I Will Mentor You: A Christian Woman's Roadmap for Traveling Life Together

By Sharon Sunkle

I Will Mentor You is a “Road Trip” you can’t miss! Following God’s GPS, you will discover how to become the mentor God wants you to be. 

Enjoy this no-nonsense, practical and enlightening journey as you dispel mentoring myths, understand how to overcome the “character cancers&rdq

• Language: English
• Publisher: Author Academy Elite
• Release date: Dec 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781640851276

Sharon Sunkle

Sharon Sunkle has taught Bible Studies for over 20 years and has been a mentor for almost as long. She has a heart for helping hurting women. She holds a BS degree in Bio-Medical Communication from The Ohio State University. She and her husband, Richard live in Southern California. They have three sons, two daughters-in-law and six grandchildren.

Book preview

Sharon’s life matches her words. I’ve never met someone more passionate about mentoring women than her. Her book is a roadmap for fulfilling this biblical mandate and a demonstration of how we can all make mentoring a way of life.

Kary Oberbrunner, Author of ELIXIR Project, Day Job to Dream Job, The Deeper Path, and Your Secret Name

More than just a great How To book with excellent resources, examples and guidance, this book goes beyond the How To to passionately take you to the Why of mentoring. In keeping with Sharon’s wonderful analogy of a road trip, fasten your seatbelt, ladies! This little book is not a leisurely drive, but rather, a jolting journey straight to the heart of the matter — your heart and God’s heart for you.

Jackie Davis,

Author with Alex Krutov, Infinitely More

Women need honest Christian mentors and with I Will Mentor You, Sharon Sunkle has given the Body of Christ a wonderful, refreshing breath of fresh air. In her book, Sharon is encouraging and provides so much good and practical information. This book should be in the library of every Christian woman who is interested in investing her life in the lives of other women as a mentor.

Wesley Shankland, DDS, MS, PhD

Director: TMJ & Facial Pain Center, Westerville, OH

Author of TMJ: Its Many Faces; Face the Pain; and Bioterrorism: You Can Survive

Thank you for listening to our Heavenly Father’s voice to write this book! This is truly the best book on mentoring I have ever read!

Deb Walton, Bible Study Leader and Mentor

I Will Mentor You

A Christian Woman’s Roadmap for Traveling Life Together

Sharon Sunkle

I WILL MENTOR YOU

Copyright ©2017 by Sharon Sunkle

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Published by Author Academy Elite

PO Box 43, Powell, OH 43035

www.AuthorAcademyElite.com

All rights reserved. No Part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64085-121-4, Paperback UPC .png

Hardback ISBN: 978-1-64085-126-9

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-64085-127-6

Sunkle, Sharon

I Will Mentor You / Sharon Sunkle

BISAC: REL012130 RELIGION/Christian Life/Women’s Issues

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017914469

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation version. Copyright ©1996. Used by permission by Tyndale House Publishers.

All stories related in this book are true, however, all names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals.

Cover Design: 99 Designs

Interior Design: JETLAUNCH

I dedicate this book to The One I Love,

my dear sweet husband, Richard.

He encouraged me all the way in my journey

of writing this book.

Thanks honey - You’re the best!

Contents

ENDORSEMENTS

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 Road Trip!

Chapter 2 A Speed Bump, A Detour, and A Pot Hole in My Road Trip of Life

Chapter 3 Following God’s GPS

Chapter 4 Road Blocks - Shattering the Myths

Chapter 5 Turn on Your GPS - Understanding the Plans for Our Journey

Chapter 6 The Right Road Taken - The Big Why of Mentoring

Chapter 7 Journeys and Pathways - One-on-One Mentoring Stories

Chapter 8 Learning the Rules of the Road

Chapter 9 An Itinerary for a Successful and Happy Trip!

Chapter 10 Riding Along in My Automobile

Chapter 11 Pot Holes on Our Road Trip

Chapter 12 There’s a Y in the Road!

Chapter 13 Green Light - Enjoying the Ride

Chapter 14 Stop Signs And Red Lights

Chapter 15 Sharing The Road With Others

Chapter 16 Coming Home - Final Words

Appendix I My Top 10 Reasons Why Bald is Good

Appendix II Depression

Appendix III Have You Heard an Encouraging Word?

Appendix IV In-Laws or Out-Laws?

Appendix V Bible Study for Young Girls

Appendix VI Bible Study for Older Girls

Appendix VII Who I Am in Christ

Appendix VIII Resources for Mentoring

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Acknowledgments

I want to thank the Lord Jesus Christ for His promptings, His love and His encouragement throughout this entire writing process.

I want to thank my husband Richard, my precious best friend, for all his patience, understanding, and support for me through all our 30 years together.

I sincerely thank Jackie Davis, Deb Walton, and Sherry and Jeff Martin for having eyes on the manuscript and for all their heartfelt and helpful suggestions.

I also want to acknowledge all my family and friends, too numerous to mention here, who have prayed for me and encouraged me along the way. What would I do without all of you?

Finally, I can’t forget all the ladies who have come into and out of my life, whom I’ve had the privilege to mentor over the years. And, of course, I have a very grateful heart for all the women who took the time and energy to mentor me.

Introduction

Years ago we sent our last son of three off to college. One month later our dog of 18 years died. I had stopped working at a busy downtown office. So, I looked around and asked myself, What now?

I had just picked up a great book by Carol Kent called, Becoming a Woman of Influence. The Lord had been telling me for years to reach out to other women, but I didn’t exactly know how to do this. After reading Carol’s book, I started praying for the answers I needed.

I wanted to become a woman of influence, one who intentionally looks for and reaches out to those in need of a loving friend.

I decided to start a Bible study and invited several women into my home. This Bible study lasted many years and countless women came and went. I still find great joy in leading Bible studies. I also began mentoring other women during this time.

Also, working with the Women’s Ministry in my church helped to mold and direct my energies. Through my time serving in Women’s Ministries I developed a workshop to teach mentoring to other women. I realized some women desired to mentor as well, but didn’t have the tools needed. They were also telling themselves lies and believing myths about why they shouldn’t lead a Bible study or try to mentor. Thus, the need for a mentoring workshop to encourage and assist them.

For over 20 years I have been meeting with women, some younger and some older, encouraging them in their walk with the Lord. It all starting to come together in my mind and the Lord had been speaking into my heart to write this book. Richard, my sweet husband, has been encouraging me in this adventure for several years as well.

My prayer is that this book will now encourage you to reach out to other women. I hope you’ll share your own life experiences and the wisdom you have gained through your own life journey. We each have a story and the Lord teaches us in different ways with a plethora of experiences. He wishes for us to use these experiences, whether they be bad or good, all for His glory.

CHAPTER 1

Road Trip!

Almost everyone loves to go places. Getting out on the road and getting away from the hum-drum, or the stresses of everyday life can be uplifting and refreshing. My husband Richard and I recently returned from a road trip to Yosemite National Park in California. What an awesome time we had! During this last winter in California, we were blessed with an abundance of precipitation. The water falls in the park from all the melting snow were the best they had been in years. We had to see them! If you have never been to this national treasure, I highly recommend going. Put it on your bucket list!

We have an intense desire to travel. Richard loves to plan a trip and I love going! The Lord has blessed us with some wonderful traveling experiences and we are truly thankful. We love to talk about where to go, how to get there, and what to do when we get there. We are adventurers, risk takers and thrill-seekers. If money were no problem, we’d probably not be home much, except to do laundry, pick up the mail, and re-pack!

For a trip to be truly successful, a great deal of planning must take place. So, first we decide where to go, then when to go, and finally how to go. We plan an itinerary. We lay out our route and make our reservations. But, we’re not done yet. We need to take care of the home life such as: stop the mail, pay the bills, tell the neighbors (so they can watch our house), and water all the plants. Back when we had pets, we had to find them a caretaker. Oh, and I can’t forget to clean out the refrigerator. It is pretty ugly to come back home to spoiled milk and rotting fruit and veggies!

Next is preparing the car. Richard will check the oil and tires and fill the gas tank. We usually start out with a clean car and never come home with one! I focus on packing. This takes a lot of planning such as: what to wear, checking the temperature of where we are headed, and being sure all the clothes are clean. I ALWAYS take too many clothes — but a girl has to be prepared, right?

In the last few years, we’ve been programming our GPS before starting out. Having and using a GPS has been such a blessing. Years before, this was our scenario: Richard would drive, not sure which way to go. He’d ask me to look at the map. I’d unfold the map, remove my sunglasses and dig around for my reading glasses. (Needing glasses to read is such a pain!) Then I’d have to locate on the map where we were at that moment and try to find the best route to our destination. It was somewhat difficult for this directionally challenged individual. Richard would grow a little impatient since we were passing exits and he, like any man, tries to avoid turning around at all costs. As I would begin to become flustered the more impatient he became. This situation had been known to grow into a bit of a spat! I thought he should have looked at the map beforehand, and he thought I should be able to assist faster and more accurately. Can anyone relate? Today, our Road Trips run much more smoothly thanks to our GPS.

Finally, it is time to buckle our seat beats and to start our engine. We always stop to pray in our driveway to thank the Lord for the opportunity, asking Him for safety, wisdom, and good memories. Now all we need to do from this point on is to be in the moment and enjoy our journey to the max. We take a lot of pictures, and I mean a lot. (Just ask our kids!) Many times, but not always, we try to journal our trips. We have found after 30 years of traveling together, we can’t remember if those beautiful flower fields we walked through were in Colorado or Montana. The pictures and the journaling are our way of keeping those memories close and alive. I’m thinking someday I’ll be in my rocking chair and won’t be able to travel any longer, so I’ll have all those pictures and memories to keep me company and to reminisce.

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My home is in Heaven, I’m just traveling through the world.

Billy Graham

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Of course all good things, and good trips, must come to an end. Coming home can be almost as wonderful as leaving in the first place. I remember many years ago after we had taken our three sons on an 18 day road trip through the western states (from Ohio) coming into our house and feeling so peaceful! Ahh, home. We had made the last leg of the trip in one 12-hour drive. Whew! I told the boys to stop and feel this wonderful feeling of being home. I asked them to imagine how even more wonderful coming home to our heavenly home would be. Maybe a hundred times more wonderful? Hard to imagine but really fun trying! Yes, heaven is our real home and the peace and comfort that we will feel there will be inexplicable.

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After spending 18 days in a van with my husband and three boys and all their testosterone, all I wanted was to be ALONE! I told everyone I was going to my bedroom and unless they were bleeding, the rule was: "DO NOT DISTURB! I know you know how I felt...

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Coming home carries a mixed bag of emotions. We are usually tired, if not exhausted. You see, wherever we go I always think, We might not be back here again. So let’s see everything there is to see. We sometimes overdo it, I’ll admit. Also, we are usually a little sad our adventure is over. We fight this sadness by starting to plan our next trip while on the way home. Crazy, right? Coming home can also be wonderful. I love to be back in my own bed after being gone for a while. I love not using public bathrooms any longer and I love having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I also love getting back into a routine and feeling I’m accomplishing something. So, I guess I really wouldn’t want to be gone all the time.

Traveling on a road trip is a great metaphor for our journey in life. So let’s you and I take a road trip together! Not a physical trip, but metaphorical one. A trip where I will share the speeds bumps, detours and pot holes in my own life and give you hope and encouragement for your own road trip. We’ll talk about the preparation required and the tools needed to accomplish becoming the Titus 2 woman God intended you to be.

Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good. That they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored.

Titus 2: 3-5

We’ll be using this GPS: God’s Power Source - The Bible, as our roadmap.

I’ll give you examples