Hello, friends! For those of you who don’t know, my book, Nothing to Hold but Hope, released last Wednesday. In the final days before the book was finished, I was a stressed out mess. It took me some time to figure out why. And then I realized something…

Letting go, no matter what you’re letting go of, is difficult. For me, this book is made up from years of struggle and pain.

My struggle.

My pain.

Don’t get me wrong. There are feel good moments in there as well, but writing it was reliving it, and letting my story go out into the world for others to have the opportunity to judge… is rough.

Trust me when I tell you I understand that when God says, “Go!” especially when there is an exclamation point attached, I must. However, it is easy for fear to become a factor, and I believe it is what we choose to do with our fears that make a difference in the stories of our lives.

To run the other way is where fear will lead to sin. But turning to God inside of that fear and making the decision to go where He has called… well, that is what turns the scared into sacred and leads to blessing. Through my fear I made a decision to publish my story.

My advice: obey and be blessed.

I’m not saying obedience is easy, and I’m definitely not saying that once you’ve done the right thing life will become less painful. In fact, it will probably be the opposite. But God tends to bless in ways we don’t expect, and we may not recognize those blessings for a very long time afterwards.

I want to tell you that pain and waiting shouldn’t stop you from doing what you’re called to do. And it should never stop you from going where you’re led.

Keep going. Keep climbing. Turn the scared into sacred and run towards blessings! God’s got this, and He is all you need!

Is there something you are struggling to do through your fear?

On another note, my lovely friends gave me a semi-surprise book party. (I knew they were doing something, because I was told we were going to celebrate at my home. But I didn’t know what would happen there.) They made beautiful speeches and provided lanterns for us to release: one for each child living here and one for each baby living with Jesus. Oh, and there was a lot of dessert. And everybody shouts, “Amen!” No celebration is complete without dessert!

It was beautiful, and I am so grateful. I wish each of you could have been there!

If you haven’t purchased your copy of Nothing to Hold but Hope, you can do so here.

To see the book trailer, you can do that here.

AND… to enter the giveaway, (winner to be announced tomorrow) you can do that here!

Be blessed, friends!

Love,

Jennifer