Photo By Chris Docter. Frances Denison shows off her recently published book, How to Become a Strong Christian Powerhouse: Changing the Direction of Your Life with Jesus and Scripture.
By Chris Docter
When Frances Denison and her husband Kenny moved from Hot Springs to the Tuthill area in July of 2023, she knew that there were going to be big changes ahead of her. In addition to starting a new job at the Bennett County Hospital, she and Kenny slowly began to add livestock to their new farm. On top of all of that, Frances had another project in mind. She wanted to write and publish a book. This month the culmination of Frances time and energy arrived in an inconspicuous cardboard box. How to Become a Strong Christian Powerhouse by Frances Denison has been officially published and is available to the public.
Frances said that she had several experiences that led to her deciding to write her faith building book. She remembers her mom having a flannel board that she used to present various stories including that of Noah’s Ark and Jonah. This gave Frances an appreciation for interpreting the Bible in different formats.
She also remembers buying and reading a book of declarations which she found inspiring. The idea to do something similar surfaced and she began forming an outline.
Then Denison attended a two year Bible study course that stressed the importance of words. The course resonated deeply with her. “Think about people who are in abusive relationships. They keep hearing, ‘You’re dumb.’ ‘You’re stupid.’ ‘You’re not worthy.’ Well, they begin to feel that way and become that way. When you start speaking your own voice over someone else, suddenly ‘You are loved.’ ‘You are respected.’ ‘You are awesome!’ You stop feeling so bad. These words, our words, renew our mind which helps turn negative into positive.” Denison continues, “Our own voice influences us more than anyone else’s voice.”
By the time she finished the course Denison knew she wanted to gather and share her words in her own way.
In the three years since her decision Francis has created a book that offers scripture to align with particular words. Each section starts with a word such as, “Love”, “Hope”, “Faith”, even, “Zealous”, and scripture supporting that word follows. It is her hope that the book can be used as a source of information and clarity for both Christians and those interested in learning more about Christianity. She explains that if a person has a reoccurring word or feeling in their life, they can look it up in her book and find scripture and declarations to support and explain it which helps clarify faith.
Along the way Frances has run into a few challenges. She admits even deciding which words to use was tricky. For instance, which word to use for, “Z”. “A coworker suggested “zealous” and I wasn’t sure about it. I had to go home and research all of the different meanings before I agreed that it was the correct one to use,” she says.
Time constraints were another issue. Just having the time to sit down and get the book written was tricky. Between working on the farm, and her full time job at the Bennett County Hospital where she has recently been promoted from admissions to the Financial Clerk position, Denison doesn’t have a lot of free time to sit down and write.
Even the title of the book has required extra effort. Originally she had titled it, Victory in Jesus with Declarations. It wasn’t until she received feedback from her sister, that the true title emerged. “My sister told me that the title sounded like somebody that sits in the back row and knows the answers but is too shy to raise their hand,” explains Denison. This input made Denison reconsider and finally, she settled on its current title.
Even after it’s completion there were still more challenges. Denison was very particular about which publishing company she should use and spent quite a bit of time researching her options before the decision was made.
Frances says that family friends and even life experience have all helped her stay true and follow the project to completion. She is grateful for her experience with Christian outreach programs as they helped instill in her the confidence necessary to even consider this undertaking. And, as the book evolved her coworkers proved to be a huge support system. She says they offered support and were willing to help with proofreading and the creative process. Her husband, Kenny has been by her side the entire way. “We’ve been through a lot and he’s been so good to me,” she says. She says spending time with her father growing up made a huge impact on her drive to finish her book. “I was a huge Daddy’s Girl,” says Denison. “I never wanted to be left behind so I followed him everywhere...I learned so much from him.”
Francis is nervous, as any first time book writer would be, about the reception of How to Become a Strong Christian Powerhouse. The next hurdle for her is learning how to promote and sell it which is a feat all it’s own. She is already off to a good start though, as she plans on having a book signing at The Local Exchange on Main Street in Martin on Friday, November 7, from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Frances Denison is grateful that she listened to her heart and took the leap to write her book. Now that it is complete she hopes that it will reach many different audiences and inspire positivity and faith in everyone who reads it.