My Best Friend's Name Is Grace

By Narlene Jackson McLaughlin

Being overwhelmed by life's challenges and responsibilities can cause many to lose hope, give in, or settle for less than what God the Father intended for his creation. Can we accomplish all that we have been created and destined to do in life? Can each of us reach our full potential without losing our minds or killing others along the way? My Best Friend's Name Is Grace is a personal synopsis of how the author managed to accomplish all that she has in life, in spite of her beginnings and the assignment she has been given. While truthful in scope and content, the book is written from an allegorical viewpoint, as it personifies and identifies God's Grace as being the essential ingredient for success and victory in life. Compact and simply written, the book is compelling and profound in its revelation of the person, presence, purpose, and power of Grace in the lives of ordinary individuals.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 18, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481761154

Narlene Jackson McLaughlin

Having grown up fatherless in extreme poverty in the rural South in the United States, Narlene McLaughlin never imagined she would one day travel the globe, touching and impacting the lives of countless individuals. Graced with a full college scholarship, she graduated magna cum laude from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and she later earned her master's degree in Christian education administration from Pensacola Christian College, Pensacola, Florida. Laboring alongside her husband of thirty-five years, Bishop Vaughn McLaughlin, she has served as chief administrative officer of a multifaceted mega-church ministry located in Jacksonville, Florida for over twenty-five years. Her duties include teaching, counseling, staffing, mentoring, church governing, assistance in church planting, business development, and a host of other “as needed” duties. She and her husband have been featured in several newspaper and magazine publications, and they travel the world empowering others to greatness in God. Narlene and her husband have successfully reared two grown children of their own, Angel and Stephen, and nurtured and housed countless others.

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© 2013 by Narlene Jackson McLaughlin. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/11/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-6116-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-6115-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013910496

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

All scripture references are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Chapter 1   Childhood Friends

Chapter 2   The Father of Grace

Chapter 3   Grace for Marriage

Chapter 4   Grace for Ministry

Chapter 5   Grace for Parenting

Chapter 6   Grace for Protection

Chapter 7   The Gospel of Grace

Endorsement

This book paints a beautiful portrait of how grace applies to every aspect of an individual’s life. It also causes you to reflect on the times when you may not have even realized it but you, too, relied on your own best friend grace. Its message is very clear and relatable. I am so glad that my mom introduced me to her best friend at a very early age, and I look forward to introducing her to my children as well.

Angel Narlene McLaughlin

Preface

Why a Book?

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A lthough high school English was one of my favorite subjects and reading has fascinated me since early childhood, I have never desired to author a book of my own. I guess I always thought God specially chose only certain people to enter the lives of others through the written word. I speak at many conferences and have taught thousands of classes over the years, and I’ve written many articles, but I somehow never considered putting anything in a book for potentially millions of others to read. So, when the Spirit of God spoke to my heart about writing this book, my first response was, You’re kidding, right? Excuses began to run through my mind: I’m no theologian. I am not fit to speak on such a topic. Hundreds of books have already been written about your Grace. I am far too busy to write a book. Who would want to hear what I have to say about Grace?

The Lord has asked me to do many things over my many years of living. Sometimes I hear him very distinctly, and sometimes I pretend to