Why I Write...

The short answer? Because God asked me to.

The long answer? Well that starts back in June of 2012. At the time, I was absolutely terrified of public speaking. I could do it—people even said I was good at it—but what they didn’t see was the absolute fear and terror that gripped me for days beforehand. I was sick to my stomach. Paralyzed by fear. And not just of speaking… but of sharing my faith.

So, I joined Toastmasters. I made a quiet decision: every speech I gave would include God. Not in a flashy or pushy way—but because I needed to stop being afraid to speak His name. I figured if I worked Him into every speech, maybe—just maybe—I’d start feeling more comfortable, that the fear and terror would go away.

It worked. In fact, it worked so well that I ended up competing and winning my club’s International speech contest, then my area, then my district, and advanced to the Regional Finals. I was one step away from representing our region on the international stage. I thought I’d found my calling: motivational speaker, Toastmasters champion, faith-sharer.

But God had other plans, I came in second.

Then in October of 2014, He asked me, “Walker, I want you to write a book.”

My response? “I don’t write books—I write computer code.”

He said, “I know. But I want you to write a book anyway.”

So I tried dodging the call one more time. “God, I don’t have anything to say.”

He gently reminded me, “You’ve written ten speeches already, I think you can write a book.”

So I said yes.

And for the next three years, I wrote. Every day. I poured my heart out, word by word. By the end, I had written over 270,000 words—enough for four books. I didn't realize I had so much to say. You know when the Holy Spirit get's on a role, you can't shut Him up sometimes! It was fun, I enjoyed the process, I learned a lot. 

Then came the question: Now what?

No one wants to read a first-time author’s 270,000-word book. I didn’t know what to do with what I had written. That’s when God shifted the vision from a single book to a series. The Perspectives series was born.

I broke the manuscript into ten parts—each one focusing on a different aspect of the truth. Then, on my son’s birthday in January 2018, I published Book 1: What Does God Want?

But then came the hardest part: marketing. Writing the book was difficult—but marketing? That felt impossible. I was crushed by the lack of response. I thought I had done everything right. But it felt like God had gone silent. So I did what I often do when I’m frustrated—I pitched a fit. A good, old-fashioned temper-tantrum. What can I say, I'm a professional!

The Hard Season…

And just when I thought things couldn’t get worse—I lost my job.

It wasn’t just the paycheck. It was my identity. My stability. My plan. Gone.

And then came the relational earthquakes—one after another. I was hurt. Betrayed. Misunderstood. Shut out. I lost the people I thought would always be in my corner. I felt abandoned. Alone. Like I had failed everyone—God included.

I wrote letters during that time—letters I never imagined I’d have to write. One to my wife… after our marriage unraveled. One to my daughter… when everything between us fell apart. Those were some of the hardest words I’ve ever put on paper.

I was angry. I was heartbroken. I was exhausted.

And truthfully? I was disappointed in God.

I kept asking, “Where are You? I did what You asked. I wrote the book. I showed up. Why does it feel like You disappeared?”

But here’s the truth: He didn’t disappear.

He was walking with me through all of it—the silence, the wreckage, the grief, the confusion. He never left. He never stopped loving me. He was just letting the ground beneath me break apart… so He could rebuild it the right way.

It was in that season of complete brokenness—while I was sitting in counseling, trying to make sense of the mess—that the phrase Healing MY Story came to me. Not someone else's story. My story. Because I needed healing. I needed to face the wounds I’d been carrying. And I needed to be reminded that healing wasn’t a theory. It was a promise.

And that’s where the calling shifted.

Writing wasn’t just something I did. It became something God used—to help me, and now to help others. He was preparing me… not for a platform, but for people. For you. For the pain you’re walking through. For the healing He wants to bring in your story.

Why the Perspectives Series…

The short answer? Because no one taught me these things when I was growing up Christian. Most of them I had to learn the hard way. You know, make the mistake by picking up stupid and playing with it! No one said, “Hey Walker, put down stupid, back away from stupid—you’ll get hurt if you don’t!”

The long answer? Well, that starts back when I was fifteen, almost sixteen years old—that’s when I gave my life to Christ. And like so many others, I was told the usual things: Read your Bible. Pray. Go to church. And you’ll be fine.

Understand, those things are tools. They’re not the goal or the objective. They help with what God wants, but they’re not what He actually wants. No one told me that.

No one told me that building a real relationship with God takes more than rules, regulations, and rituals—it takes surrender, trust, and truth. And no one taught me what all of that meant. So, when life got hard—when God gave me not one but two sons with special needs—everything in my faith collapsed. I didn’t have a foundation from which to stand. I didn't trust God, because trust wasn’t on the list. For that matter, I didn’t even know how to trust God—and I certainly didn’t understand how important it was.

I had memory verses, sure, but no anchor.

No one had taught me how to want what God wants. No one had ever shown me what that actually looked like—or why it was so important to invest in my relationship with God personally.

So now? That’s what I’m doing. That’s what this series is all about.

The Perspectives series isn’t just a bunch of books. It’s everything I’ve learned—usually the hard way—about what it means to walk with God, to hear Him, to trust Him, to wrestle with Him, and to stay when it would be easier to run. Understand, I'm not this smart, I had a lot of the Holy Spirit, pastors, teachers, authors, speakers mentor me along the way. Each book in the series walks you through the process of wanting what God wants, knowing what God wants, and investing in what God wants.

Simple. Straightforward. Truth—in love.

Update on Book 1 – What Does God Want?

As I mentioned earlier, I originally published Perspectives – Book 1: What Does God Want? on my oldest son’s birthday back in January 2018. At the time, I believed the next logical step was to market the book—after all, that’s what every self-published author is told to do.

But in hindsight? God never told me to publish it… and He certainly never told me to market it. He simply said: “Write the book.”

And true to Walker James fashion, I ran miles ahead of God. If you’re ever wondering what not to do, running ahead of God definitely makes the list.

What followed was a long, painful season of breaking… and healing. I lost my high-paying job. I lost a 16-year marriage. I lost a daughter I dearly loved. I fell into sin—yep, picked up “stupid” and played with it. I wrestled with the foster home my sons were in, almost lost my youngest son to illness, walked through multiple surgeries with both boys, and faced wave after wave of financial, vocational, and emotional struggle.

I thought I was ready to step into what God had for me. But He knew better.

I needed pruning.

And let me just say: pruning is not fun. But it’s necessary—especially when you’ve grown wild and out of alignment with God’s direction. Pruning is His way of cleaning up the mess we make of our lives and gently, lovingly, reshaping us.

One of the biggest things He had to work on in me? Trust.

That’s not easy to admit. But it’s the truth.

You see, when God gave me not one but two sons with special needs, I found myself standing at a crossroads. I could either choose to trust Him… or throw a 12-year temper tantrum.

Guess which one I chose?

Exactly. I chose poorly.

And for a while, I thought I had figured out why I didn’t trust Him. I told myself I could trust Him physically—after all, I had read the Scriptures. I had seen His faithfulness in other people’s lives. Even in my own.

But I couldn’t seem to trust Him emotionally—not when everything I tried was failing. Not when He seemed absent. Silent. Unhelpful.

That’s when I realized something: Trusting God only works if it’s complete, total, absolute, unconditional. It’s either all in… or it’s not trust at all.

And here’s another thing for your “in case you’re wondering” list: If you’re ever given the choice to trust God or not trust God—always choose to trust Him. You’ll thank me later.

Why? Because you can’t fully love someone you don’t fully trust.
And trust is foundational to your relationship with God.

This refining season has lasted seven long years—and they’ve been excruciatingly painful… and surprisingly joyful. Because through it all, God never left me. He never forsook me. He never gave up. He wasn’t done with my story—and He still isn’t.

Which brings me to the update:

I’m currently in the process of revising Book 1 – What Does God Want? for several reasons.

First, because like most first-time authors, my early work wasn’t my best work.
Second, because God still had more to say—more to teach me, more to teach you.
And third, because while I did share what God wants in the first edition… I didn’t spend enough time unpacking the why behind it or guiding you through how to want what He wants.

So I’m fixing that.

And when it’s ready, I’d love to send you a copy—personally signed, shipped for free, and delivered with gratitude for your patience.

If you’d like to be added to the pre-order list for the revised edition of What Does God Want?, just click the button below. I’ll keep you updated, send you a special link once it's available, and make sure your copy gets to you first.

Explore the Perspective Series...

One Journey. Many Questions. Eternal Impact.

The Perspectives journey doesn’t stop here.

Several more books are already planned or in progress, each designed to take you deeper in your relationship with God.

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