Living In The Lab

Well, I gave up the title of my book yesterday.

At 8:00 a.m. the Executive Director, Editor and the Marketing Director got me into a conference call in order to discuss the title, Better Off Than We Think (God’s Ridiculous Opinion Of You & How To Live From It). While I was immediately uncomfortable, the three of them were wonderful…I don’t know what I would have done if they had not been.

I have never felt as though someone was playing with my guts, but for a time during their call, I did. My book is not about some event or situation relatively unrelated to me – I didn’t write it because I thought it was a good topic with a good chance of getting published. My book is all about what I have personally found in my life with God. It’s about my struggles, it’s about my failures, and it’s about finding God and falling for Him, finding His grace and power as a result of all that. While it is very Biblical, it is also deeply personal.

I have often thought of myself as God’s laboratory, or perhaps His distillery where He heats and mixes together intolerable ingredients and produces something of delight for people. My life seems like a test tube or a boiling kettle – hope you like what comes out of it.

Anyway, that describes a good deal of the angle of my book. So when the publishing group begins talking of changing the title, I’ve gone through fire already to come up with it and they don’t like it?! Ouch. Burn me again.

Since they were “in my guts,” at one point I got on a roll, my passions for God and His people welling-up in a zealous sermonette. Realizing I was “into it” a bit too far, I apologized: “Oh, I’m sorry. I just get so wound up about this…I get a little crazy.” Immediately, the three of them silenced me, saying things like, “Oh, you don’t have to apologize – we love this! This is why your book is on our publishing list. We think everyone has to know this, too! No apology needed…”

And I realized, “They’re for me. They support me and want to give me away to as many as they can.” And quickly I felt what my daughter Emma said so profoundly not long ago: “I like people who like me.”

The rest of our conversation was invigorating and fun.

So, here’s what we’ve got - Better Off Than You Think (God’s Astounding Opinion Of You). They all agreed that the original title was just too long, and, while I wrestled for a time, in the end I agreed...I trust them. I’m so glad to be able to say that. Perhaps, as I believed early on, God really has brought us together.

God working on my behalf and for His glory…Hmm. Imagine that.

“Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” (Isaiah 64:4)