Book Review: The In-Between by Jeff Goins

 "Life is one big wait."

I realized this truth over the course of this past year when I found myself waiting for our family's next move. It dawned on me that I lived in between moves. And when I was waiting for the next move to arrive, I was in between cities, friends, and churches. My kids were in between schools, teachers, youth groups, and their own friendships. We are always waiting for the next {whatever}. It's taken some time for me to discover the value of experiencing life to its fullest in the in-between.

Whether you're waiting like I am or you're waiting in line at the grocery store, our life is one big wait. And while we're waiting, we need to live in the moment.

Jeff Goins realized this truth and shared it from his heart in his latest book, The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing. In the process of sharing his testimony of waiting, we come to understand our life is not just a journey. With Jeff's help, we can discover the deeper meaning of our own waiting.

The In-Between is a memoir packed with a lesson we can all learn from.

For more info about Jeff's book, please visit: http://goinswriter.com/
To order: The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing.

You won't want to miss out! (He's also written several posts to give you a taste of the material in his book and what others are saying about it.)

Full Circle

There's nothing like going home.

We've come to a point in our journey where we're at a crossroads. Vic and I have had to take our family's well-being into consideration. We have two children in middle school this year, one who isn't far behind, and a fourth who will get there soon enough.

The trouble with moving around so much is that our children have been exposed to things in life we'd hoped they wouldn't have to face for at least a couple more years. The public schools aren't the same as they were when my husband and I were young. Our kids must deal with far more than we did at their ages. Which forces us to ask ourselves what's best for them.

After a month of deliberation and dealing with the impact their school experiences have had on them, we decided it's time for the kids and I to embark on a new journey - one that will take us "home."

We've done this separation of our family once before. For six months. It was the most difficult thing I've ever been through. I now understand why spouses die of broken hearts. I spent six months feeling that intense desire for my husband that wracked every fiber of my being. Talking on the phone helped momentarily but never cured me. What cured me was our reunion at the end of half a year that felt like eternity.

So it is with sweet sorrow that we part ways once more.

On the other hand, I cannot wait to step into our church and be reunited with family. I cannot wait to hear "Uncle" Randy say, "Welcome Home."

The place I ran from as a teen. The place I bloomed where I was planted. The place God is bringing me back to.

Which took a miracle.

See, there are these mountains in Virginia/North Carolina/Kentucky/Tennessee that have grabbed hold of my heart and won't let go. There are these mountains that take my breath away every time their foothills appear in my windshield. There are these mountains I dream of moving to one day and settling into. They will be my comfort zone. They will be the place I call home.

And I told God it would take a mighty move in my heart to ever get me to move back to New York.

Today I find myself packing boxes with anticipation. I consider this next season and find myself actually looking forward to going home.

Because home ...

Is where the trees turn brilliant colors of red, orange, yellow, and purple and the air is crisp {and autumn is right around the corner}.

Is where games of Scrabble over pumpkin spice coffee with my mom and sister await me.

Is where a dynamic ministry awaits and my kids and I can experience another wonderful season of growth.

Is where family gatherings for all kinds of occasions delight the heart and nourish the soul.

Is where I find myself anxious to arrive...

Because I can settle in for a few years and rest from our travels.

So I can begin a new journey as our children finish out their school careers.

 

Home, for now, is in another set of mountains. They're a little lower than the Blue Ridges. They're a little rounder than the Blue Ridges. They're a little faster paced than the Blue Ridges. But they have a beauty all their own. And I can't wait to see them in my windshield.

Thank you for taking the time to experience the in-between with me this week. I hope you've enjoyed the posts, and I hope you'll consider picking up a copy of Jeff's book. I'll leave my review of it tomorrow.

Monday's Post: Get Me Out of Here!

Tuesday's Post: What Happened in the Waiting

Wednesday's Post: On the Road Agai
Thursday's Post: What's Your Dream?

For more info about Jeff's book, please visit: http://goinswriter.com/ Jeff has some great giveaways for ordering The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing. You won't want to miss out! (He's also written several posts to give you a taste of the material in his book and what others are saying about it.)

On Saturday, enjoy my review of The In-Between.

What's Your Dream?

In the winter of 2009/10, I found myself depressed. I'd spent so much time and energy on everyone and everything except myself that I spiraled into a couple of anxiety attacks.

I'd shared my life with everyone else, and I began to realize I needed to find something I could do for myself. In an unselfish way. I needed a release.

So I prayed. "Lord, what can I do for you?"

It was January of 2010 when I "received my call." God responded audibly for the second time in my life. "Write for Me."

Ooh... It had been forever since I'd written anything more than a journal entry or a blog post. That bubble of excitement emerged deep inside of me and grew until I felt like I might burst.

I researched Christian Writers online. It was then I discovered the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. Since it was already February, I took a step of faith and registered for the May conference. I knew no one. I knew almost nothing.

Sure, I'd gone to college and taken a few communications classes, but I'd never gotten into the journalism aspect of the program. What could I do?

I could be obedient.

I started reading books on the craft of writing. I blogged on a more regular basis. I searched online. I joined the conference's Yahoo! group for new attendees. And I packed for my first trip just for me.

Here's what God did as a result of my obedience and stepping out in faith:
- I left the conference with a new best friend, Mary Denman.
- I left the conference with a mentor, Edie Melson, the co-director of the conference.
- I left the conference with the interest of Focus on the Family's Thriving Family magazine editor. I prayed for God to drop an article idea into my heart that I could pitch to her. She loved it. I'd always dreamed of having an article published in one of Focus' magazines. God brought it to pass.
- I left the conference with a request from Christian Devotions to send in the devotion I wrote at the conference, just trying my hand at their format. It ended up published on their website and in a devotional book for families. FAITH & FAMILY
- I left the conference encouraged and soaring on eagles' wings.

In the years since, God has blessed me tremendously as I've networked and created. And walked in OBEDIENCE to His call on my life.

I am now the editor of Inspire a Fire, an online site for those of us who want to see God make a difference in our world. And use us to do so.

I am an associate editor with Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. I also freelance edit. Which I love to do. It brings me great joy to help other authors recognize their own potential and bring their work to a new level of excellence.

I just finished writing my first novel and am in rewrite mode. My editor is waiting to work on it. My agent, Jonathan Clements, is waiting to receive the finished manuscript. And I am tickled that God would bless me with such incredible people to work with.

I am teaching at a writer's conference for the first time this October. If you're in the area, you won't want to miss CLASS Writer's Conference in Albuquerque, NM this fall.

God is able to do so much when we are willing to heed His call and walk in obedience and faith. I never finished college. I'd gone for four years when they cut off my student loans. For whatever reason, I couldn't get anymore.

What I've learned since then is that it doesn't always take a degree. Sometimes all it takes is the will to be taught by others, to work hard, and to serve one another. Every time, the will of God is enough.

So I ask you. What's your dream? What is that thing you've always wanted to do that dwells deep inside of you and you can't shake? What could you do that would bring you incredible joy? That thing is a God thing. Acknowledge it. Research it. Find out what you would need to do to step into that journey. Because if God is in it, anything is possible.

I know. I'm walking it. Jeff sums up my testimony well:

When we pour out our gifts and talents, we receive abundantly more than we ever provide.

Don't be like the steward who buried his talent. God reaps where He does not sow. Step out in faith and see where He will take you. Don't be afraid to chase your dreams.

Join me again tomorrow, when I'll share about what looks like the end of a journey (but is only the beginning of a new one, I'm sure).

This week, I will be preparing for another journey ... to a new season of life for our family. A new in-between. A new season of waiting and discovering and savoring the ordinary moments in life that lead to the extraordinary events of life. I will leave a post each day, Monday through Friday, for you to enjoy and think upon as I prepare for and make my trip. These posts will lead up to where I find myself today, and I hope that they encourage you to enjoy the wait.

Monday's Post: Get Me Out of Here!

Tuesday's Post: What Happened in the Waiting

Wednesday's Post: On the Road Again

For more info about Jeff's book, please visit: http://goinswriter.com/ Jeff has some great giveaways for ordering The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing. You won't want to miss out! (He's also written several posts to give you a taste of the material in his book and what others are saying about it.)

On Saturday, enjoy my review of The In-Between.

On the Road Again

Have you ever waited a long time for something? If so, then you know the anticipation, anxiety, and wonder that belong to a long wait.

For ten years prophets told my husband that God would give him full-time employment. He would become a company man. We would see increase. We would want for nothing.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch... Vic worked union construction those ten years. It was a roller-coaster of a life. Just as we'd dig out of an unemployment hole, he would get laid off again (as the job came to an end - not because he didn't do his job well). We'd get right back into debt while we waited for the next call from the union hall.

I hated waiting.

Life was stressful, to say the least. We were getting used to being a step-family. Our finances were rarely stable. We bought our first house. And I stayed home with the kids, doing anything I could think of to make a little extra money for the family. {I wish I'd thought of writing back then.}

BUT GOD...

Had promised.

It was May 2008, Memorial Day Weekend. Thursday, to be exact. We had $400 in our bank account when Vic got antsy and decided to make some phone calls. I'll spare the details, but I'll tell you this: The call was nothing short of a miracle.

Vic had worked for this guy once, four or five years prior. He asked if the company had any local work. "No, but you're like an angel calling. I am in need of guys. Can you be in Alabama on Tuesday?"

We lived in Upstate NY. Alabama was 21 hours away by car. We had $400. And God saw us through.

I never wanted to raise our kids on my own, but desperate times called for desperate measures. I packed my husband's things and sent him on his way, praying for the day I'd be able to join him.

July 4th weekend the kids and I moved to be with him in Mobile, AL.

Jeff has a line in his book that says, "One evening, though, everything started to slow down."

When you're used to living the fast-paced life of a New Yorker and you pull into the South, you notice pretty quickly that everything (except the highway) slows down. It's culture shock but in an awesome way. I fell in love with the South and its slower pace of life.

I love that people take the time to enjoy their relationships. There's nothing like a cold glass of sweet tea on the back porch with a group of your friends. There's nothing like King's Cake and coffee over a game of Phase 10 with your buds. There's nothing like Southern Boil strewn across newspapers on the table and fellowship with the Pastor's family. And coming from New York, there's nothing like someone coming to a near stop to let you into the lane so you can turn off at the right moment. That rarely (never) happens in New York. It didn't take me long to figure out that these in-between times are what make life abundant. I loved slowing down.

God has blessed my husband and me with incredible careers. We love our work. He's currently a Construction Engineer, and I am a writer and an editor {and I'm not afraid to claim it}. Vic is a company man. We haven't wanted for anything in a long time. We've definitely seen increase.

But life on the road is full of in-betweens. When you move once every 6 - 18 months, you live in the in-between.

In between job sites.

In between packing.

In between road trips to move.

In between schools and teachers and friends.

In between cities and states.

And you learn yet again that it's there ... in the in-between ... that life happens. It's there that you grow. It's there that you become. It's there that you discover exactly who God has made you to be and what He has in store for you.

So what does one do in the in-between? I wrote a series of posts on that very thing even before I heard of Jeff's book:

A Gift in the Waiting ... Time
In the Midst of It {Praying Through the Wait}
In the Meantime ... What to Do While Waiting
Work the Wait

Join me again tomorrow to read my testimony of God's calling and what He's done as I have been obedient to follow His lead.

This week, I will be preparing for another journey ... to a new season of life for our family. A new in-between. A new season of waiting and discovering and savoring the ordinary moments in life that lead to the extraordinary events of life. I will leave a post each day, Monday through Friday, for you to enjoy and think upon as I prepare for and make my trip. These posts will lead up to where I find myself today, and I hope that they encourage you to enjoy the wait.

Monday's Post: Get Me Out of Here!

Tuesday's Post: What Happened in the Waiting

For more info about Jeff's book, please visit: http://goinswriter.com/ Jeff has some great giveaways for ordering The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing. You won't want to miss out! (He's also written several posts to give you a taste of the material in his book and what others are saying about it.)

On Saturday, enjoy my review of The In-Between.

What Happened in The Waiting

I wish I could tell you that I quit college, went home, and life became all I dreamed it would be.

But life doesn't always work out that way.

And usually it's our own unwise choices or the unwise choices of those we love that become the cause of our discontentment.

I only stayed a few months before I hit the road again ... with a guy.

After living approximately six months away from home with this person, I discovered that being verbally and physically abused would become a lifestyle for me if I stayed with my decision to make it on my own.

Apart from God.

Until I got a wake-up call from the Man Himself.

When God calls you out of your sinful place, you listen. Because if you don't, your life will be like that chaff that burns quickly. I had a choice to make. Go home with my tail between my legs in shame, or face the possibility of spending eternity in hell - on earth and in the beyond.

I could really go HOME and one day enjoy a mansion in heaven, or I could never see home again.

Home is the place where we sometimes hurt the ones we love, but the back door is always open - and there is always a seat at the table.

- Jeff Goins, The In-Between

Thankfully, my parents promised I could come home, so long as I was willing to live under their authority in their house.

Only a fool would refuse a seat at the table. Because that's where God prepares a place for us. And when we rest in His place for us, goodness and mercy surely follow us all the days of our lives.

This is what happened in the In-Between:

I waited for love ... and found the love of a Savior. I discovered that God loves me as the person He created me to be. It no longer mattered what the kids in fourth grade thought of me. It no longer mattered whether or not my crush loved me in return. Because in the waiting, Jesus became my first love.

I waited 4 years for marriage ... and the man of my dreams and a new son. The first five years of our marriage were incredibly tough, but we discovered that in the darkest places we found the deepest intimacy. And I learned all the more that no matter what my husband thought, God saw and heard everything that went on in our step-family when no one else was watching.

I waited another year to have my own kids ... and have been blessed with four incredibly different children. I've learned to enjoy the waiting as they grow and mature. This journey in life goes faster than the blink of an eye, even when it seems to be dragging a one-ton weight. I know. My step-son is now 23. He was 4 when I met his father. My oldest is almost 14. The youngest is nearly 9. Enjoy the process of who they are becoming. Now's the time to savor the moments and take the time to teach them all you know. Tomorrow they'll be on their own journey, facing their own in-betweens.

My husband and I waited 10 years for the prophetic promise from God to come to pass ... and today we are gratefully advancing in each of our careers, watching God do amazing things in the in-between moments. God promised my husband would become a company man - while he was working union, being shifted from company to company as he went from job site to job site. But God knew what He was doing. And we had no idea what enduring the in-between had in store ...

Join me tomorrow to find out what the in-between did have in store.

This week, I will be preparing for another journey ... to a new season of life for our family. A new in-between. A new season of waiting and discovering and savoring the ordinary moments in life that lead to the extraordinary events of life. I will leave a post each day, Monday through Friday, for you to enjoy and think upon as I prepare for and make my trip. These posts will lead up to where I find myself today, and I hope that they encourage you to enjoy the wait.

Read yesterday's post here: http://alyciawmorales.blogspot.com/2013/08/get-me-out-of-here.html

For more info about Jeff's book, please visit: http://goinswriter.com/ Jeff has some great giveaways for ordering The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing. You won't want to miss out! (He's also written several posts to give you a taste of the material in his book and what others are saying about it.)

On Saturday, enjoy my review of The In-Between.

Get Me Out of Here!

This month, I've been immersing myself in a new book. It's titled The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing. Jeff Goins is the amazing author, and as I've read, I've found myself on a journey of reflection. It's been like taking a trip back in time to see where I've come from, how far I've gotten in life, and where I'm heading. The most important part? The In-Between...

In the introduction to the first part of the three-part book, Jeff mentions how while we are young, we long for freedoms that haven't come. The one he mentions that I most relate to is this: the chance to move away and see the world.

You see, I come from small-town America. I grew up in Margaretville, NY. Population about 600. When you gather the children from the surrounding small towns and pack them into the one K-12 school, you have about the same number. My graduating class? 24. It's the town where everyone thinks they know everyone else's business. It's the town 50 miles from the nearest Walmart or Regal Cinemas. It's the town that someone who wasn't born there can't wait to leave when they're handed their high school diploma.

In 1992, I ran from Margaretville, ready to escape everyone else's ideas of who I was. Ready to be me. Ready to face life on my own. Ready to embrace my future - a future away from small town living. Because, after all, what good can come out of Margaretville, NY?

"We were made to wait, to long for things unseen. This is the place from which dreams and desires come." - Jeff Goins, The In-Between

I grew up dreaming of being someone. Because I learned in third grade that I was the nobody. I was the freckle-faced, four-eyed, non-beautiful girl that was only good for kick ball. I was the last.

So I started writing. I journaled. I wrote angst poetry. I put all my thoughts on paper.

The only thing I loved as much as writing was music. I had a life soundtrack. I listened to everything and anything under the sun. I relished the sounds, the stories, and the dream of one day making it big.

But I wasn't talented enough to sing in a band. I wasn't talented enough to be a key musician in a band (although I tried once - as a keyboardist in a band called Toe Jam - we obviously didn't get out of the garage). And my young mind didn't know there was a whole industry behind those artists I sang along with at the top of my lungs.

So when it came time, I pursued the writing dream. I desired to write for the glossy magazines like Bop and Teen Beat. I wanted to tell the celebrity's stories. And off to college I went.

Until I fell into a really deep pit and did what I always swore I would never do.

And that's where I met Jesus. And when I couldn't maintain my relationship with Him because it was crowded out by the boys I chased, I decided to...

Return home. Yep, I left big time college and headed back to small town life. I headed home.

And back to waiting for the next big thing.

All this waiting is not an accident; it's a call to slow down. These delays are meant to point us to a deeper truth: we are not finished. If we relish this reality and embrace the opportunity it holds, we may be able to grasp a depth we've not yet reached. We may find this abundant life, after all. 

- Jeff Goins, The In-Between

Join me tomorrow for part two of my journey with the In-Between. I'll let you know what happened as I waited for the next big thing.

This week, I will be preparing for another journey ... to a new season of life for our family. A new in-between. A new season of waiting and discovering and savoring the ordinary moments in life that lead to the extraordinary events of life. I will leave a post each day, Monday through Friday, for you to enjoy and think upon as I prepare for and make my trip. These posts will lead up to where I find myself today, and I hope that they encourage you to enjoy the wait.

For more info about Jeff's book, please visit: http://goinswriter.com/ Jeff has some great giveaways for ordering The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing. You won't want to miss out! (He's also written several posts to give you a taste of the material in his book and what others are saying about it.)

On Saturday, enjoy my review of The In-Between.

The In-Between

As a New Yorker, I spent most of my life zipping from one moment to the next. Always looking ahead, I didn't pay as much attention to the current moment as I could have.

Until we moved South, and I learned how to slow down.

That's when my camera became my constant companion and my husband began asking, "Why can't you just enjoy the moment? Must you always take a picture of it?"

Yes. Because I love catching God's glory - that one flash of a moment that will never occur again - on film. Or screen, now that we're digital and all that.

Having camera in hand gives me the excuse to slow down and look beyond my normal range of view. I see things I would miss if I didn't have a reason to take my time and enjoy the beauty around me.

I would miss things like this:

The rest of my family walked right past this fabulous creature as we hiked in the Blue Ridge Mountains. (PS - I know the photo bleeds into my side bar. I left it that way so you could read the quote without squinting. ;)

I like taking rest stops along the way. I don't want to zip up one side of the mountain and down the other without taking the time to enjoy the scenery, both macro and panoramic. I want those mundane moments in life, because that is where the connections are made as relationships deepen. {Tweet This}

If you want to find new meaning in the In-Between, I invite you to join me as I blog through Jeff Goins' newest book, The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing. It releases August 1.

In the meantime, please hop over to Jeff's blog, where ten of his friends (including myself) share our best in-between advice. {Hop Here}

Thanks for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment. What mundane moment in your life turned out to be a blessing?