Beginnings

B85541_Beginnings_FINALSo, I wrote a book.I still can't really believe it. I just kept getting up early and writing, following the river of words and ideas that kept flowing, at times overflowing the banks and at times barely trickling. Mary and the boys sent me away for a few writing retreats, where I would sweat and write and worry and laugh and write more. Mary was a genius, helping me write the words that wanted to come out, carefully encouraging and editing. To be honest, it was a lot of work, but it was mostly joy. This one didn't kill me. It became a really close friend, and I am proud of it.

So I want to share it with you now, at least part of it.

Beginnings is my first book, and it's being published by the great people at NavPress on January 1st. It explores the idea that creation wasn't just a one time event at the beginning of time; it's also a process that keeps happening, over and over and over again, in beautiful and messy ways, all up and down the river of your actual life. Beginnings follows the seven days of creation as a metaphor for your own journey, as you spiral upwards and downwards, always expanding, always becoming.On Day One, we're caught in the inky blackness of chaos and loss. We can't see and we don't know, and everything is confusing. On Day One, we're blind and we need Light.On Day Two, we expand so that we can hold and carry more the life that we were created to live out. We stretch and become more so that we can be a gift to those we love, and to the world.On Day Three, we find the seeds of life which have been embedded deep within us by God, and we give them away in the world. They are so fertile that they contain the future within them, creating more and more life.On Day Four, we embrace the inevitable seasons of loss, waiting, hope, and abundance. We learn to be in the season that we're in, instead of always wishing life were different.On Day Five, we face our monsters. We've all been wounded, and our scars cover our true identity. On Day Five, we do battle with those wounds and we go on a quest to rediscover our true selves.On Day Six, we remember who we are and where we came from: the expansive, generative God whose image we bear. The God who both pulls out toward the future and heals our past.On Day Seven, we learn what it means to stop. We rest and play and say yes to pleasure. We turn off productivity. We trust and enjoy the gift of being alive.

Beginnings releases on January 1st, but I want to give you the introduction and first chapter now.

I'm doing this mostly because I can't wait for you to start reading it, but also because you can help me spread the word about Beginnings to people who might need to discover that their life doesn't need to keep feeling like it's stuck on repeat.So, would you consider being on my launch team?Basically, it simply means that you will share your excitement about Beginnings leading up to and during launch week (January 1st) on social media, and with your friends.But even if you're not up for being on my launch team, I'd love for you to read the introduction and first chapter. I hope you find them delicious, full of hope, and helpful for you as you navigate your own journey.

Please click here to get the link to download the introduction and first chapter of Beginnings.

And you can click here to pre-order Beginnings.And please head over to my Beginnings Facebook page and like it, if you would! Thank you so much!In it together.