I’m happy to share that my manuscript is done!! There will still be a few more weeks of smoothing out the formatting details with the company that is helping me self-publish this book-baby. But I’m feeling very thankful right now! Thank you to everyone who has prayed for me and encouraged me to finish my manuscript for She Won’t Shrink Back: A Story of Building & Believing. (!!!!!!!!!!)
Today I thought it would be fun to share with you my chapter titles and their corresponding “building blocks.” I came up with the idea to include a “building block” with each chapter after a conversation I had with my dad last March while we were in Florida. I had worked on the first 4 or 5 chapters before my trip to Florida, and I had printed them off so Dad could read them on our vacation. In the first chapter, I had written that the decisions we make in our twenties are more important than we realize. Too often those of us in our twenties want to focus on fun and exploration instead of doing the heavy work of building our lives. One thing I had realized is that our decisions in our twenties add up to an important structure for our lives. And for the rest of my book, each chapter is a narrative essay that shares an experience and a decision from my twenties that have been important in shaping me. After Dad read those first few chapters, he told me that he thought that at the top of each chapter, I should include the main decision that I made from the experience I describe in that chapter. I nodded and thought that would work well for this particular book. Since my book follows the storyline of building my house, I decided to call these decisions “building blocks.” The book has 26 chapters, which is fitting because it is about the first 26 years of my life. :) If you followed my blog in 2014, some of the themes will be familiar to you. Since then, I have taken those ideas and spent hours and hours digging deeper and developing them into what I am really hoping to communicate. Here are my chapter titles and building blocks…all the ways I’ve learned not to shrink back. Can’t wait to share the whole book with you! She Won’t Shrink Back: A Story of Building & Believing Prologue I. DECIDING 1. The Trail of My Twenties Building Block: The decision to build well. 2.Hand-Me-Down Shoes Building Block: The decision to lead instead of follow. 3. My College Crush Building Block: The decision to speak up. 4. Keep Knocking Building Block: The decision to be persistent in prayer. 5. Buying Land Building Block: The decision to listen and obey God’s voice. 6. A Shove in the Back Building Block: The decision to run after it. 7. So Young and Brave Building Block: The decision to be brave. II. PLANNING 8. Four Bedrooms Building Block: The decision to make room for compassion. 9. Pursuing Foster Care Building Block: The decision to hold out my arms even when I’m scared. 10. If You’re 26 & Still Living with Your Parents Building Block: The decision to control my attitude and honor my parents. 11. Thanks to My Mom Building Block: The decision to value the things my mom taught me. 12. Walking around with a Broken Heart Building Block: The decision to hang onto hope that my healing would come. 13. Bye, Bye Basement Building Block: The decision to let go of expectations. 14. Perseverance Isn’t Pretty Building Block: The decision to persevere. 15. Breaking Ground Building Block: The decision to believe that God would fulfill what He promised to me. III. BUILDING 16. Leadership Boot Camp Building Block: The decision to not give up, but to grow as a leader. 17. Wet Cement Building Block: The decision to keep serving because it’s worth it. 18. Seminary Graduation Day Building Block: The decision to study and learn from others. 19. Building without a Man Building Block: The decision to trust that my season of life and my role in God’s plan match up perfectly. 20. What Do You Do (Or Don’t Do) to Find a Husband Building Block: The decision to ask God for a good spouse. 21. Picking Out Paint Building Block: The decision to focus on gratitude instead of materialism. 22. Having a Mother’s Heart When You’re Not a Mom Building Block: The decision to risk love. 23. Money, Money, Money, Tomorrow Building Block: The decision to trust God instead of my bank account. 24. An Eternal Home Building Block: The decision to view life with an eternal perspective. 25. Getting My House Keys Building Block: The decision to see my resources as a gift from God. 26. Blessed Is She Building Block: The decision to believe that what God said to me would be accomplished. Epilogue
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Mary is the Associate Director at Hope Center Indy.. She is the author of She Won't Shrink Back: A Story of Building & Believing.
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