#ForTheLove

I have never been a team player.....well wait, I am a team player but I've never played on a team.  You see I'm a little bit, well, how can I put this delicately....I'm uncoordinated.  I'm a hot mess when it comes to accuracy but boy do I have exuberance.  I make up for my lack of skill with epic amounts of enthusiasm and hilarity.  It usually all balances out pretty well.  

Several months ago I caught an episode of a show called "My Big Family Renovation" on tv.  I knew that the couple were the Hatmakers and that she was an author/speaker and he was a pastor but that was the extent of my knowledge.  A few people from church commented about how much they enjoyed the show and how we should all get together to watch them together.  Confession time....I liked them way more than I liked Jen and was trying to grow some roots and hang out with people beyond the courtesy 10 minutes pre/post service.  I took my Kaity girl with me and within the first 15 minutes she'd spilled an entire bowl of soup in her lap.  I was pretty sure we were going to leave before anything even started but she's a trooper and spun her skirt around backwards and pretended it never happened. Have  I mentioned how much I dig that kids tenacity?  Watching the show was so much fun and over the course of the series I realized how much I identified with Jen Hatmaker.  Her brand of funny is the same as mine.  Her brand of crazy is parallel to mine. 


I decided I wanted to read her books but life got in the way and that never happened.  I followed her on fb instead.  That was like reading right? I mean at least a few times a week I would read her posts laugh heartily or emphatically like her post and go about my day.   Several of the ladies in our church that attended the series-athon decided to go to Women of Faith and I was totally down! Another opportunity to foster relationships and Jen was speaking! Win to the win yo!  I plunked down my money and plans were made. For my birthday this year Momma is going to Chicago and getting her Jesus on! 


Imagine my surprise when I was scrolling through facebook and Jen posted about her book "For the Love"  and how she was searching for 500 people to be a part of the launch team.  I'd never been a part of anything like that but it sounded so cool.  Be among the first to read her book, get to contribute a comment that had the potential to be included in the reviews.  Wow!  They were only looking for 500 and I figured it was worth a shot.   I submitted my application and didn't think anything else about it.  I kept scrolling and reading as the days passed.  I saw her mention that FIVE THOUSAND people applied to be on the launch team, I was so giddy for her! THAT many people were looking forward to her book, how awesome!? 

You cannot even imagine my surprise when I checked my email and I was one of those 500!!  I was invited to be a part of the For The Love launch team. 

I got an advanced digital copy and have been devouring it.  Oh the words. The beautiful, funny, spicy words!  You want to read this book! I want to reread this book! I want to highlight my laptop as I read it.  And I'm on a team guys! A team of 500!  A team tasked with reading these words and sharing them with their people.  All of the sudden I'm a hashtagging fool sharing her words and counting the days until this book is released wide and you can hold it in your hands and join this team! For the love....oh and #ForTheLove  so thankful!!