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Lauren Gaskill

Encouraging women to live in faith and joy

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Why I Wrote a Book

November 6, 2018 • 3 Comments

into the deep lauren gaskill

“Did you hear about Jessica?” I overheard them whisper.

“She nearly overdosed at a party last weekend and now she’s in a treatment facility,” another added. “Poor thing. How sad.”

Poor thing. How sad.

While I didn’t know the Jessica whom they spoke of, I was pretty familiar with the words they used to describe her. Because every time I looked in the mirror that’s exactly what I said about myself.

I picked up my backpack, not wanting to hear more of their conversation, and beelined it for the library exit. But before my feet could take me down the ramp, I found myself headed for the Christian nonfiction department instead.

At this point in my faith journey and experience with chronic pain, anxiety and depression, I really struggled to read the Bible. In my pain, none of it felt real to me. The stories seemed like a distant fairy tale — something only for people who had it all together and not for someone as messed up as me. Maybe you can relate to feeling this way.

Though I didn’t find what I was looking for that day, later that night I came across an advertisement for Francis Chan’s Crazy Love. After years of praying and pleading for God to take my suffering away, the title of the first chapter stopped me in my tracks: Stop Praying.

Francis writes, “What if I said, Stop praying?” What if I told you to stop talking at God for awhile, but instead to take a long, hard look at Him before you speak another word?”

Now, this might not seem revolutionary to you, but for my 18-year-old self, it’s what God used to begin the healing process in my heart. Let me be clear: I didn’t wake up the next morning and feel completely set free from all of my pain. In fact, life got much worse before it got better about four years after reading the book … but while Crazy Love did not make my life better overnight, the book certainly ministered to me in one of the deepest valleys of my life. And for that, I am forever grateful.

Books are powerful, and it is through this experience that I 1) learned about their potential to change lives and 2) vowed to do the same for someone else by writing a book if it was God’s will someday.

Shortly after reading Crazy Love, I started blogging and finally picked up the Bible in an attempt to revive and go deeper in my faith. And you know what happened? As I dove deeper into my relationship with God, He pulled me up out of the undertow of doubt, darkness and despair, and into a place of joy, hope, peace, freedom and courageous faith as I learned to swim through life with Him.

And He can and will do the same for you if you reach out for Him!

My first book, Into the Deep: Diving Into a Life of Courageous Faith, is the story of God helped me rediscover and go deeper in faith, but it is also a love letter to you. All 201 pages are full of love and encouragement to help you go deeper in your faith journey — whatever you may be going through.

This book is a lifelong book because faith is a lifelong journey. 

This one is for the fighters.
The overcomers.
The ones who want to rise above.
This one is for the one’s who are tired of trying to swim through life’s deep waters on their own.
For the overwhelmed.
For the one who wonders … is there more to life?
For the one who wants to step out of fear and into courage and faith.

Order your copy today, and get ready to exchange fear and frustration for the boldness, courage, and holy confidence that lead to a life of deep faith and joy!

And remember: The waves of life are no match for those who are courageous enough to live by faith.

All my love,
Lauren

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Comments

  1. Sarah @ Christ-Centered Mama says

    November 21, 2018 at 11:27 am

    “The waves of life are no match for those who are courageous enough to live by faith.” What a beautiful quote. I’ll have to check out your book.

    Reply
  2. Samantha Sali says

    November 21, 2018 at 12:15 pm

    Congrats on the book! It’s so exciting to have your own personal work published!!!

    Reply
  3. Stephanie Gammon says

    November 21, 2018 at 3:15 pm

    I love these lines:

    For the overwhelmed.
    For the one who wonders … is there more to life?
    For the one who wants to step out of fear and into courage and faith.

    Reply

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Hi, dear friend! I'm so glad you're here. And though I wish we could be meeting face-to-face over coffee, I'm grateful for the chance to know you here. The community here inspires me, and I hope you feel like you belong while you're here. If you'd like to connect with me, please follow me on social media. I want to hear from you, so please reach out! And don't forget to sign up for my newsletter — you'll get access to special content and freebies.

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Introducing our sweet baby boy, Graham Gregg Gaski Introducing our sweet baby boy, Graham Gregg Gaskill! 

Our precious son made his long awaited arrival into this world 4/8/21 at 12:27 pm weighing in at 9 lbs. 5 oz. 

His name means gift of God, symbol of healing, watchful and wide awake, and valorous.

Graham: gift of God in some cultures, but it also can mean “grain,” and is representative of the new grain we’ve all been given access to — Jesus’ body broken for our healing. Gregg is after Alex’s dad and means wide-awake, watchful and vigilant. Gaskill: valorous. 

All I can say are the first words I uttered when I had the beautiful opportunity to catch him and pull him to my chest: He’s perfect. 

We are blessed. 🌈
Waves. They come and they go; they push and they p Waves. They come and they go; they push and they pull. All the while, the tides rise and fall, drawn by forces unseen.

Forces unseen ... It’s amazing to me that the same world that so easily acknowledges the unseen, powerful forces behind the ocean’s activity is often skeptical or unreceptive to the unseen, powerful forces behind the supernatural realm. 

And yet, if there is one thing I’ve learned in my journey of learning the things of the unseen Kingdom of God, it’s that what Paul communicated in 2 Corinthians 4:18 is true: What is unseen is eternal — greater and more real than what is seen. And the circumstances, emotions, and things we experience here? Well, they are temporary.

Your situation might not look like it’s changing, but I promise you as you focus on the things unseen God has showed you and promised you about your life, like the falling and rising of the tides, the power of the Holy Spirit is bringing the substance of those things unseen to pass right in front of your eyes. 

Seek, ask, believe, receive, and keep your eyes on Jesus, sweet friend. He’s not going to let you down. 

📷 @kate.mclaws
“I look up to the mountains and hills, longing f “I look up to the mountains and hills, longing for God’s help. But then I realize that our true help and protection is only from the Lord, our Creator who made the heavens and the earth. He will guard and guide me, never letting me stumble or fall. God is my keeper; he will never forget nor ignore me. He will never slumber nor sleep; he is the Guardian-God for his people, Israel. Yahweh himself will watch over you; he’s always at your side to shelter you safely in his presence. He’s protecting you from all danger both day and night. He will keep you from every form of evil or calamity as he continuously watches over you. You will be guarded by God himself. You will be safe when you leave your home, and safely you will return. He will protect you now, and he’ll protect you forevermore!” {Psalm 121 TPT} 

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The passage goes on to say that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Lord lifts up a standard against Him. Yes, He always breaks through for us. And because He sent us salvation through Jesus when He saw the depth of our need for a Savior, we now carry that same spirit and person of breakthrough inside of us. 

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Sleepy boop 🐶 @boopmynose Sleepy boop 🐶 @boopmynose
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My hope is found in remembering that it is GOD who causes seeds to grow and bloom, both in the landscape of our world and in the garden of my heart. I yield my heart to Him and the truth of His Word, and He brings the increase by His grace. I cannot make the seed of His Word and new life grow. I can water it through communion with Jesus, but I can’t make it produce life in my own strength or by my own power of will.

This is what I hold onto in faith: That I don’t have to understand how He turns the winter into spring. But just the promise that He does. Even when spring seems like it has been delayed. It always comes. 🌿
I call this my “I love the Word of God speaking I call this my “I love the Word of God speaking face.” 😂😂 Hard to believe it’s officially been a little more than a year since I stepped onto a stage to minister the word of God. I’m so grateful for the many other opportunities God has given me to share the Word in this season of life, whether that be through a conversation at the gym, an interview, or a @shefoundjoy podcast episode, but goodness, am I looking forward to the day when I can share the love, goodness, truth, and power of Jesus to a room full of precious, smiling people. 

If your church is opened/opening up, please know I’m open to speaking opportunities, even after sweet Baby G is born! Message or email me for inquiries or booking info. (Thanks again to @rochelle.merrell for allowing me to speak at @catchthefireraleigh’s women’s event last year! We had such a blast!! And @_j_knee, that was when we became friends!!) 💜
If there is one thing pregnancy and preparing for If there is one thing pregnancy and preparing for birth have taught me, it’s that Jesus really does have to be my source for everything, and I wasn’t meant to carry burdens. (I’m sure motherhood teaches this on an even deeper level.) But really, we all need Jesus. And we weren’t meant to carry burdens. We were meant to carry LIFE. 

Whether or not you ever carry a child, your inheritance is to be a carrier of the light and life of Jesus for all of your days. That means saying no to holding on to negative emotions, memories, thoughts, or anything else the enemy of our souls wants to try and make us carry. 

With Baby G making his arrival any day now, I’ll be honest: The last few weeks have been brutal. Holy Spirit has been bringing a lot of things to the surface, and some days, all I can do is just cry, surrender, and choose to trust all over again that God will settle what still needs to be settled and be faithful to what He’s spoken over our family. But through this grueling process, I have learned in a greater way why it is so important to cast every burden and care on Jesus. Because if we don’t, the very weight of them will eventually crush us. 

What cares or burdens do you need to cast upon Him today? He is more than willing and able to carry the weight, and in exchange, fill you with His light and life.
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