Emily T. Wierenga - Making It Home: Finding My Way to Peace, Identity, and Purpose

2015 by Emily T. Wierenga

Published by Baker Books

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakerbooks.com

Ebook edition created 2015

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

ISBN 978-1-4412-2706-5

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations labeled Message are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

To protect the privacy of those who have shared their stories with the author, some details and names have been changed.

Published in association with MacGregor Literary Agency.

Emily Wierenga is one of those rare and extraordinary writers willing to lay it all out there, every painful, private, unbecoming detail of her life. Yet somehow her story becomes your story. Yes, the details might be different but the struggles, doubts, pressures, and fears are the same. But heres where Emily rises above even the most extraordinary writers: her hopes become your hopes. Her faith becomes your faith. Her prayer becomes your prayer. Her ever-faithful God becomes your God, and through the pages of this book, you feel him pull you to his chest and assure you he has never left your side. Making It Home is nourishment for the heart, clarity for the eyes, and divine comfort for the soul.

Rachel Macy Stafford , New York Times bestselling author of Hands Free Mama

Emily gently reminds us that a home is far more than a house. When we open our doors and hearts to othersboth far and nearwe create a precious space where God and humanity reside richly together.

Margaret Feinberg , author of Fight Back with Joy

Making It Home absolutely captivated me. Emily Wierenga is a brilliant writer who shares her journey with refreshing vulnerability. Her prose is poetic and raw, and the door to her spiritual life is held wide open for the reader. This book is like having ringside seats to one womans wrestling match with God as she fights to figure out who she really is. Yes, this is Emilys story, and this is her wrestling match. But really, its all of our stories. Reading Emilys journey, I discovered more of who I am, more of who God is, and more about what it means to find your way back to God when, at last, you wholly surrender.

Jennifer Dukes Lee , author of Love Idol

Emily Wierenga has a gift for taking readers on journeys of the soul. If you need hope for the future, courage for the next step, and an insightful, honest guide to walk with you, Making It Home will help you find your way.

Holley Gerth , Wall Street Journal bestselling author of You re Already Amazing

In her beautiful new memoir, Making It Home , Emily Wierenga writes with captivating and uncommon vulnerability, sharing the insecurities and fears that held her hostage and the dwelling place of hope she found when she was willing to courageously love and be loved, right where she was.

Renee Swope , bestselling author of A Confident Heart

Emily Wierenga writes like a novelist, but the stories are her own. And somehow they are more life-giving and truth-telling than the ones people make up. But thats what happens with great stories, I suppose. Theyre given to those who can tell them best.

Ben Arment , author of Dream Year and founder of STORY

Making It Home is a poignant, daringly open memoir about one girls stretch toward love and acceptance. You will unmask yourself in Emilys journey, the final denouement being the discovery that you are utterly loved and cherished and affirmed by Jesus. A delightful, important read.

Mary DeMuth , coauthor of The Day I Met Jesus

Im glad the world has people like Emily Wierenga, people who are sincere in their weakness and can tell a story that folds a reader into it. I tend to see the world as a web of ideas. Emily, through her own struggles and Gods deep grace, sees the world as a web of relationships. Most importantly, she sees Gods hand in all these relationships. Making It Home is moving and deeply personal in an inviting and earnest way. It is hope-filled and splendidly crafted.

Barnabas Piper , author of The Pastors Kid and cohost of The Happy Rant Podcast

Emily Wierengas writing is a masterful symphony of words. In Making It Home , she pulls back the curtain of her heart and invites us to peek in the window at the gut-wrenching struggles and daily stresses that led her to the place where broken souls are mended and love changes everythinghome.

Sharon Jaynes , author of The Power of a Womans Words and Praying for Your Husband from Head-to-Toe

Poignant. Gritty. Beautiful. This is one womans search to find the ever-present love of her heavenly Father amidst diapers and crayons, cancers and eating disorders, miscarriages and broken hearts. I felt as though she peeked into my soul and filled the emptiness with truth. Dont miss it.

Susan May Warren , award-winning, bestselling author of The Wonder of You

Reminiscent of Anne Lamott and Ann Voskamp, Emily Wierenga has written a new book that is a mix of poetic story, real-life struggles, and penetrating truth. Making It Home is one womans journey of discovering that who she is means more than what she does , especially within the four walls of her home. Emilys story is my story. Its the story of every woman who allows God to peel back the layers of self-protection to discover the beauty that he sees within us and the joy in the family and home hes made for us. Highly recommended!

Tricia Goyer , USA Today bestselling author of fifty books, including Teen Mom: You Are Stronger Than You Think

Rich and raw, Emily shares about Making It Home a place where you can fall, rage, and eventually even heal. An authentic picture of messy but beautiful grace.

Sheila Wray Gregoire , marriage blogger at ToLoveHonorandVacuum.com

Emily is mastering the art of finding God in the everyday moments of life. Her writing will help you do the same. A beautiful read.

Brooke McGlothlin , cofounder and president of Raising Boys Ministries and coauthor of Hope for the Weary Mom: Let God Meet You in the Mess

Making It Home is a story of the heart. In this book, Emily not only shares the steps of her own journey but invites you along as well.

Claire Diaz-Ortiz , Silicon Valley innovator, early Twitter employee, and author

Dedicated to my friend Ashleyfor having the humility to admit you were lost, and the courage to make it home.

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins

and will raise up the age-old foundations;

you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,

Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

Isaiah 58:12

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

T. S. Eliot