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Hello, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Christ with Coffee on Ice. I am your host, Ali Yost. It is a joy and honor to be here with you guys today. Yeah, I don't know. I don't even know where to start. Today is a day that I. Well, I guess technically yesterday, because the cat has officially been out of the bag, probably for the last 24 hours on my social media. But this is the first time that I can let the cat out of the bag entirely on the podcast. And this has been a day. That's why I kind of dressed up today. If you can hear it, I'm wearing this really cool top with all these beads, and I just. I dressed up a little bit for you guys because this is a very special occasion. Today is a very exciting day, and it has been highly anticipated in my heart for two years now. It's one of the most vulnerable, biggest things I've ever done. And if you're an avid listener of the podcast, I've. I've already kind of, like, bloop. I've definitely kind of given it away as to what it is, but I haven't been able to really reveal to you guys all of it, all of what it's about, all of what's in it. And I. I'm gonna start by saying first that every opportunity that I get, The first person I want to give glory to is Jesus. I would have never been able to do something like this if it wasn't for him, and if it wasn't for him saving my life first and foremost. Second thing I want to say is that this would not be possible if it wasn't for you guys. Like, genuinely, you guys mean so much to me, and I just wouldn't be able to do these kinds of things if it wasn't also for you. So thank you. Thank you for being here on this journey with me. Thank you for having grace for me as I grow in Christ and as I continue to grow in Christ. It's been an honor to be able to grow with you guys. You guys have really seen it all. You guys have really seen it all. Like, you have really seen where I had first started with Jesus and where I am today. It is completely documented in the last three years of doing this podcast, which is really awesome. It's really cool that you guys have been able to physically watch the transformation in me and also transform alongside me. Like, we are all being transformed and have continued to be transformed by Jesus over the last few years, and it is so cool to be able to do it together. And I was talking to a friend this morning because I think sometimes it's easy to lose sight of, like, why we originally start things. You know, I think that the pressures of just a million other things come into, you know, the equation. And I was talking with a friend, and I was like, no, I have to remember why I started this podcast, because sometimes I think I can get caught up in making sure that I. I sound completely theologically sound. And I. And I don't want to lead people astray. And I want to make sure that what I. What I preach, I'm also practicing. And I really. Honesty and humility. And I think sometimes all of those things can kind of pile up on me where I lose sight of why I started all of this. And I started all of this because I wanted to express my love for Jesus, share the truth of what he has done for me in my life, and also just, like, figure it out with my friends. I just. I started this podcast because I wanted. I wanted to just do this with my friends, which is you guys. And I wanted to be able to create a safe space where there is no pressure to be perfect. That obviously we want to become as much like Jesus as we physically can. And yes, he is perfect. But my initial desire with this podcast was to just create a space to honestly grow with Jesus and to grow with Jesus imperfectly, and then that's okay. To stumble. God actually tells us that it's in our times of stumbling that he takes us by the hand and he lifts us up. So he knows that we are going to stumble and we're not going to be perfect at it. But what he cares most about is your heart, and he cares more about what's inside of you than. Than anything that you could do on the exterior. And that's why I started this. And I really, genuinely couldn't do it without you guys. So thank you for being alongside the journey with me. I think the truth is, is that what I'm about to share with you guys is I had to write this book. I had to write this book. And it's so cool because I think I always envisioned myself writing a book one day and potentially being an author. But I didn't think that the opportunity would come to me so soon. I felt pretty inadequate. I didn't feel super equipped to writing a book because when this offer came to me, it was in 2024. I had only been saved for a year. So in my mind, I was like, surely, what. What could I possibly write an entire book about when I have only been following Jesus for a year. And that makes me emotional because I'm like, apparently a lot because I wrote the book. So thank you, Holy Spirit, And I will say that, yeah, this felt like an opportunity that I couldn't pass. And it had come at a time in my life that I really needed it. And. How am I gonna get through this episode? You guys know I'm just tender. I can't not cry about most things. I can't wait to ask Jesus, like, how many tears I actually have cried by the end of my life. Because it's everything. I cry about every emotion I'm crying. Oh. Anyway, yeah, it came at a really, honestly perfect time in my life. Even though I felt like it was like, when it first came, I was like, I don't know about this timing. God, are you. Like, what in the world am I even gonna write about? I don't write. I don't write. I yap. Like, I talk. Y' all know that. You've been here for that. But I don't really write a lot and I don't enjoy, like, journaling all the time. So I'm just like. It doesn't come naturally to me to write. And, yeah, I think I just envisioned myself writing a book when I was a lot older. Like, I didn't think I would be writing a book at the age of, you know, when I was mostly writing this, it was 29 and 30. So I was just like, okay. And I also share in this book, which I'm going to reveal to you the COVID of it. I'm going to tell you guys all about it. I'd love to invite you guys into the journey of, like, how this has been over the last couple of years with writing this book and what to expect from it. And then I also would really like to read my favorite. One of my favorite. One of my favorites chapters to you guys. I haven't told my publisher that, so hopefully they're okay with it. I. I don't know. I'm like, I. I just wanna. I wanna give you guys a glimpse into what this book is. And I won't read the intro, although the intro, like, chapter one is actually genuinely one of my favorites ever is, like, the first chapter. And then there's. There's a whole lot more chapters that I'm obsessed with. But I'm gonna read you guys one of my favorites. So I'm really excited for you guys to hear that. But I think something that I learned with just saying yes to this opportunity is sometimes. We've talked about this on the podcast. Sometimes we have to give God our yes. Even if maybe we don't feel super ready. He knows a lot more than we do. So I did not think I was capable of writing, period. And he proved me otherwise. So it is something that I am very proud of. I make jokes and I say it's not going to be the most profound book you've ever read. But also, it carries a lot of pieces of me, and it carries a lot of pieces of my life, and it's honest, and I believe that it's very approachable, it's very readable. And so I think the person that I kept in mind when I was writing was you guys. I really hope that you feel as if I'm talking directly to you, because that was my heart while writing it. I really believe that this book is for the person who I was before I met Jesus, the person who was truly searching for purpose and was open, like, I believe I was open, obviously, to the possibilities of finding purpose in something like God. I just didn't know where to start or how to. And so I think that this is a book that BC Alley before Christ, Ali would have really appreciated and loved and would have felt so seen, validated, comforted, and it's just not an intimidating book. So. Okay, are you guys ready to see the COVID of it? Do I show that to you yet? Okay. I feel like we've been hyping it up enough where I can show you the COVID of it. Okay, I'm scared. I'm scared. Okay, this is the back of it. Now, I will say that there is going to be a description on the back of it and everything. It's still very early in the stages of production, so when this copy was sent to me, the books had not been printed out yet. They actually are probably going into manufacturing right now as we speak. I'm sure they're actually beginning to be officially printed now. So we hadn't finalized the back of it yet, but we did finalize the COVID So this is my book. This is my book. I'm freaking out. Look at it. I'm scared. Wait, focus, focus. Okay, here it is. This is my book. To anybody who is not physically watching. The title of it is called Love that Lasts. And the subtitle says, Finding Purpose in the One who Never Fails. And then it has my name, and then it says host of Christ with Coffee on Ice podcast, which is so cool. So you guys are right there. You're on there. And it's just a big old picture of me at the beach. There I am. I found the love that lasts I found the one who saved me. This is also the side of it. My publisher is Waterbrook. They have. Oh my gosh. They have been the biggest, most amazing, incredible support. I don't know what I would be doing without my people over at Waterbrook. Shout out Susan. Susan has been my girl for the last two years. Has believed in me so much. Like these people. They all love Jesus. They get it. And so, yeah, I genuinely don't know what I would have done without the team of people that I have had supporting me through this. And okay, I want to also tell you something funny. So this is actually something called a dummy book. My team sent me these because once we finalized the COVID they were like, okay, we're going to send you a couple dummy books and you can start making content however way you want. And so my posts yesterday on my Instagram and all the things was with this guy. Okay, so this isn't like the official book yet because when you open it, it's blank. Sorry, that took the magic away from it. But this is just to give you a good idea of what it's going to look like because again, we weren't able to start printing it officially yet. But I believe that's probably happening right now. So this is available for pre order and the really cool thing about it is that it is available pretty much anywhere you buy books for the most part. I would think you can pre order this on Amazon, you can pre order it on Barnes and Noble, Target, Walmart, obviously Waterbrook's website, Random Penguin House, there's so many. And we're going to link all of that in the description below. You can find it on all of my socials. I'm going to link it where it is possible to link any, anything anywhere. So just look around. We'll have it linked everywhere. But pre order is now. And then the official launch of the book is going to be November 3rd and then that's when it's going to be in stores and it's going to be in stores at places like Barnes and Noble, Target, Walmart, other little bookstores scattered around the country in. It's insane. It's insane. And one of the things that I think is so cool and full circle for me is that this is just, this is just Jesus. Like, glory to God. This is an entire testimony of just how Jesus has saved my life. Everything that's happening is because of him. But guys, listen to this. I have told my testimony so, so many times. And I share a lot. Like my entire. In detail. So much so. Like, there's a lot in this book that I haven't even shared with you guys here on the podcast or on social media. It is like the most in depth of in depth when it comes to my story and my walk with Jesus. But the coolest full circle moment for me, most unexpected thing to ever happen to my life is that when I first came to Jesus and I had that like, aha moment right where I had heard God, it was like my voice inter. It was like my internal voice, but it was the source was not coming from me. Like, I was like, I did not think that thought, but it was my voice. And I knew it was God because he was saying, ally, I want you to really try me. Like, really try. Right? We all know the story, okay? And so when I heard those words from God and I was literally at the lowest point of my entire life, and I was so desperate for relief. I was so desperate for rest, freedom, home. I also knew that that meant for whatever reason, like when I heard that, that I was supposed to get a Bible and start reading it. And so I ended up googling like, okay, what translation do I get of the Bible? Where do I start reading in the Bible? Like Christian, like newbie baby Christian for dummies type energy. Okay. I was like, I need to start where it is easiest because I was so intimidated. And the Internet told me that there were a lot of Bibles available at Barnes and Noble. And the Internet also told me that the best translation was niv. And so the next day I went out to Barnes and Noble and I got my Bible. And it was that very Bible that then introduced me to the spirit of God and changed my life forever. And so now fast forward three years later, I guess almost four years by the time this book is live. I am now there is a book that is going to be in that same section of Barnes and Noble. Only God. Only God. My book is going to be in the same section of Barnes and Noble and I get to tell that story of how he saved my life. I was searching for purpose. I was searching for a way out of all of my anxiety and the emptiness that I was feeling in my life. And now I got. I found it. Through Jesus. I found purpose. I found fulfillment. I found freedom. I found a love that lasts. Like a love that actually never gives up on me. I had experienced abandonment and I talk about all of it in the book, but, like, I've Experienced a lot of love. That honestly was really painful up until this point. And so then I get to discover something as sweet as the love of Jesus. And then I got to write a book about it three to four years later, and it's in that same section of Barnes and Noble. You cannot make that up. You can't make that up. Like, only Jesus. Glory to God, Lord. Thank you. So that's the coolest part for me. That is, like, the biggest full circle moment for me. And I genuinely. I genuinely think that if you had told a version of me, if you had told Ally, like, four years ago that I were to publish a book, maybe that wouldn't have been so shocking to me, because, again, like, I think I had always kind of desired maybe potentially writing a book one day when I was older, but you would have absolutely blown me away. I would have fallen over, passed out, like, seen stars. If you had said, and by the way, it's going to be about how Jesus saved your life and you're going to help people receive freedom through Christ. I'd be like, what are you even talking about? What are you talking. Biggest plot twist of my life. But the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I still have a really hard time understanding how this is my. How this is real life, but it's. I'm so proud. I'm so proud of this. I'm also very scared. I'm super nervous. I do not know what to expect, but grateful. And I'm grateful to just finally have it be out out in the world and for Jesus to just have his way with it and I don't have to hold any secrets anymore. This has also been the hardest secret I've ever had to keep in my life. We talk about that. Oh, my gosh. Granted, no, obviously, I haven't been able to. I, like, I've already kind of told you guys I'm writing a book. And then I kind of like skim past that. I've said that in a few episodes, so maybe it's not a total surprise, but, like, having to keep the secret of what the book is about, what to expect, all of that good stuff. And then also I want. I do want to read a chapter for you guys. So let's get into that. Now. This book is not like a memoir where it is all about Ali's life. I use, obviously, a lot of examples from my life. I use a lot of stories, and I am sharing a lot of lessons of what Jesus has taught me in the last few years. And what it was like coming from a place of living for myself, living for validation from others, living for the approval of people and feeling the weight of believing that the fate of my life and figuring everything out was all on me. Like, what it really was like going from living a life like that to then learning how to trust someone bigger, like God, and how spending more time with Jesus, like, genuinely just started altering the freaking brain chemistry of my mind and how I was just changing from the inside out. And anytime that I've read it, because there's been a process, too, of like, oh, my gosh, the process, you guys. I have a whole new respect for authors or people who write. I may even have some people listening right now that have written books. Bless you in the name of Jesus. Oh, my gosh, I bless you. It is a lot of work. And honestly, like, I still, to this day, I feel like I could read this book and still want to change things about it because, I don't know, I just think that when something is in the works for so long and you have, like, so much time, because obviously you have to be very intentional about it. And there's, like, there's just so much that goes into it that there's always room to be. Like, I want to tweak this. I want to change this. And, like, never ends. And I just feel like you just. You got to call it at one point. I've been writing this for over a year, and so I'll read something that I wrote, like, eight months ago or even a year ago, and I'm like, I mean, it's great, but, like, you just, you know, like, there's always room to be. Like, I don't know. But, like, I just learned this from God, and I want to add this. And so you do eventually kind of have to just call it. So, I mean, yes, this book is awesome. I love it. I'm so proud of it. Are there things I probably would still want to change about it? Sure, but you just gotta. Whatever. But a newfound respect for authors because the process has been a process. I don't remember what I was trying to say before that. If I was saying anything at all. I can't remember anyway. Oh, oh. I was saying that this wasn't a memoir. It's not just all about my life. But I think that the reason why I had to write this book was because obviously I discovered something worth sharing, which was Jesus, Freedom through Christ. That I had survived a lot of things. And I talk about that in the book as well. Things like Grief, things like toxic relationships, confusion in friendships, confusion in the way that I saw myself, confidence, self worth. I wrote this book because I met someone and I fell in love with him and he changed my life. And his name is Jesus. And this is a love that has transformed me in a way that I've never been able to be transformed by anything else. And I think that. I think that, like, if someone were to only read this is Me, just here I am promoting. But this is going to give you an idea, right? If you don't, if you don't get this idea already by the title. But like, if someone were to only read one sentence from this entire book, I believe, or at least I hope the very thing that they would walk away with is considering the fact that God is so deeply and madly in love with them and that this love that they have been trying to find, this satisfaction, this sense of purpose, belonging that we all are looking for, that is the truth, because it's what we were all made for. So there isn't a single person on planet Earth that is off limits to this yearning and desire to feel infinitely loved and to feel a sense of belonging and identity and home. So my hope would be that they, whoever it is that's reading this book, would know or consider the fact that they are deeply adored by God. And because that was what I had realized and I had no idea that God loved me that much. I had no idea that God even had this kind of love to offer. Had I known, I would not have been chasing love in all the wrong ways. You know, I think another perspective that I really want, and I hope like debunks for anybody who reads this book too, is that God is not. He is not this huge, intimidating, mean, judgmental, wagging his finger, disappointed, angry God. And I think that anyone who doesn't know God, anyone who doesn't know Jesus or hasn't actually genuinely encountered his Spirit, His Holy Spirit, if a person has not encountered that, I believe that is, that is how they see God. Because that's how I saw God. And I talk about that. I saw God in a way where it was like I believed that God existed, but I had no relationship with him. I mean, I had no kind of intimate relationship with him. I would pray to him from time to time, for sure. And I managed what I thought was kind of a connection with God. And I probably would have identified as a Christian, but I didn't know him. I didn't know him as a friend. I didn't know him as my father. I didn't know Jesus as my brother. I didn't know him as my savior. Like, I didn't know him as my king. I didn't know him like that. I saw God as this big entity in the sky who looked over everybody. And there was a lot of separation in my mind. I had no idea that God was as close as he is. I thought he was way up there, millions and millions and millions of miles past space and the galaxies and everything. I thought he was way up there and, like, obviously he could see way down here because he's God. But I can't see Him. I can't feel Him. He's not close, but he is. And so my desire, also from this book, is that people realize that he isn't this big judge sitting on a throne a bajillion miles away, always disappointed. He is a God of love and patience and kindness and mercy and forgiveness and comfort and affection and joy and humor and laughter and fathering. Like, he's a parent, you know, he takes care of. He's a provider. Like, those are all who God is. And I didn't know that. I didn't know that. So I want to be able to take the things that I didn't know and I do know now and help other people see that. So that's also another deep desire of my heart for anyone who reads the book is that they are actually softened to the idea of God being loving, that he loves you and he is loving. So I think that the very person that I wrote this book for is the person looking for purpose. Maybe even the person who thinks that they are too far gone. Maybe the person who believes in God and tries to follow Jesus, but stumbles along the way and is also filled with shame a lot of times when they mess up. I wrote this for also the Christians who feel like God is distant. And I wrote this book for the person who is exhausted of trying to earn love, earn approval, prove to the world that they're worthy of being loved and adored to that person, because that was me. I was exhausted of trying to earn love and affection and acceptance. There were a lot of times during the process of writing this book, too, that I. And this is gonna sound crazy, okay, maybe it's just my imagination, but there were so many times where I had felt Jesus, like, physically sitting next to me. And a lot of my inspiration was from the Holy Spirit. The most impactful parts of my book and the parts of my book that are my favorite, I think, are the parts that are, like, the most Holy Spirit led. And so that is who my inspiration was. Like, I genuinely wouldn't have been able to write this book if it wasn't for the Holy Spirit also helping me. Because there are times where I sat down to write this book, and I, like. I don't. I don't have any other words to say, because the thing is, is, like, it was so funny because when I first started writing this book, the first few chapters, I was, like, on fire. I was like, I know exactly what I'm gonna write about. I'm gonna start it. Now. Granted, it actually, it did take me a second to even get to that point, because I'd say for a solid year almost, I sat at my computer frozen, not knowing how to start this stinking book, because I think I had an idea of what the book was going to be. And fun fact, the original title of the book was going to be the Purpose of Me and you, but it changed to Love that Lasts, because I think that we thought that the purpose of Me and you made it sound like it was too much of, like, a Nicholas Sparks, like, romantic love story, which, this is a love story, but we just don't want to mislead people, so we. I like Love that Lasts. But anyway, I. I did kind of originally have, like, a different vision for the book, and I kept going back and forth, and then my publisher was like, allie, you just need to start writing and don't put any pressure that you even have to start writing at chapter one. Like, just write, and then we'll put it together like a puzzle so that eventually just, like, let all the pressure kind of fall off of me where I was like, all right, I'm just gonna write what's on my heart today. And so the first couple of months of me doing that, I was on a real roll. I was writing for five hours a day sometimes. There were other days where I was writing for 10 hours. That's insane. I know. But I was also kind of getting into a time crunch because I had let so much time go by already where I was just procrastinating and letting this blank paper intimidate me on my laptop. So, I'm not joking. There were days where I was actually in my office at my computer for 10 hours writing. But then there were other days where I would write for, like, an hour or two. So, you know, it eventually balanced out. But, yeah, there was a point where I eventually was like, I don't know if I have any more words to say. And that was about halfway through the book. So the other half of the book, I really had to lean on the holy spirit, like, 115%. Like, I was like, I don't have. I don't know. Do I have any more memories? Do I have any more lessons? Like, I know that there's more. I just can't find it. And so that was really cool to go through with Jesus, where it's just another kind of example of how when we genuinely are weak and we have nothing left, it's a good thing we got the Holy Spirit, because he's got a lot more to offer. So that was a really cool part of writing this book is I would turn around after, you know, sitting down and being like, I don't know what the heck I'm gonna write about. And then all of a sudden, just, like, these beautiful analogies and which. I wanna read one to you guys right now. This is, like, one of my favorite chapters. And this analogy was just so beautiful and so fun and so Holy Spirit led. It's just really cool to look back at moments like that. I know a lot of us probably can relate to that feeling where you're like, wow, I didn't even know that I had that in me. But the minute I prayed and I asked this Holy Spirit to have his way, he just did his thing. And it's just. It's so cool that we have access to someone like the Holy Spirit when we don't have anything else to offer. Like, that's actually when he gets to just completely and fully operate through us. It's like, it's the most spiritual and holy thing ever. It's so cool. All right, now I do have to read this off of my laptop because the book I have is a dummy book, guys. Okay. I hope it's okay with my publisher. Whatever. I'm reading this chapter to you guys. It's one chapter. All right. Okay. This chapter is called Changed yet the same. Oh, you know what's really fun too, guys? This is, like, one of the best parts is this book is also going to be available as an audiobook, and I'm the one reading it. Oh, my gosh. I'm so excited. I haven't recorded it yet. I think I'm doing that next month, actually. I'm so. I'm, like, genuinely so excited to be able to read you guys my book. Like, how on Brand is that? I'm usually always reading the Bible to you guys, but now I actually get to read. So if you want the audio version, it's literally me reading it. Which is so fun. Okay. Anyway, so we're getting a little glimpsy of what the audiobook is going to sound like, too, if I read it right now. Okay. Changed, yet the same. You know, it's funny, it's not that I didn't expect some kind of change in my life once I decided to give Jesus a real chance. Actually, I was hoping for it. I was desperate for it. What completely caught me off guard, though, was that I not only felt different, but also became different. I've already shared many of the ways my life has changed, the habits I no longer participate in, the old lifestyles and mindsets I've left behind. But what surprised me the most wasn't simply that Jesus changed my behavior. It was that he changed the picture I once had of myself. He began removing things that were never truly me, while simultaneously bringing life, color, and vibrancy to parts of me that had always been there. I think a lot about who I was before Jesus and who I am now. And by this point, it's probably obvious that I am a very different person. Scripture says that in Christ we become a new creation. See 2 Corinthians 5:17. And I know that to be true. There are many things about me that are no longer the same. But I'm also still very much me. In fact, even with all the change, I feel more like myself than I ever have before. It's a strange thing to explain. How can I be changed so deeply while also feeling more familiar to myself than ever? How can the version of Alli that exists today feel both brand new and somehow exactly who I've always been? For a long time, I couldn't quite put words to it. But then I learned about art restoration. There are people whose entire profession is dedicated to finding priceless works of art and bringing them back to life. These paintings are often discovered after being covered by decades or even centuries of dust, smoke, dirt, yellowed varnish and damage. And restoration isn't a quick process. An art restorer's first job isn't to paint. It's actually to study. They spend hours examining the artwork, learning its history, understanding the artist's original intention, and identifying what belongs versus what was added later. Only then does the restoration begin. Using tiny brushes, cotton swabs, scalpels, and specialized tools, they slowly remove layer after layer of grime. Sometimes they'll spend hours working on an area no larger than a postage stamp. And here's what's fascinating. If they're too aggressive, they can damage the original artwork. Restoration requires patience, gentleness, and precision. The goal is never to create a completely different painting, but to reveal and restore what was already there. When I first learned about this process, I couldn't help but think, this is exactly what what Jesus has done in my life. Because if there is anyone qualified to examine the human heart, it is the one who designed it. Jesus doesn't merely understand us from observation. He understands us from creation. He knows every detail, every brushstroke, every color, and every intention behind who we were originally created to be. If anyone is qualified to determine what belongs and what doesn't, it's him. And just as every painting requires a different approach, every person does too. A skilled restorer knows that each work of art must be handled with care. Some areas require more patience than others. Some layers are more stubborn to remove, and some damage takes years to repair. The same is true with us. What has always captivated me about Jesus is that his transformation rarely feels forceful. It feels gentle. His gentleness was one of the first things that drew me to him. If I were to picture Jesus as an art restorer and us as the artwork, I imagine him finding us beneath years of dust, soot, and neglect. Maybe the painting has been sitting in a forgotten corner for so long that even it has forgotten what it once looked like. Others walk past it and notice nothing remarkable. Some even have added to the damage. But Jesus kneels beside it and sees something entirely different. And surprisingly, his eyes don't first fixate on the grime. They fixate on the masterpiece underneath. He recognizes every brushstroke because he was there when it was first imagined. He gently picks up the painting and begins examining it. He notices the soot covering a vibrant magenta section of the canvas and the rust and mold hiding beautiful shades of turquoise. He studies every inch, not with criticism, but with affection and compassion. And it's not because he's looking for flaws, but because he's looking for what can be restored. Then he begins to work. I imagine him putting on his magnifying loops and carefully brushing away the loose debris. After that, he reaches for more precise tools to remove the layers that have become deeply attached to the painting over time. He does this part slowly, patiently, and lovingly. And little by little, the original colors begin to emerge. The soot, dirt, and mold are the parts of us that were never meant to be there. The influence of culture and the lies we've believed about ourselves or how we are supposed to live, they are the identities we've adopted, wounds we've carried, the messages we've absorbed from television Movies, social media, podcasts, and people who are also trying to figure out life. Layers of dirt that promised to make us better, but actually covered the beauty. God placed within us. Identities like I am what I achieve. I am what other people think of me. I am my mistakes. I am my feelings. I have to be desirable, thinner, prettier, or more successful to be valuable. I am my trauma. None of those things were ever meant to define us. They're soot. They're dust. They're layers that accumulated over time. And Jesus patiently removes them. But he doesn't stop there. He also restores the colors. Your quirky personality that someone once convinced you was too much. Your laughter that got quieter after someone mocked it. Your deep love for people that became guarded after being hurt too many times. Your creativity that a teacher from high school told you would never amount to anything. Your tenderness, your compassion, your childlike wonder. Maybe you were always the kind of person who loved hard and felt deeply. But after heartbreak, you became convinced that vulnerability was dangerous. So you started learning how to protect yourself, how to play the game of love, how to care less, and how to become strategic with your heart, not because it was who you were, but because you were trying not to get hurt again. Jesus wants to restore that, too. He wants to restore every part of the painting. Sometimes that process feels uncomfortable. Sometimes it feels like loss. Sometimes it feels like change. But slowly, almost imperceptibly, he begins bringing back to life the person he always saw underneath the layers. There may be people in your life who look at you and say, you've changed. Maybe they'll even say, I don't know you anymore. And in some ways, they're right. To someone who only knew the version of the painting covered in dust and soot, the restored version might look completely different and maybe even unrecognizable. But the truth is, the masterpiece was there all along, and the colors were always there. The beauty was always there. It simply needed divine patience, gentleness, expertise, and love to uncover it. And what looks like becoming someone new is often Jesus restoring you back to who you were always meant to be. The longer I follow Jesus, the more I realize that transformation isn't about becoming someone else. It's about becoming who he always intended you to be. That's why the version of Ally I am today feels so surprising and so familiar at the same time. She's different, but she's also the same. She's more surrendered, more healed, more rooted in truth, freer. But she's still the girl who loves deeply, laughs loudly Dreams big, asks questions and sees the world with wonder. Jesus changed me and he also helped me become more myself. So if following Jesus has felt uncomfortable because he's changing things in your life, don't be afraid. The goal was never to turn you into someone else. The goal was always to make you more like Christ while also uncovering the person he created you to be. Changed, yet still the same. Different, yet familiar, new, yet unmistakably you. And that might be my favorite part of walking with Jesus. The closer you get to him, the more you become who you were always meant to be. Okay, okay. What does everybody think? I'm scared. That actually is my. One of my favorite chapters. So. And that was like completely. That was so. Holy spirit. So anyway, I am hoping that you guys love the little sneak peek that you got that was exclusive just to the podcast. I have not given that much of the book away anywhere else. So very excited about it and. Oh, man, that feels good. Oh, it feels good to just get that off my chest. The cat is out of the bag. And yeah, I'm very grateful, very grateful for the opportunity. Super excited for you guys to read it. I really believe that it is going to genuinely bring so much value into anyone who reads it. Whether you don't know Jesus at all, whether you're just starting your journey, whether you've known Jesus for a long time. I think that this is a book that will bring you back to the truth and the roots of, of what it means to be transformed by Jesus and to discover him and his love. And if there's one more thing that I could at least share of just my hopes with this book is that, you know, I think anyone who launches a book, I'm sure it's a big dream to become, you know, on the New York's best selling list. I don't even know what any of that stuff looks like. I don't know what the requirements are for something like that. I haven't looked into that stuff. It's not the best selling lists that matter to me. It's not the rankings, it's not the numbers. I think the thing that means the most to me in this book and my. My biggest and deepest desire for this book is that it brings people closer to the feet of the very person who created them. I hope that this book brings people who may have been scared of God to the feet of him and his kindness and his affection. I hope that this book helps the person who maybe has been running for their entire life that God has actually been chasing after them the entire time. And so if they were to actually just stop running and they turn around, God was right there. Like, right there, right behind them. And that he was. He was pursuing them and chasing them the whole time. He didn't get out of breath. He didn't get tired. He didn't get annoyed. He is right there. It's like, it's actually in the moment that if we just turn around and stop running, he's right there. That's my desire. That's. That's my hope for this book. I hope that if there's someone out there that believes that they've completely ruined their life or they're just like not proud of, of, you know, the mistakes that they've made or the choices that they've made, I hope that they. They realize that they are still so deeply loved by God, regardless of all of those mistakes and shame that they could be carrying. And one more thing that I want to share with you guys to just expect from this book too, is there's a lot of opportunity throughout the book and at the end of chapters and throughout chapters to also reflect. And there's a lot of prompts to also, like, ask yourself questions. And I think that was something I really, really tried to prioritize and value in the book as much as I could. It meant a lot to me for you guys to also be able to just reflect, you know, and if you need help having questions be prompted to you and to just process or get to a place of revelation with God, that there, there is opportunity in that too, you know, where I kind of give you, like, not homework, but opportunities to, to look at your own life and look at your own journey and. Yeah, so it's. It's a cool book. I'm very proud of it. Thank you guys for letting me talk about it. Thank you for being excited for me. Like I said, we'll have it linked and available wherever things are linkable. We'll put it everywhere. You also can just google it, just type in Love that Lasts by Ali Yost. And I'm sure all multiple resources of where you could pre order it will pop up, but pre order it so you can get it on November 3rd when it comes out. That'd be awesome. So then you can just start reading it as soon as it's out in stores and it's live. Yeah. Okay. Thank you guys so much for your support and love. I'm so proud of you guys. I'm also so proud of you. It's been so sweet to be able to spend so much time with you guys, too, with us being twice a week. This is so fun to hang out with you on a Wednesday again. I love you guys. Hey, before we go, though, can we do something really cool today? Can we show somebody how cool Jesus is? Can we walk more like him, talk more like him, be more like Jesus? If there's somebody that came to even to your mind as I was talking about my book, maybe a way that you could show people how cool Jesus is is by introducing them to this book. Because I literally talk about how cool Jesus is. In all, 173 pages is 173 or 172, I don't know. Okay. Anyway, I love you guys. I'll see you in just a couple days on Friday. Okay, Bye.