Rene Compton, with her bright blonde hair and blue eyes, warm smile and soft country twang, is the sweetheart of Xulon Press. God has blessed her tenure here as a Publishing Consultant and it is an inspiration to all of us. A few weeks ago I discovered that Rene used to be a computer teacher for Seminole County here in Florida, so when we decided to write on leaders and teachers for the month of September, I knew I had to share her story with you. Rene studied computer science and after graduation, held a training position with a large manufacturing company. Eventually she was led to create “Computer Puppets”, a program for teaching computer skills to children. In 2001, production began on a video and in 2005 Rene left the public school system to launch a pre-school program.
Unfortunately, in 2006 an Australian company acquired the preschool franchise with which she had signed a contract and they put the project on hold. At that same time her son was in a bad dirt bike accident and she knew she needed to pursue employment that would provide medical insurance. While perusing the Career Builder site, she came across Xulon Press and applied. “I first thought that God wanted me to give up on Computer Puppets and I was okay with that because I had a great job and wonderful people to work with. God then confirmed to me that he did not want me to give up and I agreed to never question Him about it again. Later we had the opportunity to publish a book with Xulon, which is when I published the teacher and student editions of the Computer Puppets Learning System©, called UNLOCK Technology with the Computer Puppets! The rest, of course, is history.”
I asked Rene, “If you could tell any of our authors one thing about teaching or publishing, what would it be?” She answered: “If God lays something on your heart to do, then just do it. It might take time and it might take money, but He has a good reason for asking you to take that step. It may take years to see why He asked you, but do not give up! Enjoy the journey with God. Yes—I have great expectations after all these years and it is because of God. It has nothing to do with me, but it is all about Him!” No matter which point you are at on your journey—thinking about writing, thinking about publishing, or already an author—we hope you know you are part of the Xulon family. We love to interact with you here on the blog and thank you for giving to the Lord, especially our ever-selfless leaders and teachers.
Be sure to check out “Xulon Press book reaches rural Uganda village in East Africa“, a blog post about Rene’s program reaching a remote area in East Africa.
Vanessa, what a nice tribute to Rene. Rene is the one that I credit for bringing me the confidence to sign with Xulon Press. She has been such a wonderful encourager, a great listener and cheerleader.
Jeff,
I am not surprised at all to find that out. We are so grateful to have Rene on our team. Her warmth is big and wide. When we all come together, great things happen!
Yes Vanessa, it takes a village, or a community you might say to move things forward. And what we are all really trying to move forward is God’s Kingdom. We do it through many ways, but few move it faster or better than a group, a team.
Thrilled, absolutely thrilled to now be part of yours.
Jeff,
Your comment on the blog is why I love doing what I do! It brings tears to my eyes and I thank God each day that he gives me the opportunity to hear the stories and the hearts of his people. What a wonderful job! I was hesitating in typing the word job and it caused me to stop and think that maybe there might be a better word to use to describe this opportunity that God has given me with Xulon. I think it is an acronym for Jesus on Board. It makes sense because JOBS are assignments from God to bring Jesus on Board wherever we go!
I am so thankful that we talked that day and soon your thirty year wait is over! I cannot wait to read your book because I know that it is going to be amazing!
Rene, our Lord works in mysterious ways, and not in our time, but His. Feeling incredibly blessed to be in this community.
really take all of these short interviews to heart. Learning to do better ourselves is so much easier when we realize others have gone through it, through it, is what we must take from the messages. My God supplies all my needs according to His riches in Glory in Christ Jesus Phil: 4:19 It’s right in the scripture we can always count on the Lord. He may have an altogether different way of getting us where we want to go and it will be so much better.
Barbara,
Thank you for taking the time to express your heart. We are so pleased that we could reach you with our blog. Continue trusting!
Thank you so much for your encouragement, Rene. God has put my just completed book on my heart. I have persevered and it is almost ready to submit to some publishers. I realize how very difficult it is to have a publisher opt to publish; but believe God has a plan for it. Your words were very timely for me. Thanks again.
You’re welcome and it was a blessing to see your post this morning. I am very proud of your perseverance in completing the manuscript and I cannot wait for you to hold the finished book in your hand. The Xulon Family would love to be a part of this big moment in your life!
Thanks for posting these comments to encourage such persons like aspiring writers/publishers. There are insurmountable obstacles in my pursuit of writing my story, but I am praying for the Lord to show the way–to find time, place, and inspiration. However, it may also be the only way to be using my spiritual gifts for the glory of God. I would like to start sending a few pages to you copied from an article published during my time at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas, 1961.