Donna Partow - Let Your Life Count: Make a Difference Right Where You Are

L ET Y OUR L IFE C OUNT
P UBLISHED BY W ATER B ROOK P RESS
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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( AMP ) are taken from The Amplified Bible. Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org). Scripture quotations marked ( KJV ) are taken from the King James Version. Scripture quotations marked ( MSG ) 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 The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org). Scripture quotations marked ( NKJV ) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( NLT ) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Italics in Scripture quotations reflect the authors added emphasis.

Details in some anecdotes and stories have been changed to protect the identities of the persons involved.

Copyright 2006 by Donna Partow

Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920, www.alivecommunications.com.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Partow, Donna.
Let your life count : only God knows what he can do through you / Donna Partow.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-55057-6
1. Christian womenReligious life. 2. Spiritual lifeChristianity. I. Title.
BV4527.P374 2006
248.4dc22
2006008618

v3.1

Donna Partow is a stick of dynamite for the soul that is sick and tired of being stuck in the mundane. For every woman who has ever wanted to do something significant for God, Let Your Life Count is a book for you. Donna not only challenges women to rise up and take their place in the kingdom, she also encourages them to allow the Lord to take their ordinary lives and make something extraordinary out of everything they do.

J OANNA W EAVER , best-selling author of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World

Like healing salve on a wounded heart, Let Your Life Count will change lives. We all long to make a difference for God. Donna Partow combines vulnerability and boldness with the strong foundation of scriptural truth to help us on the journey of finding our purpose.

A LLISON G APPA B OTTKE , speaker and author of God Allows U-Turns and debut novel A Stitch in Time

If you want to shine for Jesus, read Let Your Life Count. Donna Partow writes a road map of the life every Christian should aspire to live. Convicting and convincing superb wisdom and communication shines through. Your personal walk with Christ wont be the same.

W AYNE A TCHESON , Christian Writers Guild

Let Your Life Count is another zinger from Donna Partow. Every chapter challenges both my thinking and my actions. Donna has something to say to everyone: the new Christian, the seasoned believer, and the still-searching. Her stories about real people, her examination of Scripture, and her practicality make Let Your Life Count a catalyst for growth, beyond your average devotional or study book. She seems to be able to put her finger on the next thing you should consider in your faith journey. Her excitement jumps right off the page. Its a shake-you-out-of-your-complacency book.

N ANCY K ARPENSKE , contributing editor of Christian Standard magazine and director of womens ministry at LifeBridge Christian Church in Longmont, Colorado

F or more than a decade Ive listened (in person, online, and over the airwaves) to the heartbeats of todays Christian women from around the world. What Im hearing is this: we want our lives to count. We want to know that we can make a differencein small ways and largein our homes, in our communities, and on the planet. In my travels Ive met women living in inner cities, in the suburbs, and in remote jungle villages who have yielded their daily routines to God with powerful and meaningful results.

You will meet some of these women in the pages of this book, but it is my prayer that we can come together in a more personal way via online community. As you read this book, I hope youll join us to share your story and your insights. I envision an ever-expanding network of individuals, small groups, churches, and organizations banding together to spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24). If youd like to be part of this community, please visit us at www.donnapartow.com.

To help you work through this material in a small group setting, Ive created a Let Your Life Count Leaders Forum (.

Theres no greater joy, no more-certain source of confidence, than knowing the God of the universe is carrying out His grand plan through you. In this book youll find practical steps you can take to make yourself more available to Him and increasingly aware of His work around you. But one of the most important steps you can take is to make the decision not to journey alone. Wont you join us?

I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

E XODUS 9:16

Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?

The King will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

M ATTHEW 25:3740

F ew people will ever forget the day Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast, doing billions of dollars worth of damage and driving tens of thousands of people from their homes. It was a disaster of mind-boggling proportions that mobilized some people and immobilized others. Many looked at the magnitude of the task and decided there was no point in getting involved. What can one person do? they said to themselves. Others rolled up their sleeves and did what they could.

This was the case with one pastor I heard interviewed on Christian He said that as his congregation gathered on Sunday morning, they noticed a traffic jam forming on the nearby freeway as people fled the coastal areas. As the realization dawned, they decided to serve rather than continue with the service. They went to the freeway and beckoned travelers to the church where the travelers received food, shelter, and comfort. At midnight, as the building overflowed with nearly two thousand harried hurricane victims, the pastor called a nearby church and explained that people were still flooding in. That church, too, soon became a sanctuary from one of the worst natural disasters in American history.