This is a new format for the blog. The first format change in 17 years! What do you think? I've been thinking about "why do I write?" and "what have I written?"

I began writing when I was young. Since high school, I've kept a journal. And as a 23 year-old working overseas, I wrote my first book. I began blogging in 2005 and have written 3000+ posts. Book writing has been arduous. Usually it's a multi-year process getting the manuscripts to a point where I'm happy enough to share them with others.

It occurred to me, "I have no idea how many books I've written over the years. So I went back and counted - 14 books in all - half of them published. The other half sit as orphans on my hard drive.

Book-writing has been complicated for me. I say complicated because, there's a big difference between what I feel led to write about and what I care enough about to go through the process of publishing and marketing. 

I've found that most manuscripts that I want to publish take multiple years to write and multiple drafts. Then I have to gather a team to help me get it ready to share with the public. When I've had great teams, the books have done well. A couple of them went to #1 on the Amazon Bestseller list. 

Book writing is for me a kind of art. I've chosen not to make money on my books. There are a lot of easier ways to make money! So here are the books. Maybe I'll publish a few more in the future.

Published
1. Micro Enterprise Development: A toolkit to build a microcredit organization
2. Capital Budgeting: A course on the skill of building a capital budget      
3. Revolution of a Broken Heart: Stories about God's purpose for your private pain
4. Warrior's Journal: Helping you grow through adventures on the gritty side of faith  
5. Art of Listening Prayer: Finding God’s voice amidst life’s noise
6. Katrina Soul Search: How AIM responded to Hurricane Katrina
7. Kingdom Journeys: Rediscovering the lost spiritual discipline  

Unpublished
1. 3 Roles of a Leader: Tools to help you grow as a young leader
2. Risk-Based Discipling: A primer on how to use Jesus’s methods of making disciples                
3. Secret of Abundant Living: A study of Isaiah 58 and God’s heart for the poor in spirit
4. Dangerous Jesus: A series of Bible studies on how Jesus made disciples
5. Mistaken Identity: Issues when trying to define your identity               
6. The Arc of You & Me, Dad: Poems while waiting to die
7. My Life & Adventures: A Memoir of Seth Barnes Sr.