Alexandra Hoover - Eyes Up: How to Trust Gods Heart by Tracing His Hand

Copyright 2022 by Alexandra V. Hoover

All rights reserved.

978-1-0877-4713-2

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Dewey Decimal Classification: 248.84

Subject Heading: GRACE (THEOLOGY) / CHRISTIAN LIFE / SELF-REALIZATION

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is taken from The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible, and CSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Scripture references marked amp are taken from the Amplified Bible, copyright 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Scripture references marked cev are taken from the Contemporary English Version, copyright 1995 by American Bible Society.

Scripture references marked esv are taken from the English Standard Version. ESV Text Edition: 2016. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Scripture references marked msg are taken from The Message, copyright 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson.

Scripture references marked nasb are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

Scripture references marked niv are taken from the New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture references marked nkjv are taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All right reserved.

Scripture references marked nlt are taken from New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Cover design by B&H Publishing Group. Photo by Alex Acevedo. Back cover author photo by Kristel Acevedo.

To my children, Leilla, Kingston, and Sophia. My whole heart.

I wrote this book in the margins of our lives. As I loved and cared for you. As our family found our footing in the midst of a pandemic and challenges. You have always helped me remember what love is. You are my greatest Ebenezers.

I pray you taste the goodness of God through these words, that they might one day be an Ebenezer to you. When you lose sight of Gods hand or heart, remember them.

Keep your eyes up .

Acknowledgments

Mario, thank you for fighting for me when I couldnt fight for myself.

To the friends who carried me through, thank you.

To Pastor Derwin and Vicki, and the rest of the Transformation Church family, thank you.

To Ashley and to Meredith, thank you.

To Ms. Carpenter, Ms. Jarussi, Pastor Jeffries, and Angela Magee, thank you.

To my mom, thank you for love, for strength, for hope.

To the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spiritthis is Yours, thank you.

May these words be an Ebenezer to the goodness of God for us all.

Foreword

T hirty thousand dollars for rocks! Youve got to be kidding me. Thirty grand for a gravel parking lot. Those were my words to the pavement company we brought out to give us a quote for the future parking lot of our fledging church plant.

My wife Vicki and I did not grow up in church. We came to faith in our mid-twenties, so we found it odd that the nightclubs we used to party in looked more like the multiethnic scene from the book of Revelation than Jesuss church on Earth.

And they sang a new song:

You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

because you were slaughtered,

and you purchased people

for God by your blood

from every tribe and language

and people and nation.

You made them a kingdom

and priests to our God,

and they will reign on the earth.

(Rev. 5:910)

In response to Gods call, we set out to plant Transformation Church, a multiethnic, multigenerational, mission-shaped community that loves God completely, ourselves correctly, and our neighbors compassionately. As we were attempting to plant Transformation Church, discouragement and doubt surrounded us. Other pastors told me that a multiethnic church would never work, especially in South Carolina, and there is a reason Sunday morning is the most segregated time in America. Not only did we have this discouragement, but being told that a parking lot full of rocks would cost $30,000, we were just about done.

During this tumultuous time, my wife had a dream. In the dream, the owner of the pavement company said to my wife, Are you and Derwin still trying to start that new church? She said, Yes, but we are running into some financial difficulty. Then he said, Well, if you are still planning to start the church, my wife and I prayed, and God told us to donate the parking lot for free. Then she woke up.

A few weeks passed and I was coaching my sons flag football team. After the game, the owner of the pavement company, whose son was on the team, asked Vicki, Are you and Derwin still trying to start that new church? She said, Yes, but we are running into some financial difficulty. Then he said, Well, if you are still planning to start the church, my wife and I prayed, and God told us to donate the parking lot for free. We both just wept. And wept. And wept.

Over the last twelve years, Jesus has empowered the people of Transformation Church to do some epic things. More than 7,000 people have come to faith through the ministry; one Christmas we paid off $4,000,000 of medical debt for people in the state of South Carolina. God has been spectacular among us.

Times have been tough. Gut-wrenching disappointments. Global pandemics. Divisive times. In moments like these, when times get tough, doubt creeps in, and discouragement surrounds me, I open a drawer in my office and I grab a stone. The stone I grab is one of the original stones that was in our old gravel parking lot when we first started Transformation Church. That stone reminds me of Gods presence , power , provision , and providence . That stone is my Ebenezer, which means stone of help or stone of a warrior (1 Sam. 7:12).

The book you are about to read was written by Alexandria Hoover. Alex is a living stone, a precious jewel in King Jesuss crown of mercy. The Spirit of God brought Alex, her husband, and two young children to Transformation Church when she was only twenty-five years old. Immediately, her love for Jesus, her family, Jesuss church, and discipleship was clear. She quickly joined our staff.

When I think of Alex, the words that come to mind are disciple of Jesus, wife, mother, daughter, survivor, warrior, and ministry leader. As her pastor, I could not be prouder of her. She has listened and learned well. She has lived well. As the pages of her book unfold, her life will unfold before you; and more than that, so will plenty of wisdom from Scripture. As you walk beside her in this book, learning how to chart your own Ebenezer journey with God, you will see that Jesus our Cornerstone is present , unleashing His power , His provision , and creating trust with His providence . Her writing is transparent, vulnerable, raw, and thoroughly biblical. You will learn about each stone God has built in your storyeven when you didnt have eyes to see them beforeand how each of these stones are essential if you want to live a life of abundance.

This book itself will be an Ebenezer stone in your life.

Eyes up, friend. There is so much of Jesus to see and experience.

Dr. Derwin L. Gray

Cofounder and lead elder-pastor of Transformation Church and author of God Do You Hear Me? , The Good Life , and How to Heal the Racial Divide: What the Bible Says, and the First Christians Knew, about Racial Reconciliation