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💬🤔I Posted the Book Introduction for Your Feedback! I’d love to hear your thoughts and get your opinion. It’s in the new free community space so everyone can get involved in the conversation. I’m going to need help naming the book and designing the cover soon. I’ll be welcoming your thoughts and ideas.
The book is for Bible readers who struggle to engage with and enjoy Scripture. They find the Bible intimidating, overwhelming or hard to read. They feel like something is wrong with them because they don’t get much out of it when they do read. The book’s introduction should give you a good feel for the book. I invite you to check it out.
My team is deep into the editing and beta reader phase of production. It should be published in October or November - Lord willing! 🙋🏼♀️Just click here to read it 🙋🏼♂️ Keep praying and share your thoughts inside the community.
📖ICYMI. The Monday evening online fellowship and study is rich. It’s a one-hour deep dive discussion into one of the weekly newsletters. Click this Zoom link a little before 8p (eastern) and join us. It’s becoming the favorite part of the week.
Enjoy today’s read!
Before jumping in, you’ll get more out of this post if you read Mark 10:46-52 first.
When the storm started, our little puptent had its advantages but the stream flowing through the middle of it wasn’t one of them.
This was supposed to be the perfect trip to do some camping and visit with Lorie’s brother who was in the Navy.
We were young, adventurous, far from God and the trajectory of our lives was about to change.
I saw it coming, she didn’t.
Yet the whole trip seemed like a lie right from the beginning.
At least it did to me.
But it was the third lie that really got to me. It will probably get to you too.
We traveled from Rochester to Virginia Beach without a worry or care in the world.
Except for the glove compartment.
“Lorie, don’t open that. It’s full of change and if you do, it will make a mess.” Innocent enough, right?
Lie # 1.
But that storm was making life difficult now that we had set up camp. Things were getting soaked and all kinds of cares and worries started creeping in.
I think Lorie was handling that better than me.
We both rolled with it, but inside I was a little panicked. My plans were getting ruined.
We needed a new place for dinner. The restaurant we found on the beach was in a fancy hotel with an amazing view of the ocean.
When we parked a couple of blocks away, I lied again, sort of.
“Hon, I left something in the car, keep walking and I’ll catch up.”
I felt guilty because when she was gone, I opened the glove compartment and there was no change in there.
Well, there was change in there, it just wasn’t coins.
Technically I didn’t lie. Does that count as a lie? If so, it’s the second one.
The ocean view from our table was spectacular.
But the view for everyone in that very nice restaurant was about to become a spectacle.
Thankfully it was before cell phones.
Trembling, fumbling, scared to death, I reached into my pocket.
Somehow, the whole restaurant stopped looking at the ocean and knew what was happening. Except Lorie. But she caught on quickly.
“It’s about time”.
That’s not what Lorie said, it was what her father said a couple of weeks before this trip.
But now my mind was flooded with the third lie.
I didn’t want to miss this opportunity of a lifetime but was convincing myself that there was a good possibility she’d say no.
With the whole restaurant nudging others at their tables and nodding in our direction, we all waited with bated breath.
It took me four years to finally ask, and only four seconds for Lorie to say yes.
(A sweat emoji does this no justice!) Why do we wait so long to ask (Matt. 7:7-11)?
And what if this guy had never asked (Mk 10:51-52)?
Next Saturday we celebrate forty-four years together. And that’s no lie!
It just keeps reminding me that you’ll never know the answer unless you ask. But this much I do know; if you don’t ask, the answer is by default a no.
Here’s my question for you: What have you been convincing yourself out of asking because of self-doubt or fear?
I’d love to hear your answer. Reply and share it with me, or better yet, jump into our free community and engage with others. You can even wish us a happy anniversary or share a prayer need in there.
PS: Speaking of asking, I’m aiming to double the reach of this ministry. I’m going for it and would love your help. Can you forward this newsletter regularly to a few people you know — in your household, workplace and church — and encourage them to subscribe? Thank you.
Thanks for Reading!
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COMMUNITY & PRAYER. I just created a space to share encouragement, prayer, events, talk about the newsletter, make some friends and keep up with the latest on the book project. I posted the book’s introduction for you to check out. It’s free, fun and would be a pleasure to have you join in. Others are already engaged. Click here to join.
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