Juana Mikels - Choosing Him All Over Again: A Story of Romance and Redemption

God writes the best love storiesand Juanas is one of the best! When Juana was trying to write her love story, she failed miserably. But when she turned it over to God, He did the impossible.

SHEILA WRAY GREGOIRE

Inspirational Speaker, blogger at ToLoveHonorAndVacuum.com

Juana is a lovely and godly woman who speaks from her heart, personally and honestly to her audience. She glorifies God with her honesty and candidness, and draws her listeners in with Truth and Grace from the Spirit who lives in her. I highly recommend her to you!

VALERIE ELLIOT SHEPARD

Author of Pilipintos Happiness, daughter of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot

Choosing Him is a transparent testimony of the power of God to change lives and marriages. Juana so beautifully weaves her story of brokenness as she unravels the mystery of Gods way in marriage. God used Juanas search to find herselfto find Him! And now, she is sharing all the wisdom she learned on her journey with us! I believe marriages will be saved and changed for Gods glory with the message of this book.

COURTNEY JOSEPH

Author of the book Women Living Well and blogger at

WomenLivingWell.org

A clear message that conveys the love of Christ through insightful, biblical wisdom.

SALLIE HITE McDANIEL

author of Jesus is My Thesis

Juana Mikels leads us through an incredible message of hope. There is no marriage thats beyond the scope of Gods redeeming power. With a blend of wisdom and warmth, Choosing Him All Over Again reminds us that marriage is worth fighting for.

DARLENE SCHACHT

Author of Messy Beautiful Love: Hope and Redemption for Real-Life Marriages

Dumping her husband for the good life, Juana Mikels decided she could create a much better life on her own, so she took off... heading the wrong way down a one-way street. Then Juana crashed... right into Jesus and His plan for her life.

Finally, after so much me-ism, she came face to face with Jesus and His Word. When she gave her life to Him, her parallel path with Him began. She, without realizing it, started what would become an intense love relationship with her Lord and Savior. She kept up her pace with Jesus, and miracles began on the other path. This book is a life changer. Juanas story is for every woman: single or married!

NANCY COBB

Author of The Politically Incorrect Wife and How to Get Your Husband to Listen to You

Juana is real, she is honest, and she constantly points you back to the only One who brings hope, joy, and peaceJesus Christ. You will leave with a deeper understanding that Gods plan is always best and He brings beauty out of our brokenness.

LEANNE BURDA

Writer, Blogger, Speaker, Womens Ministry

ENDORSEMENTS CONTINUED AT END OF BOOK...

Choosing Him All Over Again

A Story of Romance and Redemption

2015 by Juana Mikels

All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-1-62020-291-3

eISBN: 978-1-62020-395-8

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture Quotations from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE . Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Quotations marked NAS are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scriptures marked KJV are taken from the Authorized Version.

The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2011. All rights reserved.

Cover Design and Page Layout by Hannah Nichols

eBook Conversion by Anna Raats

Author Photograph by Ray Barbour

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FOREWORD

MY REFLECTIONS REGARDING THE TESTIMONY GOD HAS GIVEN TO JUANA

I have known Juana Mikels for nearly ten years and have seen her grow in the Lord and in her willingness to be taught by any of those godly women who have been with her through thick and thin.

On one of my radio programs some years ago, I spoke about the need for women to keep house. I received some flack from those programswho wants to keep house in this day and age? Isnt it more fun to be out and about, getting a job, making money, etc., rather than being a quiet and gentle spirit, busy at home (as the scripture clearly states). Juana wrote to me about one of her husbands pet peeves. Juana has long black hair, and when her husband came into the bathroom he often found it on the floor. She regarded that as such a small thingwhy on earth would he be disgusted by it? What should she do? Of course the answer was very simplesweep your hair off the floor and put it in the wastebasket. Too much trouble? Do it for the Lord Jesus, if you think you ought not to have done it for your husband!

Juana was willing to receive suggestions from me, even though I often felt that they were none of my business. She is a woman who thinks for herself and thinks through things.

Juana had the family memorize James 1:2consider it pure joy... whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Surely that has been a special watchword for each one of that very special family. Juana surprised me recently when she told me we had written thirty-five letters to each other! Thank you, dear Juana, for your willingness to be vulnerable, to be corrected (as I sometimes, alas, do!) and to be mentored. And to God be all the glory!

Juana is clearly a woman who is serious about her walk with Christ. She has a sweet message for the stay-at-home mothers and wives who want to learn to love their husbands. She has a marvelous testimony, and I wish all those whose marriages are in trouble could know her story. I was amazed and amused, in the laughter and in the seriousness. She indeed has a testimony which will encourage and strengthen others. She has a platform that I do not have. People always say to me, But youre Elisabeth Elliot and you grew up a Christian with so many advantages.

Juana has a story to tell of mending a broken marriage that must be told, and she certainly has been willing to bare her soul. Sock it to em, Juana! Gently, of course!

Elisabeth Elliot

Magnolia, Massachusetts

January 23, 2002

AUTHORS NOTE

I am indebted to Elisabeth Elliot for mentoring me, visiting me, and writing me. Over the years, Elisabeth wrote me thirty-five letters, which I treasure. Yes, old-fashioned typed notes and letters. She also urged me to write the book you are holdingsuggesting the titleafter she had invited me to speak on her program in 1996 to share the story you are about to read. Nearly twelve years to the day after we left that recording studio, I sat down at my laptop and began typing out my story. The events chronicled in this book occurred before I met dear Elisabeth; I have, however, included spiritual applications due to her later influence and from the imprint made upon my soul by Christian thinkers and heroes she introduced me to, figuratively speaking. Their combined wisdom will forever be part of my spiritual heritage, alongside other admirable people God used. (But I must save some surprises!)