n Invitation from Jessica

I’m writing this note from outside Houston, Texas, this morning, thinking about the time we’ll have together on Saturday, October 26. It’s less than two weeks away!

Join us for this time of retreat and rejuvenation. We’ll have a time to worship, sing, study the Bible together, look for the “Aha” moments,  and hear what God is saying to us.

In my first Bible study, Namesake,  we learned about God’s transforming love for us. The stories in Namesake are of ordinary people who encountered God and found themselves and even their names changed forever.   Next Saturday, I want to bring you into a new project I'm working on for next year. Broken and Blessed traces the story of the Genesis family from Adam and Eve to Joseph. We’ll see how God brings blessing from brokenness. Despite bad decisions,  pain, and disappointment,  God worked for good in every generation—determined to transform those within and outside the family.  As a woman juggling roles of mother, wife, pastor, and writer,  this is a story that I want to explore! How can God use our own imperfect families to bring blessing in a hurting and broken world?

I hope that you’ll come and spend your morning with me and share your own stories with others at the event. We’ll also be joined by the women of Thistle Farms who’ll bring their wonderful hand-made bath and body products. Thistle Farms is a social enterprise of women who have survived brokenness and life on the streets and are creating new lives. What great partners for the day.

Jessica

P.S. Click here to register, there is a great goody bag for each woman registered.

About Jessica LaGrone: Jessica LaGrone is an Associate Pastor at The Woodlands United Methodist Church in The Woodlands, Texas. An acclaimed preacher, teacher, and author, including her Bible study Namesake: When God Rewrites Your Story, Jessica enjoys speaking at retreats and events at churches throughout the United States. She and her husband, Jim, have two young children, Drew and Kate.

About becoming an author this year, Jessica says, “Becoming an author is a lifelong dream come true for me.  In elementary school, when other kids were playing astronaut, I was playing author: folding stacks of paper in half to make a “book” and then writing and illustrating stories on them. I’ve written many things for ministry, but Namesake is the first published work that will be used by churches across the country.  I can’t tell you how excited I am about that!  The very first lesson in Namesake is on Abraham and Sarah and how, even after God changed their names as a sign that He would to fulfill His promises to them, they had to wait and wait for those promises to be realized.  When I first started telling friends about the upcoming publication of Namesake, a friend who had been a classmate of mine in seminary contacted me. We had been in a prayer group where we shared our deepest dreams about life and ministry and prayed over one another, but we now live across the country from each other.  Her message to me said: “Do you realize we prayed for this dream twelve years ago and God is now answering that prayer?” It is amazing to think of God’s faithfulness and His perfect timing.”