• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Jared Dees

Author. Speaker. Teacher.

  • About
    • Now
    • Projects
    • Speaking
    • Contact
  • Books
    • Beatitales
    • Tales of the Ten Commandments
    • Take and Eat
    • Do Not Be Afraid
    • Pray without Ceasing
    • Prepare the Way
    • Advent with the Angels
    • Take Up Your Cross
    • 15-Minute Stations of the Cross for Kids
  • Articles
  • Worksheets
  • Children’s Stories
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter

July 2019 Project Report

By Jared Dees

Each month I like to assess my time on creative projects and progress on specific goals in my work as a creative entrepreneur and author. Posting that self-assessment here helps me stay accountable to my mission. Here is my report for July 2019.

My 2019 Goals

My One Word: Together

Professional Goals: 

76% / Double the number of members of The Religion Teacher (December 2017 to present) (+0%)

3,237/5,000 copies sold of Christ in the Classroom (Last Updated January 2019)

186,574/1,000,000 words for kids (A part of my #1millionwordsforkids goal) (+10,150 words)

1/4 new published works of fiction on Amazon.com (+1 published book)

4/7 paid speaking gigs (+0)

Personal Goals: 

43/100 books read (+6 books)

12/73 Books: Read the entire Bible from beginning to end. (+3 books read)

52/100 30-minute workouts (+8 workouts)

Incomplete / Play Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road” on the harmonica.

How I Spent My Time in July 2019

I track every minute of time I spend working on projects using an app called Toggl (here is why). Here is a list of the top ten projects I spent the most time on last month:

  1. 17:52 – Beatitales Launch 
  2. 13:22 – The Religion Teacher Email & Customer Service
  3. 11:05 – The Angel Academy: Book One
  4. 7:15 – Daily Review
  5. 4:23 – Morning Preview
  6. 4:04 – Weekly Review
  7. 3:24 – Speaking Event Preparation 
  8. 2:16 – The Religion Teacher Weekly Newsletter
  9. 2:06 – The Formative Fiction Weekly Newsletter 
  10. 2:05 – The Religion Teacher’s Works of Mercy Worksheets

Total Time: 80:44

July 2019 Highlights & Lessons Learned

Beatitales Launch! 

July was a very exciting month. I published my first work of fiction! Beatitales: 80 Fables about the Beatitudes for Children shipped to hundreds of families and teachers.

So many people have reached out to say congratulations. Parents have been reading the fables to their kids. Teachers are planning to use the book in class next year. It’s been a whirlwind launch and I’m excited to continue to get this book into the hands of Christian parents and educators. 

I’ve done a lot of book launches over the years. A book launch really has two parts: platform and outreach.

First, you launch a book to the people you can reach through your own platform as an author. For me that meant promoting the book to my email lists and through social media.

Next, you reach out to people who have platforms that include the potential audience for your book and you see if it is something they would be interested in sharing. I reached out to radio producers and booked a number of interviews. The next phase of the outreach is to connect with parent and educator influencers to see if the book is something they would enjoy. 

View this post on Instagram

???? It’s here! ???? Beatitales: 80 Fables about the Beatitudes for Children Help children understand the meaning of each of the Beatitudes through the power of story. The eighty fables and parables in this short story collection for kids will give young people a greater appreciation for the ways they can live out the teachings of Jesus from the Bible. Children will encounter stories told in the classic tradition of Aesop’s fables with knights, kings, bears, birds, dogs, wolves, ants, worms, trees, flowers, pencils, household appliances, and more. The collection also features modern day parables with both children and adults living out the Beatitudes. Parents can read stories to their children before bed or give their kids the chance to experience the stories themselves in their private reading time. Likewise, religious educators can share them with their students to help guide them in their faith formation. Popular author, keynote speaker, and founder of The Religion Teacher, Jared Dees, makes his debut in children’s fiction with these delightful and inspiring tales that kids and adults alike will cherish and enjoy. Link in the bio! #beatitales #beatitudes #kidlit #fables #jareddees

A post shared by Jared Dees (@jareddees) on Jul 16, 2019 at 3:06am PDT

The book got off to a great start: 

View this post on Instagram

It was fun to see ???? Beatitales ???? rise in the Amazon rankings today. Thanks for all your support! This book was a really new direction for me and I’m really excited to hear what kids, parents, and educators think! #beatitales #beatitudes

A post shared by Jared Dees (@jareddees) on Jul 16, 2019 at 1:59pm PDT

The Angel Academy 

I had such a positive response from a little short story I wrote about guardian angels going to school earlier this year. After some additional encouragement, I finally put together a plan to turn that story into a series of full-length children’s books. I finished the first draft in July, but I’m already on my third rewrite of the story.

In August started sharing it as installments in the Formative Fiction Newsletter. 

The Power of Prayer 

In all honesty, the time I spent working in July was much more sporadic than normal. We had a lot of time traveling as a family during the week of the Fourth of July and the end of July/early August. 

I also spent hours in June and July with my mom at the Cleveland Clinic. In June she was diagnosed with leukemia and weeks later she was in the hospital without a very good prognosis. I’m happy to say, though, that with the help of many prayers, support from family, and her incredible perseverance, she is doing well. The initial chemo treatment was very difficult, but did its job.

She is happy to be alive and so are we. She is preparing for a bone marrow transplant in September. God is good!  

August 22, 2019 Filed Under: Monthly Reports

About Jared Dees

Jared Dees is passionate about sharing practical resources to teach faith. He is best known for his website The Religion Teacher and is the author of many books including 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, To Heal, Proclaim, and Teach, Praying the Angelus, Christ in the Classroom, and Beatitales: 80 Fables about the Beatitudes for Children.

Previous Post: « Back-to-School Prayers for Children
Next Post: August 2019 Project Report »

Primary Sidebar

Jared Dees

Author, Speaker, Teacher

📬 Tools to Teach Faith 📬

I send many weekly email newsletters every week with tools to pass on faith:

👨‍🏫 The Religion Teacher’s Sunday Planner 👨‍🏫

Lessons, activities, videos, and worksheets for religious educators.

Get teaching resources here >

📖 God’s Word Wednesday 📖

Bible stories for kids.

Get Bible stories for kids here >

🏰 Formative Fiction Friday 🏰

Short stories to help kids find confidence, character, and a relationship with Christ.

Get stories for kids here >

Jared’s Newest Books

  
    
 
 
   
 
 

Jared’s Popular Website for Religious Educators

Search the Site:

Footer

Connect with Jared Dees

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Jared Dees is passionate about sharing practical resources to teach faith. He is best known for his website The Religion Teacher and is the author of many books including 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, To Heal, Proclaim, and Teach, Praying the Angelus, Christ in the Classroom, and Beatitales: 80 Fables about the Beatitudes for Children. See all of Jared's Books →

Stories for Children

Copyright © 2023 · Jared Dees