After a 30-year career as a general education elementary school teacher and special education teacher, Liz Cornett packed her bags and headed out to be closer to her sister in Arizona on the same day she retired in June 2006. The terrific weather and the chance to be close to family were just what she needed.

At first, Liz worked several retail jobs and even went back to the classroom for a short time. She got involved in a church and found an instant community. The Holy Scriptures inspired her, and she made the decision to enroll in ministry school.

Today, Liz keeps her faith and cares for community as an ordained minister who spreads teachings as an author, blogger, and podcaster. She refers to herself as a “social media minister.” Her first book Forgive2Bforgiven was published through Covenant Books. As a new author, Covenant provided the support necessary to help her successfully navigate the process of editing, designing the cover, and marketing the publication.

The topic for her book came from personal experience, watching her own grandchildren work through conflict, messages she wrote as she was studying to become a minister, and online research. Liz states, “Forgiving others is one of the hardest things to do. This book gives spiritual reasons to work through your process. Through examples from everyday life, bible stories, and personal testimony, this book will help you understand why forgiveness is so important.”

While Liz looks back on teaching fondly, she appreciates the opportunity to use her new role as an ordained minister to teach life lessons to a new audience. Her words of wisdom to fellow retirees are to recognize that “you are not retiring from life. You are just retiring to a different part of your life.”