The Cover Picture for "The Purpose"

I am very excited to share the final proofs for the cover of my second book, The Purpose. The whole process has taken a little longer than I had hoped, with a few bumps along the way, however, the end result has been worth the effort. Please let me know what you think of it as well.

The Purpose should be going to print within in the next week and I will keep you posted as to when it is available both on e-book and soft-cover.

I thought it may be worth sharing a quick history on the front cover picture as well for those who might be curious.

Last spring during a very spiritually intense few days, I had a strong feeling that I needed to go outside. It was late and as I walked out onto our porch I was hit by a strong wind blowing from the southeast. As I moved towards the railings I could see the full moon dimly shining through a few very large and black clouds which were hovering above the mountains. Immediately after, I heard a voice speak, "You need to get your camera because tonight I will give you the picture for your book."

I quickly went back inside to get my son, Samuel's, camera as it is the best in the house. However, when I went back out to take the picture I couldn't get a clear shot between the winds that were blowing and my unsteady hand. As fast as I could, I went inside to get a tri-pod and decided to take the shot from our front yard. Samuel ask what I was doing, and when I explained he immediately helped me get everything set up to take the perfect picture.

The winds kept blowing and we were far from warm, but for over half an hour we kept taking spectacular pictures of the moon rising above the mountains while poking itself brightly through the dark clouds. Several times both Samuel and I felt uneasy as if something else was watching what we were doing. However, the intense brightness of the full moon and its fight to keep pushing aside the darkness, kept drawing us to continue taking more pictures.

Once we felt we had taken enough pictures we decided to download them to my computer to see if any would be right for The Purpose. As soon as we saw this image we knew it was the one. After showing it to my wife, Daphne and other son, Josiah, we were all sure it was right. I wasn't quite done writing The Purpose yet, but the way the moon was shining as bright as the sun, while the darkness kept trying to cover it and hid it away, fit the theme for The Purpose perfectly. The moon kept shining as it was meant to and no matter how hard the dark clouds tried to cover it over, the moon always found a way to shine through. It can't quit or give up because it knows it has a greater purpose for its life, one of which is to bring light to us all.

While I finished writing The Purpose, Josiah edited the picture and the end result is what you see above, the brilliant full moon fulfilling its purpose to bring light and hope through the darkness of the night, so we don't need to feel scared because of the darkness, as if we are alone.