Making Grace a Reality

Dawn proudly holding the completed manuscript

Well folks, the book is complete.
Proofreading has been done, submissions made, and a publisher is on board! One Way to Grace is quickly becoming a reality, only one more big step to take.

Because I am a new writer, and David is an everyday man with an incredible but unknown story, we need to raise a small amount of money to invest in the publishing efforts. The publisher we are working with is ready to print, promote, market, and distribute the book as soon as David and I are able to make a $2500 investment. Neither David nor I are rich people, but we are sure that God will help us find a way to reach this funding goal.
Throughout my time as a writer, I've heard stories of expensive self-publishing ventures that ended in disappointment. Let me assure you, this is not self-publishing. The investment is much more similar to the cost of hiring an agent, editor, and publicist. Instead of paying for those services out of the percentage of the book's profits we receive (which David can use to more effectively minister and deliver his testimony to the world) we are taking care of it right up-front.
We are reaching out to you, Dear Reader, for any kind of support you can offer. One Way to Grace will touch so many lives, show so many people how faith and trust in God can transform a man. Not to mention the opportunity to put passages from Scripture and an inspiring testimony into the hands, minds, hearts, and souls of those who need God's love and light in their lives. Even as someone who has not accepted Christ or walked the born-again path that David has, I can attest to the beauty this work has brought into my life, the purpose and relationship with God I have felt since first studying Scripture with David over a year ago.

The needed funding goal is a total of $2500. As we make progress toward that goal, I will update readers here and anyone who chooses to contribute will get regular email updates. Plans are currently being made for a way to easily make contributions through an online platform. Until that option goes live, each contribution will need to be handled personally by either me or David. For information on how to contribute to the One Way to Grace publishing efforts, please email onewaytograce@gmail.com .

Combining Traditional Testimony with Memoir

A traditional Christian testimony is a personal story of how someone found Christ and surrendered to faith.
Memoir is a literary account of a person's life told through anecdotes and memory.

Combining these two mediums is a delicate process. The core of One Way to Grace has to remain testimonial. David's mission is to share with the world, believers and nonbelievers alike, how Jesus Christ saved his life. Memoir is a beautiful vehicle for a traditional testimony when the two are in balance.
The use of Scripture has been a great tool. By incorporating the Bible into the memoir format, we can remind the readers (and ourselves) the true intention of the work. The Scripture excerpts also aid the memoir aspect, by setting a tone for each chapter.
For example, in Chapter Five of One Way to Grace, David and his new wife are dealing with the turmoil of adjusting to married life and parenthood at an extraordinarily young age. The Scripture we associated with this time in David's life is:

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
-Ephesians 5:22-25 KJV

 What I felt from this Passage reinforced the sense of fitting into the roles of marriage, underlying love, and intimate partnership that were at the core of David's marriage. It is also a way of showing how every life connects with the lessons and messages found in the Bible. At this point in his journey, David had not been Saved and yet, Ephesians 5:22-25 directly correlates to what was happening to him, his wife, and his life.

God and Christ were all around David every moment, even if he was blind to the signs and influence. If nothing else, this message will make us all feel less alone.

Discovering Scripture

Before we begin the interview process for a new chapter, David and I spend time discussing a piece of Scripture that sets the tone and alludes to the lessons in the life events we're going to be focusing on. It has been very educational for me, as someone who doesn't have a lot of experience with the Bible or Christianity.

This allows me to see these Passages through David's pious eyes. If I simply sat back and allowed David to assign the Scripture with no discussion, I do not think I could ever fully grasp his voice in the writing. By clearly identifying our intention with the chapter and then spending time dissecting applicable Bible passages, I get a deeper understanding of the parables inherent to Christian life. I may not belong to this religion, but I can definitely benefit from these lessons.

Forgiveness, accountability, optimism, strength. 
These are the attributes the Bible encourages.
Sure, there are controversial elements that some disagree with. Most of these are secondary, however, and relate more to the time in which God's words were recorded than the core of the religion.

A ten minute conversation with someone as fired up about his faith as David is will make it clear that true Belief is a joyous, peaceful thing- not hateful or judgmental.

Matthew 11:28-30 KJV illustrates this wonderfully:

28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

I'm grateful to have learned that.