Jess Connolly - Dance, Stand, Run: The God-Inspired Moves of a Woman on Holy Ground

CONTENTS

PRAISE FOR DANCE, STAND, RUN

Jess is a friend who challenges me to the core. Her candor and conviction in Dance, Stand, Run left a mark on my heart. Take your time, let the words settle deep. Youll be changed and grateful.

REBEKAH LYONS, author of You Are Free and Freefall to Fly

Dance, Stand, Run is like water to my thirsty, overwhelmed, fast-paced heart. In words as sweet and conversational as those coming from a dear friend across a coffee shop table, Jess reminds us that we are made for so much, but that so little is required to soak in Gods grace. Dance, Stand, Run has truly inspired me to my core to reevaluate the why in my life and to embrace the woman God has called me to be in an even bigger way.

EMILY LEY, author of Grace, Not Perfection and A Simplified Life

Jess is a voice our generation needs in its ears. She loves God with everything in her and shows us all throughout this book what it means to desire holiness in our lives. She goes first, telling us her struggles and triumphs, and then invites us to journey this path as well. Get your pen ready, because youll be underlining this whole book!

JAMIE IVEY, podcaster, The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey

Dance, Stand, Run, is far more than a great readits a life-altering experience! These pages shook me to my core and made me cheer out loud as Jess uncovered life-giving truth after truth. Most of all, Dance, Stand, Run gave me a new and fiery passion to do just that: dance in His grace, stand on holy ground, and run with God on mission. When the truth of Gods Word gets ahold of you, it changes the very molecules of your heart. Jess hands over the truth of transforming grace and holiness with humility and courage. Dear friends, I dont casually invite you to read this book; I urge you to! There is no greater joy than knowing the heartbeat of our Fatherno greater freedom or fuel. Dance, Stand, Run leads us to His feet and illuminates the most beautiful life path one can enjoy: His. Dance to the bookstore, stand firm to reach for a dozen copies for you and friends, and run home to read this book, knowing youre about to be changed!

LARA CASEY, author of Make It Happen and Cultivate

Some are dreamers, some are doers, but Jess is a dreamer who does. This is a go-getters guide to moving, dancing, and running while doing it all with gracethe soulful kind of grace that Jess herself has discovered because she has lived it.

JESSICA HONEGGER, founder and CEO of Noonday Collection

If there is anyone who so fervently strives for the balance between grace and holiness, its Jess. In her presence, I have been offered both pause and power, both hush and hustle. In her signature disarming honesty, Jess manages to spur us on and settle us down, all in one dripping-with-love invitation.

ERIN LOECHNER, founder of DesignforMankind.com and author of Chasing Slow

Jess humbly shares her wisdom and relatable experiences, challenging us on the intersection of grace and holiness. By asking us tough questions, we are surprisingly jolted into action and given ammo to fervently run on mission.

JENA HOLLIDAY, inspirational artist, SpoonfulOfFaith.com

When you pick up this book expect to be challenged, moved, and always pointed back to the Lord. Dance, Stand, Run isnt about striving, but about being changed by God. Jess is masterful at discerning the challenges of our generation and speaking truth right to it.

HAYLEY MORGAN, coauthor of Wild and Free and social entrepreneur

At the center of the Fathers heart for you and I is the grace Hes lavished onto us, the holy invitation for us to become more like Jesus, and His purposeful mission for each one of us. After reading Dance, Stand, Run, you will see Jesss heart burns for us to wake up and walk in the abundance God has extended to you and me through grace, holiness, and mission.

NICK CONNOLLY, husband to Jess and pastor of GospelCommunity.com

ALSO BY JESS CONNOLLY

Wild and Free with Hayley Morgan

ZONDERVAN

Dance, Stand, Run

Copyright 2017 by Jessica Ashleigh Connolly

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

Epub Edition September 2017 ISBN 9780310345657

ISBN 978-0-310-34984-6 (audio)

ISBN 978-0-310-34565-7 (ebook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Connolly, Jess, author.

Title: Dance, stand, run : the God-inspired moves of a woman on holy ground / Jess Connolly.

Description: Grand Rapids, Michigan : Zondervan, [2017]

Identifiers: LCCN 2017026913 | ISBN 9780310345640 (softcover)

Subjects: LCSH: Christian women--Religious life. | Holiness.

Classification: LCC BV4527 .C64395 2017 | DDC 248.8/43--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017026913

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, 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. 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 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 MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published in association with literary agent Jenni Burke of D.C. Jacobson & Associates LLC, an Author Management Company, www.dcjacobson.com

Cover image: Creative Market

Interior design: Kait Lamphere

First printing August 2017 / Printed in the United States of America

W e are the daughters of God. We delight and dance in Gods grace, and we dont want to take it for granted. Weve been found out, found needing Him, and we wont go back into hiding again.

We are the daughters of God, and we stand firm on holy ground. We didnt get here by merit. We were bought and brought by the blood of Jesus. Here we stand, and here well stay. Our positioning and proximity to God means something, and both invite direction over our daily lives and decisions. We are here on purpose, a part of the world, set apart to be used by God to bring change. We dont conform to our environment or seek its approval. We grow spiritually while our bodies groan, and we live in this now-and-not-yet reality as saints in a fallen world.