E NDORSEMENTS FOR I LL H AVE W HAT S HES H AVING
Across this amazing world, women are looking for role models. They are looking for women who have the capacity to pursue their purpose, and with endless passion for life, are prepared to pave the way for others to follow. Bobbie Houston has been such a role model to me. As my pastor, my friend and my mentor for many years now, she continues to inspire me and countless others.
She will stir and challenge you to rise up and be all you were created to be and do all you were created to do. She will exhort you in your love for Christ and commitment to His House. This book will truly bless you, challenge you, make you smile, and perhaps even make you cry, but most importantly, she will point you to Jesus.
DARLENE ZSCHECH
Worship LeaderHillsong Church, Sydney Australia and Award
winning Composer of Shout to the Lord and The Potters Hand
Ill Have What Shes Having perfectly captures the wonder and wit of Bobbie Houston. Wrapped in humor and keen insight is an open invitation for every woman to lay hold of her God breathed destiny. The earth is watching and waiting for a company of women to arise, gather, and lend their strength to a lost and hurting world. This amazing book is a key to what these daughters will look and sound like. Read it and make your connection.
LISA BEVERE
Author of Kissed the Girls and Made Them Cry,
Be Angry but Dont Blow It and Fight Like A Girl
The great thing about Bobbie Houstons book, Ill Have What Shes Having, (other than the very cool title!) is that you feel like you are getting encouragement from a trusted friend over coffee. Bobbie is poignantly honest about her own journey into leadership, and she presents her story in such a way that you feel confident you too can make the journey. We all have an obligation to live a life that is a help and inspiration to others, and this book gives you the courage to try. You will love it, and then you will get one for a friend!
HOLLY WAGNER
Author of GodChicks, Daily Steps for
GodChicks, and WarriorChicks
2008 by Roberta Houston
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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc . Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked A MPLIFIED BIBLE are from THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE: OLD TESTAMENT . 1962, 1964 by Zondervan (used by permission); and from THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE: NEW TESTAMENT . 1958 by the Lockman Foundation (used by permission).
Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE. The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the KING JAMES VERSION of the Bible.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked MSG are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked D ARBY are from The Darby Translation. Kingston Bible Trust 1961. Printed by Bible Truth Publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Houston, Bobbie.
Ill have what shes having : the ultimate compliment to any woman daring to change her world / by Bobbie Houston.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-8499-1977-0 (trade paper)
1. Christian womenReligious life. 2. Christian life. I. Title.
BV4527.H6885 2007
248.8'43dc22
2007043934
08 09 10 11 12 RRD 5 4 3 2 1
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This book is dedicated to you, the reader.
I once felt Heaven whisper in my ear,
Tell women that there is a
God in heaven and
a company of people here on earth
who believe in them also.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER FOUR Im Inadequate. I Cant.
I Have Nothing to Give.
CHAPTER SIX Mind-sets, Enemies,
and Spiritual Blindness
I wish to acknowledge and give honor where honor is due...
To Brian, I am so glad we fell in love! Thank you for being a faithful and loyal husband, father, and partner in life. Thank you for shaping our world into what it is today.
To the three most generous, loving, and accommodating childrenJoel, Ben, and Laura. Whatever did we do to deserve you handsome three?
To faithful, loyal, and true friends, who love us and are constant sources of encouragement and inspiration!
To our parents, Frank and Hazel Houston and Doreen and Arthur McDonald, for depositing your best into us. We honor you.
To the greatest church on the planetHillsong Church! You are simply the best. God put us all together, and then he stamped us with blessing and favor. Isnt that amazing? I praise the team alongside us who work with such devotion and diligence to achieve the dream. They own it as passionately as we do.
And to the love of my lifemy heavenly Father who considered and loved me before the foundations of the earth. To Jesus Christ for knocking loud and clear on the door of my heart and then drawing me unto himself; and to the dear Holy Spirit, who I am discovering is the perfect Helper, Traveling Companion, and Friend.
I NTRODUCTION
The Ultimate Compliment
W ho can forget that famous scene in the 1989 movie When Harry Met Sally, when actress Meg Ryan simulated a climactic moment in a crowded cafe? The response, Ill have what shes having! from an envious female onlooker inspired the title of this book. Perhaps your response is similar to my dear husbands response: Bobbie, you cant be serious. You cant call a book that!
But I did.
Ill have what shes having! Could it be the ultimate compliment? Could it be the most rewarding compliment a person might receive? That someone else would observe your lifestyle, attitude, sense of purpose, resolve, and conviction, and then desire the same in her own life? I personally do believe it is the ultimate compliment and also a
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