More Than: Discovering How Your Story Reveals God's Beautiful Truth About You

By Garrett Nudd

Most people view themselves as less than—less than they are, less than others see them, and less than God designed them to be. But countless times in our own lives and throughout the Bible, God shows us that we are More Than. Garrett shows readers how discover instances in their own lives when God reveals that we are More Than, and he challenges readers with the ideology that when God gives us More Than, he expects us to give More Than so others can experience More Than too.

FROM THE AUTHOR:
MORE THAN IS FOR PARENTS: Parenting is the hardest job in the world. I can't tell you how many times I've felt unworthy to be a parent and unworthy to raise children.

MORE THAN IS FOR TEENS. Being a teenager today is filled with so many challenges. So many pressures. I want you to know how much you are loved and that you are so much More Than.

MORE THAN IS FOR CREATIVES. I'm a creative and in the deepest depths of my soul, I have this passion to create and a constant desire for the approval of others.

MORE THAN IS FOR PEOPLE WHO FEEL STUCK IN THEIR JOB. You spend so much time at work and so many people feel stuck in their job, punching a clock, and collecting a paycheck. So many people feel like there's more to life. There is!

MORE THAN IS FOR PEOPLE WHO FEEL LIKE THEY AREN'T WORTHY. I don't know your story. Maybe it's a failed marriage. A lost job. Trauma from your parents or someone else significant in your life. A series of bad decisions. A challenging financial situation. Betrayal from someone you thought was a friend.

You are more than. You are worthy. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are bought with a price.

My encouragement to you is to set aside intentional time each day to reflect on your own story and look at how God has shown up and shown off in your life. Write, journal, make notes. As you do, leverage those discoveries to help shape your perspective from a mindset of less than to a mindset of more than.

After completing this book, you will:
• Recognize God's promise for More Than in your life.
• Have the tools to overcome long-standing feelings of less than.
• Be inspired to look for your own More Than experiences and then share them with others so they can experience More Than too.
• Become intentional about embracing the concept of More Than and engaging in its impact in your life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 23, 2024
• ISBN: 9798350951585

Garrett Nudd

Garrett Nudd is a storyteller. His passion of writing, branding, advertising, photography, and community-building led him into a rewarding career in marketing leadership at AdventHealth, one of the largest not-for-profit faith-based health care systems in the world. An award-winning photographer and entrepreneur, for more than 20 years Garrett has photographed a discerning clientele from around the world. His photographs have appeared in hundreds of books, magazines, industry trade journals, and online publications. Garrett has served as an adjunct professor and guest lecturer at the School of Journalism and Communication at Southern Adventist University and countless state, regional, national, and international photography schools. Garrett lives in rural Northwest Georgia with his beautiful wife, Joy, and their three spirited daughters.

Book preview

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What Others Are Saying About More Than

More Than is a poignant, funny, insightful and beautifully woven invitation to consider God’s truth about each one of us – that we were created in His image, we were created for much more than we have settled for, and that in Him, we are more than enough. More Than is not simply a mindset, it is a heart-set. Garrett’s book is a wonderful reminder of the depth of God’s love for us and the opportunity we have to live our lives from a perspective of abundance.

Todd Gothberg, AdventHealth Director of Leadership Development and author of No Reservations and Believe

In a culture of confusion, self-loathing, and continuous detachment, Garrett poignantly flips the paradigm through artful storytelling. More Than draws us close to hear our Father’s voice whispering – SINGING – our More Thans. In these pages, our belovedness is spoken, love is unleashed, and we uncover God’s lavish generosity bellowing His truths about us!

Amy Pearson, M.Ed.

President, On Point

Resident Clinical Mental Health Counselor

Author of Life On Point Curricula

I quietly prayed, God, I just feel less than qualified to teach this class, today. And instantly I heard, Tina, you are more than.

My whole approach and attitude changed, and I was able step into what was in front of me knowing I was as equipped as anyone to accomplish the mission. It was a real-life moment, and I am thankful for MORE THAN and the practical reminder it brought me when I needed it the most.

Tina Wilson, Proprietor, Reclaimed Home

More Than is warm and inviting. It is a life-giving book that will inspire you to live life to the fullest.

Drew Startup, Pastor of Connections, NorthStar Church

More Than is a much needed and welcomed response to a less than world. Drawing from his colorful experiences and observations, Garrett gives the reader a refreshing, humorous, and compelling collection of stories that reminds us our lives can be more than we think. You cannot read More Than without feeling better about yourself, your world, and your future.

Wayne Olson, International Speaker and Author of The Disney Difference

Garrett is a sublime storyteller. He takes readers on a journey and fills their hearts with hope and love.

Dagan Beckett, Emmy Award Winning filmmaker, Director of Songbirds and Beautiful Faces

Garrett authentically shares what we often forget—that we are loved more than we can ever imagine. And living life with this beautiful truth changes everything.

Mark Lakey, Art Warehouse

More Than

Discovering How Your Story Reveals God’s Beautiful Truth About You

©2024 Garrett Nudd

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

eBook ISBN: 979-8-35095-158-5

To Joy, Graycen, Campbell, and Spencer.

You are so much MORE THAN.

Contents

Introduction

Section 1: What is MORE THAN?

1.01 MORE THAN

1.02 Man, Am I Sorry For You!

1.03 What Am I Good At?

1.04 Everything and the Kitchen Sink

1.05 No Joke

Section 2: Setting the Stage for MORE THAN

2.01 A Picture’s Worth MORE THAN a Thousand Words

2.02 Starting Small, Dreaming Big

2.03 Resignation

2.04 Untouchables

2.05 Father of the Bride

2.06 Our Purpose

Section 3: Discovering I am MORE THAN

3.01 Good Intentions

3.02 The Master’s Touch

3.03 Floyd and Edith

3.04 Multiple Choice

3.05 MORE THAN Friends

Section 4: Everyone Is a Reflection of MORE THAN

4.01 Home Sweet Home

4.02 MORE THAN a Portrait

4.03 Dancing with the Stars

4.04 Munchkins

4.05 MORE THAN Leadership

4.06 Running Toward MORE THAN

4.07 Rocks and Roses

4.08 That’s Where Our Dream Started

4.09 Henry the Dog

4.10 MORE THAN a Farmer

4.11 When You’re Gone

Section 5: Conclusion

5.01 Conclusion: Here Comes the Fun Part

5.02 Encore

Appendix

Appendix 01 Everyone Has a Story

Appendix 02 My Friend, Jonathan

Appendix 03 My Friend, Lauren

Appendix 04 My Friend, Russell

Appendix 05 My Friend, a Starbucks Stranger

Appendix 06 My Friend, Matt

Appendix 07 My Friend, Lanell

Appendix 08 Everyone Has a Story, Reprise

Thanks

Endnotes

Some names and identifying details have been changed for privacy.

Introduction

I love stories. Every evening we sit around the dinner table as a family and share stories about our day. There’s something about sharing a story. Stories move people—they move people to believe, change, and grow. Stories move people to love.

This project has been on my heart for years. But until recently, I struggled to bring it into focus. I wanted to write a book I wanted to read. But more than that I wanted to write a book I needed to read—a constant reminder that I am MORE THAN, not less than. And even though the world tells me I am less than, God tells me I am MORE THAN.

Life is a collection of stories, some MORE THAN and some less than. I hope the words that follow will inspire you to look for the MORE THAN stories in your life. And when you find them, I hope you will share them with all of us so we can be inspired too.

Section 1

What is MORE THAN?

MORE THAN

Man, Am I Sorry For You!

What Am I Good At?

Everything and the Kitchen Sink

No Joke

1.01

MORE THAN

Her rich beautiful voice echoed across the football field and reverberated throughout the stands. The sun had just disappeared behind the rolling hills that surround the Sonoraville Highschool Phoenix Stadium. It was an unusually cool evening. You know, the first cool evening of fall always catches you by surprise.

A chill blew across the field while the stadium lights brightened the night. Students huddled together with blankets while their voices blended beautifully in song.

From the center of the field, she sang the haunting verse of Lauren Daigle’s Grammy Award-winning hit You Say. Words that cry of self-doubt and despair and question an identity beyond earthly answers.

I recognized the song, but I’d never really paid attention to the lyrics. As the words left her lips and flowed across the field and through the stands, the message cut straight to my heart.

The chorus continued with a hope-filled plea asking God to remind us who we really are, in His eyes. Because it’s in Him and only Him that our inadequacies give birth to abundance and we find our true identity and worth.

Really, my dear? You are my daughter, I thought to myself. I love you. I’ve given you everything. And I’d give you more if I could. I’ve raised you, fed you, protected you, sacrificed for you, hugged you, lifted you up, brushed you off, provided for you. No, sweetheart, you don’t need to question your identity, your identity is in Him. You already know that. And when you face struggles, tell me. Tell God, and He’ll hold you. You’ll feel Him. You are a treasure—His treasure. You are so much more.

It was the annual Fields of Faith event, organized by our local Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter. Across Northwest Georgia, high-school and middle-school students gathered for worship, praise and prayer, and my oldest daughter, Graycen (Gray), was an FCA Impact Leader and member of the Fields of Faith praise band.

The group was thrown together a few weeks before and included six students from three local high schools. Two played guitar, one played bass, one played the drums, and a couple kids rotated on keyboards. One song featured a saxophone, and another featured a violin. Several kids switched between vocals and various instruments, which made it feel like a real concert.

On the first song, Gray played violin. Then she switched to keyboard and vocals.

That she was participating as a fourteen-year-old high school freshman was enough to make any parent proud. But when I heard those lyrics and her voice my emotions took over. Pride. Joy. Tears. I had all the feels, and I couldn’t hold them back.

When she arrived at the chorus, she closed her eyes and sang with passion and conviction. The crowd joined her, lifting their voices and hands together to God.

The chorus continued with a series of exquisitely beautiful promises of God’s love that answer many of the questions and insecurities that so often plague us.

Yes, girl! That’s right! I wanted to shout as loudly as I could.

The bleachers were filled with about eight hundred students and supportive families. My wife, Joy, and our younger daughters, Campbell and Spencer, were in the stands with our friends. I was on the field, having been asked to photograph the event. As a long-time professional photographer, events typically take on a whole different meaning for me.

But in this case, I was grateful to be on my own as I collected my emotions, wiped my tears, and gathered my composure.

The student-led event included a student speaker and a handful of student testimonials, followed by an appeal where students came to the field to meet with local pastors and youth leaders from a variety of faiths and churches. Some students came individually, and others came in groups. Some made decisions for the first time and others experienced a recommitment. They were giving their lives to Jesus and it was raw and real and beautiful. And I was right smack dab in the middle of it all.

Over the next couple years, I spent a lot of time reflecting and talking with God. I work in marketing, communications, and philanthropy for the one of the largest faith-based health care systems in the world. Even though I don’t serve on the front lines providing life-saving medical care, I frequently get to see patients and talk with people when they are experiencing—or at least recovering from—some of the most challenging situations anyone could experience.

I’ve heard stories first-hand from people who are wounded and broken, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Prior to that, for ten years I traveled around the country—and many times around the world—as a professional photographer documenting weddings on the weekends and creating family and high school senior portraits during the week. Most of our wedding work required us to travel, but when we weren’t traveling, we served a discerning local portrait clientele out of our storefront studio in beautiful Chattanooga, Tennessee.

If you point your camera at enough people, it doesn’t take long to discover some pretty significant and surprising insecurities. Over the years I’ve learned a sad and unfortunate truth. Most people view themselves as less than. Less than they are. Less than others see them. And less than God designed them to be.

I’m not a psychologist or psychotherapist. I’m not a counselor or clinician. And I have no formal training in how to help people feel their best.

Who am I? I am a husband to my wife, Joy. She loves me beautifully, and after a quarter of a century, I still can’t figure out why, but I’ll go with it! I’m a father to three strong, beautiful, spirited daughters. And most importantly, I’m a child of God.

During my reflection I realized the less than perception we often have of ourselves is contrary to everything God stands for and every promise He’s ever made.

If only we could see ourselves through His eyes. If only we could see why He loves us and how He loves us, I think everything would change, especially how we feel about ourselves.

The truth is, when you think you’re less than, God says you are MORE THAN. When you think you are less than, God says you are His.

Oh, I love you beyond your wildest dreams, God says. Make no mistake about it.

I wish you could see yourself the way I do.

I wish you could see yourself the way I created you.

My life is fairly ordinary. But as I’ve reflected, I’ve discovered countless times when God has shown up in the simplest moments and revealed Himself as MORE THAN.

The pages that follow offer an account into my own personal journey of God convincing me I am MORE THAN. It’s a look back and a look forward. It’s personal—full of reckless reflection and purposeful perspective. Part optimism and all reality. Because I believe optimism is reality. And that’s MORE THAN.

I was raised right, by most standards. And I’ve lived mostly right, by my standards. But I’ve wrestled with God. I’ve tried being in charge. I’ve tested Him. And I’ve tried calling His bluff. I’ve denied Him, turned my back on Him, and more than once I’ve given up and thrown in the towel.

But every time I’ve found Him waiting there with the most beautiful words, You are MORE THAN.

In the Gospel of Luke, the prodigal son returns home to a father who is outside in the driveway with his arms open wide ready to welcome him. That’s MORE THAN. He doesn’t just wait for his son to come to the door, he’s looking for him. And when he sees him, he races toward him. That’s MORE THAN.

No, I haven’t squandered an inheritance on gluttonous and frivolous pursuits, and I haven’t dined on slop with pigs and swine. But more than once I’ve been the prodigal. And I bet you have too.

Sometimes it’s gotten pretty uncomfortable. In my own MORE THAN journey, I’ve discovered that God is pushing me to give MORE THAN—more of myself, more of my time, more of my talents and resources, and more of my heart. Even when I felt I had nothing more to give, He’s challenged me to give more. But you know what? That’s giving MORE THAN. And that’s what He’s given me.

I’ve come to understand when God gives us MORE THAN, He expects us to give MORE THAN so others can experience MORE THAN too.

Did you catch that? It’s big. Go ahead and read it again. It’s okay—I’ll wait.

Got it? Now let’s go.

1.02

Man, Am I Sorry For You!

My wife Joy and I love going to restaurants. Tony’s Pasta in Chattanooga is one of our favorites. The cute little Italian restaurant is nestled among a collection of charming art galleries and bed & breakfasts in the quaint European-flavored Bluff View Art District overlooking the Tennessee River. The unassuming setting serves a primarily local clientele, and their food is fantastic.

Rembrandt’s Coffee House, located across the driveway, is a natural post-dinner progression. Rembrandt’s serves a delightful selection of coffee, Italian sodas, sandwiches, baked goods, and chocolates. A handful of tables are available inside for guests, but most of the seating is outside in an ivy-covered courtyard patio with a fountain in the corner and wind chimes that encourage patrons to smile, make friends with strangers, and lose track of time. The atmosphere is hard to top.

One chilly winter evening, we were enjoying a nice dinner with our daughters. We had driven an hour, and it was worth every minute. The food at Tony’s is always good, and, of course, the company was even better.

Our oldest daughter, Gray, enjoys art, reading, singing, musical theater, and school. When the teachers get sick or have to miss class, Gray’s name is on the short list of potential substitute teachers to fill in and teach the class. She’s also the one they call when they need someone to organize a class party or an outing. Our middle daughter, Campbell enjoys drawing, singing, playing games, making videos, swimming, and dogs. When she grows up, she wants to be a ninja or a magician. We are reluctantly supportive of her career path, but as her parents we try to guide and advise her, and to be honest I’m unsure of which one of those professions to push for. Being a real-life ninja would be really cool, but it’s also dangerous. Being a magician would be safer, but, well, you know. Our youngest daughter, Spencer, is a combination of the older two. She enjoys playing with dolls, painting, singing, and games. Most of all she loves babysitters. She has a smile that will melt your heart, eyes that always twinkle, and dimples you could get lost in. At the time of this family date in Chattanooga, they were twelve, nine, and three years old.

We sat in the middle of the restaurant, not far from the hostess stand. Which means everyone who got seated walked past our table. I didn’t mind all the traffic because I love people-watching and it also gave me a chance to wave hello and say hi if anyone we knew walked by.

Eventually our food arrived so I shifted my focus from people-watching to the delicious dinner before me—homemade fusilli with extra mushrooms and tomato cream sauce, topped with fresh chopped basil. You know how you can be in the middle of a great dinner and even better conversation, and even though you’re sitting in a crowded restaurant, everything and everyone else around you disappear? That’s what I experienced at that moment.

While Joy and I were mid-conversation savoring our dinner, a family passed by our table. They came in clusters, and it appeared to be a husband and wife, three sons, a daughter, and two grandparents. As they passed our table, the husband slowed down, caught my attention, paused, and then deliberately looked at Joy and each one of our daughters. He raised his eyebrows, shook his head and said, Three girls, huh? Man, am I sorry for you!

He shrugged his shoulders and continued on his way, shaking his head while chuckling to himself.

I looked back at my food, not even acknowledging his comment. Yet there were plenty of people seated around us, and his voice carried enough that they heard what he said. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see people looking our way.

Meanwhile, our daughters—at least Gray and Campbell—sat there stunned. Joy muttered under her breath, Did that really just happen?

I’m not a confrontational person. I’m a peacemaker. Diplomatic. I thrive on harmony. But this was a moment of truth.

While our server was getting our check and then taking our payment, I got up and asked the hostess if she had a piece of paper I could use. All she had was an index card, but it was perfect. She handed me the card and I spent a couple minutes scribbling down my thoughts. On our way out, as my family headed toward the door, I walked across the restaurant to his table and handed him the note. Excuse me sir, I said, this is for you.

Dear Sir, I don’t know what you have against my family. Your comment about my three daughters was extremely inappropriate and in poor taste. I work every day to teach my daughters that they are significant, talented, and have the same opportunities as your sons. Your flippant comment was degrading and disrespectful, as if they are second-class citizens. I feel sorry for your daughter. I will pray for her and you. I hope she grows up to be strong and successful and never feels like her father is ‘sorry’ that he has a daughter.

Woah! It was so unlike me,