Table of Contents
Introduction: Asking the Right Questions 9
Part 1 Who Am I? 15
The Big Question of IDENTITY
1 Who People Expect You to Be vs. Who God Expects You to Be 17
2 How Does God View You? 21
3 What to Do When Being Labeled Holds You Back 25
4 What It Means to Be Fearfully and Wonderfully Made 29
5 God's Intentional Design for Your Ethnicity 33
6 How Who You Are Is Shaped by Where You Live 37
7 When You Feel Like a Misfit 41
8 When You Struggle with Perfectionism 45
9 When You Fee! Underestimated 49
10 Why Can't You Be Like Them? 53
11 You Are More Than Your Failure 57
12 You Are More Than Your Success 61
13 You Are More Than Your Stuff 64
14 You Are a Child of God 68
15 Unplugging to Notice God 71
16 Faith and Anxiety 75
17 Your Voice Matters 79
18 What's More Important Than What You See in the Mirror? 83
19 You Are Enough Because of Jesus 87
20 Union with Christ 91
Part 2 Where Do I Fit? 95
The Big Question of BELONGING
21 Belonging to a Safe Space 97
22 What Do Real Friendships Look Like? 101
23 What Does It Mean for God to Be Your Friend? 105
24 When You Feel Like an Outsider 109
25 The Power of "With" 113
26 Who God Is Reveals What Belonging Looks Like 117
27 Welcoming Like Jesus 121
28 When Family Gets Complicated 124
29 How to Be a Peacemaker 128
30 Why Authenticity Matters 132
31 How Can Empathy Fuel Belonging? 136
32 People-Pleasing t Belonging 140
33 When You Are Dating 144
34 How to Get the Mentoring You Need 148
35 Being a True Neighbor 152
36 Finding Unity While Keeping Diversity 156
37 Belonging in a Digital World 160
38 Lamenting Our Losses Together 164
39 Celebrating with Others 169
40 Connecting with God's Presence Anytime 173
Part 3 What Difference Can I Make? 177
The Big Question of PURPOSE
41 First Things First 179
42 Asking the Right Questions to Find Your Purpose 183
43 No Purpose Is Better Than Another 187
44 What If God Wants You to Make a Different Choice? 191
45 God's Purpose for You Is Up to God 195
46 Putting Faith into Action 199
47 Know God's Story so You Can Go in God's Story 203
48 What Is Discipleship? 207
49 Our Steady Companion in an Unsteady World 212
50 On Purpose and for a Purpose 215
51 Our Stories-and Purposes-Are Interconnected 219
52 We're Better Together 223
53 Making a Difference by Helping Others 227
54 Navigating America's Complicated Racial Past and Present 231
55 Building Cultural Bridges 235
56 How What's Tough Can Transform You 239
57 Knowing When to Say Yes and When to Say No 243
58 How to Bring Good News with Our Feet 246
59 Finding Contentment 250
60 The World Needs You to Come Alive 254
Conclusion: Your Next Faithful Step 258
Acknowledgments 261
Notes 263
Reflection 269