Helping me kick off a new week is Christian author Keon Lindsey. He’s here to chat about his debut devotional book, Seeking the Lord, A 30 Day Start to Your Journey.
Bio:
Keon Lindsey is a new author. He grew up in Virginia and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. He’s had a wide range of experiences during his Navy career from flying to ship operations. He has visited 6 countries and every state except Alaska. Currently, he is a business finance consultant and holds Project Management Professional designation.
Keon enjoys discussing spiritual things and has taught both adult and youth Bible studies. His writing career launched with a book based on how the Bible relates to readers today. He lives with his family in Virginia.
Welcome, Keon. Please tell us about your current release.
Seeking the Lord, A 30 Day Start to Your Journey is designed to help people in their search for understanding and relationship with the Almighty. It examines true stories of how 22 people in the Bible searched for and found God. Both famous and little-known people, who dealt with a wide variety of life circumstances, demonstrate that readers can know God and have a life worth remembering!
For example, Ruth was widowed at an early age. In spite of her own need, Ruth left the security of her homeland for an uncertain future to care for her mother-in-law. She needed God’s help to make it through a challenging time, just like many people who are facing problems related to the Covid pandemic today. It is fascinating to see what God did in her life.
Such timeless examples provide a guide for the reader’s journey of seeking today. The book is arranged in 30 chapters for daily reading to give a one-month jumpstart to the seeking quest. By the end, this book will show that readers can have a life filled with satisfaction even in our stressed and hectic times.
What inspired you to write this book?
One Sunday in 2013, I heard two messages by different pastors (one live and one on the car radio) but both had the same topic. They spoke on “Seek the Lord”. I had heard that phrase before, but began to wonder what did it really mean? That day launched a two-year quest to learn from the Bible what it meant to seek the Lord. I saw not only word meanings but examples of people who had successfully done it. The insights were too good to keep to myself and the idea for the book was born.
Excerpt:
Joseph the son of Jacob had an interesting life. He was chosen by God to save many people and do great things but had to take the road of hard knocks to get there. Many of those “knocks” could have pushed him (or even us today) off the path of seeking God, so what was it that kept him on the path? To find out, let’s start with a quote about his suffering after it was over.
Speaking to those who had harmed him, Joseph said, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20) Joseph believed God was working good behind the scenes even when all he could see was evil. This is an incredible truth, explained in Romans 8:28. Faith in God’s sovereignty over life’s circumstances carried Joseph through years of misery, and it can carry you, too!
What was Joseph’s background? He came from a dysfunctional polygamist family, one filled with favoritism and jealousy. (You may think, That’s in the Bible? Yes, God put it there so the horrible consequences they suffered could teach us not to be polygamists, show favoritism, or promote jealousy.)
What exciting story are you working on next?
My next book looks at messages God has for humanity. It asks the question, have you heard from God lately? In our busy society and stressed lives, it is hard to see the big picture of what’s important. When that happens, we miss out on the better life everyone wants. Hearing from the Almighty is the first step toward that really meaningful life.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Right after college I started a regular newsletter to friends and family. However, I didn’t try writing a book until 2003. My first attempt was for a science fiction story that didn’t get very far. The draft of my first book, Seeking the Lord, was finished in 2017, so that’s when I would really consider myself becoming a writer.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I write part time. For spiritual books, I work on them a little each day in my morning quite time. It’s great to study and write during the first part of the day before things busy. My full-time job is as a business loan consultant.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I like writing by hand and then reading to my computer so it can type the words for me.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be an astronaut. Flying and anything space related was fascinating as a kid. Those topics are still very interesting for me, so one day I may get around to writing a science fiction story. I did learn to fly and became a pilot.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I did giveaways this fall to celebrate my book launch. You and have more giveaways coming. You can learn about them here: https://KeonLindsey.com/Giveaway
Thanks for being here today, Keon.