Always go with God...My journey~

(10 year anniversary - 2012- Brian & I in Maui at sunset!)

I can't believe that this September, Brian & I will be married 11 years... all of those years have been spent in full-time student ministry serving together. It seems like just yesterday that he & I were sitting in Maui, Hawaii celebrating our 10 year anniversary and reflecting on this amazing ride we've been on! We were saying things like, "we feel like we've lived a lifetime of ministry, God-moments & blessing in these short 10 years"... 

"what does the next 50-60 years of our lives and marriage have in store?!"

It's been such an amazing journey with the Lord & we've always said we'd stay faithful & be obedient to whatever it is that God wanted us to do, or wherever He wanted us to go.

Last July, Brian had a huge dream of his come true as he was given the opportunity to become a published author! He had this book idea & dream for years and after moving to Nashville, God opened some really cool doors for that dream to become a reality and so he co-authored "Checkpoints: A tactical guide to manhood"... a 40 day journey to biblical manhood. 

Through his writing and publishing season he always told me that I should write a version of this for girls & young women...but I was letting my insecurities run wild in my mind - that "I was inadequate, don't have a college degree, so what do I have to say to girls about biblical womanhood and identity in Christ?!!" However, God had a bigger plan and I knew there was a calling on my life, but I was standing in the way. I definitely didn't see this latest journey coming, that week in Maui last September when Brian & I were having that conversation on the beach... 

In March 2013, I was presented with an opportunity to co-write a resource for our girls ministry with a fellow staff wife, Rachel Lovingood.  She called me one day asking for ideas if I knew of a resource for our girls to go through to parallel with a small group curriculum she was writing for our student ministry on the issue of "Identity". So I agreed to start the writing process for that... sat down at my computer that day and began to pray. God totally kept bringing my heart back around to the theme of being redeemed, and salvage as a word picture for what He desires to do with the identity crisis of His daughters in our culture today. So this was the day that "Salvaging My Identity" began to come together. Designing it to look like "Checkpoints" but for girls... the Holy Spirit began to speak both to mine & Rachel's heart and 8 weeks later the manuscript was complete. 

As we were writing this resource for our girls to use that tackled the issues of identity that we struggle with in our culture today as girls & as women, God began opening some really neat doors. Lifeway caught wind of the this resource for girls and wanted to see the introduction & first chapter... the rest is history. We signed a contract with them (which was such a humbling & surreal moment) and it's been a ride over the last 5 months ever since! Rachel & I are thrilled for the opportunity the Lord has given us to write a book to be used in the lives of girls & young women that takes the Truth from His Word and gives practical application of how to combat the lies about our identity that the Enemy is telling this generation about who they are. 

A little bit about the book:

"Salvaging My Identity" is a simple, 40 day journey done over 8 weeks for girls to walk through individually, with an accountability partner, or in a small group. We've laid out 8 "projects" that we should possess as a believer who's identity in Christ & each week we address an issue of "junk" that gets in our way that needs to be "stripped" away from our lives- that our culture and the Enemy throws at us to distract us and keep us from achieving the identity in Christ that we should all possess. 

The whole thought process behind the book is to "Salvage" our lives & our identity back from the Enemy & our culture, allowing Christ to redeem, repurpose, reclaim, restore, us from the inside out. Like salvaging an old piece of furniture to make restore it to it's original state or even better! And that's exactly what Christ wants to do with our lives!! 

So coming with a tight editing & printing time frame... our hope is for this book to be released THIS FALL... probably in mid-October from Lifeway Students. We are forever grateful for this opportunity that the Lord has given us and are praying for BIG THINGS ahead as the Lord uses this in the lives of girls & young women to speak truth into their lives about who they are in Him! 

So after a long explanation about this journey over the past 6 months... my advice would be this... 

ALWAYS GO WITH GOD!! :)

If He has given you a passion, vision and call for something that is BIGGER THAN YOU and that HE wants to use you to do and be a part of, GO FOR IT & JUMP ALL IN! 

Remember, this life is not about what we can do for ourselves and what we collect and achieve here on earth but what are we doing to spread the Gospel, to tell people about a REAL GOD who LOVES THEM, and to make an impact for eternity while we have this short window here on earth! He's raising up a generation to take a stand for Him. To love people and see people the way He does... He's on the move, so it's time for us as believers to keep up and get in on what He is doing - whatever that means for you in your life! For me, it was overcoming my insecurities and inadequacies and to begin writing... which I LOVE! Who knew?!!  

Don't miss out on how He wants to use you because you're giving yourself an out! 

He is good, He is faithful, His word is true & He simply desires your complete obedience & surrender of your life to Him!