https://zionpublishing.org/zion-30th-anniversary

We are grateful to Mary Ylvisaker Nilsen and her family for partnering with us with their book, For Everything a Season, 75 Blessings for Life’s Milestones. The 3rd edition of For Everything a Season is a compilation of 75 blessings for life’s milestones that help deepen and make sacred ordinary and out of the ordinary life moments. It offers three simple blessings for the seasons of the day; thirteen for the seasons of the year (holidays we celebrate from New Year’s Eve to Thanksgiving); twenty-five blessings for seasons of our lives—events such as getting a driver’s license, leaving home, getting a pet; seventeen blessings for seasons of our relationships; eleven for seasons of the Christian life; and six for the seasons of the church year.

Each ritual has a welcome, prayer, time for reflection, suggested ritual action such as lighting a candle or passing a blessing cup, and a closing blessing. They can be done by families, other groups, or by someone alone. These accessible blessings help to transform ordinary moments in time and space into holy moments of timeless grace.

Mary Ylvisaker Nilsen began her literary career as a writer and worked with four different publishing houses during the 1970s and 80s. Alas, the time when publishers were eagerly looking for writers is over. In 1990, she realized that none of her previous publishers would accept a book dear to her heart, A Time for Peace, without her changing the target market and, thus, changing the book. Determined that the book she had been working on for years be published, she formed Zion Publishing. 

     Since then, except for stretches of time devoted to writing  Mary has worked through Zion with joy, providing for others what she was given early in her career–a partner to help shape the writer’s words into the most inviting book possible.

     Her graduate degrees, first in Literary Non-fiction from the University of Iowa and then in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, have deepened, expanded, and diversified the knowledge base she brings to the work of others.

     Nilsen, experienced in e-publishing, Print On Demand publishing and print publishing, can advise you on the most economical and efficient way to turn your typescript into a paper and/or e-book. Once your decision is made, Mary will make it happen.