This is a fun and special post for me to write. To share about a homemade Bible verse gift and how it became a story inspiration.
Before I had edited and published When Plans Go Awry, I had written the rough draft for A Slight Change of Plans. At the time I hadn’t decided to do a journal entry in every book for this series, so I was looking for different ideas of what to do.
As I was cleaning out a corner of my bedroom I found a jar filled with Bible verses inside. It was a gift, made by a friend of mine several years earlier. Inside the jar were carefully folded pieces of colored paper. Each folded piece held a different Bible verse printed and glued to the colored paper. A homemade devotional that could be used over and over.
A Slight Change of Plans, Book 2 in the Best-laid Plans Series
Homemade Devotional in Action
I pulled out one. Then another, when the idea came to me that I could possibly have these be at the beginning of each chapter as sort of a devotion journal entry used by my hero, Ren. More time passed and as I flushed out the journal entries to be from the teachers, I still wanted to include this idea for Ren. And so this is where the list of Bible verses his mother gives him before he left home comes from.
Since this story was set in 1870, I translated them to the King James Versions in the story. At first I picked them at random and wrote out a scene to include the verse. I felt this was God’s way of directing my story. That’s how a few came to be.
Then the others were chosen based on how I could implement them into the existing story plot. I had so many verses to choose from that I wanted to use, but I didn’t have the room in the story to use all of them. Maybe some day I can write extra scenes using them for my VIP section I want to create. You’ll have to let me know if you like that idea or not.
Adding A Mother’s Touch
I feel this part of Ren’s background and the verses his mom sent him is a great reminder for how us parents desire to encourage our children, even when we are not near. Now we can text a verse every day. But back then there would’ve been no way for them to communicate unless they wrote letters. So Ren’s piece of paper he carries with him is a reminder of his Mother’s love, but also a reminder of God’s word. And he keeps it close to his heart, just as I hope my kids keep God’s word close to theirs.
You can now pre-order the e-book A Slight Change of Plans for $3.99. The e-book price moves to $4.99 when it releases on May 27, 2025. Printed books can be purchased at that time as well.