All Things Beautiful E-Book

Nikki Leonti Edgar

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 110

Beschreibung

At age fifteen, Nikki Leonti signed a record deal and had a successful Christian music career. Three years later she became pregnant out of wedlock, which caused many to turn away from her. When she envisioned her future, she didn't foresee her life falling apart. Suddenly she was a single parent. Many single parents feel alone, ashamed, hopeless, confused, or just plain tired—tempted to give in to the negative voices that say it's impossible to fulfill the dreams of their youth. From personal stories of overcoming, to Scriptures that were her anchor during the most difficult moments, Nikki shares transparently her journey of experiencing God's redeeming grace. This book will help you: - Re-center your heart and mind towards what is good. - Navigate through the uncertainty that comes with single parenting. - Discover that your baggage can be the source of the greatest joy and restoration. - Get back on track to fulfill the incredible purpose God has for your life! There is no perfect parent and being a single parent can make you feel even more imperfect. If you've experienced the end of relationship, divorce, or loss of a spouse, this book is a great source of encouragement for parenting solo. There is not a past too messy that can keep God from transforming the most hopeless situation into a beautiful story.

Leseprobe

From the time I was born, my mother always made sure I felt secure in life. Yes, times have been tough, but we’ve gotten through everything together. With every obstacle, there’s been a lesson learned. She has taught me how to get through life and stay strong. I couldn’t ask God for a better mom. This book is an authentic representation of who my mom is and what we’ve gone through. I hope it encourages all of the moms who read it and reminds them that they’re not alone.

—Jaslyn Edgar, Nikki’s daughter

This is a life-changing book for single moms. It is so hard juggling life, kids, and your own heart when you are single. So often we overlook ourselves in the process of taking care of everyone else. So take time to enjoy this thirty-one-day process of finding yourself and your purpose.

—Kimberly Jones Pothier, author of Beautifully Whole

Every single mother feels like a ship alone at sea at times. Single mothers have become the modern-day widow, and the percentage rises every year. To be seen and to know they are not alone is a rare gift to any mother. Regardless how a woman finds herself in the role of single parenting, to feel she is not alone and can raise exceptional humans is all the encouragement she sometimes needs. Nikki offers encouragement and hope that all is not lost, and that heroes sometimes look like women who are both mother and father to their kids.

—Rita Springer, songwriter, singer, leader

BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLC

Savage, Minnesota, USA

BroadStreetPublishing.com

All Things Beautiful:31 Devotions for Single Moms

Copyright © 2018 Nikki Leonti Edgar

ISBN-13: 978-1-4245-5628-1 (hardcover)

ISBN-13: 978-1-4245-5629-8 (e-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, USA. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright © 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked MSG are from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Scriptures marked BSB are taken from the Berean Study Bible, The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible, BSB, copyright ©2016 by Bible Hub. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scriptures marked TPT are taken from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017 by BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLC. Used by permission. All rights reserved. thePassionTranslation.com. Scripture quotations marked NCV are taken from The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Stock or custom editions of BroadStreet Publishing titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, ministry, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email [email protected].

Cover design by Chris Garborg at garborgdesign.com

Interior design and typesetting by Katherine Lloyd at theDESKonline.com

Printed in China

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This book is dedicated to the beautiful girl who made me a mommy. The greatest decision of my life was you. Thank you for watching me grow up and having patience while I learned what it means to be a parent. You made it through my time as a teenager, and I made it through your time as a teenager. Jaslyn, thank you. From the deepest parts of my heart, I love you.

Contents

Foreword

1Dream Catching

2When You Just Want to Move On … But You Can’t

3When Your Life Is Flipped

4Money Doesn’t Make the World Go ’Round, But It Gives It a Nice Push

5Beautiful Baggage

6Unlearning

7Do You See What I See?

8Hello, Young Me

9I See Your True Colors

10Big Little Things

11What Do I Have?

12What If … Everything Works Out?

13Reach Out

14What You See Is What You Get

15Realistic Hope

16Be Who You Wanted

17All by Myself … Don’t Wanna Be

18The Thing

19Change Will Do Ya Good

20Dream Big and Bring a Juice Box

21The Freedom of Discipline

22Big Boo-Boos and Brown Sugar

23Maddy

24A Praying Mom

25Are We Having Fun Yet?

26Grace for the Moment

27Do You Feel What I Feel?

28Spiritual Momentum

29Good Thing

30A True Miracle

31It’s How You Finish

Bible Promises for Single Moms

About the Author

Foreword

by Holly Wagner

Over the last few years, I have spent quite a bit of time with Nikki Edgar. During casual dinners, she will occasionally belt out a song, which is inspiring and annoying at the same time! Her voice is just beyond belief, especially to someone like me who can’t sing two notes in the same key. She is just one of those people you want to hang around—not because she is perfect and has it all together, but because she is real. With Nikki, you know you can have a genuine conversation and find an authentic friend.

I have watched her walk through some tough situations, and I have seen her stay faithful to the God who loves her. She is refreshingly honest, and in Los Angeles, which can be the city of ‘fake,’ that is such a treasure.

Being a mom is a hard job, and I can only imagine the challenges that come with being a single mom. In all seasons, Nikki has handled her role as mom with inspiring grace.

As I read through her book, All Things Beautiful, I experienced a lot of different emotions and was honestly encouraged to trust God more. I am not a single mom, but I was refreshed with each chapter.

I love this girl, and I know that you will too. You will feel like you are having a conversation with a friend. And if you want to hear her sing and you can’t make it to dinner, you should check out her music on iTunes. You will see what I mean about her amazing voice!

Holly Wagner

Pastor, Oasis Church, Los Angeles, CA

Author, Find Your Brave

1

Dream Catching

Maybe you’ve heard it said that writing out your dreams and goals is not only cathartic, but it also helps increase your faith and gives you an opportunity to see what God can do. I write out a list of my goals for the year every January first, but you can start this at any time. On these lists would be my intentions, dreams, desires, or even things I considered to be a little foolish. Some years, my list would start with braces for my daughter and end with writing my own book. (Hey, hey! I’m doing that now.)

I make a list of prayers for my family, and I used to make a list when asking God for a spouse. I wrote out everything that was important to me in a partner and what was an absolute in character. From loving my children to loving God, I carefully listed around twenty things that were non-negotiable. A year after I made this list, God sent me someone who was exactly what I prayed for. Down to every single detail.

Writing down our desires and prayers also serves as a constant reminder of what we deserve and what we should set out to attain. If I met a guy that I kept making excuses for, or if I thought I could let a couple of things slip just because I was attracted to someone, I would pull out my list and remind myself that my prayer was for someone who was truthful, caring, patient, etc. Like it did for me, a list can help you maintain focus and set a clear vision of the overall goal.

You can also take the things you pray for in a mate and turn them around on yourself. If my list was for someone honest, kind, open-hearted, nonjudgmental, and focused, I would then ask God to help me lead with kindness, honesty, and an open heart. You attract the things that are overflowing from within you. This goes for relationships, work, and other areas of life.

In 2012, I made a list as I do every year. I asked the Lord for a nice apartment for myself and my kids, a new job, and an island in my kitchen. God definitely has a sense of humor, because when it came time for me to find a new place to live, at the end of the walk-through, the owner showed me an old island cart that he said I could use for the kitchen. It wasn’t the vision I had in my mind, but it sure was a detail of my prayer that didn’t get overlooked. To this day, it makes me giggle when I think about that little wheeled island that I would make cookies on while I thanked God that I had worked my way out of sleeping on couches or counting quarters.

I encourage you to take a couple of minutes and journal some of your prayers and desires. Don’t be conservative with your dreams; really go all the way. Watch what God can do and how seeing these things in front of you will stir a motivation within you to take steps toward your destiny.

Invite God into every aspect of your life and he will direct and bless you. He cares about the desires of your heart and will weave your dreams together beautifully.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

PROVERBS 3:6 ESV

Lord, I acknowledge you today and ask for you to open the windows of my heart so that I can clearly see your paths. I invite you into every situation of my life. Thank you for your goodness and care in all the details.

What are some dreams that you have for this year?

2

When You Just Want to Move On … But You Can’t

Well, let’s face it. I didn’t always make the best decisions. I settled for things I knew weren’t the best for me, I made a ton of excuses, and I didn’t listen to other people’s opinions. As an eighteen-year-old newly married woman, I thought I knew it all. I look back and laugh as I now look at my seventeen-year-old daughter and can’t imagine her being a married mom like I was. And to think that I thought I had it all together!

By the time I walked through a second divorce (yes, second), I was finally ready to surrender to God and move on. Unfortunately, as you probably know, even though you’re ready to move on to new things, your past has a way of sticking around. Whether it be in the voice of a mother-in-law, calls from your ex-husband about school details, or old unpaid bills, the past has a way of reminding us where we went wrong. It may seem like you’ll never escape the reminders that you didn’t always make the best choices, but I promise you’ll overcome.

The headaches of your past can creep in whether the other parent is in the picture or not. I thought my divorce would bring finality, but for me it was the beginning of a very long road. From continuous custody battles to meddling family members, I felt like the light would never shine through the tunnel.

Can I say right now that I’m completely on the other side? Well … no. My older two children are teens and things are easier, but I still have to face reminders like the ghosts of Christmas in the Scrooge movie. They can lead me back through the darkest corners of my life where I can’t believe I’d ever ventured. I constantly remind myself that God has not failed me and that I have made it through 100 percent of the battles I’ve faced. One hundred percent is great odds that I’ll make it out of what I’m going through right now too.

You may be reading this wondering how you’ll endure another day of friction, worry, or upset. But if you continue to look to the one who will never fail you, I promise he will keep you above the circumstances that are trying to hold you captive in negativity. The turmoil may not become easier overnight—in many cases it won’t—but your faith in the knowledge that you will overcome and that there will be restoration in your story will be the wings to guide you through the uncertainty of your life.