2013 by Holley Gerth
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
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.
ISBN 978-1-4412-4537-3
Ebook corrections 12.17.2014
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
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Introduction
If We Could Have Coffee Today, Id Say...
1. Youre Loved
2. Youre Beyond Compare
3. You Dont Have to Try So Hard
4. Youre Beautiful
5. Youre Brave
6. Youre Not Alone
7. You Can Lay That Down
8. Youre Growing
9. You Can Stand Tall
10. Youre a Child of God
11. Youre Celebrated
12. Youre Walking Well
13. Youve Got Support
14. Youre Extraordinary
15. Youve Already Won
16. Your Questions Are Okay
17. You Can Let Go of Those Expectations
18. You Are Not Your Circumstances
19. You Can Be Gentle with Yourself
20. Youre Part of a Plan
21. Youre Here for a Purpose
22. Youre Free
23. You Can Enjoy Your Life
24. You Dont Have to Live Up to Your Potential
25. You Can Rest
26. Your Time Is in Gods Hands
27. Youre Going to Be Okay
28. Your God Wont Ever Give Up on You
29. Youre a Gift
30. Youve Got Someone by Your Side
You Can Encourage Someone Else
One Final Note
Acknowledgments
About Holley
Other Books by Holley Gerth
Back Ads
Back Cover
Introduction
Dear You,
How are you today? I wish I could ask you that question face-to-face. Id listen long and hard to your answer. And there are some things Id want to share with you too. So until we get to have that conversation over coffee, Im sending these words in my place.
Let them speak to your heart when youre feeling weary.
Or when you need to remember how much youre loved.
Maybe when you want to brighten someone elses day.
Ive connected with thousands of women, and Ive discovered that while our lives are very different, our hearts are much the same. We all need to believe we have purpose, that were beautiful, and that were going to be okay.
We all need to hear whats true again and again.
So think of these words as little love notes for your life. Love notes that started in the heart of God and just happen to be delivered by me to you. Please pass them along to other women in your life too.
Enjoy.
Remember.
Be encouraged.
XOXO
Holley Gerth
(Someone Who Loves You)
1
Youre Loved
Dear You,
Lets start with what matters most: youre loved . I dont know why its so hard for us to deeply, wholly believe thats true. Ive heard again and again the whispers of doubt. Can I be a different voice, a louder voice, in your life today?
You really are loved.
Just as you are.
More than you know.
Theres nothing that can change that in your life. Not a bad day, not a mistake, not all the ways you may sometimes worry you fall short. Nothing. So close your eyes, take a deep breath, and let the words wrap themselves around your heart.
I am loved.
Its wonderfully true.
That means you dont ever have to prove yourself. You dont have to strive to earn the affection your heart most longs for. You can be free from continually pursuing more and yet never feeling like enough.
Youre loved in a way that is secure forever. The God who spoke the universe into being has said these words to you: I love you. And what he says can never be altered. In a world where so much may change, you can trust that his love will always stay the same. Your heart is truly safe with him.
Now. Tomorrow. Always.
XOXO
Someone Who Loves You
(Ps. 103:1112; Rom. 8:3839; 1 John 4:19)
2
Youre Beyond Compare
Dear You,
We all compare ourselves to others at times. We look at other women and ask ourselves, Why cant I be more like her? So let me lean across the table and tell you today that you are exactly who youre created to be.
Before you took your first breath, God placed gifts within you. He wove you together with strengths, abilities, and that smile of yours that lights up a room. He made you irreplaceable.
Theres one thing no other person in the world can do better than you, and thats simply being you .
You are made in the image of God, and theres a part of who he is that only shows up in this world through you. You may feel ordinary, but youre anything but that, sweet girl. You are a masterpiece. A bit of the divine. Extraordinary.
When you let your heart receive that, believe it, live it, then youre simply agreeing with God. Thats not pride. Its actually the greatest humility to say, Yes, God, I affirm that all you made is goodand that includes me too.
And not only did he form you before you were born, but he also made you a new creation when you gave your life to Jesus. Not simply a new person a new creation .
In other words, a completely unique being. Heres why that matters: if theres only one of something, it cant be compared. Youre not compared by God to anyone else, and that means you dont have to compare yourself to others either. Youre accepted, cherished, and even celebrated just as you are.
Will you simply offer this world the gift of you today?
XOXO
Someone Who Loves You
(Gen. 1:31; Ps. 139:14; 2 Cor. 5:17)
3
You Dont Have to Try So Hard
Dear You,
You dont have to try so hard. I know sometimes you think you do. Theres a place inside that worries that if you let up for even just a little while, it may all fall apart you may fall apart. But heres the secret: you dont have to hold yourself, your life, this world together. Thats far too much for any of us.
Instead of holding it all together, can you let yourself be held by the One who loves you? Hes the One who told the weary to come to him. Hes the One who tells us its okay to lay our burdens down. Hes the One who invites us to a life not of perfectionism but of peace.
He doesnt require as much of you as you believe. It feels like he does because so many people have told you its true. But our God is not a taskmaster. Instead hes a loving Father, and he wants his children to rest. Children are not meant to worry and work all the time. Theyre meant to receive.
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