Holley Gerth - Coffee for Your Heart: 40 Mornings of Life-Changing Encouragement

Writing a book is a journey, and Im so grateful for the amazing traveling companions Ive had along the way!

Mark, youre the love of my life and a gift from God. Im so thankful you have your feet on the ground so I can keep my head in the clouds (and fingers on the keyboard!).

Dad and Mom, youve believed in this dream the longest and encouraged me the loudest. Thank you for your love, support, and prayers.

For the rest of my family, thanks to each of you for helping me become who I am and for encouraging me along the way.

Im also incredibly grateful to my dear friends who are a lot like family. Youve been Gods heart to me in so many ways.

Thanks to the Harvest House team for this opportunity and your commitment to getting my words into the hands and hearts of women through this new edition. Im especially grateful for my editor, Kathleen Kerr.

DaySpring, Im so glad to be partners with you in ministry and business so we can bring hope and encouragement together.

Most of all, Im grateful to You, Lord, for loving me as I am and sharing Your heart with me so I can do the same for Your daughters. I am Your servant; may it be to me as You have said. Use me as little or as much as You desire.

Holley Gerth wishes she could have coffee with you. Until then, shes so glad you joined her on these pages.

Holley is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Youre Already Amazing as well as several other books. Shes also a licensed counselor, certified life coach, and speaker who helps women embrace who they are, become all God created them to be, and live intentionally.

Holley cofounded (in)courage.me, an online destination for women that received almost 1 million page views in its first six months. She also partners with DaySpring. Her personal site, HolleyGerth.com, serves over 30,000 subscribers.

Outside the word world, Holley is the wife of Mark, and together theyre parents to Lovellea daughter they adopted when she was 21 years old because God is full of surprises.

Until you can have that cup of coffee with her, Holley would love to connect with you in these places:

Blog: www.holleygerth.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HolleyGerth

Instagram: http://instagram.com/holleygerth

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HolleyGerth

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/holleygerth/

I f the truth shared in this book feels a bit mysterious and you wonder if you can really have that kind of relationship with God, then this little section is here to reassure you. You may have grown up in church all of your life. Or you may have never even stepped foot in one. Either way, Gods heart is full of love for you.

And no matter what, Jesus extends this to you: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in (Revelation 3:20).

We all mess up in life, and sin acts like a bolt on the door of our hearts. Only we can turn the lock and let Jesus come in the way He promises. No matter what youve done, its never too much or too late. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (1 John 1:9). Simply tell God youre sorry and ask for grace. He always gives it.

Forgiveness opens the door to our hearts. Then we can ask Jesus to truly take care of our lives. Doing so might sound something like this

Jesus, I ask for Your forgiveness. Thank You for Your grace that now covers me. I give my life completely to You. All I am, all I have, is Yours. Amen.

Once youve opened the door to God, no one can ever shut it. Even if you wander away, Hell always welcome you back. You belong to Him, and He belongs to youfor this life and forever in heaven! He sees you through eyes of grace and will help you grow.

Heres Gods promise to us: If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). Hell also walk with us every day of our lives and remind our hearts of whats true as often as we need to hear it.

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

R OMANS 15:7

I ts easy for me to believe God loves me. I can understand He has forgiven me. But making the leap to believing He has truly accepted me is another story. Perhaps thats because we experience so little true acceptance with each other. The preacher talks about grace but gives us a list of rules to follow. Friends promise to always be there for us, only to turn their backs when we dont meet their expectations. Families boast of unconditional love but withdraw it when we choose a different path. So like Adam and Eve in the Garden, we hide from ourselves, each other, and God.

In Beyond the Masquerade: Unveiling the Authentic You , Dr. Julianna Slattery says, Facing others without covering my psychological

While we strive to make ourselves acceptable, we also secretly long for someone to catch a glimpse of our true selves and exclaim, You can stop hiding nowI really do love you just as you are! In the Mark of the Lion trilogy, one character, Hadassah, miraculously survives an attack. However, she walks away with deep scars and always wears veils to cover them. She fears rejection if shes seen as she truly is. The moment that has terrified her finally arrives:

Oh, beloved. The wounds had been deep, the scars running from her forehead to her chin and throat. Releasing her wrists, he touched her face tenderly, tracing the mark of the lion. You are beautiful. He cupped her head in his hands and kissed her forehead, her cheek, her chin, her mouth. You are beautiful. She opened her eyes as he drew back slightly and he looked into them. What she saw melted all resistance, removed all shame.

We have all been Hadassah. We know how to hide. We cover our pain. We fear being truly seen. These words spoken to her resonate because we long to hear them ourselves. Thankfully, there is Someone who wants to speak this way to our hearts every day. When Christ went to the cross, He made it possible for us to stop hiding. All of our sin, shame, and guilt have been erased. The Lord looks at us with eyes of love. His scars bring healing and even beauty to our own.

We can drop the veils of performance and people-pleasing. We dont have to be afraid of what we perceive as our ugliness or our inadequacies.

Were truly seen, known, and loved in a way we never thought possible.

Heres the secret and the miracle: The acceptance we long for is already ours if only well dare to embrace it.

You are accepted.

Reflect

Read Romans 15:1-7. Complete this sentence: Being accepted means that I

How is conviction different from condemnation?

What helps you believe God truly accepts you?

Respond

Lord, Im so grateful You love and accept me just as I am. Sometimes that truth is hard to understand and embrace, so I pray Youll help me learn to walk fully in it. I thank You for showing my heart

Remember

Hey you,

the one wondering if youre enough,

if youd be loved if anyone really knew you

turn your heart this way for a moment,

then lean in and listen close

Acceptance?

Youve got it.

You dont have to look any further

than the hands of the One who made you,

the heart of the One who loves you.

Youre welcomed, held,

cherished just as you are

and encouraged to grow

into all youll become.

So hold your heart and head high;