Hey Friends!
Exciting news (at least for me, LOL)… I’ve just released my first children’s book (shoutout to Casey Dye, the illustrator, who I’ll talk more about in a minute)! But it isn’t just any children’s book; I want you to know a bit of the story behind it, as well as some future aspirations.
For starters, here’s the book, which you can buy on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. After you purchase it, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! There’s nothing I’d appreciate more than this.
A couple of years ago, on a random Sunday afternoon, I was struck with a bit of inspiration. In about 4 hours, with a bit of my wife’s help (per usual), I wrote the manuscript for The Seedling — 95% of which made it into the final version today. (I wish writing was always this easy!)
The book is about a seedling who doesn’t know what kind of plant he is because he isn’t bearing any fruit yet. On his quest to answer the question — What am I? — he explores things like his feelings and desires, but he ultimately finds that they’re unreliable sources of information. As long as he isn’t bearing fruit yet, to understand what he is, he has to understand (and trust) where he came from.
If you’re familiar with my writing at all — particularly No Longer I — then you should sense that this theme is inspired by the scriptures, which tell Christians what they are — i.e., saints, holy, righteous, loving, joyful, etc. — despite what they see and feel. And the only way to know this, particularly when we don’t see any spiritual fruit yet, is to trust God’s word that we’ve been born of God, that we are as he says we are!
This sense of one’s identity is absolutely crucial in the spiritual life.
How the Book Came Together
The night I wrote it, I shared it with a few friends, including one of our best, Casey Dye. She’d probably hate me sharing her picture (which I grabbed from LinkedIn), but she’d better get used to it if she keeps being this good at illustrating books. This is Casey ⬇️
Casey got a degree in Graphic Design and (I think) a minor in Illustration. She’s always been eager and faithful to use her skills to bless people in the church. She made my album cover design when I put some of my songs on Spotify. She’s helped me and others with multiple book covers and interior artwork. She made an awesome Spiderman canvas that hangs on my 6-year-old son’s wall, and a portrait of my daughter that hangs in her room, too. And this is just some of what she’s done for me and my family!
I could go on and on about how giving and talented she is. But all of that is simply to say, it’s no surprise that when I sent her the manuscript for The Seedling, she immediately asked if she could illustrate it.
Well, as I said, that was probably about two years ago. Time flies, she’s a busy woman, and illustrating a book ain’t easy. But she did it. And hear me when I tell you, it’s absolutely beautiful — more than I ever hoped for.
Casey and I have learned a lot through the challenging process of bringing this book to completion. But one big takeaway is that we make a good team, and we want to do more.
Our Plans for the Future
What excites me most about The Seedling is its potential to open the parents’ eyes to their identity in Christ and unleash the power of the gospel in their lives. That’s honestly what it’s all about. At the end of the book, we included a “Note from the Author,” in which I explain the story’s meaning and pique their interest in learning more through scripture and No Longer I.
But even without understanding the deeper meaning behind it, I believe it’s still a stand-alone awesome read for the parent and the child. On my end, as the author, I strive for a cadence and rhyme that is enjoyable to read for the parent and engaging for the child. On the illustration side of things, it’s just downright aesthetically pleasing.
So, if there’s someone you know (with children or grandchildren) who doesn’t understand their identity in Christ, this could be a super passive-aggressive (but hopefully effective) way to introduce them to it! 😂
All joking aside, our goal is to make more children’s books with the same aim — to introduce Christian parents to profound and important spiritual truths through objectively great books they can read to their small children. Is that an official mission statement? No, but we’re working on it.
Our next two books — one of which is already underway — will also focus on identity in Christ, and the three together will form our “Identity Series” (which’ll be the perfect gift for your next baby shower). After those three books are complete, we plan to start playing around with some other life-changing spiritual truths and see where the Lord takes us.
I’m very grateful today that God helped us to complete this work. And I’m especially thankful to Casey, who brought the words of this book to life through many, many hours of hard work.
And to my readers/supporters, thank you always for your prayers that God empowers my work and uses it to advance the kingdom. God bless you.
In Christ,
Jake
This is super exciting, I can't wait to get a copy!