I Started Here
by Jessica Elisabeth
Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are was an especially helpful book for me. As a fourteen-year-old student whose days are filled with school, music lessons, and only-daughter-at-home duties, this book encouraged me that doing hard things includes everyday tasks.
Alex and Brett Harris shared many stories of real-life rebelutionaries that demonstrate the wide variety of “hard things” we can do. Reaching out to a stranger at church, serving your family cheerfully, refusing to listen to gossip—these can be challenging for us, especially because we don’t usually get praise from our peers for doing them. Whether we do or don’t receive affirmation for doing hard things, “only God’s opinion matters.”
Another helpful part of the book was time-management. Many days I spend way too much time on the Internet. The Harris twins pointed out:
“Being disciplined and organized in how we use our time is one of those important small hard things that allows us to do some of the bigger hard things God’s given us to do.” (p. 57)
Start Here provides motivating ideas that teenagers need to rebel against low expectations. It has challenged me to be constantly looking for ways I can step out of my comfort zone and do hard things for the glory of God.
I believe that God has given me a great concept for a Christian fiction book and a great concept for Christian art that could help other Christians in their struggles in living in this society that we live in today. I have begun work on the book and am working on the art work. Like my husband states, “It doesn’t matter if anyone ever sees the art or reads the book, you obeyed God in doing it.” He is right, but I fear that I don’t have the talent to do what He has called me to do. I think in this day and time that it would be helpful for those that struggle like I do in their walk with God Almighty, but trust me, it is scary to do. I have always had low self esteem, and Satan has attacked me in that area lately in every way he can to discourage me from doing what God wants. I pray for the strength to do this, to do it well, and to do it for the glory of God and nothing else.