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Rest Ministries
Publishers' began in 1997 at the inception of Rest Ministries,
Inc. Our mission is to minister to the spiritual needs
of people who live with chronic illness and those who
care about them through literature and other products
consistent with biblical principles; and to equip the
church with resources to increase their outreach to the
chronically ill.
History
of Rest Ministries Publishers
In 1997
the first version of So You Want to Start a Chronic
Illness/Pain Ministry: 10 Essentials to Make it Work
was written by Lisa Copen as the people expressed a desire
to start small groups in their churches for those with
chronic illness. Rest Ministries was unable to find a
resource that guided a potential leader along the path
of considering starting a group, through the challenges
of leading a group of people who didn't feel well. This
book and the Bible study, When Chronic Illness Enters
Your Life, were first displayed at the Christian
Council on Persons with Disabilties (CCPD) conference
and had a wonderful response.
The next
bible study soon followed, Learning to Live with Chronic
Illness, as groups began finishing the first study and
looking for more.
A Woman's
Health Resource Journal was released in 2002, based
widely on Lisa's own desire to organize her medical records
with a resource that allowed for a person with a chronic
illness. The chronically ill have multiple doctors, prescription
medications, and resources and needed more space than
the few health journals allowed. It was given wonderful
reviews. It's currently out of print and being revised
to be released in 2008.
 For
years Lisa was putting together devotionals and Mosaic
Moments: Devotionals for the Chronically Ill was written
by herself and about 20 other individuals who wrote daily
devotionals for Rest Ministries. This was released January
2003, and arrived on Lisa's doorstep within 24 hours as
her new baby son, who was given to her and her husband
through the blessing of adoption. Relatives arrived and
took turns holding Joshua and stuffing envelopes. Over
1000 copies had been pre-ordered.
Seeing an
overwhelming attitude of "they just don't get it!"
steering Christians solid in their faith off track, Lisa
began formulating ideas for Why Can't I Make People
Understand? Discovering the Validation Those with Chronic
Illness Seek and Why. With her son under one year
of age, this book was written during his naps and often
long-hand. Lisa would type in her notes to the computer
each evening and then print them, cut them up, and reorganize
her thoughts. Struggling with some attitude issues in
her own life, this book was both therapeutic and also
a chance to dive into the Word regularly despite being
a new mom. Lisa considers this book her best work.
Connie Kennemer,
mom, multiple-sclerosis survivor, and musician, found
great joy in writing devotionals about her life's experiences
as well as sharing how those experiences resulted in songs
over her career as a singer and songwriter. This beautifully
published book, A
Heart that Sings: The Words Behind the Songs, includes
a CD of Connie's music, was a honor for Rest Ministries
to publish.
 In
2005 Rest Ministries Publishers published Beyond Casseroles:
505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend. This
94-page book is packed with simple yet thought-provoking
ways to encourage someone who lives with illness. It shows
ways to show caregivers and loved ones of those with illness
both the practical and the emotional ways to support someone.
Currently,
Rest Ministries Publishers is finishing up a book by doctor
Amy Chai that is a thought-provoking devotional and study
guide on living with illness and it's unpredictability.
Lisa has
a number of books in the works, including More Mosaic
Moments, a book on motherhood and illness, a Christian
"mom-lit" fiction novel, and a series of ebooks
on how to market one's book on the internet. There is
an increasing number of chronically ill writing quality
books on aspects of living successfully with chronic illness,
but they have more difficulty than the average author
with traveling, events, and financial backing. Lisa hopes
her grassroots marketing tips on and offline will be an
encouragement for many writers.
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