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Every woman hits a point in life when she knows God is calling her to more. Problem is, sometimes we don’t quite know what that more is, much less how to get there.
That’s the exact reason I wrote this book. I know what it’s like to feel anxious about your future or frustrated when things just aren’t clicking, or to lack the confidence to try something new. I’ve experienced it all, and I want to offer you hope that there’s something beautiful waiting on the other side of your obedience.
You’ll hear me say this more than once because I know it to be true: God will never give you an assignment that He doesn’t intend to help you achieve. That’s not just a cute quote that sounds good—it’s God’s truth.
You can feel scared, but you’re still called . You can feel unqualified, but you’re still called. You can feel unworthy, but you’re still called .
It’s easy to believe everyone else has it together or that they’ve never experienced struggles, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. We all have our own unique experiences when it comes to discovering our purpose, and in this book, I’m sharing some of my own personal stories. I pray that they allow you to see how God’s timing is perfect and how He is always aligning the pieces. Not just in my life, but in yours too. And I’ll be honest: I didn’t always have that perspective. I’ve had countless seasons when I felt like I had nothing to offer the world or that I was unqualified to pursue the tasks God had placed in front of me. Yet each time God reminded me that my feelings were not facts. Because here’s the thing:
You can feel scared, but you’re still called.
You can feel unqualified, but you’re still called. You can feel unworthy, but you’re still called. How you feel doesn’t negate the call that God has placed on your life.
And here’s another thing I’ve learned: None of us are exempt from being put in uncomfortable situations. There
will always be something that God places in front of us that forces us to level up. What good would it do for Him to allow us to stay in our comfort zone? What good would it do for Him to not push us to pursue the very thing He created us to do?
God doesn’t promise us that the journey will be easy— just that it’ll be worth it. When you step out of your comfort zone and start pursuing the call God has given you, don’t be moved by the challenges that may come, because there’s nothing He can’t help you overcome. Some may call it crazy, but others? We call it faith.
My prayer for you is that, through this book, you’ll recognize any roadblocks that are hindering your progress and you’ll get comfortable being uncomfortable when taking leaps of faith. I want to show you how to manage your emotions in a way that gives you the courage to trust that God won’t let you hit the ground. And when things look (and feel) like they’re not working out, I want you to have faith to still move forward.
By the end of this book, you should have fully adopted the CEO mindset—where you consider God’s Word before allowing any negative thoughts to become a breeding ground, where you examine and hold yourself accountable to the role you play in your own success, and where you petition God through prayer and offer back to Him what was already His to begin
with (your future). Overall, I hope this journey helps you have a better understanding of what God is calling you to do.
Your gifts are not random .
Trust me when I say this: Each one of us has a unique assignment, even if we don’t know what it is yet. Ten years ago I never would’ve guessed that my assignment would be creating and leading Christian Entrepreneur Organization (CEO)— a community for women of faith looking to fulfill their God- given purpose— but here we are. Even when I didn’t know it, God was nudging me in the direction I needed to go to make it happen. So even if you don’t know now what mark you’re called to leave on this world, keep moving forward. You will one day.
Your gifts are not random. Those ideas you just can’t seem to shake aren’t either. Whatever God is calling you to pursue, He is nudging you toward it, and He has already equipped you to do it.
Cheers to you for being bold and answering the call. This is only the beginning.
With love, Taneshia
PART 1 FOLLOW GOD’S BLUEPRINT
Do you ever sit back and wonder how your life is going to play out? What career you might have— or whether you will switch to a new one? What life will look like ten years from now? Whether you’ll ever feel truly fulfilled? Whether those big dreams will ever become a reality? Whether you’ll ever actually know your God- given purpose?
Well, I do.
Maybe you struggle with putting your plan in motion. Or maybe you’re worried that you’ll try something new and fail. Or perhaps you feel overwhelmed with the vision God has placed in your heart, and you’re afraid you won’t be able to live up to your full potential.
Yep, I’ve been there too.
We go through so many thoughts and emotions when it comes to planning for the future, especially when we want to live a life that’s in alignment with God’s plans. I’ll be honest, old me used to sit and worry about the future— a lot. Now I’ve come to understand that each piece of the journey is important (even the not- so- good moments), and the plans we come up with for ourselves don’t even come
close to what God has in store for us. God’s plan is the ultimate blueprint.
If you’ve ever done a puzzle, then you know that the typical approach to putting it together is to begin with the border and then work your way inward. As you fill in the middle pieces, the picture starts to take shape. You see that the randomlooking pieces weren’t so random after all but were in fact part of the bigger picture. Much like a puzzle, nothing about your life is random, including your gifts and your purpose. There is something so much bigger that God is orchestrating in your life, but sometimes you can see only a glimpse of what He’s doing.
Throughout the first part of this book, I’m going to challenge you to zoom out and look at the bigger picture— whether you already know what God is calling you to do or you’re still trying to figure it out. We’ll cover everything from having the courage to take those big (hard) questions to God, to learning how to identify your gifts, to understanding why it’s important to use your gifts to serve others, and more. Don’t let one small part of your story force you into creating a false narrative about yourself or your entire future. Truth is, you have a purpose, you have gifts, and you have something that the world desperately needs. We’re all rooting for you.
I , VE GOT QUESTIONS
I will never forget that night. It was around 3:00 a.m., and for some reason, my daughter, who was three at the time, was restless. Every twenty minutes or so, she’d peek her head in our bedroom just to say she couldn’t sleep. I remember staring up at the ceiling and wondering to myself, What’s going on tonight? And just as I finished my thought, I heard God say, It’s Me. I want to talk.
I hopped out of bed, raced downstairs, grabbed my anointing oil, and began praying. For God’s voice to be that clear, this had to be serious. A few moments later, that quiet voice came again: Ask Me for what you want.
I spent the next few minutes pretty much telling God how
angry I was that I hadn’t figured out my life’s purpose yet. I just couldn’t understand how I could have these gifts, talents, and big dreams, yet none of them seemed to be working to bring me the success I’d hoped for.
Asking God the right questions is sometimes the bridge between where you are and where you want to be.
I was spending hours every day trying to prove to God, myself, and others how badly I wanted it, but it seemed like no matter what I did, I wasn’t getting any results. Then it hit me: I was so blinded by chasing success with my own plans that I hadn’t even considered whether I was in alignment with God’s plans for me or what success looked like in His eyes.
As I was about to go on a tangent about what I felt was going wrong in my life, I stopped and asked, “What do You want from me?”
When God answered, it was simple yet powerful: I just want your voice. In that moment, I finally understood that asking God the right questions is sometimes the bridge between where you are and where you want to be.
God isn’t being secretive about what He desires from you, nor is He hiding from you. Sometimes there is just a lack of communication on your part.
Matthew 7:7–8 says that if you seek , you will find, and if you knock, the door will be opened. So whatever it is you need, you can be assured that when you bring it to God, it’ll be revealed to you. Whether it’s finding out what your gifts are, praying for a creative break through in your ideas, or even knowing what steps to take to see progress on your journey, who better to ask these questions than the One who created you?
Your dreams and your destiny are not a DIY project—you do not have to “do it yourself.”
Open your mouth , ask the hard (but necessary) questions, and trust that everything else will fall into place— because it will .
Yes, you will be the one taking action, but you don’t have to be the one who creates the entire plan from scratch— God already did that when He created you. Open your mouth, ask the hard (but necessary) questions, and trust that everything else will fall into place—because it will.
CONSIDER
“Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?”
Matthew 7:7–11 MSG
EXAMINE
Have you been honest with God about what you’re struggling with in this season? Have you been still enough to hear His voice?
OFFER
God, I know that You created me with a purpose in mind, and I pray that I never lose sight of that. I ask that You continue to guide my steps and give me the wisdom to handle all that You’ve called me to pursue. In Jesus’ name, amen.
2 COINCIDENCE OR CALLING?
It was my college orientation, and as I sat in the auditorium with hundreds of other students, a faculty member asked each of us to raise our hand when we heard our major being called out. At that time I was still unsure what I wanted to pursue, so I quietly looked around the room at my peers, watching and waiting to see what they’d choose. When they announced the mass communications program, I could instantly feel the excitement—and that was all it took for me to choose that major.
Silly, I know. Sharing this story fifteen years ago came with a lot of embarrassment, but as I’ve grown I’ve come to realize
that what I thought was a random, impulsive decision was me hearing God’s voice and acting on it—without hesitation.
I’d always had dreams of being on stage one day, yet I was extremely shy. Unless you were a close family member or friend, I didn’t have much to say. Being in that communications program forced me to speak up—literally. I had to learn the art of storytelling, how to capture an audience’s attention, and how to write and produce my own news segments. I didn’t realize it in the moment, but the work I was doing was slowly building my confidence for what I do today.
We are so busy looking for a big reveal that we don’t even recognize that God is showing us in real time the path He wants us to take.
God knows where to place each of us in every season of our lives. The things we experience that we may consider coincidences are likely God orchestrating the pieces so we can walk in our true purpose. We are so busy looking for a big reveal that we don’t even recognize that God is showing us in real time the path He wants us to take. Sometimes He’ll give you gentle nudges long before He shows you big signs.
Like sending people your way who need help or advice with a specific problem.
Or dropping an idea in your mind, year after year after year.
Or putting you in an auditorium full of wild college students to help inspire your major.
The nudges are always there, both big and small. It’s up to you to slow down and become present to see how God is lighting your path and directing you in the way you should go.
The nudges are always there, both big and small. It’s up to you to slow down and become present to see how God is lighting your path and directing you in the way you should go.
If you’re feeling like you can’t quite put your finger on the thing God is calling you to do, take a step back and identify common themes:
• Something I love doing is . . .
• Something that shows up in my life over and over again is . . .
• Something others think I’m good at is . . .
God put those things there for a reason. Your purpose and gifts are already within you. They’re just waiting to be discovered.
CONSIDER
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5 NIV
EXAMINE
When was the last time you slowed down to take inventory of your gifts? Do you ever mistake God’s gentle nudges for mere coincidence?
OFFER
God, I pray that You open my eyes so I can see my future and my purpose the way You see it. I pray that You open my heart to be obedient to Your gentle nudges, and that You would help me move in the direction You are calling me to go. I thank You for going before me and lighting up my path every step of the way. In Jesus’ name, amen.
