TRAVELING BACK
Looming. Ahead of me. Out the windshield.
Clipping along at 70 miles per hour, maybe faster. Mile after mile bringing me closer to what I have dreaded for almost six years. My stomach tells me we are almost there. Thankful Forrest drives, not me.
Phone rings. Answer only because it’s one of my sons, Ricardo. With a question. We’ve all just moved. Our lives, in boxes, transitions, and unknowns. We talk briefly, say “goodbye,” and “I love you.”
Realize the moment of trepidation, crossing the Illinois state line into Wisconsin for the first time since Tony died, flew by five miles or so ago.
Instead in that second, the passage between states, my eyes focused on us. The here and now in our relationship as son and mother. The universe aligned with synchronicity acknowledging our truth, both living and dead, in protective action.
August 10, 2022 Ephraim, Wisconsin
UPCOMING EVENTS
Devotional in Rise & Shine: 2022-2023 Devotion Book. ELCA School and Learning Centers.
September 1 @ 6:30 PM: Book Reading at Beaverdale Books, Des Moines, Iowa.
September 15: Blog post for Faith+Lead, “Addictions as Suffering.”
October 4: Book Club with St. Mark Lutheran Church in Davenport, Iowa
October 10: “Being a Spiritual Writer,” with author Lori Erickson at the Iowa City Book Festival. Our session is at 6:30 PM at the Coralville Library.
October 22: “Trauma-Informed Worship” with Faith+Lead. (10-12–Online Only)
November 1: “Spiritual Care for Trauma” with Faith+Lead. (10-11:30–Online only)
November 8: “Spiritual Care for Trauma” with Faith+Lead. 10-11:30–Online only)
November 15: “Spiritual Care for Trauma” with Faith+Lead. (10-11:30–Online only)
November 29: “Spiritual Care for Trauma” with Faith+Lead. (10-11:30–Online only)
December: Essay (print/online) in Sundays and Seasons: Guide to Worship Planning, Year A 2023 (Augsburg Fortress)
INVITE JENNIFER TO SPEAK
If your organization, church, podcast, conference, library, or literary festival is interested in inviting me to speak, preach, or lead a workshop, please click here: Invite Jennifer to Speak.
THE VALUE OF NEWSLETTERS & REVIEWS
Being an author, especially a spiritual author, means also being my own marketing director. And I admit I have all sorts of feelings about being tied to the social media self-promotion cycle. Yet there has always been a business side to writing. So here’s what publishers, book sellers, and writers know about getting books into readers hands, eyes, and hearts:
NEWSLETTERS: The more people on an author’s newsletter email list, the more the author sells their books. You can be on my newsletter list by simply following my blog. To do so, press the SUBSCRIBE button on the upper left side of this page.
REVIEWS: The more online reviews a book receives, the more a book sells. Please consider reviewing my book on Goodreads and at my Amazon author’s page.
Thank you!
WHAT I’M READING
I love non-fiction books and not just ones about theology, pastoral care, or trauma recovery! I also love reading travel books which fill me with dreams of future trips. Last month, while selling books to a local used book store, I fell in love with the cover of a book. I didn’t buy it because I promised myself I would not buy any more books until after our move. But then we went back with another trunk load of books to sell and… I just had to buy it! So if you love the combination of books, travel, and Iceland, check this one out.
August Newsletter, 2022: All rights reserved by the author.
Jennifer Ohman-Rodriguez 