Present: The Gift of Being All In, Right Where You Are

by Courtney Ellis, Aarik Danielsen (Foreword by)

Overview

Enjoy an engaging, thoughtful, and practical journey packed with humor, compassion, and scripture! Learn to be fully present and “all in,” right where you are and reap the benefits that come with it!

Present is an invitation to a deeper, richer, and quieter life with God. So often we sleepwalk through our days, but there is a deep biblical precedent and tremendous gift in practicing awareness right where we are. Present will help you discover:

• Key reasons you might experience transience
• How to press in where you’re planted when called to that
• How to cope and thrive in seasons of pruning and frustration
• How to know when it’s time to move on
• And much more!

New jobs, new schools, new churches, and new cities. New colleagues and friends that come and go. Life is constantly moving and it’s common to feel uprooted. Your calendar is full, and life is frenetic, but it still feels like something big is missing. You long for a deeper connection with God and those around you, but you’re not sure how to get there. Whether you’re prone to efficiently flit from one engagement to the next like a hummingbird, or you’re more like a majestic Sequoia with the longing to thrive where your roots are, Present is here to help you form more meaningful connections.

In a world marked by transience, envy, and rootlessness, committing to staying put is a radical, unusual act. Hungry for rootedness, Courtney Ellis and her family decided to truly commit to a place and a people God had given them for a season, to grow some deep roots and discover what it would mean to be “all in.” Through winsome storytelling, Courtney demonstrates that there is tremendous growth when we stop holding a community at arms’ length and open ourselves to the blessing of stability, the grace of limits, and the joy of presence. This book is divided into three major sections, with chapters devoted to each of the gifts that come with our increased attention to being all in―fully present, right where we are.

Key Features of Present:

• Relatable: Whether you’re starting a new chapter of your life or firmly planted (or somewhere in between), Present will meet you where you are. Packed with thoughtful insights and wit, Courtney condenses solid biblical truths into everyday gems that are hidden all around you.
• Practical: Rather than just reading, Courtney invites you to dive deeper with thoughtful reflection questions and simple practices to apply these key principles to your own life. Change begins from the inside out and you can start being present now!
• Scripturally Guided: Enjoy having biblically based guidance on how to connect with others, grow where you’re planted, know when God is calling you to transition, and more!

Join Courtney Ellis for a thoughtful, funny, and realistic exploration of stability, limit, and presence as means of grace. Journey deeper into the heart of God that calls us to cultivate community―being present to what God has placed before us―and discovering the gifts of the present. Explore the ways borders and boundaries in our lives are for our good. When we are able to say, “This is my place, and these are my people,” and then, like Ruth, really commit, beautiful things can happen.

Present is perfect for:

• Individual and group study
• Book clubs
• Discipleship
• Bible studies
• Pastors
• Church libraries
• Gifts
• Counseling groups
• Parents
• And more!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496483010
Publisher:	Rose Publishing
Publication date:	03/07/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Courtney Ellis had her life transformed from serious to seldom-not-smiling through God's gift of playfulness. A graduate of Wheaton College and Princeton Seminary, she can now be found approaching almost everything playfully, from parenting to public speaking to praying (really!). The author of Uncluttered and Almost Holy Mama, she resides with her husband and three children in California. For more information, visit CourtneyBEllis.com.

Nan McNamara has spent over twenty years performing on stage, film, and television (including Criminal Minds) and working behind the microphone as a voice-over artist for radio/television commercials, audiobooks, and video games (including voicing "Anya" for the Gears of War franchise). Her passion is to tell good stories, regardless of the medium. An L.A. Drama Critics Award Winner and an L.A. Weekly Award Winner, she holds a BA in theatre and is originally from St. Paul, Minnesota.

What People are Saying About This

Dr. Christopher Upham

I finished Courtney’s book on the same day I reached the end of a week-long project. Just when I was about to move on to my next chore, I could almost hear Courtney telling me to pause, to be fully present in this moment. So I surveyed my work and savored a job well done, and in so doing, I crowned it with a mysterious “something more” that Courtney invites you to experience for yourself in this volume of personal stories suffused with scriptural lessons.

Dr. Chris Blumhofer

This book is a great gift. Courtney Ellis helps us see the grace that surrounds us right where we are, and she invites us into the practices and postures that will permit us to partake of that grace. Since being a person means living in a particular time and place and with a particular people—and in no other time or place and with no other people—we need to heed this invitation to live the particular lives that God calls us to, and in which we will see his faithfulness.

April Fiet

In the pages of Present I felt the gentle nudge of the Spirit urging me out onto my back patio to listen for the calls of the chickadees and blue jays. As a fellow pastor and parent, Courtney Ellis’s hard-won wisdom and humorous encouragement connected deeply with my restless soul. This book will embrace the weary, the too busy, and anyone longing to be more present in their daily lives—and point them to the rest and presence of Jesus.

Rev. Dr. Jackson Clelland

Those of us who struggle with a sense of rootlessness, discontent, and distraction will find hope in the pages of Present. With humility and humor, Courtney Ellis weaves the story of her own struggles together with the convictions and wisdom of her Christian faith, in order to shed light on a path that leads to growth. This book provides a hopeful and grounded alternative to the unattentive and rushed haze that so many call living.

Michelle Van Loon

We hear the well-meaning advice that we’re supposed to bloom where we’ve been planted. But when our mobile culture and consumerist mindset keep us always on the move, we learn to keep our roots shallow and our connections superficial. Courtney Ellis challenges us to be all in, right where we are. Present is an invitation to explore what it means to show up for the abundant life God offers us, written with Ellis’s trademark honesty, humor, and insight. Highly recommended!

Pastor Carol P. Taylor

The author shares personal stories and Scripture messages to help folks understand how we can bloom where we are planted. This book is a joy to read and helpful for those of us living in the same place for many years as well as those who relocate frequently.