe to my blog and get a FREE PDF copy of “Who I Am in Christ IS Who I Am!”
Just so you know, I have already started writing the sequel, His Banner Over Me Is Sustaining Love.
The overriding theme of this study of Song of Songs, Chapters 3–5, is how God sustains us in the midst of heartbreaking, gut-wrenching circumstances.
God has been preparing me to write this second installment in the series through sustaining me during one of the most difficult nine-year seasons in my life.
I’m still on the tail-end of it.
Nine years is a long time.
Well, maybe not to God—Who sees the whole picture and holds our times in His hands (Ps. 31:14-16).
I’m choosing to trust and rest in His superintending guidance of the time I have left on planet earth.
Speaking of rest, and in closing, I would like to wish everyone in the U.S. a safe, restful, and happy Labor Day weekend!
Dear reader, don’t forget to share all of your favorite things about fall by commenting on this post!
If you enjoyed this post, then I think you would enjoy both of my books where I share the undiluted, unpolluted love and grace of God.
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