It wasn’t that the evening was anything extraordinary.

It’s not that I felt prodigious words tingling at my fingertips. There was no resolve or expectation to create a work that would effectively change the course of thousands of parents and children across the nation over the next month.

There was simply a goal to stick to; a weekly blog post to be written and I had little inspiration. Writer’s block was hard at work–yet there was that jar.

 

 

There was something about that jar. That cold glass jar sitting on the backseat floor mat of our SUV–the SUV we had purchased on the notion that it would fit our family of four just fine for the next couple of years, only to find out the very day after we purchased it that it would somehow have to fit another carseat in just 9 short months.

The jar had pestered me now for two weeks. As I had carted my two tow-headed boys around town running errands, that jar full of pennies had clink-clunked as it rolled back and forth under my toddler’s feet. Yet for all of the racket it generated as I accelerated from stop signs, the jar had all but been forgotten, ignored, neglected perhaps.

But on that night, with a blog to write and no words volunteering to fashion it, I pulled my sweater tight around me as I stepped out into the cold, opened the door to our SUV, and reached my arm far beneath the driver’s seat. I fished my hand around until my fingers met cold glass. I grasped the jar, and the weight of it surprised me.

 

 

Little did I know that the weight of that jar would overwhelm more than just myself. Over the next six weeks, it would overwhelm over one million visitors to my blog. That jar had a message to spread across the nation. It would bring tears to thousands of parents as they considered the limited time they have to invest in their children’s lives, souls, and futures.

And through it all, God would completely overwhelm me by His grace, power, and plan to use this simple message–this unassuming jar and its humble copper contents–to begin something far bigger than anything I could imagine.

 

 

So friends, here it is–here is the secret I’ve been keeping under wraps for the past six months.

 

That little blog post with a colossal message for every parent or caregiver who would come across it? That glass jar that now sits with five others on a shelf in my living room?

 

Well–I began to feel God calling me to write a book about it.

 

So that’s what I’ve been doing.

 

 

I’ve been writing. And praying {hard}. And reading stories and sage wisdom from those who have gone before me on this journey. And then praying some more. And researching. And writing. And praying some more.

And through it all a book is being born, one painting a portrait of  just how 936 Pennies Forever Changed How I Parent. And how that jar holds A Call To Courageous And Intentional Parenthood, And A Mission To Pass On Abundant Life To Your Child.

 

 

Over many early mornings lit by candlelight and accompanied by too many cups of coffee–I’ve been typing out the stories, the words, the Scriptures, the lessons that are weaving together this fabric of a greater message full of truth. And how this truth can be realized through 936 pennies; and what they have to teach all of us about the fleeting time of parenthood–and all of its enormous potential.

It is a message steeped in Scripture and poured out from the heart of a Mama in the middle of it all; the messes, the questions, the triumphs, the regrets, the fears, and the vast beauty of this journey called parenthood.

 

 

This July I will board a plane with my husband and baby.

 

We will fly to North Carolina, where I will attend a three-day conference taught by some of today’s greatest Christian woman authors and speakers.

I will also walk into a couple of meetings with shaky hands and pounding heart, and sit before several of today’s top publishers, and share with them the vision God has given me for 936 Pennies, and possibly, prayerfully, with God’s will and all in His plan–there might be a book deal on the table.

 

 

Through the process of this all, God is time and time again completely overwhelming my heart. As complete strangers share with me just how the message of 936 Pennies has reached them, and how it has impacted and challenged the way they are raising their kids–I have been brought to tears and left speechless more than a few times.

Because you see–this is God at work like I’ve never seen Him before, and I am dumbfounded that He would use the means of me for such a great message that He has to share with parents and caregivers. Because after all–I’m pretty new at this parenting thing.

But that’s just it–I’m right there in the trenches; celebrating the victories, grieving the mistakes, navigating the pathways of parenthood day by day. Along the way He is teaching me a whole lot at every turn, and calling me to share the journey.

 

 

So will you join me? Here are 3 ways to help now!

 

1.  Pray with me as I write this book, and as I meet with publishers, that this message will go forth in His plan, power, and truth.

2.  Share the message! Here’s a chance to begin now!:  Share Tweet

 

3.  Follow me over on my author page on Facebook where I’ll be sharing this journey as it progresses. {Also–publishers like to see a large following on author Facebook pages 😉 So Follow and Share!}

 

 

To God be the glory for all of this. Because it is His.