Confession: I don't read fiction often, but when I do, I read the last chapter first. I enjoy reading fiction - I really do! But because I don't get to read it as often in this season, if I don't like the ending, I don't waste my time with whole book. I've heard all of the reasons why I shouldn't: "That's cheating!" "That ruins the reading experience and the mystery of having to figure it out later!" But I personally find that I really enjoy paying attention to, appreciating and even looking for details that would be easy to miss if I didn't understand the significance of them. I'll show you what I mean. Look at the end of the recorded story of Paul's relationship with the leaders at Ephesus: "And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship." - Acts 20:37-38 Picture it. It's the grown men version of the same thing your kids did as toddlers when they grabbed on to your leg [...]

If you've been here for more than a minute, you probably know... 1. We love the local church. 2. We have a book coming out on October 12... a date that's actually starting to feel like it's right around the corner! (Head here to preorder yours + get chapter one as a digital download plus other SWHW-related bonuses!) And here's what our love of the local church + our book have in common... One of the things we feel God calling us to do is gift copies of our upcoming book to local churches, and the best way we know to do that is by putting books in pastors' hands. And when I shared about this briefly on my Instagram stories, we were blown away by your generosity and how you wanted to help. There are three ways you can partner with us in this specific project: 1) Preorder an extra copy of our book + give it to your pastor. We know the best way to get it in your local church is through you! So if you'd like to participate in the most personal way, preorder an extra copy [...]