I spent last week with my nose buried in the manuscript of Finding God Abiding, going over corrections suggested by my copy editor. I read the whole thing every day–often twice a day–alternating between “track changes” in Word and the old-fashioned printed copy. As a writer friend commiserated, there is no such thing as being finished with editing; you just call time-of-death on the process, praying that no lingering, mortifying errors lurk in plain sight.
Today I thought I’d take a step back and look at the words differently, using a word cloud generator. Based on frequency of usage (and dropping proper names, articles, conjunctions, etc.), what were my go-to words for this book? Here are the results, which I invite you to ponder.
What catches your eye? What stirs your curiosity about the story behind the words? Do you find yourself combining any words, whimsically or meaningfully? What opens the door to a story or memory of your own? Which word might God invite you to sit with in prayer? (Or, simply pick one and pray with it; what comes to you?)
Although I look forward to the day when I can put this whole book in your hands, the publication date (June 7) is still almost nine months away. Until then, may your ordinary days be extraordinarily blessed by the God who abides.
Christine
Christine Marie Eberle 
The very first words that leapt out to me are located in the petal at 2 o’clock: “now see.” In prayer, I am realizing the value of this disarmingly simple practice. In the present (the precious “now”), I open my eyes and soul to “see” the ever-abiding God. Thanks for sharing this reflection straight from the author’s mouth!
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Hey! I hope you and Porter and family, dogs, etc. have all been well. So…this word cloud is wonderful! And to share my thoughts on/experience with it:
At first glance, I noticed…hmm….the word Finding is right there..ok, yes, that was book 1. But…where’s Abiding? Hmmm… gazing more, I see it appears at 1 o’clock…Abide…but smaller and not the action verb I was expecting. “Finding” is so prominent by comparison..hmm.
So…fast forward through many more little lectio divina experiences…(none of which any less inspiring)…and Aha! THERE it is! Abiding: the *whole cloud* is that action word I was looking for!! …my action of Finding and seeking in the word cloud…and interiorly in the lectio and soul… finding the Word itself in action there….Abiding. Yes! Amen.
Thank you for this preview and hope all continues to go well and may this ordinary weekend be extraordinary!
-Bill
On Fri, Oct 15, 2021 at 3:25 PM Christine Marie Eberle wrote:
> Christine Eberle posted: ” I spent last week with my nose buried in the > manuscript of Finding God Abiding, going over corrections suggested by my > copy editor. I read the whole thing every day–often twice a > day–alternating between “track changes” in Word and the old-fashioned pri” >
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