Doorkeeper

Update: This giveaway has ended. A winner has been emailed!

“Our house was going into foreclosure, we were moving into a rental house, and God didn’t seem to care. We had thought He would come through. He didn’t.” ~Jenny Smith, Seriously, God?~

Today on the blog, I’m hosting author and speaker, Jenny Smith. Not long ago, Jenny’s family faced foreclosure, job loss, the anxiety of no health insurance, and having to learn to adapt to a different income bracket—just like so many other families. Seriously, God? is not just the title of her book but also the question her heart struggled with during those uncertain times.

Here’s an excerpt from Jenny’s story: “I struggled with how God had let me down. Where was He? Why didn’t He provide a job where we could maintain our standard of living? My whole Christian life had been built on an understanding of God being our provider—the one whom we went to when we had a need. What happened? We were doing everything we knew to do, and it wasn’t working.

As I stood in our garden months later, I realized that if I didn’t turn to God’s Word, I was never going to understand why my reality wasn’t lining up with my view of God. I began searching in the book of John and discovered the seven I am statements of Jesus. Seven times, we are personally invited to see more clearly who Jesus is. If we are going to live life in the name of Jesus, we need to have a firm grip on who he claims to be.  Each I am statement highlights a particular relationship of Jesus to the spiritual needs of people, all with the intention of radically getting our undivided attention.

Don’t feel bad if you don’t know them—neither did I. But as I studied them, my thinking completely changed, causing my heart to undergo a transformation as well. I’m praying God will do the same mighty work in your heart. That’s really what it comes down to—our hearts. We can find plenty of resources to help with some of the practical needs, but our hearts may have been left empty.”

Would you like to join Jenny as she shares her journey of discovering who Jesus is and the impact this knowledge had on the early church? If you feel like you’re trapped on life’s roller coaster and you fear the next sharp downturn might defeat you, you’ll be encouraged by both the personal story and Bible study sections of this book. Seriously, God? touches on what this journey is all about—deepening your relationship with God—so that even as you stand smack-dab in the middle of a disappointing reality, you’ll have a strong and steady faith!

Now that you’re eager to read Seriously, God?, here are two ways you can get your hands on this book.  (1) Jenny is generously offering a copy to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment on this post to be included. (Contest ends Tuesday, September 4th.) (2) Or follow this link to purchase the book.

About the author:

Jenny teaches at her local church, conferences, retreats, banquets or wherever women gather to hear hope from God’s Word for their lives. She loves the country life in Adairsville, Georgia with her husband, Chad and three daughters.

Her message enables women to . . .

1. Discover the power God has given us through Jesus.
2. Recognize His care in the midst of real life.
3. Experience God’s provision regardless of the circumstances they face.

You can connect with Jenny at her website Keeping In Stride Ministries.

You can also find her at her FB ministry page here.

Or you can follow Jenny on Twitter at this link.

This week I’m linking with Faith-filled Friday,  Your Thriving Family, Spiritual Sunday, Hear It on Sunday, Use It on Monday, Sharing his Beauty, The Better Mom, and Soli Deo Gloria.

UPDATE: This giveaway has ended. A winner has been emailed!

To continue my Blogoversary celebration, I’m sharing an interview and giveaway from Marcia Moston. Her story is sure to inspire you! As head of missions while her husband was pastor of a Vermont church, Marcia led mission teams to various countries in Central America. She holds degrees from the University of Vermont, and Trinity Theological Seminary. Marcia and her husband are Yankee transplants currently enjoying sunny South Carolina. You can connect with Marcia at marciamoston.com.

Hi, Marcia! I’m so happy to host you at Doorkeeper. Please tell us about yourself. Although I hold degrees in sociology and Christian education, most of what I’ve learned has been by the proverbial seat of my pants. I’ve taught English in a Christian high school, worked with orphans in a Mayan village, led mission teams to Central America, delivered Yellowbooks, stuffed vending machines, and lived in everything from tepees to parsonages.

I love to share the stories and lessons I’ve learned along the way about what a very real God can do with the smallest of our offerings. My first and most dear word from the Lord is “Be still and know that I am God.” ~Psalm 46:10~

What do you hope readers will glean from your story?
A fresh confidence in the Living One Who Sees Them. A sense of expectancy in encountering him. Both the story and its path to publication are examples of the possibilities of an ordinary life in the hands of an extraordinary God. I hope readers will be inspired and encouraged that whether they travel a thousand miles or a thousand feet, God can do exceedingly more than they imagine.

Tell us about Call of a Coward: It’s about laying aside your hopes, dreams, and fears to follow God even though where He’s leading seems to require credentials you lack and courage you don’t think you have. And about discovering just how personal and gracious He is.

Recording events and later rewriting them helped me to see just how involved God was (and is!) in my journey. I gained a deeper appreciation of his grace, and then after the manuscript won several contests, including the Women of Faith writing contest, I realized it was a message bigger than my personal story.

It was with fear and trembling that I put my name on the same line as Moses’, but the story is not about me or Moses; it’s about the God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Here’s my opening: “The problem with promising God you’ll follow Him wherever He leads is that you just might have to go.

I suspect it would be easier if you were certain of His calling—like stepping out the door and seeing the lilac bush on fire and hearing a voice commanding you. But when it’s your husband who is delivering the message—well, that leaves a little room for wonder.

At least that’s how I felt when my husband rocked my comfortable middle-class afternoon with his belief God was calling us to pack up and move to a Mayan village in Guatemala.”

And then a little further into the story: “The road exceeded my worst expectations. Cliffs rose straight up on one side and plunged straight down on the other. Continue Reading…