Meet Eva Marie Everson

Meet Eva Marie Everson today for Sharing Tuesday, as she takes you behind the scenes of The Third Path (Bold Vision Books, 2022).

Over the years, Eva Marie has challenged, motivated, and mentored me and others through Word Weavers International, a Christian writing critique group. In addition to all that, I’m honored to call her my friend. As you read her words below, you’ll see how awesome she is. 

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When I saw it, I couldn’t imagine that a folded 8.5 x 11 piece of paper could change my life, but it did.

I’d seen it for days—neatly placed on the desk in a conference center bedroom where I’d been staying. But I’d paid it no mind. Until that is, I was about to leave. It was then I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “Pick it up.” So I did. I took it home and then, after a few days, I picked it up again. Looked it over and read the details of the eve located on the campgrounds.

… I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “Pick it up.”
So I did.

Not really knowing a lot about prayer labyrinths, I spent the next several weeks studying them, discovering just how far back they go. A lot of people think they are “new age,” but they’re actually very” old age.” The earliest mothers and fathers of our faith walked them.

This Prayer Labyrinth

This particular prayer labyrinth had four paths to walk–the path of silence, the path of memory, the path of prayer, and the path of questions. After taking the time to dive further into the notion of silence and memory and prayer and questions. I decided to journal the paths. But I also decided to switch the third and fourth paths because, I felt, we should leave the labyrinth after prayer. I also discovered, very early on, that the questions were not my questions for God, but rather His questions for me … and that I could find them within the text of the Holy Writ.

God Asks Questions?

God asked hundreds of questions within the text of the Bible. Questions He knew the answers to. But, as I wrote in The Third Path, God asks questions to reveal the heart of man to man. To converse with His children. To help us know Him (and ourselves) better.

After more than a year of my own soul searching through journaling (walking) with only a few of the questions I found in the Bible, I began to teach the concept to others … and still others … and others still until, one day, my friend Rachel Hauck said, “Where’s the book?”

So I Began My Journey

I began writing but was interrupted by my baby brother’s untimely death. At least, I wasn’t ready for it. And afterward, I didn’t have the strength (physical or spiritual) to pick the work back up until, that is, the Lord kept poking me in the ribs about it. We went back and forth for a while, but (I have learned) that when we fight God, He wins, and we walk away with a limp. So, I finished it, submitted it to my agent and, soon thereafter, I received the word every writer wants to hear: We want to publish your book! 

First the Book …

In August 2022, The Third Path; Finding Intimacy With God on the Path of Questioning (Bold Vision Books) was released, hitting #1 in one of its genres at Amazon. I was both stunned and happily surprised. But then … as months went by … I began receiving emails and comments about how the book was changing the lives of those who read it. My heart nearly soared at that news!

… And now the Journal

“I wish there was a journal,” a few said. Their wish became my joy. And so, on October 3, 2023, the journal will be released.

In August 2023, one year after publication, The Third Path won the AWSA Book of the Year. I have shed tears over this, not only because of the honor but because I almost kicked the work to the curb after my brother’s death. But God was faithful. God is faithful. And true.

Let’s walk …

Want to learn more about Eva Marie? Check out her website or her Amazon library. Or you can follow her on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.  Happy reading.

 

What say you?

What do you wonder about?  Are you happy … or are you doing what you never thought you’d do? Do you see consistencies … or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I’d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book, God’s Best During Your Worst, now in audible! And don’t forget to check out any of my other books on my Book page.