A self-proclaimed "accidental author", Carole Holiday was living a very full life as a wife, mother, and nana, until one day, everything fell apart. Her marriage to her childhood sweetheart of over 35 years ended, followed by losing her job and ultimately filing for bankruptcy. Then she developed heart issues because of all the stress, and a continued windfall of loss, and grief in losing close loved ones, until it felt like there was absolutely nothing recognizable about the life she had known.

In her book I Don't Know Who I Am Anymore, Carole shares her story, but it is such a unique book that weaves honest reflections, practical applications of how to minister to those in grief, beautiful applications from scripture, and recipes to share with others or to comfort your own heart. She asks powerful questions about what we build our lives on, and find our identity in. These can be good things like relationships, careers, and even our health, but they are ultimately temporal. Christ alone is the cornerstone that can keep a life on a firm foundation.

This is an episode for my friends who are asking God, "What do I do now?" when a dream has died. This is an episode for my single friends, my divorced friends, and my widowed friends who may feel unseen in their communities. This is an episode for those who have known any amount of grief or loss and need to know they are not going to disappear or drown in this season. There is hope for you, we can testify to it. As long as you're breathing, there is more for your story. You matter and your story matters.

Connecting with Carole:

Book

Facebook

Instagram

Website

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Scripture References:

1 Timothy 4:12-Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young

Psalm 95:6-, Matthew 16:24, James 4:7- We lay it down before the Lord

Matthew 17:19-21-The mustard seed of faith

Galatians 5:22-23-Produce fruit in me

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8-There's a time to tear down and to build

Psalm 118:22, Matthew 21:42, Acts 4:11-Jesus is the cornerstone that the builders rejected

Matthew 7:24-27-Building on the sand or the rock

Luke 22:31-Being shifted like wheat

Luke 7:36-50-The woman who washes Jesus' feet with her tears

Luke 7:11-16-The widow whose son had died

Mark 12:41-44-The woman with her small offering

John 11-Mary and Martha at Lazarus' tomb

Romans 8:22-29-Creation groans and longs to be restored

Romans 8:26 -The Holy Spirit speaks a language of lament

John 14:26-The Holy Spirit is our advocate

Habakkuk 1:2-4-How long Lord will you make me look at injustice and violence?

Jeremiah 17:9; Mark 7:21–23-The heart is deceitful above all else

Psalm 6:6-David flooded his bed with tears

2 Samuel 12:1-25-When Nathan spoke to David, he hit his face to the ground

Psalm 56:8-God gathers our tears in bottles

Matthew 21:12-17, John 2:13-25-Jesus goes charging into the Temple angry

John 2:15-17-Jesus sat and created a whip

Philippians 1:6-God is not finished with your story

Psalm 107:2-Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story

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