{my graphics are free goodies for you}
I’m an amateur eavesdropper. I often work in coffee shops where conversations swirl around me as thick as the scent of espresso. Most of the time I’m able to tune them out but sometimes one makes my head snap up from my laptop. I’ve heard scandalous confessions of love, details of doctor’s appointments and workplace complaints of all sorts. This morning I found myself the recipient of some unsolicited wisdom.
A young man and his mentor sat next to me talking about faith. Apparently they’ve been meeting awhile because the young man asked, “When am I going to be ready to help someone else?”
The mentor paused and then answered, “I think you’re asking the wrong question. Because as long as you ask ‘Am I ready?’ then you’ll always be able to find a reason you’re not. A flaw. A struggle. Something you think you need to learn more about. The better question to ask is, ‘Have I received something?’ If so, then you have something to share. When is the best time to start passing it on? Yesterday.”
I looked over for a second just to be sure he wasn’t talking to me. Because I have wondered this as well. Haven’t we all? Here is a secret of faith I’m learning: We never feel qualified. We never feel like professionals. We never feel like we’ve got it together enough to really make a difference. And maybe this is a good thing. Because the only folks who seem to have believed otherwise were the Pharisees.
God is not looking for perfect examples. He is looking for ordinary people willing to just love one another. He is calling the messy, the broken and the incomplete. This is good news for all of us. It means our role is not to show off; it’s just to show up. He will give to us and then He’ll give through us. We’re simply asked to be willing and brave enough to do it as we are and not as we’d like to be.
My heart needed to hear all of this today. Maybe yours did too. Perhaps sometime we’ll run into each other at a coffee shop and we can talk it over. And when we’re done, I’ll try very hard not to eavesdrop on you…
XOXO
Holley Gerth
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Will you join me? Will you dare to believe God can and will use us right where we are? If so, I want to invite you to join me on a new adventure!
One month from now my newest book will release! I’m thrilled to launch a devotional titled Do You Know You’re Already Amazing? 30 Truths to Set Your Heart Free. If you’re one of the many women who has read You’re Already Amazing or worked through the You’re Already Amazing LifeGrowth Guide and asked for even more personal encouragement, this devotional is for you {and your girlfriends, your mama and your daughter}!
I would love for you to be part of my launch team for the devotional!
{You can click here to apply!}
We’ll be randomly selecting 100 people (U.S. residents only) and launch team members will receive a free copy of the devotional! You don’t have to blog or be a writer – you’re welcome here wherever you are, just as you are!
This launch team won’t last long and the application form closes at noon tomorrow, August 25th. I’d encourage you to apply soon {hint: all applicants will receive a little gift from me}.
As always, you can sign up for my book club email list to stay up-to-date on new releases.
Thank you for continually cheering me on! I hope that this devotional will be a blessing to many women, including you.
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Welcome to the Coffee for Your Heart weekly link-up! You’re an encourager so I’m asking you to pour out a little love with your words every Wednesday {link-up goes live at 5:30am CST}. Simply write an encouraging blog post and then share it here. Don’t have a blog? You can still write an encouraging comment. If you’re reading this by email, go to holleygerth.com to see all the fun and join in too.
Pretty please use this button in your blog post so others can easily join in with us {html code in right sidebar}. And when you link up your post, take a moment to leave an encouraging comment on the one that’s linked up just before yours. Thanks, friends!
I’m having Coffee For Your Heart with my friend Holley Gerth
{click to tweet that you’re joining me here today}
