Lisa Whittle - Put Your Warrior Boots On: Walking Jesus Strong, Once and for All

Table of Contents

No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.

JAMES ALLEN

S cotty, I love you. For 21 years, youve pursued my heart even when I havent known how to properly open it. Youre my faithful, safe place.

Graham, Micah, and Shae: My darlings, Jesus is the only thing in life. Thats all I can tell you. Youll need these warrior boots, more than you may now know. Never forget to put them on or that your mom loves you, forever.

Mom and Dad: You still take care of me, every day, with your cheers and prayers. Your constancy in my life is among my greatest joy and your greatest legacy.

Colleen: Your friendship has saved me. Our 9:00 a.m. phone calls wrote most of this book. I know God loves me because He gave me you.

Wendy, Heather, Myquillin, Mary, Sarah, Kelly, Michele, Kathryn, Suzie, MaryBeth, Shari, Dena, Lisamy closest girl tribe. Some of you are my every days, some are my every weeks, and some are whenever we can make it happen. You are the girls who keep me sane and get my most honest texts (okay, sometimes novels ). Thank you for knowing who I am. I know who you are too, and I choose you.

Reimers and Whittles: Each of you brings something important to my life. Thank you, loving in-laws, sibs, and offspring. I love you.

Jana Burson: God connections, right timing, and like hearts. These things and a shared love of football are the things I thank God for when I remember you, agent and friend.

Kathleen Kerr: Youve labored with me through yet another book. Is there some sort of Olympic medal for this? There should be. Thank you for a heart of gold, a fast wit, and an iron-sharpening commitment. This is your book too, as was I Want God.

Harvest House: I am at home with you. Bob Hawkins Jr., you are an astute president and a generous friend. Thank you for valuing people and loving God. Your humble leadership is what makes this house great. LaRae Weikert, youre consistently one of the best people Ive ever met. Thank you for your joy, strength, and unwavering belief in me.

Mel and Jay Stewart, Teri Furr, Watchman Nee, A. W. Tozer, Elisabeth Elliot, Monty Hipp, Bob Sorge, Samuel Brengle, Henri Nouwen, Christy Nockels, John Eldredge, Francis Chan, and Angela Mitchellthose who have appearances in this book: When you write a book, you realize the people who currently influence your life and words. You are those people. Thank you for being faithful teachers.

Reader friends, friends I meet as I travel and speak, online friends I connect with nearly every dayyou may never know how much you impact me, but you do. Your faces and stories flash in my mind when I want to quit. Your encouragement dries days of tears. Youve blessed me as much as Ive ever blessed you.

Jesus Christ, its always been You. It will always be You. I dream of our face-to-face.

I Want God

It is in the heart of every person to want God, but life gets loud and we forget Him. We get consumed by our problems, our desires, ourselves. We forget our first encounter with the Savior and how much we once wanted Himthe way we believed He could use our lifethe fulfillment He provides that everyday life cannot.

A guidebook, a teacher and a resource, all in one, I Want God brings rich simplicity to life-altering principles. With her signature boldness and raw authenticity, author and speaker Lisa Whittle inspires with bottom-line truth about what happens when life gets off track and how to find our way back to the God we want most.

Jesus is everything. It is the heart, the passion and the leadership approach of author and speaker, Lisa Whittle. As the daughter of a pastor, Lisas longest community is with the Church, which has become her greatest place of ministry. Her love runs deep to see people pursue Jesus for life, grow deep roots of faith, and walk strong in the midst of a world that so often seems to have gone crazy.

For this reason, Lisa has dedicated her life to writing and speaking about the truth of Jesus Christ and how wanting Him the most changes everything. Lisa is the author of fivesoon to be sixbooks and a sought-out Bible teacher for her wit and bold, bottom-line approach. Her with you-for you signature style is a favorite of audiences who have her coming back to speak into them year after year. From retreats to rehab facilities to college campuses to the large church or conference stage, Lisas desire remains the same: to point people to the Jesus who can change their life.

Lisas books include:

Put Your Warrior Boots On: Walking Jesus Strong, Once and for All

5 Word Prayers: Where to Start When You Dont Know What to Say to God

I Want God: Forever Changed by the Revival of Your Soul

{w}hole: An Honest Look at the Holes in Your Life and How to Let God Fill Them

Behind Those Eyes: Whats Really Going on Inside the Souls of Women

The 7 Hardest Things God Asks a Woman to Do

In addition to speaking, media appearances and writing online, Lisa has done masters work in marriage and family counseling and advocated for Compassion International. Wife, mom, and lover of laughter, good food, her fluffy dog, interior design, and the Bible, Lisa is a grateful work in progress. You can find her on Facebook (Lisa Whittle), follow her on Instagram (@LisaWhittle) and Twitter (@LisaRWhittle), and visit her ministry community at www.lisawhittle.com.

Heres where it all started

September 4, 2015

I sit here this morning, feeling less like a warrior and more like a tired woman who doesnt want to hear any more of the worlds bad news.

The bed calls me, the covers promise comfort, and it all seems perfect because its just another normal day and Im grown and can do what I want .

But the truth is, mostly Im just afraid. Mostly Im just trying to pretend away the realities of this world and get rid of that stupid knot thats in my stomach from the things I read in my early-morning scroll of Facebook.

Killing babies, killing cops, killing Christians. Miley telling our kids, Yeah, I smoke pot like its the perfect idea, and musician after musician on an awards show all but having sex on stage. Im equipped to fix none of it, because who can fight such madness unless they are God and the last I checked Im not Him? Early-morning helplessness feels especially cruel when a day is supposed to hold promise.

I just want it all to stop. I want to be able to have fun and not hear hard things. I want to be able to compartmentalize faith where it worships neatly in church but doesnt have to wear combat boots. Im a wimp, I tell you. Yes, if not wanting to live in a world where I will have trouble (see John 16:33) is wimpy, then of course Im a wimp. I want the hut on the tropical clear blue water with the fruity drink and my people for the rest of my life and poof , this all goes away. Thats what I want.

But I know (and sometimes this makes me mad) that being a wimp is not my option. When I committed to Christ, I committed to a soul battle, the highest cause. So as much as I want to be absorbed into crowds, this is not the Jesus-following life.

Even as I pull the covers up to my neck to make the escape, I hear these words in my head, Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I. And I remember Psalm 61:2. And I know my life is not in escaping but in following my Leader. Its not in retreating but being equipped.

The world will either eat my lunch or I will combat it. Evil will either make me a wimp or a warrior. These are the only two choices, and I cant change that no matter how hard I try. Only God can make me a warrior. And so, I rally, but not because Im ready. I rally because warriors dont wait for a perfect day to get prepared.