Spring has sprung! My daffodils started pushing through the wintry ground in late February/early March. And now they are ready to burst forth. (No, these beautiful daffodils in the above pic are not mine. But check mine out below!)

Spring is the season of resurrection as we, in the Christian faith, celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and the resurrection life we are called into by following Jesus.

Spring is the time to resurrect old dreams and projects or to discern which tasks can be revived and which are discarded to remain dead in favor of new plans, projects, and hopes.

In 2017, I lost two dear friends to rare cancers. Spring of 2017 catapulted me into a season of grief for my friends and a reimaging of my leadership. Their untimely, relatively young deaths reminded me that we only have so much time on this earth to make a difference and must make the days count.

With the women of my church, I studied the woman at the well for a year. I saw in her story that from the well that Jesus promised her (and us) flowed what we needed for every dimension of our lives. We created a t-shirt that, to this day, represents that inner flow of the life-giving Spirit within, infusing, informing, and invigorating every dimension of our lives.

I continued to study after our year-long program. Looking at this woman’s dialogue with Jesus gave me insight into prayer as a model of our dialogue with Jesus. I learned more about her and how she has been studied through church history—often falsely maligned by patriarchal leaders who reduced her to a sexual stereotype. I learned about her life after the biblical story ended. I saw the leader she had become and how her leadership journey as an outsider in the culture of Jesus’ day paralleled my leadership journey as a Black woman and the journeys of so many other Black women.

This experience inspired me to begin writing my book. I prayed, studied, wrote, and prayed some more. The journey to writing this book has been a fascinating story of following the Holy Spirit’s leading. I knew in my heart the Lord had planted this message in me, but I had no idea how I was to publish this message. But I had a vision—a glimpse of God’s purpose for this book. Isn’t that what so much of leadership is about—bringing visions to fruition and galvanizing a team around a shared vision to bring it to life?

God gave me Psalm 68:11 “The Lord gave the word, and great is the company of those who published it.” (KJV). But I recalled somewhere in my past that the underlying Hebrew of that text was that those who published it were women! Sure enough, most modern translations insert women into that text, and I began to confess that. I printed it out and posted the sign on the wall behind my computer monitor. Here’s my now marked-up scripture post that I stood on throughout this process.

I began to prepare myself. I took a writing class at the University of Chicago’s writing studio and hired a writing coach/collaborator to help me write a proposal. And I attended a writing conference.

My writing dream was being resurrected. God was breathing new life into my writing. And then, I met Jevon Bolden of Embolden Media Group. She took me on as a client, and I had a literary agent! She shopped the proposal around, and a wonderful young woman from Baker Books wanted to acquire and publish this story. From my collaborator to my agent to my acquisition editor to my editorial team—a company of women!

And in a few short months, my book will go live. You can preorder it now. I have a few preorder incentives or bonuses for you if you order it now. Here’s the link to pre-order the book on Amazon. Leading Well: A Black Woman’s Guide to Wholistic, Barrier-Breaking Leadership

Then use this link to complete the form with your preorder number and download your free bonus materials. https://www.drjeanneporterking.com/leading-well-book/

This post was to share a little of my publishing journey to remind you not to give up on your dreams. Like the seasons, our projects, plans, and goals go through stages—of summery ideas, autumn brilliance, and winter dormancy. But Spring is the season of new life for dreams and hopes.

Like me, you may have your dream go through several springtime revivals. But this spring, like my daffodils, your dream project is ready to manifest and blossom! Never give up on your God-given dream.

Spring is a time of renewed hope, reimagined possibilities, and revived energy.

Today, join me in committing to stay steadfast in praying and working toward your dreams!

Dr. Jeanne