A Centering Down Birthday Wish

It’s My Birthday! For a long time I have had a secret goal of reaching 1,000 followers by this day. (I have broken 900, so we are close). Now before you think my ego has gotten too big or I am focusing on the wrong thing, let me tell you why I care. Though I love writing this blog, I also have a dream of writing and publishing books. In fact, I’ve already self-published an Advent Devotional you can find on the side bar or the books tab on the home page. I also have a draft of a book on coping with anxiety disorders that I wrote with my therapist husband. We are trying to have that book traditionally published. Last summer we got really close to this dream.  A couple of publishers looked at the book and really like it. But in the end they turned us down. You see publishers these days want authors who are an easy bet to sell books (publishing has become a tough market). They want you to have a platform already established that you can market your book to. Frankly, this kind of business talk makes my head hurt, but it is today’s reality. So for the past year I have done what they all told me to do. “Try and grow your platform.” Build the blog. Be active on Twitter. Grow your Facebook family. I’ve drawn my motivation from trying to share hope, healing, and encouragement with as many people as I can. I’ve tried to use my life and voice to be a blessing. For the most part this has kept me busy and sane. I am so grateful to all of you who have found Centering Down this past year one way or another and taken the time to read my offerings. And today of all days, as a gift to myself, I will allow myself one moment of embarrassing self promotion. If you read this blog regularly but are not subscribed, will you click the Follow button on the upper right corner? If you just want to check things out here for a while and read the other encouraging content I pass along, maybe you could like the Centering Down Facebook page or follow DenaDHobbs on Twitter? And if you really want to make a girl happy, you could share this with your friends and encourage them to check Centering Down out as well. I promise to do my best to consistently give you something to read that will make your day better. That will help you exhale that heavy weight and bring a smile to your soul. And hopefully sometimes even make you laugh. Again, thanks to you if you have read this blog once or hundreds of times. It is a gift to write at all, but it makes my heart full when I connect with readers in a way that makes a difference in both our lives. And as always, feel free to share feedback on what would be a gift to you!]]>