Squire Rushnell - When God Winks on New Beginnings: Signposts of Encouragement for Fresh Starts and Second Chances

when GOD winks
on
NEW BEGINNINGS

When GOD Winks on New Beginnings
Copyright 2009 by SQuire Rushnell

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher

Thomas Nelson, Inc. titles may be purchased in bulk for educational business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are Prom the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 international Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved

Other Scripture references are Prom The Living Bible (TLB) 1971 Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL. All rights reserved; KING JAMES VERSION (KJV).

Project Editor: Lisa Stilwell
Designed by Scott Lee (scottleedesigns.com)

ISBN-10: 1-4041-8696-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-4041-8696-5

Printed and bound in China

www.thomasnelson.com

09 10 11 12 [WAI] 6 5 4 3 2 1

when GOD winks
on
NEW BEGINNING

Singposts of Encouragement for
Fresh Starts and Seconds Chances

SQUIRE RUSHNELL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

New beginnings are exciting!

But...they are also scary.

Uncertain thoughts creep into your mind.

Will this new chapter in my life be everything I hoped for... or a disaster?

Am I really qualified to take on this job... or will they find out I'm quaking in my boots?

Do I really have what it takes to complete this quest the time, the energy, the stamina? Or will people end up making fun of me... calling me a "dreamer"and making it sound like a bad word?

The loudest voice you hear at times like these may be your own, screaming, "WHAT IF I FAIL?!"

If That Happens to You...

Then please go right back to the top of this page and hold on to those first four words: New beginnings are exciting! They become exciting to us because they offer the promise of hope, the anticipation of change in our lives, and the prospect that our dreams will indeed come true!

Change your thoughts and you change your world.
norman Vincent Peale

As you come along with me in this book, I invite you to infuse yourself with optimism, to ride on the adrenaline of possibilitiesand not to plummet on the fear of impossibilities. I'll be urging you to set your gaze upon your desired outcome, to see yourself victorious, to enjoy what you seekand not waste time on the what-ifs of failure.

Incredible Godwink Stories

I'm betting that the following life-altering stories about people just like you, who have stood on the threshold of new beginnings, will help embolden your perspective and attitude. That's because these stories are about people who simply sharpened their resolve while others belittled their dreams and prognosticated negative outcomes. They simply pulled a cloak of perseverance over themselves, climbed onto their life's highways, and headed for what they believed to be their destinies.

You will see how each of these people was guided by signposts of encouragement: the "Wow, what are the odds of that?" experiences when someone out of the blue "just happened" to intersect their path, steering them into a whole new direction or perspective. You'll witness the incredible so-called coincidences or auspiciously answered prayers that helped them navigate the valleys of their journey and joyfully emerge at long-desired destinations with their quests fulfilled.

These remarkable signposts of reassurance are what I call "godwinks." They are the uplifting little messages that happen to every one of us. They are just as meaningful as that wink you got as a youngster from Dad or Grandma. The kind that meant, "Hey, kid! I'm thinking of you right now. Hang in there."

That's a godwink.

This Is About You

Although I assert that the stories in these pages will boost your optimism and outlook, make no mistake. This book is not about the people in those stories. It's about YOU. It's about you and your opportunity to do things you never thought you could do. It's about your concerns. It's about turning uncertainties into certainty. It's about your voyage and your victorious outcome.

Let Your Journey Begin

In Lewis Carroll's classic Alice in Wonderland, Alice encounters a grinning Cheshire Cat.

"Would you tell m,e please, which way I ought to go from here?" [asked Alice.]

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.

"I don't much care where" said Alice.

"Then it doesn't matter much which way you go," said the Cat.

Lewis Carroll's point: "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there."

Are you striking out on your own for the first time? Are you a young graduate seeking your first job, buying your first home, or getting married? Might you be at a crossroads of new beginningsperhaps an empty nester finding your new reason for being? Or someone who's dissatisfied with, or even dislocated from, your current job? In any case, you are standing on the threshold of uncertainty ... a whole new chapter in your life.

Therefore, the very first thing you must determine is where you want to go.

As challenging as it may be for you to arrive at the answer, the objective is quite simple. And it's similar to the age-old question you heard as a kid: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" It's important to determine what pursuit will best use talents you already have, what will develop interests you've long nurtured, and what will bring you prosperity, happiness, and fulfillment in the process.

To further illustrate my point, imagine my handing you the keys to a car. You slide in behind the wheel. Now I say to you, "Go and keep going, day in and day out, year in and year out. Just keep going."

You might look at me as if I were totally daft!

You'd probably shout, "Why would I commence a journey without a map and with absolutely no idea where I'm heading?"

Get the point?

Youyourself, not someone elseneed to determine where you want to go and what you want to do in your life. And once you make that decision, you can begin mapping a plan to get there and focusing on that objective every single day

Look inside yourself, at the goals and dreams God has planted inside you, and identify what you need to be happy, then put things in motion to secure that happiness.
Robin McGraw
From My Heart to Yours

Chapter
1