September 11 | 1-3pm
Coffee N Cream
190 E Stacy Rd
Allen, TX 75069
Map // Flyer
Many of you have books already but would love to have you swing by for some coffee and chatting.
This month I age another year… Celebrating the day of (Labor Day in the states) with my first triathlon. Hope to survive swimming! (And tell you guys about it on the 11th.)
From Daniel:
Reading through your book got me to write a post about my future wife! :)
Daniel was actually one of my husband’s youth kids before we were even dating or knew each other. He went through some tough times of “depression/rebellion” as he calls it when Yuee first befriended him but it’s been such a blessing to see God continue to pursue him and his response and fruitfulness over time.
Though the years have surely involved changes, transitions, and moves, we somehow all found ourselves in the same church where he has since taken a leadership position in the young adult group called “The Porch”. He was heading up a team to start a corresponding blog as an online influence and point of connection for both those in and outside the community and asked us if we’d like to join his team to design/develop and advise the project.
It’s been such a joy serving together in the area of arts/design/the web that really resonates with us and even moreso with such a group of like-minded and uplifting brothers and sisters. And it always astounds me how the hand of God moves, unravels, intertwines.
Anyway, here’s Dan’s eloquent entry (& blog of inspiring stories). And for all you single folks around DFW, The Porch is a great place to hang on Tuesday nights. :P
A final P.S.: Daniel’s mentioned on page 151 of DFH. :)
Really liked this from a sister at church…
What does it look like to WANT God’s will over your own?
“Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” – Mark 14:36
Even though Jesus was grieved about His upcoming torture and death, He was still willing to pursue His Father’s will above His own. Because of His relationship, love, and respect for His Father, Jesus was not just willing to submit to the Father’s will. He WANTED it.
How many times have you ever pleaded with God for something when you genuinely thought you had a superior plan that would work out more perfectly than anything God could come up with?
When I was in high school and college, my perfectly laid out plan was to be married by the age of 23, have my first child by 25, second child by 27, and third child by 29, so that I would have my cute little “complete” family by the time I was 30. Well, I turn 30 in about five weeks without a husband or children. I know now that had everything gone according to my “perfect” plan, I’d more than likely be in a marriage that wouldn’t glorify God the way He intends marriage to, and I would have sought my identity in motherhood.
…
The question is do I WANT His best for me, or do I only want what I THINK is best for me right now.
…
It’s okay to ask God for things we want or desire. Jesus was asking to avoid the suffering before Him, but He also knew that His impending suffering and death would ultimately bring the Father more glory, so He chose God’s will over His own desires. Here’s a question we need to ask ourselves: “Is what I am asking for going to bring God more glory?”
Here’s some heartening bits, with permission, from a card my mom received from her Sunday School teacher back in the day, Nancy. Nancy (and her husband) shared the gospel with my parents when they first moved to the U.S., discipled them and have been sort of like their spiritual parents. She has known me since before the days I could walk or talk all the way to reading Scripture at my wedding!
This is also a special thank you to Nancy for sharing the book to friends in Monroe, LA, where I grew up. It is always with humility when I think of how God still chooses to use a simple, melancholic, small-town girl for His purposes and glory.
… Almost any young person could relate this to their life and be so blessed. We could see the heart of Grace all the way thru it. Amidst all her struggles, the Lord kept drawing her to Himself and she kept responding to Him until it is quite evident that she came to the place in her life that Jesus Himself was her first love. I believe the Lord desires this for both husband and wife but few young people begin their marriage this way. I think this is the beautiful truth in her book and it has taken me years for me to know this …
You know, some people think the book is a love story to Yuee or my unknown spouse at the time… But it’s so true that the love story is actually first finding the Lover of our Souls, from whence all other forms of earthly love can follow.
A very warm thank you to everyone who came to the signings…
I’m an introvert through and through so it’s always a bit draining to be social amongst both friends and strangers for a stretch of time. You’d think writers can hide behind pages of words. :P
But God never ceases to surprise and bless me. I’ve really enjoyed hearing many of the stories weaving in your lives. How sweet the openness in sharing and the authenticity of your hearts.
A few memorable characters:
Thanks also for the notes, thoughts and kind words of encouragement from many of you who couldn’t make it. To wherever Tate brings us next, if anywhere… Borders requested for a return event in the fall so we shall see.
Back from Italia with the present husband… haha. Really enjoyed the time away along with much appreciated art, history, culture and lots of gelato. :))
Came back to … June. Already!
Two book signings/events this month:
June 17 | 5-7pm
Borders Dallas – Uptown
3600 McKinney Avenue
Dallas, TX 75204
Map
June 19 | 2-4pm
Hastings
5101 Wesley St
Greenville, TX 75402
Map
There will be giveaways, goodies (Mmmm, Chrissie’s Cookies!) and more. Also, 10% of all books sold at both events will be donated to one of our favorite charities: Operation Once in a Lifetime.
Hope to see you!
Have had NIL time for book stuff of late — work and freelance projects have been mounting. :( Design is my other love and passion; if only there were more hours in a day!
Anyway, I wanted to share a letter from a Houston gal. And shoutout to Meg — thanks for spreading the word amongst your H-town friends.
As I read this book I pray that our God continues to mold me into the woman that He has called me to me. I promise to save myself for you & never sacrifice myself for any worldly things. I will not settle for less and set my expectations high. I will look up to our God as my guide, my comforter, & measures everyone else to Him.
I will continue to pray for you so that you too, will be whom He has called you to me. One day soon… you will be my husband, sometimes boyfriend, but always best friends.
Love,
Me.
It was a long-awaited and joyous occasion to celebrate Joyce and Timmy’s wedded bliss!
A portion from my whirlwind-written (3-night notice), heartfelt but not-so-well-delivered MOH toast:
Before his proposal to Joyce (and after months of planning), Timmy sent me an e-mail that I’d like to read a snippet from: “I will be at my old school setting up at 5pm. I chose this location because before Joyce and I started dating, I took her there to show her where I grew up. At the school there is a life size map of the US. We stood there talking and that was the moment at the young age of 18 that I knew that I found the person I would marry.” Fast forward a decade. This dream finally comes to fruition as Yuee and I had the privilege of witnessing Timmy get down on one knee… on that SAME US map… to ask the woman he has loved ALL these years… to spend the rest of their lives together. ;*)
It’s been such a blessing to see the couple’s journey of faith as they sought the Lord and waited patiently but also purposefully for His perfect timing and will through even some difficult circumstances. We wish you a lifetime of love as you grow together, enjoy each other and uphold one another in truth and grace.
Yuee got to sing & play Crowder’s “How He Loves”, a fave of mine (and the groom’s!). How fitting it was — this Love that gives us reason to love. Indeed, “Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss…”
PS: Being called “matron” seems so… matronly old. :P
A very worth sharing e-mail from a single friend that agreed to let me post…
A couple of years back, I was reading this passage:
“3 Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” 5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says:”Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” (Haggai 1:3-6) and I totally thought of young adults. I was kinda depressed that my generation was so focused on pleasing itself and being entertained and comforted, and not giving thought to how they might build up the church. So, I found myself praying a very strange prayer. I prayed, “God, would you let me fall in love with a girl who would reject me for missions? I’d be content just to know that there’s such a girl out there still.”
So it turns out, this prayer was answered in just that way. And yet, this “rejection” shakes not my friend’s faith.
His response —
Please continue to pray for me, that I’d just seek God out all the more. I’ve been realizing that I put a lot of my hope in temporal things, things that I hope to happen in this lifetime, and “if only…” can turn so quickly into “only if…” God’s been reminding me through this that I need to put my hope in Christ. Please pray also that I would continue to be there for her to encourage and support her as God calls her to missions, not out of a selfish hope that she’d change her mind, but out of a selfless hope for God to be glorified through her, that my friendship towards her would look like this following passage:
“9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” (Romans 12:9-13)
The husband of DFH (haha) and his brother-in-law (i.e. my bro, Daniel) will be representing me at The North Texas Book Festival. :P Go support the boys and meet some other great local authors.
The absence is with sound reason as I’ll be a-maiding for my good friend Joyce at her long awaited wedding. Looking forward to it…
