My Blessings Hurt: Book release 7/1/24
With up to 100% of the proceeds from a sale being donated
There are some things that are common to us all:
All people think they have a good sense of humor.
All people think they are a good judge of character.
All people think that their kids are cute.
And similarly, every pastor thinks he can write. And I guess I am no exception.
But we also know that each of these things is highly subjective. There is no objective measure of cuteness; it is a matter of opinion. The question is not whether or not you have a good sense of humor, but rather or not you have the same sense of humor that I do. I judge your character-judgement, not objectively, but based on how consistent it is with my own. Again, all of these are highly subjective… as are people’s opinions of a pastor’s writings.
So this book, a compilation of previously published writings, is created in hopes of it finding the people who will read it and appreciate it, be they few or many. Or even better yet, hopefully it finds the people who won’t just appreciate it, but maybe need it. The people who need to know that they are not alone in their hurting. The people who need to know that sometimes our blessings hurt and that maybe most of our hurts are caused by our blessings, but that doesn't make them any less of a blessing. Simply said, my prayer is that this book would open your eyes to the blessings in your life, despite the hurts they may cause.
My Blessings Hurt is available now on Amazon for pre-sale in Kindle edition, but will also be available in paperback beginning July 1st, 2024. I know that 90% of self-published books sell less than 100 copies and that the average self-published book sells only 250 copies; but 250 is not my goal. So here’s what I am asking of each of you: pre-order a copy (even if you prefer to buy a physical copy later); and then in July (if you like it) leave a good rating and buy another paperback copy to give away to someone else (or two or ten). And here’s why I can ask that somewhat unapologetically: I want to sell more books, not so that I can be more affluent, but so that I can be more generous. My plan is to donate a percentage of the proceeds to charity, and to increase the percentage based on the number of books sold, hopefully culminating with all of the proceeds from a book-sale being donated once 10,000 books are sold.
Now to answer the next question you may have: To which charity will the money be donated? You get to help me decide. On July 1, 2025, I will send a survey to all of you (the subscribers) and you will determine which charity receives the proceeds. The list of charities is below (with links); it is simply a list of twelve charities to which my family has regularly donated in the past (in no order). Some are large international organizations, others are small community non-profits, but all are doing the beautiful work of “loving thy neighbor.”
So please buy the book and share this post, as I would love to be able to bless one of these charities with a donation next summer. But since I have already pre-ordered one copy, it’s now not a question of if there will be a donation next year… it is just a matter of how much and to whom. So thanks in advance for anything you do to make this book a blessing to others. Be well, my friends.
God’s peace,
Chris Sommer