Keturah Leonforde
Keturah Leonforde wrote the true story, "A Fertile Heart," which is on page 166 of Hot Apple Cider. "A Fertile Heart" is about the challenges a woman who is unable to have a baby faces when called on to help a newborn whose mother has been hospitalized.
Keturah Leonforde – award-winning author, inspirational speaker, career counselor and business consultant – is on a mission to inspire individuals to move beyond their own potential, and embrace Spirit-driven lives of purpose and passion.
After spending many years working for leading national and international corporate organizations, Keturah now works with organizations and individuals who want to experience positive transformation in their lives. As founder and principal of Katalist Consulting Group, she helps her clients develop programs and strategies to successfully cope and thrive through challenging but important business and career transition. She also directs the Career Development Program for Graduate and Professional students at Wilfrid Laurier University
Her first book, Reflections from the Waiting Room: Insights for Thriving When Life Puts You on Hold, has received national and international acclaim, including the 2007 National Award of Merit for Best Independently Published Non-Fiction by the Canadian Christian Writing Awards.
Keturah lives with her husband, Tyron, in Southwestern Ontario, where together they are active in ministry to families and youth through community and church involvement.
In her “downtime,” Keturah manages, travels and performs with Desire of Nations Worship Ministries, a dynamic regional worship band.
http://www.keturahleonforde.com
Hot Apple Cider came together in a rather unusual way. What made you want to have your work in it?
True story – it really was the prompting of a mentor, Johanne Robertson, that got me on board with this project. The Hot Apple Cider concept was emerging at a time that I too was emerging as a Christian author (a title that I am still trying to get used to). Having just self-published my first book, I hardly felt qualified to participate in such an initiative, alongside seasoned, professional authors. While I fully supported the concept in theory, I didn't even consider being a participant. It was Johanne’s gentle, yet persistent, encouragement, as well as my deeply-held desire to encourage others with a bit of my own story, that finally got me to pay closer attention to the project.
As I discovered more about the project, I was excited to learn that Canadian Christian Authors were coming together to create something that was potentially bigger than any one of us individually. I have always been an advocate of community collaboration and felt a real tug to not let this unique opportunity pass me by. When I learned that the book would be initially distributed through “Girls Night Out” and that proceeds from the sale of Hot Apple Cider would support World Vision, I knew I had found a challenging project worthy of my time and effort.
This book is 100% Canadian. Canadian authors, publisher, printer—everything. Is that important to you?
Yes and no. What was important to me was that a high-quality, inspirational, well-marketed publication emerged, so that ultimately readers would feel that they had connected with a well-written, captivating and perspective-changing collection of stories that would be a pleasure to read and a delight to give to friends. The fact that this was accomplished entirely north of the border is, in my mind, a bonus and a testament to the talent and resources that many Canadian writers and readers have felt would only be possible in the USA. Hot Apple Cider soundly dispels that myth.
In her foreword for Hot Apple Cider, Janette Oke mentions that writers are often asked, “Why do you write?” How do you respond to that question?
In the movie Chariot’s of Fire, Eric Liddell used an expression which I’d love to borrow to respond to this question. When asked why he ran, he said, “When I run I feel God's pleasure.” That statement has resonated with me on so many levels, but in particular with my writing. When I bring together words to creatively transmit concepts in a way that surprises me and startles others, I absolutely feel the smile of God.
I feel fortunate to have fallen in love with words at a very young age (in part because excessive TV was taboo in our house!). I have always loved creatively phrasing, actively interpreting, and colourfully presenting concepts in ways that caused readers and audiences to stop, reflect and possibly think differently. Through the years I have been blessed to work with words in most of my personal, ministerial and professional roles: developing marketing and training material; designing inspirational and psycho-educational workshops, dramas and publications; preparing speeches for myself or on behalf of clients, friends and family; and, more recently blogging and tweeting my opinions through the web sphere.
According to your website, you “incorporate close to two decades of operational management, business consulting, human resource leadership and career coaching experience to collaboratively develop results-based solutions with her clients.” In addition, you speak, sing, and volunteer! When did you begin writing, and how do you fit it into your very busy schedule?
Perhaps the real question is, when am I not writing? As mentioned above, writing is an integral part of every aspect of my professional, ministerial and personal life. Whether I am sitting with a client, helping them to transform their résumé or transition their life, preparing to deliver a recommendation or workshop, or producing a concert for our worship band, I am constantly writing and developing themes and encounters.
My hope for the not-too-distant future is to lessen the portion of my time spent writing for short-term deliverables so that I can increase the amount of time I spend writing and publishing “major” pieces or, what I like to call, "legacy projects."
I love the title of your book, Reflections from the Waiting Room: Insights for thriving when life puts you on hold. Did the title come first, or did you find it after you had written the book?
The title definitely came first. That’s how it works with most of my projects. I honestly believe that God “downloads” the concept outline to me just to get me “fired up” – the title, cover design, chapter overviews, table of contents – the whole thing – and then leaves it to me to fill in the blanks.
For this book, I was literally sitting in a hospital waiting room in London, Ontario, when it struck me that not only was I waiting literally in this space for something to happen, but I was also waiting symbolically in my life for the next chapter to unfold. I felt as if my life was “on hold” and I knew that I was not liking that feeling at all… so I began to explore the concept of waiting from a spiritual context.
Can you tell us a little about the book?
At the time I wrote The Waiting Room, I was in a most significant waiting room period of my life. I was unemployed (sorry, “in transition”), having turned down a significant corporate promotion by tendering my resignation. I knew in my heart that I had done the right thing, but I didn’t have a clue what would happen next in my life. As a “Type A” personality, having no agenda, and worse, no definitive way to respond to the questions of others, began to drive me crazy! The fascinating discovery that I made as I emerged from my self-absorption and began to share my struggle with friends, colleagues, and family members was the astonishing recognition that I was not alone. Literally everyone I met, and have met since, had some aspect of life in which they felt they were in the waiting room. I realized that being on hold is not an anomaly – it is the human condition.
So my in my quest to discover the purpose of waiting rooms in life, and to piece together the tattered remains of my fledging faith, I decided to study the Bible from Genesis to Revelation to learn from Bible-time characters with real-time issues related to waiting. The Waiting Room examines “veteran waiters” like Hannah, Abram, David, Caleb and even Jesus himself, and offers short, practical tips for thriving in the waiting room when it is clearly the very last place you want to be. The Waiting Room can be a quick read or a slow study, and readers tell me it’s been a powerful resource and ongoing reference for themselves and their friends or family who are feeling stuck in some aspect of their life.
I’ve even seen the phrase, "The Waiting Room" become part of the colloquial vernacular in some circles. I’ll be at a Conference and someone will come up to me and say, “Girl, I’m stuck in the waiting room” and instantly we have a connection! I’m just thrilled that the concept resonates with so many readers.
Are you writing something now?
In addition to my day-to-day writing, which includes career-related articles for industry publications, I have two additional inspirational style books in various stages of development. The first is based on a very well-received workshop series that I presented repeatedly last year entitled, "Keep the Change! Thriving in the ever-changing normal." The other is a devotional primarily designed for worship teams and music ministers with a working title, "Sound Check: Backstage devotionals for front-line musicians." In addition, I was recently approached to ghostwrite an autobiography for a local executive. I am particularly excited about this project because I see it as a challenge, an honour and, potentially – dare I say it? – a paycheck!
I’m assuming you get feedback from a lot of people because of the nature of your writing, and feedback is great for the author—you know someone is actually reading your words! But I’m wondering if you’ve learned anything from your readers that you could share with us?
I have been and continue to be nothing short of overwhelmed by the feedback of readers around the world. Nothing in my life has compared to the heart-felt connections that readers have made with me online, in person, and by phone, as a result of publishing The Waiting Room, and more recently my Hot Apple Cider chapter. I had no idea that by sharing my spiritual discovers I would be facilitating both revelation and transformation in the lives of others. I have heard of careers, marriages, and even lives that have been positively altered and even saved, in part, through reading and integrating the principles in my book. That’s God’s work – I just can’t believe He chose me to be a part of it all!
The biggest lesson that I have learned through this process is that when we take obedient and courageous steps of faith to authentically and transparently share what God has placed on our hearts – regardless of the medium – we will quite likely inspire someone else and bring glory to God. At the end of the day, I believe that is what we have each been placed on earth to do.
Aside from your own pieces, is there a particular piece or thought in Hot Apple Cider that stood out for you?
I am amazed by the diversity of genres and styles of writing that make up the book. It’s like Forrest Gump’s momma said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." There are so many treasures and surprises from chapter to chapter in the book. The only predictable element has been the quality of the writing.
I recently wept as I read, “Where have all the mother’s gone?” written by Thomas Froese and Dr. Jean Chamberlain Froese. It brought together two realities: the desperation of my own near-death gynecological experiences and the plight of women globally that I partially witnessed first-hand during a recent mission trip to southern Africa. What a powerful, dignified and unexpected way to bring broader attention to the serious issue of maternal health, quietly wrapped between the covers of Hot Apple Cider. So elegantly done!
A lot of people want to share their stories in order to help others. What advice do you have for someone who wants to write but doesn’t know how to begin?
Don’t quit your day job! Seriously, I would offer the same advice I give to my clients who are looking at successfully transitioning into a new career. Research and, if you are a person of faith, combine your research with seeking God’s will and purpose for your life each step of the way.
You must have an accurate assessment of your God-given gifts, strengths, skills, talents and purpose.
And then, understand what it means to be a writer – the many forms, formats and forums that a writer’s path could take in your life. Write! Canada was a life-changing experience for me and it's a highly recommended research source. I had the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life who were wired for words – just like me. It was affirming and motivational to know that I was not alone and that there were no limits to where God could take this gift that He had placed inside of me. Also, it was helpful to learn about the emotional, social, spiritual and financial realities that most writers' face.
Once you have researched yourself and the writer’s path, you probably want to try your hand at writing and sharing your work in small and volunteer ways so you can obtain some feedback from others and begin to learn the discipline of writing. Going public with your writing will inevitably expose you to the pain of criticism, the agony of rejection, and the value of editing – important foundations for developing the thick skin a successful writer needs to have. There is an African proverb that states: “Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet!” The internet, community newsletters and local church publications are wonderfully accessible forums for getting one foot wet as writer.
What is your prayer for the readers of Hot Apple Cider?
Beyond a “good read,” my prayer is that imaginations will be stimulated, hearts will be touched, and lives will be impacted in a significant and possibly an eternal way!
