Wednesday, April 23, 2008

The Power of Simple Little Words


Can you point to a time in your life when a few words made all the difference? Simple Little Words, by Michelle Cox and John Perrodin, is a newly released nonfiction book that can inspire us--and offers us a chance for contributing our own experiences.

From the home page of the book's website:

The old saying about sticks and stones simply isn't true. The words we use affect the people around us in ways we can't even begin to comprehend. In the new book Simple Little Words (SLW), Michelle Cox and John Perrodin have compiled numerous powerful true stories about lives completely changed by the utterance of a few simple little words. Contributors include novelist Karen Kingsbury, Left Behind author Jerry B. Jenkins, Chik-fil-A founder Truett Cathy, artist Ron DiCianni, Hollywood producer Ken Wales, Dove nominee Brandon Heath, author Mary DeMuth, Focus on the Family president Jim Daly, and many other wonderful folks just like you.

Michelle Cox is a frequent contributor to Focus on the Family magazines and the author of Mothers Who Made a Difference. John Perrodin is senior editor for the Christian Writers Guild, and works full time for best-selling author Jerry B. Jenkins. He is the co-author of three novels with Jenkins, as well as an upcoming series, TrioPlus, with Susie Shellenberger of Focus on the Family's Brio magazine.

When I asked John about his experience in writing Simple Little Words, he had this to say:

"Collaborating with so many wonderful storytellers on Simple Little Words made me realize how God gifts each of us in different ways. Rarely do we realize how often others (especially our spouses, children, grandchildren, and co-workers) are listening to our words -- both uplifting and hurtful. The motivation for the book was to encourage folks to simply take the time to tell others how much they mean to them. Now. While they have the time and opportunity. Michelle and I discovered that there are a lot of hurting hearts out there -- people with severe encouragement deficits. Writing this book has changed me in three ways. First, I make sure every day to 'find something nice' and true to say about those I love; second, it helped me understand better the writing struggles of every author trying to get the word out about a new book; and third, it has allowed me to work with some of the most wonderful new friends I could ever hope to meet."

The web site invites anyone to send in a true story of how "simple little words" changed his/her life. Details are here. Accepted stories may be used on the site and/or in a future book.

Visit the SLW web site to read a sample chapter.

4 comments:

Pam Halter said...

We really do need to guard our words, especially in emails, because the person recieving can't see facial expression or hear vocal intonation. That's why reading out loud is so important.

Kristin said...

Wow, that sounds like an incredible book. I'm going to have to get that. Isn't it funny how you remember simple little words when they are spoken at exactly the right time? : )

Jo said...

What an interesting post and excellent blog!

The Encourager said...

Thanks for sharing Simple Little Words with us, Brandilyn. I spent some time visiting the web site yesterday. I really like the book's premise and reading the sample chapter by Dr. Hensley confirmed why. I'll likely purchase the book as a Mother's Day gift.

Their invitation for folks to submit to SLW is a terrific way of sharing.