OBU Student Jillian Murphy Authors Book, Hosts Book Signing Dec. 10

December 1, 2016

Jillian Murphy, a freshman nursing major from Frisco, Texas, recently released a devotional book titled, “The Four Seasons of Hope.” Living Word Bookstore, located in the Shawnee Mall, will host the OBU student for a book signing Dec. 10, 2-6 p.m.

“The Four Seasons of Hope” describes the seasons people find themselves in during their lives concerning their relationship with Christ. Each season represents a different area of one’s relationship with Christ. For instance, spring is symbolic of a period where the relationship is growing and flourishing.

Murphy’s inspiration for the devotional stemmed from her time interning at Restored Hope Ministries in Dallas.

“I was an intern at a women's safe house in the Dallas area called Restored Hope Ministries,” she said. “The women would come in, and they had such extreme backgrounds, such as sex trafficking, prostitution, drug addiction, domestic violence, etc. They did not believe a God could love ‘someone like them.’ I included bits of their stories so the women could see hope in Jesus. I wanted women to read the book and identify with one of the seasons or one of the women, and for that to open the door to teach them more about Christ.”

Murphy began writing the book when she was a junior in high school, working on it for three to four months. In November 2015, during her senior year, she received a publishing contract and went through the publishing process. The national release date of “The Four Seasons of Hope” was July 17, 2016.

“Through the publishing process, I learned that a lot of detail and hard work goes into a book, even after it is written,” says Murphy. “You have to figure out a target audience, how much your target audience reads, editing … lots of editing, book cover designs, and more. The process is very long, but despite that, I loved every minute of it.”

Murphy is currently working on two books, titled “Love Notes” and “God Winks.” She hopes to finish one of them by the end of this year.

Along with her passion for writing, Murphy loves to speak to all age groups. This upcoming spring, she will be the guest speaker at the middle school girl's “Shine Retreat” for her home church, Prestonwood Baptist Church. Locally, Murphy will speak at Liberty Baptist Church's women's meeting in February 2017 and Hopewell Baptist Church for a few minutes on a Sunday in January 2017.

“I am very excited for all the opportunities the Lord has given me, and pray He continues to work through me,” says Murphy.

Her devotional is available for online purchase through Barnes & Noble, Amazon or from her website, www.godwinks.wix.com/jillianmurphy.  Living Word Bookstore will begin carrying her book after Dec. 10.