When Life Catches You by Surprise: An Inspirational Message Just for You, (Divinely Designed With You In Mind)

By Ginger Shepherd

Divinely given When Life Catches You by Surprise is an informative and inspirational book about the author's personal encounters of real life struggles, situations, and challenges. Faithfully, this book will bring the readers hope and understanding that life does provide twists and turns when you least expect them but God has you safe in "His Master Plan." The unfolding of God's inspiring plan allowed the author to share her voice of concern with you. She is no longer keeping her story silent. It is evident that through her personal journals, prayers, thoughts, songs, and private journey with God that He will sustain and strengthen you too. Going through difficult time is no joke. Prayerfully it will grow you up, make you stronger, and strengthen your faith walk with Christ. The author's story will remind you that nothing happens by chance. It is amazing how the Holy Spirit can orchestrate your life at the right moment and at the right time "to be blessed."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781645699279

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When Life Catches You by Surprise

An Inspirational Message Just for You, (Divinely Designed With You In Mind)

Ginger Shepherd

Copyright © 2019 by Ginger Shepherd

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Let Go…Let God

Still Holding On

By Sight! By Sight!

Looking in the Wrong Directions

In Due Season

When Little Things that Matters

Now Dry Your Eyes

Be True to Our God but Be True to Yourself

(Poem: Everything New)

Enriching Your Faith

Reflections

Roller-Coaster Year

That Is Lost for Something to Do with Myself!

The Time of Revelation

New Year—New Beginnings

Looking Good on the Outside

Putting New Wine Into Old Wine Skins

Enjoying the Second Half

Words of Encouragement

Dedication

I want to dedicate this book to my mother, Sadie Legatris Williams and my father, Reverend Willie Williams, through their guidance, love, teaching and their lifestyle of showing me the way of accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. (RIP—You are back together again.)

To my Daughter, Deidra (Dee Dee) and Son, Roderick, (Rod) who I call my gatekeepers. You two are the loves of my life.

To my Grandson, Julius Christian Brown, (J. C.) you will always be my Bestest Friend.

To my sister Sandra K. Williams Stewart, thank you for always thinking of me.

Last, but not least, to all my faithful friends (you know who you are) who have been with me throughout the years.

THANK YOU!

Foreword

Men seldom become leaders without a strong woman’s support; women seldom become leaders without a strong man’s interference. Ginger Shepherd is such a woman who has endured not mere interference, but suffering caused by such a man. The author of When Life Catches You by Surprise, Ginger takes the reader on a journey of her life, showing how she emerged from despair to triumph as a leader among both men and women, causing the reader to reflect on his or her own suffering, and empowering them to emerge as triumphant leaders.

Surprises in life may come packaged in either good or evil, deserved or undeserved. At such moments one may be facing a crossroad in life, or forced down a one-way path toward what may appear to be a dead end of despair and turmoil. Ginger went down such roads more than once, not at her own choosing. How one handles these kinds of circumstances in life is a tough decision. The toughest decisions are usually the healthiest decisions—mentally, spiritually, emotionally, or even physically or professionally.

Staring reality in the face and embracing it, rather than running from it, may be the only way to change one’s reality. Ginger’s life is an example of courage in the face of hopelessness, pain in the face of torment, and love in the face of hatred. Loving one’s neighbor as oneself, come what may, has no agenda to change another human being, but to transcend how you are treated—to become bigger and stronger than the evil facing you by the power of God who lives in you.

When Life Catches You by Surprise is that kind of story by a remarkable leader named Ginger Shepherd. I highly recommend it!

James F. Linzey, D.D.

MDIV Chaplain (MAJ), USA (Ret.)

Preface

You ask why now and how did I get to the point of writing this book? Good questions. Without knowing, I have been writing this book for years. It did not look or sound like a book then. They were my prayers and thoughts to God. I was writing my journals in tablets, sheets of paper and on anything that could