Shelene Bryan - Love, Skip, Jump: Start Living the Adventure of Yes

PRAISE FOR LOVE, SKIP, JUMP

Shelene is one of those people whose joy is contagious. She leaks Jesus. In the pages of Love, Skip, Jump she invites you not to sit down for coffee and talk about your faith, but to break down the doors and start doing something. This is a book youll want to read, but not keep to yourself. Its a message we all need to hear.

BOB GOFF, NEWYORKTIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF LOVEDOES

Shelene Bryan is passionate, shes caring and shes having the time of her life helping other people realize that they can matter too.

SETH GODIN, AUTHOR OF THEICARUSDECEPTION

This book is life-changing. Run. Skip. Jump. Whatever you have to do to get a copy. This book will change your life and open your eyes. Shelene Bryan has always been my friend. Now shes one of my favorite authors.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING NOVELISTKAREN KINGSBURY, AUTHOR OF FIFTEEN MINUTES

If Love,Skip,Jump doesnt push you out of your comfort zone in the best possible way, I dont know what will.

CANDACE CAMERON BURE, ACTRESS, AUTHOR, PRODUCER

Shelene is able to take people on a positive journey through her world-changing ideas... its cool to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

DREW RYNIEWICZ, SINGER-SONGWRITER

Shelene Bryan is a brilliant, one of a kind storyteller. I was first introduced to Shelene through her TEDx talk that inspired our nation. I cheered, clapped my hands, and then pressed replay the moment my husband walked through the door. Take that excitement, multiply it by 100, and thats how you will feel reading Love, Skip, Jump. Shelene makes a case for saying no to ourselves and yes to a life that consistently and continuously says yes to God. Youll quickly realize, youd be crazy not to say yes!

FAWN WEAVER, NEWYORKTIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF HAPPYWIVESCLUB

This book is a breath of fresh air! Love, Skip, Jump packs a powerful punch that will knock the couch potato, me-centered Christianity right out of you. If you truly want to live a God inspired life filled with adventure, purpose, and meaning then this book is definitely for you.

BYRON DAVIS, FORMER AMERICAN RECORD HOLDER,AUTHOR, AND FOUNDER OF EPICLIFEPROJECT.COM

If anyone can get you to say yes, it is Shelene Bryan. This book may change your life. I dare you to read the book... I dare you to live the full life God wants you to have here on earth.

SHANNON MCINTOSH, MOM, WIFE, PRODUCER

Shelenes personal journey challenges us to jump in with our Creator, and make our lives count.

BOB BRADBERRY, PASTOR OF SADDLEBACK CHURCH, PEACE PLAN GLOBAL FIELD COORDINATION

Love, Skip, Jump is a challenging book that will warm your heart. If you are looking for a good read, this is the book for you. If you are overwhelmed with questions about God, who He is, and what His plan is for you, this book is for you.

ASHLEY SMITH ROBINSON, AUTHOR OF UNLIKELY ANGEL

2014 by Shelene Bryan

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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.

Author is represented by the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80920, www.alivecommunications.com.

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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are 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

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from TheMessage by Eugene H. Peterson. 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the Library of Congress.

ISBN 978-1-4002-0616-2

ISBN 978-1-4002-0617-9 (eBook)

Printedinthe United StatesofAmerica

14 15 16 17 18 19 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1

To God Almighty, the giver of everything. Thank You for always being the hero of the story.

To you, the reader:

I thought about you while I was writing every chapter of this book. I know that we have most likely never met and I dont even know your name, but that didnt stop me from praying that this book would set you on an adventure of a lifetime. Thank you for purchasing this book and helping us build kitchens all over the world to feed children and families in need. Contact me anytime to share your Love,Skip, Jump adventures. Id love to hear from you at Shelenebryan.com.

Contents

by Francis Chan

If you had told me twenty years ago that I was going to write a foreword for Shelene Bryans book about saying yes to God, I would have thought you were crazy. She was loud, materialistic, self-centered... you get the picture. Little did I know that God was going to transform her into a humble, generous, and godly woman. She is still pretty loud but about things that matter. Brice and Shelene are dear friends of ours. Lisa and I love ministering with them and look forward to an eternity of laughter and friendship.

Few things annoy me more than Christians who listen to sermons, memorize verses, and do nothing. Thats why it was a joy to be Shelenes pastor for fifteen years. She was a doer of the Word and not merely a hearer as James 1 describes. While others were discussing and critiquing sermons, I could count on Shelene to actually do something. I watched her heart break during her first trip to Africa, and I got excited because I knew that actions would follow.

Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:18)

I read Love, Skip, Jump in one sitting. I could not put it down! I loved many things about this book, but what I loved most is the tone. I found myself smiling and laughing my way through it. And thats the way it should be. Caring for others should be less about guilt and obligation and more about love and joy! Following the footsteps of Jesus is painful at times, but obedience leads to life.

God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:1819)

Dont miss that last phrase: thattheymaytakeholdofthatwhichistrulylife. Have you taken hold of it? Do you wake up with eagerness? I meet so many people who dont have that light in their eyes. They have moments of pleasure but they know something is still missing. They grasp for the next thing that will make them happy. They dont realize that true life comes from letting go.

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 16:25)

Dont be another person who wastes his/her life by trying to save it. Spend more energy saving lives than saving for retirement. Just consider the possibility that you might live more if you risked more and gave more. Join my friend Shelene in doing something. You will make mistakes (Ive watched her make plenty), but you are guaranteed to make mistakes by doing nothing.