Guest Blog by MaryAnn Spiegel
March 16, 2010
MaryAnn Spiegel serves on the Board of Directors for Keep Believing Ministries. Recently she completed a very important audio project that we wanted you to know about. Here’s a guest blog she wrote about this project:
Have you ever heard of Librivox?
It’s a net community where thousands of people around the world come together to create free audio books. To date, we have completed over 3000 projects. Most are books, but there is some poetry and drama mixed in for variety. We read only from public domain sources so that there are no restrictions on the audio files we create – everything on the site is public domain and FREE.
So why am I writing a guest blog about Librivox? Well, when Pastor Ray mentioned how much he valued Quiet Hints to Growing Preachers by Charles E. Jefferson, it caught my attention. I’m always on the look out for interesting books to read and this would be quite a change from the mystery/detective stories that I usually do.
And so it is that with the help of Joy (who proofed all the audio files) and Barry (who handled all the technical aspects of the project), we’ve put together an audio book version of Quiet Hints and posted it on Librivox.org.
It’s an eye-opening book. If you don’t have time to read it yourself (and you don’t mind listening to an amateur), pop down the files to your MP3 player and have a listen. As a layperson, I have come away with a new appreciation for the life-long challenges and struggles faced by those who preach week after week. This book again emphasized to me how much our pastors need our prayers to support them in their work.
And for those who preach – well, I hope that you find words of challenge and encouragement. You are not alone. You have been called to a high and noble work on behalf of the Great Shepherd. Carry it through. May you seek for, and may you hear, your Master’s commendation: Well done, good and faithful servant.