Jeff Goins - The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing

In the past few years Ive had the honor of watching Jeff Goins transition from a writer into a thought leader and one of the most exciting next generation voices. In this book, youll see why and perhaps even more importantly how he did it.

Jon Acuff, New York Times bestselling author ofStart

Jeff Goins has penned a beautiful reminder that time is sacred, of how even ordinary moments brim with heaven, and that great souls are forged in the crucible of delay. What a delight.

Ian Morgan Cron, bestselling author ofJesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A Memoir of SortsandChasing Francis: A Pilgrims Tale

If you find yourself in the quiet valley of waiting, Jeff Goins offers a kind voice in the silence. This gently honest book challenged me to surrender to the waiting moments rather than try to rush ahead to the next thinga simply lovely read.

Emily P. Freeman, author ofA Million Little WaysandGrace for the Good Girl

Jeff Goins is a master wordsmith. And this book is no exception. In it, he uses his personal journey and struggles to paint a poignant picture of what life could be like if you stopped rushing and started embracing each momenteven those seemingly long moments when youre stuck waiting for the next thing. Instead of living life wishing you could jump ahead to the next adventure, these pages will inspire you to slow down and savor the in-between.

Crystal Paine, founder of MoneySavingMom.com

According to Jeff Goins, life is more about waiting than wed like. We try to avoid it at all costs. We linger over a past we cant repeat (or dont want to) or long for a future we cant reach. Either way we are not present to what is happening now. And that is precisely where the important stuff is happening. This book is a powerful reminder that we must embrace the long game of life, if we are to experience the love, joy, and peace we seek.

Michael Hyatt, New York Times bestselling author, former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers

The In-Between is a happy little reminder to stop hating the waiting, a lesson Ive had to learn over and over again.

Myquillyn Smith, author ofThe Nesting Place

I distinctly remember, in second grade, thinking that my life would be perfect once I was a fifth graderand so my thinking went until I was about 32. Needless to say, Jeffs book resounds clear to me, as a clarion call to live in the moment and make the most of lifes waiting room moments. His storytelling is captivating and full of warmth and humor; this book is for anyone who loves to read stories about travel, wisdom, and redemption. I am thankful Jeff put into words the issue so many of us struggle withhow to be content when we live in-between.

Tsh Oxenreider, author and blogger at SimpleMom.net

Jeff Goins retells his life-so-far story, pointing out the treasures found along the way, and Im suddenly more aware of the overlooked richness of my own life. Unflinchingly transparent, gentle, moving, smart and instructive but never preachy, The In-Between is a lesson in living deliberately with eyes wide open right where we are.

Shaun Groves, songwriter

For the adventurous heart, this book is a great reminder that some of the most exciting adventures happen right where you are. If youre anything like me, you feel bored sometimes by life, tired of waiting for the next big thing, and a little too impatient to take things one day, one moment, at a time. The stories Jeff shares do a great job of reminding me to slow down and look around, because some of lifes most important lessons, and best memories, happen while were waiting.

Allison Vesterfelt, author ofPacking Light: Thoughts on Living Life with Less Baggage

Im not good at waiting. Im a traveler, Im trying to get somewhere, and the waiting gets in my way. Then my friend Jeff emails me his new book, The In-Between. I began reading it on a flight in-between Tennessee and Texas, in-between one concert and the next, in-between busy and busier. Jeff has inspired me to see the value in what takes place in my life not only at point A and point B, but in the space where there doesnt seem to be a point. Jeff Goins wrote this book for me, and for anyone else who needs to embrace the waiting and exist in the in-between.

Warren Barfield, singer, songwriter, speaker

2013 by
JEFF GOINS

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

All Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Published in association with the literary agency of Mark Oestreicher.

Edited by Bailey Utecht
Interior design: Design Corps
Cover design: Kara Davison / Faceout Studio
Cover image: Shutterstock #34362736
Illustrations by: Mandy Thompson
Author Photo: Ashley Goins

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Goins, Jeff.
The in-between : embracing the tension between now and the next best thing / Jeff Goins.
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-8024-0724-5
1. Life--Religious aspectsChristianity. 2. Christian life. 3. ChangeReligious aspectsChristianity. 4. Expectation (Psychology)Religious aspectsChristianity. 5. Waiting (Philosophy) I. Title.
BV4501.3.G647 2013
248.4dc23

2013014296

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Printed in the United States of America

For Aiden.
Youre too young to know it now,
but someday youll understand how much
you taught me before I ever started teaching you things.

Introduction
LIFE BETWEEN the PANELS

part one
SLOW DOWN

CHAPTER 1: Siestas
SEARCHING for a BREAKTHROUGH

CHAPTER 2: Tracks
FINDING your WAY HOME

CHAPTER 3: The Road
LOVING the JOURNEY

part two
WORTH the WAIT

CHAPTER 4: Calling
FROM MUSIC to WORDS

CHAPTER 5: Courtship
LOVE takes TIME

CHAPTER 6: Expecting
THE PATH to PARENTHOOD

part three
WHEN the WAITING ENDS

CHAPTER 7: Bookshelves
WHERE old STORIES END

CHAPTER 8: Ice Cream
WHAT really MATTERS

W hat we have is time. And what we do is waste it, waiting for those big spectacular moments. We think that somethings about to happensomething enormous and newsworthybut for most of us, it isnt. This is what I know: the big moments are the tiny moments. The breakthroughs are often silent, and they happen in the most unassuming of spaces.

Weddings are momentous, as are births, especially for moms. Beyond those two, though, most of the really significant and shaping moments of my life would be unrecognizable to anyone but me. Thats how it is.