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| Liz Holtzman |
Although
writers have common experiences, some are still unique. Most of us have
probably heard how blog articles have been turned into books. But, I’d never
heard of anything similar to the path Liz
Holtzman has taken to publication. This was truly a God-led journey, and
I’ve been eager to share it with you. ~ Dawn
From
Wall to Book
From wall to book, a journey of stepping out in faith. It
started because I began meeting with sixth grade prayer committees in a small
kitchen that was no longer being frequently used at our school. I began to put the information I was teaching
them about prayer on a white board. As
is so often true, one thing led to another and pretty soon the walls and
cupboards were covered in prayers.
I began inviting teachers and parents to feel welcome to
come and “pray the walls.” Many times,
individual ones would say to me, “You should publish a book.” At first, I would smile and nod, dismissing
the idea in my head, because after all I don’t know anything about publishing a
book. Slowly, it began to dawn on me
that the Lord might be trying to tell me something.
So, I stood back and looked at the walls to consider what
might be publishable. One wall contained
the scripture prayers for character traits I had written to coordinate with our
efforts to encourage the development of godly character in our students. I counted them up and there were 31, one for
each day of a month. Since I don’t
believe in coincidences, I took a deep breath and prayed “Ok Lord, I’ll do some
research on publishing a book.”
Thus, began a journey that every step of the way has
required me to step out of my comfort zone.
Each time I felt overwhelmed, God has faithfully provided a timely word
of encouragement from someone, a solution to a problem, or the courage to stand
firm and persevere.
Sure
enough, Proven Character: Praying for Our Children was born
and along the way some precious memories. For instance, watching my current
sixth grade prayer committee poring over the three book cover options,
discussing which one best suited the content of the book and what changes they
would make, if any.
I experienced a
special connection and time with cousins who provided me the professional
quality photo for the back cover.
Then, my first
proof arrived at the same time the first-grade students I assist were finishing
their books for the annual Young Authors and Artists Fair. We had quite a
discussion and enjoyed discovering that my book and theirs all had the same
parts: cover, title page, dedication, table of contents, introduction, content,
and author pages. Our books required hard work and perseverance, but oh,
the joy of sharing them at the end.
The journey has taken me out of my comfort
zone, but never out of God’s faithful provision each step of the way. From wall to book, from book to …? Now isn’t that an interesting
question? The adventure continues …
We all
want our children to become people of proven moral character who value and
display wisdom, compassion, and courage.
We want them to have the moral courage to do what is right and walk with
integrity.
Comprised
of scripture-inspired prayers for thirty-one character traits and a section of
commentary and tips on how to pray powerfully and effectively, Proven
Character: Praying for Our Children will give you a systematic way to pray for
your children and students.
Our
children are worthy of our prayers. Our
prayers exert a powerful influence upon the spiritual environment in which
children make their choices. As you pray
through these specific character traits – one for each day of the month – you
will use the truths of God’s word, invite the Holy Spirit’s influence, and
impact children’s lives for Christ.
Liz Holtzman is an
educator, intercessor, and author. Her passion is to see students become all
God intends, rooted and established in Christ. This desire guides her service
as leader of several weekly prayer groups, mentor of a sixth-grade prayer
committee, classroom assistant, and substitute teacher at a classical Christian
school. Liz and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest and have two adult
children.
Connect with Liz and learn more about her book by visiting:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liz.holtzman.12
Website: http://holtzhome.com/
