For the military spouses: may you always know that wherever change takes you, Gods unchanging love goes with you. Youre appreciated and so, so beloved.
Contents
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Acknowledge
Day 1 Simmer Down, Anxiety
Day 2 Abundance Is Coming
Day 3 Name the Loss
Day 4 Reject the Committee of Internal Critics
Day 5 First, Go.
Day 6 Look for the Signs
Day 7 Grow Good Things
Accept
Day 8 Remember the Relationship
Day 9 Talking Back to Your Strong-Willed Self
Day 10 When All You See Are Bugs, Look Again
Day 11 Sit and Support
Day 12 Divert Your Attention from Distractions
Day 13 Stay on the Track
Day When Change Falls Darkest, Truth Blazes Brightest
Day Reach Further
Adapt
Day 17 Put On the High-Waisted Pants
Day 18 Get Uncomfortably Comfortable in Your Circle
Day 19 Look for Jesus in Your Neighborhood
Day 20 Consider Gods Redirection
Day 21 What Change Cant Take Away
Day 22 Failure Cant Knock You Off Course
Abide
Day 23 Lean into Breath Prayers
Day 24 Youre Strong in Scars and Stars
Day 25 Carry Traditions to Ease Transitions
Day 26 Say Yes to the Soup
Day 27 Ask Different Questions
Day 28 Let Lifes Noreasters Launch You Forward
Day 29 When Youre in a Tight Space, Get Down Low
Day 30 Believe in Expiration Dates
Day 31 What the Jonas Brothers and the Rest of Us Have in Common
Conclusion: Just a Little Note
Notes
Back Ads
Back Cover
Acknowledgments
Thank you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for your faithful presence, support, and comfort as Ive tapped out the words to this book.
To my endlessly kind and good man, David: youve brought a lot of change in my life, but your patience and wisdom in walking through it with me have never changedand changed me for the better. Youre Gods best gift to me, and I love you wildly.
To James, Ethan, and Faith: thank you for showing such interest in this project and for all the comic relief when I didnt see how Id make my deadline. Youre the biggest blasts and your Dads and my greatest treasure. We love you more than youll ever know, and that will never change.
To Mom, Sara, Chris, Megan, Bev, Lisa, Andy, Kathy, Floyd, AND all my darlin nieces and nephews: thanks for giving me and the gang fixed places of familiarity and comfort to return home to. You are beloved!
To my #wingwomen who kindly offer their presence in my life and their prayers for this book: Alli, Aime, Cheryl, Connie, Holley, JulieAnne, Kathy, Kim, Lindsey, Lisa-Jo, Maria, Rebecca, and Salenathank you. I love each of you more than words can say.
To the Bradley, Crumpton, Leonard, and Powell families: thank you for lifting my family and me up in no less than 752 prayers. You consistently helped carry me through a hard couple of years chock-full of change.
To Aime: I never want to live in a world without our coffee dates, even when theyre six feet apart in an empty parking lot. Thank you for always, always having my back.
To Kaitlyn, my faithful assistant and friend: Im old enough to be your mama (or at least an older aunt!), but you continually teach me all the new things with such grace. Thank you for all you do.
To Andrea Doering and the posse at Revell: you are just the dearest folks in all of publisherdom. I always get excited when I see an email from you or when I talk with one of you! Thank you for your vision and your faithful support and care. I love you so.
To my agent, Teresa: thank you for your help and expertise!
To every military spouse Ive met in person and online: youve consistently and wholeheartedly been a safe place for me, and this book is my small thank you.
To Ellie Holcomb: your song Red Sea Road was a constant companion as I wrote this book. Thank you for writing and recording this artistic masterpiece that has been a friend to me during some difficult, heart-wrenching change.
To my porch friends and readers: thank you for loving me as I am, even when I go on too much about cake or country music or not liking winter. You always make a wide-open space for me, and I pray this book offers you a wide-open space to be assured and comforted when difficult change finds you.
Day 1
Simmer Down, Anxiety
The L ORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Psalm 46:11 NKJV
My daughters bloodcurdling scream ricocheted from the garage up to where I sat in my office on the second floor.
I shot out of my chair and sprinted down two flights of stairs. I threw open the door from our mudroom to the garage, calling with no small amount of panic, Faith! FAITH! Are you okay?! My bare feet landed on the doormat sitting just inside the garage, just like theyd done a thousand times before. And thats when I noticed a texture under one foot that in no way resembled the doormat. It was soft, kind of squishy. I looked down and in short order let out my own bloodcurdling scream as I realized I had just stepped barefoot barefoot on a long snake.