In just thirty days I will officially be a published author! It is hard to believe after the 2 1/2 year journey to see this book finally coming to fruition. However the journey didn’t stem from my own dream to someday write a book, which makes the story behind the book so much bigger than me.
While for years I have written professionally in the context of fundraising letters and grants, it never once crossed my mind that I might start a blog and write books. But after starting a girls’ Bible study six years ago, I ran into a problem and saw a need. I could not find good curriculum to use for my teen girls. The majority of what was on the shelves was topical fluff focused more on morality and good behavior than on the worth and work of Jesus.
Furthermore, I discovered more and more there to be a huge gospel disconnect with kids growing up in the church. The church does a good job of teaching that Jesus died for our sins so we could be saved, but too often fails to show how this same gospel message applies to all of life in very specific ways. We tend to think the gospel saves us and then we move on to other techniques for growth in our Christian walks. And what happens is we get law/moralism/to do’s. Not freedom/grace/gospel! Which in all honesty is why so many kids leave the church when they enter college and adulthood.
Therefore, the aim of Get Your Story Straight is two-fold.
- To unfold the progressive story of the Bible and who Jesus is for us in a way that we see Him woven through the Scriptures from start to finish as the conquering King and Savior we desperately need.
- To deconstruct theological terms often neglected in Christian teaching today so students better understand, embrace and relish in the beauty of what it means to be justified, the truth about our sanctification, the freedom of grace (even and especially when we still sin) and the reality of living out the gospel with one another, in all of life.
This is deep, but in an easy to understand and relatable way, with content as necessary for adults to “get” as it is for teens – which is why I recommend it for high schoolers on up!
As one of my endorsers, Park Cities Presbyterian Pastor Mark Davis said,
If you view the Christian life as being about your performance, then what do you do if you are not performing well? Regrettably, many Christians never follow an inductive Bible study or develop the daily exercise of meditating on the greatest story ever told. This incredible step-by-step guide to learning and living the gospel of Jesus Christ will help not only teens to approach the Bible but adults as well. Led by this devotional, become captivated by the narrative and the characters in God’s story as you rest in the words of Jesus when he says, ‘It is finished.’”
To read what other endorsers have said click over to my Book page. I am beyond honored by these men and women who have attached their names to my book. My hope is their words might inspire more people to buy the book, not because I will receive more proceeds, but my desire (and reason for writing) that Get Your Story Straight will be a vehicle to heart transformation as readers begin to find their story caught up in the bigger story of Christ!
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