I Am…: A Girl’S Search for Jesus and the Discovery of Herself

By Hannah Leigh Gottschalk

Join a young woman on her journey to self-discovery as she seeks to know who Jesus is through the seven I am statements made in the Book of John.

As Jesus reveals Himself to her as the Bread of Life; the Light of the World; the Gate; the Good Shepherd; the Resurrection and Life; the Way, Truth, and Life; and the True Vine, she comes to see how each of these characteristics have manifested themselves in her personal experiences, including:

Employment / Unemployment
Faith
Health / Fitness
Relationships
And Many More

As she recognizes the many facets of God through various situations, drawing close to Him for understanding, she comes to learn her true identity and purpose for this life.

I AM invites you on an adventure of seeing God in the midst of your everyday circumstances and finding yourself, and your joy, in Him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 31, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490837796

Hannah Leigh Gottschalk

Hannah Leigh Gottschalk is passionate about Jesus, people, and living the good life. She holds an MSW from Michigan State University and enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She also loves coffee, books, creativity, the great outdoors, running, and writing. Hannah resides in Pure Michigan with her husband, Ken.

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Copyright © 2014 Hannah Gottschalk.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ All rights reserved.

All Scripture quotations in this publications are from The Message. Copyright (c) by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-3779-6 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 05/20/2014

Contents

Dedication

Preface

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

About The Author

Dedication

To my grandmother, Carolyn, for her persevering spirit and faithful support of me always.

And to all the dreamers and seekers out there, here’s to the chase and finding what matters!

Preface

I’m thanking you, God, from a full heart,

I’m writing the book on your wonders.

I’m whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy;

I’m singing your song, High God.

Psalm 9:1 (The Message)

I am a writer. Although not a writer by profession, I have always had a love for the written (and typed) word. I journal on almost an everyday basis, find joy in writing out letters and cards, frequently update my blog and Facebook status, and am constantly jotting down my to do and grocery lists on post-it notes. Writing has always come naturally for me. In school, my greatest accomplishments usually came in the form of a research paper, as opposed to exams. I could get an assignment for a huge paper one day and have it done the next – the words flowing and fitting together perfectly. I was also one of those people who would rewrite my notes after each lecture and write out notes based on what I read in the textbooks. (Let’s just say, my academic career can be summed up in the boxes upon boxes of spiral notebooks I recently came across while in the process of moving to our new house.) Writing is just a fundamental part of who I am. It keeps me grounded by helping me stay structured and organized, while also allowing me to express my feelings and remember important lessons I learn along the way.

Given my love and practice of writing, it is probably no wonder that the idea to write a book has crossed my mind several times. But knowing what exactly to write a book about … well, that would be the question that I have been unable to answer … until now.

It all came to me one day while spending some quiet time with the Lord. I was reading in the Book of John and came across one of the I am statements of Jesus, which lead me to look down at the notes in my bible, where I was yet lead to another I am statement, and then another and another and so on and so on. I discovered in my reading that there are actually seven total I am statements made by Jesus in the Book of John, each one providing a description of who He is, in His own words. Then the thought hit me, This would be a great topic of exploration for my blog … or better yet … a book! I jotted this down in my journal, wondering if this were not an idea from God or just another grandiose idea of my own. Over the course of the next couple weeks, I began to pray about it and I kept feeling that God was saying, Yes, Hannah, do it. I shared the idea with my