It has been a long journey to bring my Ephesians Bible study, By His Wounds You Are Healed: How the Message of Ephesians Transforms a Woman’s Identity, to print. After posting on my journey to self publication, Moody Publishers contacted me and were genuinely interested in the study. In the end, they passed on it, but they gave me encouraging feedback that has grown my respect for them and their ministry. Furthermore, their encouragement got me over some of the hurdles I described in the earlier post on the issue of self publishing. Basically, they affirmed the content but felt the format wouldn’t sell well for them. They are right. This is a straightforward Bible study that walks through Ephesians. It is relational in tone and very practical with its applications. But it is still a pure Bible study. Lifeway Press has had success with those types of studies, but other publishers have not. I can respect that. I personally think there is interest in Biblically sound expositional studies of Scripture geared to women (especially those from a reformed perspective), but someone has to prove it first before the publishing industry will embrace it, in my opinion. The good thing about self publishing is that you have complete control over the project. This allowed me to follow a different format from the standard trade paperback. Based on feedback I received from many of you, it is an 8 x 10 workbook with room to journal. It also includes Discussion Questions at the end for use in group studies (or private study depending on whether that is helpful to you). It’s a hybrid — hopefully equally suited for private and group study. I am excited about releasing it. If this format works, I hope to write one on I Peter as well. We’ll see.
I have 5 free copies to send out in my meager attempts at self promotion (which just is not my cup of tea). If you are interested in reading it and posting a review please let me know in the comments section. If you don’t feel free to leave your contact information there, you can also email me at theologyforwomen@gmail.com. I will not share your contact information with anyone. I’ll send the workbooks to the first 5 requests I get.
Thanks for your interest in this blog and my books. Your feedback and encouragement helped cement the design of this study. May it be helpful to you as you walk forward daily in the tension between all that God has accomplished on the cross and the sin and pain that remain a factor in our daily lives. By His wounds, you are healed.
**Update**
The 5 free copies went pretty fast. Thanks so much for your interest!! If you want to purchase a copy, you can use coupon code 8A3M6SQU for a 20% discount at the Createspace Estore through Wednesday March 31. You will need to use the link in the above article to get the discount. The code does not work at Amazon.
