From Hot Mess to Blessed

Julie Gillies

Description

Dare to Believe Every woman struggles to believe she is who God says she is and to believe the stunning promises He whispers to her heart. But when you're a hot mess (and we all are to one degree or another), it's hard to imagine things can be different—that you can be different. Author Julie Gillies has experienced broken dreams, trauma, and plenty of drama, but she has also encountered the holy hope and promises of God. She longs to help you...understand your identity in Christ instead of believing "I'll always be this way"embrace your true significance instead of feeling less-thanhold on to peace instead of freaking out when hard things keep happeninggrasp your God-given destiny and begin walking in it It's not that God doesn't bless hot messes. (If that were the case, where would any of us be?) But you don't have to remain a hot mess. It's time to receive and experience God's hope and promises in a fresh way! Includes questions for group study or personal reflection.

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers
• Date de parution: 01 août 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736967044
• Langue: English

Extrait

Praise for From Hot Mess to Blessed
From Hot Mess to Blessed is a courageous and masterful work that will disturb you in the best way. I stand in awe of Julie s honesty, vulnerability, determination, and obedience and how that all resulted in her providing us with an invaluable harvest of spiritual insights that will bring hope and healing to anyone wishing to deal with life s most difficult passages in a deeply meaningful, faith-filled way. This affirming message of God s presence and love in the thick of crisis, chaos, and loss is a must read and a gem to be treasured. Beyond inspiring.
-Torry Martin , author, Of Moose and Men
If you ve ever thought you were too messed up to do anything important for God, read this book. Julie Gillies writes with vulnerability, honesty, and a deep commitment to helping women find answers in God s Word. If life has thrown you a few curves and you ve wondered how to move forward with confident faith and renewed joy, this is the book for you. Read it for yourself and then take a group of friends through it. The study questions for each chapter will take you deeper into God s truth, and the list of scriptures at the end will give you solid footing for a life of blessing! I highly recommend this book!
-Carol Kent , speaker and author, When I Lay My Isaac Down
Julie Gillies writes in the fullness of grace and truth, and offers hope for any one wondering if they are too much of a mess for God to bother with. In From Hot Mess to Blessed , Julie peels back the lies to get to our hearts greatest needs-and then introduces us to the One who can meet them completely. If I could put this book in the hands of every woman, I would. I would look her in the eyes and say, Read this, believe it, and keep it handy for the rest of your life!
- Glynnis Whitwer , author of 10 books, including Doing Busy Better , executive director of communications Proverbs 31 Ministries
Julie Gillies s From Hot Mess to Blessed is a masterpiece. The way Julie weaves together words to describe the internal world of the soul drew me right into her story. She put words to things I ve felt and experienced but didn t know how to express. Julie s story is relevant to women from all walks and journeys. Her ability to connect with the reader will inspire, encourage, help them grow emotionally, and, most importantly, fall more in love with Jesus.
-Julia Mateer , author of Life-Giving Leadership
Julie s new book, From Hot Mess to Blessed , had me at hello! What woman cannot relate to being a hot mess at some point in her life? (Like maybe this morning!) From the title to the last page, Julie inspired me to wrestle with some conflicting and limiting beliefs in my life. She is not afraid to question how and why God allows tough life struggles while sharing her gift of transparency and a buoy of hope. Julie masterfully unpacks the boxes of her own heart s most vulnerable places as she simultaneously applies freshly woven examples from women of the Bible. She reminds her reader of the foundational truth that our only chance of moving from messed to blessed is on the back of Jesus. Julie reminds women believing is daring, but if we dare to believe, we will be blessed among women! From Hot Mess to Blessed is an inspirational adventure that will challenge readers to live full lives as blessed hot messes!
-Pat Layton , speaker, coach, and author of Life Unstuck
I ve felt like a hot mess more than one time in my life, and I can tell you it s not pretty. When I picked up Julie s book and started reading, I began to see hope and how God s promises really do change everything. The more I read, the more I see how I can go From Hot Mess to Blessed . Thank you, Julie, for making something that seems so complicated very simple and filled with hope.
-Monica Schmelter , Bridges talk show host, and general manager, WHTN, Christian Television Network
If life and circumstances have left you feeling beaten down, unneeded, without purpose, and even hopeless, Julie s words and honest transparency will breathe fresh hope, inspiration, and joy back into your soul. You ll be inspired and motivated to not only begin believing in yourself again and how much God adores you but believing a powerful transformation is possible in your heart, mind, and life through Him.
-Tracie Miles , speaker and author with Proverbs 31 Ministries
The further I got into From Hot Mess to Blessed , the deeper the personal heart transformation, and I experienced a beautiful spiritual realignment. The extravagant love of the Father washed over me as I read and received His truths. Julie weaves Scripture throughout, confirming our identities. Julie s personal story is captivating and relatable. She makes us realize that we re not alone in our struggles, and that the kindness of the Father is readily accessible. This is a book you ll want to read and pass on.
-Michelle Tellone Skorski , pastor at The Front, and radio host TheJoyFM Network, KWND The Wind, 88.3 WAFJ, WLCQ and WYQQ
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Verses marked AMPC are taken from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition copyright 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Cover by Bryce Williamson, Eugene, Oregon
Cover Image hanohiki / iStock
Julie K. Gillies is represented by MacGregor Literary, Inc.
FROM HOT MESS TO BLESSED
Copyright 2017 by Julie K. Gillies
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-6703-7 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-6704-4 (eBook)
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
Dedication
To my gracious heavenly Father, Who breathed fresh hope and stunning promises into my very being. It is through You alone I have dared to believe.
Acknowledgments
A big, fat thank you to Harvest House Publishers, who challenged me to write this book: I am grateful you believed in me. Special thanks to Kathleen Kerr, editor extraordinaire and kind friend, who made my words more effective than they might have been. Thank you to my husband, Keith, for supporting me, praying for me, and bringing home dinner more nights than I can count. And huge thanks to my awesome Facebook prayer support team. Your prayers buoyed, strengthened, and enabled me. May the Lord pour out His abundant blessings on you all.
Contents
Praise for From Hot Mess to Blessed
Dedication
Acknowledgments
A Note to the Reader
Introduction
1. And Then I Knew Normal Wasn t Out of the Question
2. Wait! You Mean That s Not Who I Really Am?
3. The Part Where We Keep Going Through Hard Stuff
4. The Chasm-Closer
5. For Our Every Meltdown, Freak-Out, and Gut-Wrenching Hurt
6. Knocking Knees Aside
7. Because Every Iota of You Matters
8. It Shatters the Bleakest Despair
9. Neither Our Guilt Complex Nor Our Doubts Nor Our Catastrophic Failures Can Separate Us
10. It s Not the CIA, but Special Assignments Abound
11. It Surpasses Our Dreams in a Spectacular Sort of Way
12. Because There s No Such Thing as Marked-Down Faith
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Study
Supernaturally Stabilizing Scriptures
Promises for a Hot Mess
Also from Julie Gillies
About the Author
About the Publisher
A Note to the Reader

H i, I m Julie. For as long as I can remember, I ve been something of a hot mess. I ve experienced a lot of heartache and caused plenty. I have demanded perfection yet offered none myself. I ve stumbled, fallen, and wondered why on earth God puts up with the likes of me.
What I have discovered is that the finished work of the cross has changed everything. Christ s love, forgiveness, and power have utterly changed me and continue to change me. He has filled my heart with fresh, holy hope and enabled me to believe His promises. My fervent hope is to be less hot mess and more blessed. May the promises in this book offer the same hope to you.
This book includes Scripture references in the AMPC translation-the Amplified Bible Classic edition. It is a literal equivalent translation, and I love how this particular translation clarifies and amplifies key Hebrew and Greek words, which you will notice via parentheses and brackets. It allows the reader to more completely and clearly grasp word meanings and enjoy nuances understood in the original languages. For me, it is a fuller, richer Scripture experience. I hope you grow to love it as much as I do.
Introduction

I t s a compelling thought: God speaks jaw-dropping promises to His women, and if we dare to believe Him, we will be blessed.
Consider Mary, an average young woman living her quiet little life in Nazareth, tending to her family s chores while daydreaming about her recent engagement to Joseph. Suddenly, the angel Gabriel steps from the heavenly dimension onto her humble patch of earth and says something outrageous. He makes a promise that could never be fulfilled through mere human effort.
He declares the upcoming birth