A couple of weeks ago, I had the fun privilege of visiting my friend Kelsey in Branson. My husband and I and our good friends were spending a weekend there. And since Kelsey goes to school in the area I texted her to see if she was available for coffee. She said yes.

It just so happens that Kelsey’s cousin was visiting from Delaware, so the three of us settled in the local coffee shop to chat. Little did I know that our good conversation would soon turn out to be great conversation.

Shortly after our trip to Branson, Billy Graham passed away. It’s been interesting reading news articles, listening to interviews and discussing with friends how Billy Graham affected their lives. In a story by George Bush, he describes a one-on-one conversation with Billy Graham that turned his life around. Kathie Lee Gifford tells how Reverend Graham sat in her home and read the Christmas story to her children (for her first ever TV Christmas special).

Many have pondered who will take Billy Graham’s place. The answer of course is no one. However, we should not be discouraged by that, because the world is full of people who love God like Billy Graham loved God.

Back in Branson, Kelsey, her cousin and I visited a lot about my new book, A Wild & Wonderful Life. Before long, it became obvious that our conversation was going to a deeper level than I anticipated. Kelsey’s cousin asked me, “How do I begin to have a Wild & Wonderful Life?” At that moment, I realized our good conversation had just turned into great conversation. As the three of us sat and talked about loving Jesus, I couldn’t help but think this is exactly what Billy Graham did: Share Jesus. Talk about Jesus. Or even introduce someone to Jesus.

Billy Graham certainly made an impact on the Kingdom through Crusades. But, from the stories I have heard recently, his personal conversations were equally important. Who’s going to carry on Billy Graham’s work in the future? We are. We are going to have great conversations with people we care about and share Jesus with them. In this way, all of us will impact our world — just like Billy did.

A Wild & Wonderful Life is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The obstacle I faced was huge. I couldn’t imagine how God was going to provide a more perfect job for me than the one I had created for myself as training director. It was a dream job. I had just graduated with a master’s degree in adult education, and training was my passion. Working in sales for a large urban hotel, I wanted to create a spectacular training department for our staff.

With a new degree in hand, I proposed to my boss the creation of a part-time position allowing me to teach and train the hotel employees. At the time, I was four months pregnant. I knew the time-consuming schedule of my current full-time job would not be possible as a new mother. A part-time position in training seemed perfect.

Weeks passed after I submitted my proposal and I was called into my boss’s office. He gave me a thumbs-up. The position had been approved.

However, the evening before my boss called me into his office, my husband came home from work and excitedly told me he had been given a promotion. We were moving from Kansas City to Chicago. The part-time training position ended before it even started.

The first few months in Chicago were a bit challenging. With my husband new to a career, he spent a good bit of time working. I didn’t know anyone in my new town or anything about being a mother. Little did I know, God’s good plans for my life were just getting started in Chicago.

My passion for teaching and training didn’t diminish. Eventually, God allowed me to ease into a part-time teaching job at the local college. Then, we moved again. Soon after, God opened a door for me to start my own training company. This was brilliant on God’s part, because my part-time company went with me as we moved three more times. God’s plans for me were marching forward but he wasn’t nearly finished with me and my vocation.

A friend was starting an evangelism ministry and asked me to become one of her national trainers. After several years of training in my own small business, God was opening a door for me to train for him! My passion for training, along with my experience, allowed me to work in God’s business.

As I look back, I’m in awe at how God was able to do immeasurably more than I could have ever imagined. Through this wild and wonderful journey of more than 20 years, I’ve had the remarkable opportunity to teach and train thousands of women all over the country. My passion in training never changed. God knew that. What seemed to be an obstacle earlier in life was really just a training ground for the bigger things God had in mind for me.

Has there been a time in your life when you knew God’s good plans were immeasurably more than your own hopes and dreams?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

“Do you want to go to Africa?” my friend Debi asked when I bumped into her in the hallway at church.

“Yes, I do.”

And that was it. I had no details, no dates, and no purpose for going. Yet I had just committed to traveling to the other side of the world.

I’m not typically a “yes” person. I tend to say “no” a lot more. But for some reason, I knew Africa was calling me.

In the months before my friend asked, I had been praying God would open a new door that would take me out of my comfort zone. About to turn 50, my desire was to do something that added a new purpose to my life. Don’t get me wrong. I loved what I was doing, but sometimes life needs to be stirred up so we can see things from a different perspective.

I never dreamed God would ask me to go to Malawi, Africa.

And it all happened because a friend asked, and I said “yes.”

“Yes” is a powerful word because it draws us into activity. Most things we do begin with a “yes” or a “no.” We accept or deny.

• I gladly said “yes” when my husband asked me to marry him.
• I eagerly said “yes” when I accepted my first job.
• I cautiously said “yes” when my neighbor asked me to volunteer at her school.

Sometimes the activity is short-lived and has a beginning and end, like saying “yes” to having coffee with a friend. But sometimes a “yes” can dramatically change the course of your life.

There was one particular time when my “yes” changed everything, because it was the beginning of my Jesus story. I said “yes” to Jesus when I was nine years old. I prayed and asked him to become part of my life.

Saying “yes” to Jesus is the beginning of a wild and wonderful life. Although Jesus doesn’t use the exact words “wild and wonderful,” he does make a lot of promises about what a life with him might look like.

Maybe your life is feeling a little unwound, unknown, crazy, or even stagnant. It’s okay; Jesus wants to join you wherever you are. He is not afraid of your mess. He can handle your doubts and fears. More than anything, he wants to be part of all your endeavors and walk alongside you every day.

Jesus wants to do your wild and wonderful journey together.

All you have to do is say “yes.”

If you choose to say “yes,” there’s no guarantee everything will turn out exactly as you planned. And I can’t promise that you won’t experience difficult times along the way. However, saying “yes” to Jesus means he is with you every step of your journey. You won’t be alone as you travel.

And this is what makes life both wild and wonderful.

“Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us”
(2 Corinthians 1:20-21, The Message).