Author: Emily Assell
Submitted: October 23, 2018
Tell us a little about yourself. Emily is a first time children’s book author. She originally self-published her first book, “You Are,“ which has since sold out! “You Are” has reached thousands world-wide declaring God’s powerful Word over His children, adults and littles alike. Together, she and her husband co-founded Generation Claimed whose mission is claim this generation for Christ and His Kingdom.
Previously, Emily worked full time as a registered nurse; presenting to and teaching staff from all areas of the hospital. A few years ago, Emily and her husband felt the Lord calling her to invest more time with her children. They took a leap of faith, and she resigned from her full-time job as a nurse and works only rarely now. Instead, she is at home, teaching and loving on her 3 children: Gabriel (9), Natalie(6) and Lauren(3).
Emily enjoys baking with her kids, reading in front of the fireplace, and a good cup of coffee (let’s be real any cup of coffee). Most days you can find her dancing through the house with her littles and a sink half full of dishes. She loves the summertime and finds it hard to drive past a good garage sale. Most of her writing is done at night after her 3 lively children are tucked quietly into bed.
Emily is active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and You Tube. She currently blogs on Generation Claimed’s website. You can also find her at local mom and parenting groups, where she enjoys speaking and encouraging other parents. Emily is a nurse, a speaker, a business owner, a homeschool mom, and now an author, but credits it all to her Great God.
What was your motivation behind this project? I have 3 children (9, 6, and 3.) I wanted to write a book that spoke life and good things into our children. There have been so many studies done on how powerful and impactful our words are, especially in the lives of children. As parents, we want the very best things for our children and have good intentions to speak these things over them, but it is easy to get busy or overwhelmed or just plain tired. This book is an easy and sweet tool to be able to speak life-giving words into our littles.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? Our words are powerful. My hope is that as parents, grandparents, etc read this book to their children that the words they are reading would become part of their normal vocabulary and conversation. That, for children, these words would help shape what they believe about themselves and will carry those beliefs with them throughout their lives.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? I had the idea for this book 2 years before it was printed and in my hands. The idea originally came to me when my youngest daughter was a newborn; I was laying down attempting to take a nap. Once it came into my head, I couldn’t go to sleep; I felt like the Lord was telling me to write this book. However, as many moms of littles can relate to, I told myself that I did not have time to do something like this right now, and that it was a “someday” idea. So, for 6 months, I did nothing with the idea. But the Lord continued to keep it on my heart through different things that I heard and people that I ran into. It was my husband, finally, who gave me the push to do it. But it was another year and a half until I held the book in my hand. I did most of the work at night after my kids were in bed and while my husband was still at work (he was working nights at the time). Also during that time, we contacted my soon to be sister-in-law, Lauren, about the illustrations, filed a mountain of paperwork, did a lot of research, and re-worked the book multiple times. We put off buying a house, putting the money into these books instead. We believed that even if it impacted just one child, just one family, it would be worth it. And a little less than 2 years after I had the initial idea, when I held the “proof” book in my hands and the stories began to come in of how it had impacted life after life; child after child; family after family, I cried at the faithfulness of God and what all the work and prayers and sacrifice had brought about. And now a little more than a year after we first self-published and sold it, to see “You Are” come out with a large, publishing house, having the ability to reach thousands, is beyond what we dared hope or even imagine would happen.
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: You Are is a board book, designed to speak life over the youngest of our generation. The Lord has revealed the power of words, and even more, the power of His Word to impact lives. Our prayer is that this book will imprint the Lord’s promises and truths on their hearts and call them forth in their lives. We seek to “wrap them in victory, joy, and praise. (Isaiah 61:3 VOICE);” that from a young age they will be claimed for the Lord and His Kingdom.
