I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine; Cindy Sproles has a new book release and I've invited her to share a little about it with us. It's available on Amazon by clicking the link below.
Cindy, tell us about your new book and how it came about...
New Sheets is a
thirty-day devotional/inspirational book. In the beginning the title was longer
(if you can believe that). It was Thirty Years in Thirty Days to Refine You
into the Woman You Can Be. The reason…well, it took thirty years for God to
refine me into the woman I knew I could be. And by the way, I’m still being
refined.
When I went through a
divorce and moved back to my home, I came back with more than I left. I returned
to Tennessee with two boys under the age of three and a broken heart. It took
years to look through the rough times and find the good. But I came at it with
the mindset, “God has a plan. I’m gonna learn.”
New Sheets were the
flames of the fire I walked through. It was the defining and refining moments
when God taught me.
I hope New Sheets will be
one of those books women lay next to their bed and refer back to through their
lives. If one woman can step over my broken rung because of the book, then it’s
done its job.
Who says you can’t teach
old dogs new tricks? I’m still learning.
I’m excited about New
Sheets. It was a project I’d thought of years ago. Every time I picked up a pen
to write it, I found I wasn’t “seasoned enough.” By that I mean, aged enough.
(Oh boy, that sounds like a cheese). Let me try again…I hadn’t matured
enough…to write it with authority and hindsight.
I came up with the idea
for New Sheets in 1984. I’d gone through a divorce, moved back to Tennessee
with two babies under the age of three to start over. The moving van unloaded
the boy’s bedroom furniture, toys, my piano and my bed. There were seven boxes
filled with clothes, 3 plates, 3 cups, 3 glasses…you get the jest. We had only
what we could move in a 6 ft. section of a semi. I had no car, no money and no
job. But we (the boys and I) had one another and once we got to Tennessee, we
had my family.
I kept a journal for a
while just to help me through the rough spots of divorce then one night I
turned down the comforter to crawl into bed and realized, I was still sleeping
with the man who’d divorced me…or at least sleeping with his memories on the
same bed sheets I’d had while we were married. No wonder I cried every night
and worse, I couldn’t sleep.
It was time for something
new. A new start. I couldn’t afford a shopping spree. I could barely buy
groceries, but I literally saved quarters in a mason jar until I had enough
money to go to Wal-Mart and buy a set of sheets.
It’s scary at the ugly
sheets in the bottom of the sale bin at Wal-Mart. Brown and pink paisley…but
they were new. Crisp. Wrinkle-free. And when I put them on the bed it was like
a new page in my life. They were cheap sheets, muslin. Kinda scratchy but to
me, they were silk. So after that, every new turn in my life brought a new set
of sheets. I’d throw out the worn ones and turn the corner with a set of new
ones. To this day, I send new sheets to friends who’ve gone through major
devastating life changes.
Each set of new sheets
marked a time in my lift where God stoked the fire under me, hung me over the
flame and refined me like silver. By the time I hit my 50’s I could look over
the prior thirty years and say with confidence…”I’ve matured. Refined.
Learned.” Hence the book.
New Sheets is for anyone
willing to wade the flames of refinement. The fire is hot but finished product
is a gem.
Cindy Sproles is the co-founder and executive editor of Christian Devotions Ministries and www.christiandevotions.us. She is a popular speaker at women’s retreats and conferences and teaches at writers conferences across the nation. Cindy is the co-writer of the successful He Said, She Said devotions and is the co-host of the nationally syndicated BlogTalk Radio show, Christian Devotions Speak UP! She is a contributor to CBN.com and is the director of Writers ADVANCE! Boot Camp Writers Conference. Cindy is the author of two devotional/inspirational books, one with her co-writer Eddie Jones and the most recent, a solo book, New Sheets: Thirty Days to Refine You into the Woman You Can Be. You may visit Cindy at www.cindysproles.com or contact her for speaking engagements at cindyksproles@gmail.com.
Cindy Sproles is the co-founder and executive editor of Christian Devotions Ministries and www.christiandevotions.us. She is a popular speaker at women’s retreats and conferences and teaches at writers conferences across the nation. Cindy is the co-writer of the successful He Said, She Said devotions and is the co-host of the nationally syndicated BlogTalk Radio show, Christian Devotions Speak UP! She is a contributor to CBN.com and is the director of Writers ADVANCE! Boot Camp Writers Conference. Cindy is the author of two devotional/inspirational books, one with her co-writer Eddie Jones and the most recent, a solo book, New Sheets: Thirty Days to Refine You into the Woman You Can Be. You may visit Cindy at www.cindysproles.com or contact her for speaking engagements at cindyksproles@gmail.com.
Jeanne, thanked much for sharing your interview with Cindy and her new book. I was thinking just last night, I wonder what the book is about and what Ito aged you Cindy to write this book. Wow, I pray this will be a best seller and many lives touched by God through you. You are one special lady. Thanks for being such an encourager to so many.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you both!
Hugs,
Glenda
Thanks for stopping by, Glenda. I know Cindy will be encouraged by your comments.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Jeanne