Kathi Lipp - The Me Project: 21 Days to Living the Life Youve Always Wanted

The Me
Project

Kathy Lipp

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Verses marked NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.

Cover design by Left Coast Design, Portland, Oregon

Cover illustration Krieg Barrie

THE ME PROJECT
Copyright 2011 by Kathi Lipp
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lipp, Kathi, 1967
The me project / Kathi Lipp.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-7369-2966-0 (pbk.)
1. Christian womenReligious life. 2. Self-realizationReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.
BV4527.L565 2010
248.843dc22

2010028946

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, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 / VP-SK / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is dedicated to my gang of girls:

Kim GonsalvesFor loving me, praying for me, cheering me on, and loving the people I love.

Shannon JordahlFor being the inspiration for this book, and an inspiration to me.

Mary DickersonFor doing motherhood with me, always accepting me, and always (and I mean always) making me laugh.

Vikki FrancisFor tangibly caring for me during the hardest part of my life, and showing me that living with God direction is the most exciting way to live.

And to Angela BowenFor being my everyday support, my reality check, and my constant reminder that God is our strength.

I am proud and blessed to call each of you friend. Thank you for helping me to become, every day, a little more of what God wants me to be. Thank you also for letting me be a part of the living-breathing God-miracle that is each of you.

KimberlyOne of my greatest joys in life is to see you pursuing your goals with tenacity and passion. Incredibly proud to be your mom.

JustenYou are a daily inspiration. Your dedication to writing fuels me. Thanks for being my writing buddy at the coffee shop and helping me stay focused. (BTWI finished the book, so you owe me a Starbucks.)

AmandaLove seeing you follow the path God has for you.

JeremyEvery day youre becoming more of the man you were created to be. No one is more determined than you are.

To the Lipps, the Dobsons, and the Richersonsfor loving us deeply and unconditionally.

To the women who loved and cheered me on while I was still figuring out who I wanted to be when I grew up: Bea Scott, Karen Kazlauckas, and Linda Ochsenbein.

To the BIC girls (and one guy); Katie Vorreiter, Cathy Armstrong, Shelley Adina, Kirstin Billerbeck, Chris Janssen, Camy Tang, Dineen Miller, and Justen Hunter. Thanks for keeping me faithful to the Orchard Valley Coffee writing club.

To just some of the women who have mentored me along the way: Debbie McDonald, Dee Wilson, Patti Johnston, Kim Meyer, Sue Thayer, Susie Welling, Judy Squier, Karen Porter, Gerry Wakeland, and Jan Coleman. Thank you for investing in me and so many other women. You will never know the impact you have had.

To the women who are walking alongside me in ministry: Susy Flory, Cheri Gregory, Cindi McMenamin, Carole Wolaver, Marla Taviano, Teresa Drake, and Jane Liddle. Im truly blessed to be on this journey with you.

My ministry partners who walk alongside meRachelle Gardner at WordServe Literary; Rod Morris, LaRae Weikert, and the entire team at Harvest House; and Monica Trevino.

Finally, to Roger. Very few people get to experience the daily love, support, prayer, and just plain fun that I do. Thanks for loving me with words and actions and without conditions. Shut the door, baby.

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

Is it possible to have a real life and pursue a dream at the same time?

I remember the precise moment that struggle began for me. I had been asked to speak in front of a group of women at church onof all topicsfrozen food. For over a year, I had been cooking big batches of food and then freezing it for my familys meals. When the womens ministry leader heard about my system, she asked me to give a seminar to the ladies at our church. Being the people-pleaser I am, I told her I would be happy to.

Once I hung up the phone, I instantly regretted saying yes and tried to call her back to tell her, No, I cant do itand please do not ever call me again. I considered changing churches, just to be safe. Her phone was busyfor the next hour and a half. I took it as a sign that I needed to be a big girl and not cancel.

I spent the next few weeks planning and praying and, on two occasions, throwing up. I was terrified about speaking in front of these women. This was completely uncharted territory for me. I decided I needed to channel my nervous energy, so I frantically typed up recipes, made sample meals for the ladies to try, and rehearsed my presentation in a mirror several times before the big night.

That evening, something wild and wonderful came over me as I stepped up to the podium. I was no longer nervousI was exhilarated. I loved being with these women, teaching, joking, and sharing information. Several women came up to me that night and the following Sunday to let me know how much they appreciated what I had to share. Later I found out that many of the women had gone shopping the next day to try some of the system in their homes.

That was the moment I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.

That was also the exact moment I started to feel guilty. The only things I had felt this passionate about before were my God and my familyand it scared me. I didnt want to do anything that would take away from my eagerness to be the kind of woman I was supposed to be. But, like a beach ball I kept trying to hide underwater, my desire to speak and write kept resurfacing.

I remember, like a woman addicted to a drug, actually praying that God would take those desires away. I wanted to be fully content with how my life wasworking, raising kids, being a part of the Parent Teacher Association, serving at church. In my mind, if I was a good mom, a good wife, that should be enough. It was only after several months of prayer and talking to other women about my secret hope that God showed me this was more than my own desire. This was a calling on my life from Him.