Todd Tilghman - Every Little Win: How Celebrating Small Victories Can Lead to Big Joy

What if the very things we thought would sink us are the things meant to build us into who we were made to be? In their very candid and vulnerable book, Todd and Brooke lay it all bare, sharing the real and raw ups and downs of their lives. This is to point readers not to what they have overcome but to the One who can make all things new. Every Little Win is a beautiful, heartfelt invitation for all of us to embrace our story and to find real lasting hope no matter what weve faced.

PATRICK AND RUTH SCHWENK, AUTHORS OF IN A BOAT IN THE MIDDLE OF A LAKE: TRUSTING THE GOD WHO MEETS US IN OUR STORM AND HOSTS OF ROOTLIKE FAITH PODCAST

If youve ever had a dream yet to be realized or struggled to see a clear path to victory in your life, get ready to be encouraged. Todd and Brooke Tilghman know exactly how you feel. Their story will inspire you to keep trying, and in trying, discover that God has a plan and a purpose for every part of your story.

HEIDI ST. JOHN, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF BECOMING MOMSTRONG: HOW TO FIGHT WITH ALL THATS IN YOU FOR YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR FAITH AND HOST OF OFF THE BENCH WITH HEIDI ST. JOHN PODCAST

Every Little Win

2021 Todd and Jana Brooke Tilghman

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Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Nelson Books and Thomas Nelson are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations taken 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. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version). Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked GNT are taken from the Good New Translation in Todays English VersionSecond Edition. Copyright 1992 American Bible Society. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4002-2911-6 (ePub)

ISBN: 978-1-4002-2912-3 (Audiobook)

Epub Edition April 2021 9781400229116

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021930692

ISBN: 978-1-4002-2910-9 (HC)

Printed in the United States of America

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To Eagan, Asher, Shepard, Judah, Olive,

Hosea, Louie, and Wilhelmina.

You all have given us such indescribable joy.

Being your mama and daddy is the big win.

I couldnt hear my own footsteps as I walked onto the Hollywood stage, maybe due to the loud thumping of my heart. Auditorium lights were dim, and the faces in the crowd indistinguishable. Yet I could feel their eyes on me. And even though I sang for that audience, the opinions of four coaches sitting in red chairs would determine if I would be part of this internationally viewed singing competition.

Megastars Nick Jonas, John Legend, Blake Shelton, and Kelly Clarkson sat with their backs to me. The turn of one chair would impact the course of the coming weeksand maybe even years. Everyone knew that. Yet, as I paused in the middle of the stage, noting the pinpricks of spotlights that broke through the darkness, I knew I had already changed. When it comes to a competition like this, everyone is focused on whos the favorite and which singer they think is going to win the show. Deep down, just by being on this stage, my soul had already claimed a win. Even without one chair turn, a transformation had already happened in my heart.

If youre reading this book, you no doubt know the end of the story. Maybe you journeyed with me through season 18 of The Voice. Or perhaps you first heard my singing in a video clip shared on YouTube or Facebook. Some may believe that when I sang Weve Got Tonight and four chairs turned, things changed. But Im here to tell you that The Voice stage isnt where the biggest change happened. The fact that I was a pastor from deep in the Bible Belt, standing on a Hollywood stage, and singing a secular song proved that I was a different man than when I first started seeking God as a teen. For years Id been so focused on doing everything right that I didnt give much thought to what God wanted to do with my life. Turns out, he had a few things in mind for me, things Ive been happy to discover.

You might have picked up this book thinking its a story about a pastors sudden rise to fame. Instead, its a book about a journey from fear to freedom. Brooke and I didnt set out to make a major discovery, but as weve faced the ups and downs in life, weve observed that the way to move from fear to freedomand from freedom to joyis to celebrate all the little wins in life, especially the wins we often forget to notice.

A win can be choosing to stand in line to audition for a television show, or it can be sitting down to talk things out with your spouse instead of turning and stomping away. Wins happen every day, but we often forget to notice them. It turns out the simple saying count your blessings is really where everything changes. At the end of the day, when we look for our wins and celebrate them, things start to change. We start to change. And each of us can take this journey.

My wife, Brooke, and I have been married twenty-two years, and weve overcome more fears than we can count. Weve been at the brink of divorce, have had a critically ill child, and have struggled to make ends meet (always). Brooke was bound by anxiety and depression for years, and its a battle she still fights. Shell tell her story about that within these pages.

Brooke and I also pastored a small Mississippi church for over a decade, and no matter what anyone says, pastoring isnt easy. There were always good times in pastoring, but there was also so much that was a struggle. Some people believed we didnt do things right, while others extended kindness.

We adopted two beautiful girls internationally when doing so was impossible on a pastors salary. Were raising eight kids, each with unique personalities and struggles, which is a full-time job all in itself. On paper, our lives look very full but hardly remarkableunless you look for the small wins.