Nicole Unice - Shes Got Issues: Seriously Good News for Stressed-Out, Secretly Scared Control Freaks Like Us

Admittedly not a joiner, I most certainly did not see myself being part of the Shes Got Issues club. Not only did I find myself in the club Unice so aptly describes, but I joyfully found I was not alone there. Nicole Unice knows women, and she knew me in a way I did not yet know myself.

M ARGOT S TARBUCK

Author of Unsqueezed: Springing Free from Skinny Jeans, Nose Jobs, Highlights and Stilettos

If youre a woman, if you have issuesthen its simple. This book is for you!

R ENEE J OHNSON F ISHER

Author of Faithbook of Jesus and Not Another Dating Book

Nicole is hip, hilarious, and nakedly vulnerable. Her teaching is meaty and her advice, real-world doable. Thats seriously good news for you and me!

L ESA E NGELTHALER

Writer, Redbud Writers Guild; nonprofit executive recruiter, Victory Search Group

Nicole Unice is the perfect girlfriend to hash out issues like insecurity or anger with. Her authentic style, hard-hitting stories, and poignant biblical truth will encourage you to get real about your stuff and move you from an ordinary life to a fully abundant life.

S ARAH F RANCIS M ARTIN

Author of Stress Point: Thriving through Your Twenties in a Decade of Drama

Nicole offers a real gift to women who feel stuck in life. This practical, fun-to-read book is packed with life-freeing wisdom. Shes Got Issues will help women everywhere learn to see their issues in a whole new transformative light.

C ARYN D AHLSTRAND R IVADENEIRA

Author of Grumble Hallelujah ; founding member of Redbud Writers Guild

I wont pretend. Ive got issuesall kinds of them. Likely you do too, so pull up a chair and let Nicole chat hope and help into yours.

E LISA M ORGAN

Author of She Did What She Could , www.sdwsc.com; publisher of FullFill , www.fullfill.org

Shes Got Issues sees that unsettled place deep within us and provides a path toward abundance. Read it and rest assured: God is not limited by your issues.

A MY S IMPSON

Editor, Gifted for Leadership and Kyria s Marriage & Parenting resources, Christianity Today

With warmth and wisdom, Nicole exposes the lies that hold us captive. She leads us by the hand to Gods grace and mercy, and we are offered fresh hope.

J O S AXTON

Director, 3DM; author of Real God, Real Life

If youre sick of a life of superficial smiles and saccharine, so-so-faith, Nicole Unice invites you into a raw conversation about the real-life issues that hold us back. Shes Got Issues is refreshing in its honesty, convicting in its insight, and inspiring in its applications.

K ELLI B. T RUJILLO

Author of Faith-Filled Moments and The Busy Moms Guide to Spiritual Survival

It takes only a few pages to realize that Nicole is the kind of woman who is comfortable exposing her issues while challenging us to deal with ours. Shes Got Issues acknowledges the ache of the ordinary from a woman who gets it, whos lived it, and who doesnt want any of us settling for it.

J ENNI C ATRON

Executive Director, Cross Point Church; founder of Cultivate Her

The apostle Paul tells us not to grow weary in doing good; yet that weariness is where many of us live. Nicole Unice has lived there too. She writes with transparency and a touch of humor about what can move us toward the authentic, abundant life Jesus promises. Shes Got Issues offers a brand-new zip code.

M ICHELLE V AN L OON

Communications director of Christ Together/Chicago; author of Uprooted: Growing a Parable Life from the Inside Out

Im so glad Nicole wrote this book! She blends her life experiences with the truth of the Bible to bring our struggles to light and to show us how God can make us into the women hes created us to be.

L AURA D WIGHT

Student, University of South Carolina

Hi, my name is Tracey and Im a control freak with issues. With her utterly winsome, engaging, and savvy voice, Nicole Unice makes it okay for us to admit it all, to confess our shortcomings, and to find our way to life-giving change.

T RACEY B IANCHI

Pastor for Womens Ministry at Christ Church of Oak Brook, writer, speaker, and activist

Nicole invites you to recognize those things that have left you frustrated and longing for more. She will guide you with biblical depth to a place of hope and engagement so that God can transform your life for His purposes.

J ACKY G ATLIFF

National Director, Women In Ministry, Evangelical Presbyterian Church

I have issues, and Im so glad my friend Nicole Unice wrote about them. She provides real-life assessment, on-target analysis, and oh-so-practical solutions.

J UDY D OUGLASS

Author, speaker; director of womens resources, Cru

Visit Tyndale online at tyndale.com.

Visit the author at www.nicoleunice.com.

TYNDALE and Tyndales quill logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Shes Got Issues: Seriously Good News for Stressed-Out, Secretly Scared Control Freaks Like Us

Copyright 2012 by Nicole Unice. All rights reserved.

Cover photograph copyright Joellen L. Armstrong/Shutterstock. All rights reserved.

Author photograph copyright 2011 by Kate Magee Photography. All rights reserved.

Designed by Jacqueline L. Nuez

Published in association with MacGregor Literary Agency, 2373 NW 185th Ave, Suite 165, Hillsboro, OR 97124.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, second edition, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. (Some quotations may be from the NLT, first edition, copyright 1996.) Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. (Some quotations may be from the previous NIV edition, copyright 1984.) Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NKJV is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked The Message are taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

The names and identifying details of many of the women and families whose stories appear in this book have been changed to protect their privacy.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Unice, Nicole.

Shes got issues : seriously good news for stressed-out, secretly scared control freaks like us / Nicole Unice.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. ).

ISBN 978-1-4143-6510-7 (sc)

1. Christian womenReligious life. I. Title.

BV4527.U55 2012

248.8'43dc23 2012000819

Build: 2021-04-21 22:35:35 EPUB 3.0

For Olivia:

Talitha koum!

In this world you will have trouble, but take heart!

I have overcome the world. Jesus

Acknowledgments

I AM IN AWE OF THIS JOB OF CRAFTING WORDS. Not just any words, but words that I pray would breathe life into your heart. Because these words are about the Word himself, the ultimate healer of hearts and liberator of souls. So my first gratitude goes to Jesus for his love for me. All the words in the world could not express my thanks. I am indebted to him and surrendered to everything he asks.