Nestled at the end of the book of 2 Chronicles, there is a short chapter about one of the kings of Judah. 

Jotham. 

He was the son of Uzziah. His mother was Jerusha. He became king at 25 and reigned for 16 years.

There are literally 9 verses in this chapter. Just 9. Not 10 and not 56.

Just 9.

The reason there are only 9 verses in this chapter can be found in verse 6: …because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God. 

There was no drama. There were no idols. No witchcraft. No sacrificing of his children. He just rebuilt and built and went to war like kings do. 

That’s it.

In today’s world, he was boring. Just plain ole faithful, get the job done and right, Jotham. He didn’t have a “testimony” in that he went off the deep end and then came back to the LORD. No, he just walked steadfastly before the LORD his God.

I think sometimes as Christians we think that without some deep, dark abyss of sin in our past, we don’t have anything to say. Quite the contrary. We have a lifetime of following God and being faithful to Him. 

That’s our testimony.

Because Jotham’s dad and his son did not do everything right so you know temptation was swirling all around him. You know it was. Yet, he chose to live faithfully to the LORD his God. 

I pray that you will continue to seek your Heavenly Father with a steadfastness like Jotham did. 

Righteousness.

If we don’t quite know what that word means, we might be tempted to be scared by it. Maybe we even choose to ignore it because we think it sounds too churchy, too legalistic, too Miss Goody-too-shoes. 

But all righteousness really means is walking in the right way according to God’s standard. Righteousness is right-way-ness.

What this verse means to me is this: if I hunger and crave for the right things, the things of God, I will be satisfied. If I hunger and crave temporal things, satisfaction will be outside of my grip. 

I don’t know about you, but I have to be constantly aware of where my cravings are focused. God must be at the top of my cravings list. For when He is, my life will be better. Richer. Fuller. 

Satisfied.

What about you? What do you crave? If you consistently find yourself unsatisfied and longing for more, then it’s likely that your cravings are misdirected. 

Pray with me: Father, may we desperately and deliberately desire, crave, run after the things that you consider right and true. Help us to hunger and thirst for You for you always satisfy and never let us down. Replace our wrong and addictive desires with a strong desire for You. In Jesus’ name…

The other day I asked my friends, my girls, my tribe this question: How do I deal with the jealousy that I sometimes have?”

Because these women love Jesus and know the Word of God, they gave me a abundance of answers, suggestions and godly wisdom. I knew they would and it’s the reason I asked them.

I left that cyber conversation that took place on Group Me, and after praying for God to help me, I began to implement what they said. 

But y’all, I already knew what they said. The information they shared was not new information to me. In fact, I’ve given out that wisdom and advice to others many times myself. So, why did I ask? 

Because I was hoping that there was an easy fix to this dilemma I’ve found myself struggling with. I hoped that I wouldn’t have to do the hard work of finding joy in where I am and counting my own blessings instead of looking at the blessings of others. I’ve grown a bit weary battling this lately because it seems to just strangle me at times.

(Yes, I’m a published author and leader in my church, and I still struggle with jealousy sometimes.) 

Don’t we do that often? We are facing an issue, a struggle and we know what the Bible says to do. We know what advice our friends are going to give us. We know the steps we need to take. BUT…we are hoping, just hoping that maybe there is a magic pill we can take that will allow us to sidestep the more challenging path. We hope that someone will say something that will be an “aha!” moment for us and it will all just instantly go away. Sometimes it does, but most of the time it doesn’t. 

So, why do I write about this today? Because my guess is that someone, one of you reading this post is in a place where you feel discouraged, beaten down, frustrated with something that continues to plague you and paralyze you. You may think you don’t know what to do, but my guess is that you do. In fact, here is a way that might help you know whether you really know your next step or not:

Whatever you are facing in your life that you need guidance on, pretend someone just told that to you. What advice would you give them?

And remember this: Above all else, before going to a pastor, instead of spilling your guts to your spouse or best friend, go to your Heavenly Father. He sees, He knows, and He is willing to comfort, guide, protect, and advise you along your path. 

I don’t think any author really knows how things are going when they release a book. We hope it’s going well. We can receive accolades and encouragement from people. We get some virtual high fives and fist bumps from friends everywhere who are helping us to promote it. But until the actual statement comes in the mail, we don’t really know if we’ve sold 50 or 5,000 or 150,000. 

Thankfully, I don’t really worry about it. Or should I say I try not to. I don’t spend much time fretting over my sales. Why? Because this book is for people who need it, people who want it. God led me to write this book and filled it with His words.

During this launch, I’ve done several interviews for the radio. I’ve also written some posts that will be published soon. I figure I will do more as the weeks pass by. 

So, I’ll keep y’all posted of things, such and goings on in my life as an author and speaker. And also as a wife, mom, pastor, leader, mentor and whatever other title I decide to pick up. 

Have a great day! 

Bobby, Stephanie, Meri, Claudia and Courtney! You’ve been sent an email requesting your full name and address. 

Congratulations!

Today is a very special day. A VERY SPECIAL DAY! 

Today, August 1, 2016, is the day that my second book, Rebuilding A Marriage Better Than New, releases. 

I KNOW!

And because that is so exciting, I’ve decided to give five (5) free books away to y’all! 

I KNOW AGAIN! 

So, in order to have a chance to win a copy, please comment below by answering these questions:

On a scale from 1 to 10, where does your marriage land? Why do you think you would benefit from receiving this book?

You have until 5:00 pm on Friday, August 5th to comment. The 5 winners will be chosen then.

Can’t wait to hear from you!

So head on over and pick one up for yourself. And while you’re at it, grab one for your pastor and deliver it to him or her. My prayer is that pastors everywhere will have this resource to recommend to their people who are walking through struggles in their marriages. (I’ve included a link to my first book as well!)

Thank you for your support and for believing in this movement!

That date may not be important to you. You may just see it as another Monday in the summer of 2016. Or maybe it is a day that matters to you. A birthday, an anniversary, the day for a celebration.

Well, that’s what it will be for me. A day for celebration.

Why, you ask? Because it’s the day that my second book, Rebuilding a Marriage Better Than New, will be released for purchase by anyone who wants it or needs it.

(Insert hoops and hollas and shouts of joy!)

Rebuilding a Marriage Better Than New is kind of a sequel to my first book, Healing Your Marriage When Trust Is Broken. My first book is written for the couple who has been through something detrimental, some kind of betrayal where trust was broken. It’s sort of like a trauma center type of scenario.

My second book…wow, it still blows my mind saying that…is for the couple who has walked through betrayal or has just neglected the marriage so much that they are mere roommates. Hardly friends.

While I did write these books for couples who are still on a healing path or are currently struggling with a non-betrayal type situation, I do feel any married couple can learn from what I’ve written. One thing I’ve learned about marriage books is that people don’t usually pick them up to read until they have to. Don’t be that couple. Read a great marriage book while you feel good about your marriage. We can always be stretched and challenged to be a better wife or husband.

With all of that being said, can I ask a favor of you?

(You say, “Sure, you bet, Cindy.”)

Would you help me get the word out about this book so that people can find hope and healing?

(You say, “Absolutely! What can I do?”)

Man, you’re so generous. I’m so glad you asked.

You can join my launch team.

What is a launch team, you ask? Well, it’s a group of people who are going to help promote my book before it’s actual release date and then also keep promoting it for several weeks after its release. All it entails is using your platform on social media (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.) to help promote my book. You can even blog about it or do some kind of video on it.

You may be wondering if you are the person to join my launch team. Well, here’s who should join:

• If you have been helped by my first book and have a renewed marriage.
• If you are passionate about couples being in healthy marriages.
• If you love the institution of marriage and want to see fewer divorces.
• If you are my friend and just want to help    

But I need you to email me quickly if you want to be a part of my launch team. Here are two reasons why:

1. My publisher, Harvest House, has a limited amount of FREE galley copies to give out. So, please email me at cindybeallbook@gmail.com and let me know that you want to help get the word out about Rebuilding a Marriage Better Than New.
2. I have created a Facebook group for my launch team that I want you to be a part of. This group will be private and only open to our team. You’ll get to “meet” new people and have community with others who are reading my book. And I will be chiming in on the page as well! I also plan to have some questions and stuff for us all to go through together as we read the book. Graphics for social media posts will be posted on this page as well so that you can use them for promotion. So, go to the Launch Team Private Group and request that I let you become a member. Because I totally will, y’all. Here’s the link: Cindy Beall’s Launch Team Facebook Page.

I truly appreciate your support and help in this. I am honored that you are on this journey with me.

Now, let’s go help some marriages, mkay?

I will still write occasionally, but most of my input, advice, encouragement and update will be via these avenues:

Instagram: @cindybeall

Pinterest: Cindy Beall Snapchat: @cindybeallFacebook: Cindy Beall (author page)

Twitter: @cindybeallI am also still heavily involved on the Leading and Loving It team for pastors’ wives and women in ministry. You can keep up with my goings on here:

Rejoice always.
Pray continually.
Give thanks.

What is God’s will?

THIS is:

Rejoice always.
Pray continually.
Give thanks.

What if we quit looking for a particular path in our lives or a specific person to meet our needs and just focused on these three things?

Rejoice always.
Pray continually.
Give thanks.

Think for a minute how different your 1,440 minutes would be each day. If instead of complaining, griping and whining, you and I chose to rejoice. If instead of spending hours on social media or watching TV, we chose to pray and communicate with our Heavenly Father. If instead of wanting and wishing for things we don’t have, we chose to give thanks for the blessings, the good things He has already given.

It is a choice.

Will you choose to…

Rejoice always.
Pray continually.
Give thanks.

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide and direct your path and to help you focus on these three things today.