The Messenger Life: January Book Pick

The Messenger Life by Jeremiah and Teresa Yancy is my book pick for January 2025. I am excited to recommend it — FIVE STARS! — because I have a professional connection with the authors who have been my writing mentors for the past year. To tell you about the book, I first have to give you the highlights of a story that has unfolded over the past sixteen years. So, here goes:

A Date with Destiny

In 2009, I attended a conference in Lakeland, Florida. The speaker was Patricia King whose message was from her book Dream Big: How the Second Half of Life Can Be the Better Half of Life (paid link). Her topic was relevant to women over fifty which is why I was interested in attending. She encouraged us that God has big plans for us that do not end once we age. In fact, for many of us over the age of fifty, God is just getting started. How exciting, right?

I had self-published my first book earlier in 2009 after reading Dream Big, which deeply inspired me. Though my book was not very polished, I wanted to honor Patricia King by giving her a copy. I had no expectations that she would read it and wanted nothing from her except to thank her in some small way. Writing that particular book was more about priming the pump than it was about gaining any recognition. Though it was completely against protocol, she was gracious and accepted it. As I walked away, she stood up and approached me. She took my hands and began to prophesy.

Honestly, I do not remember much of the prophecy. I was so incredulous about what was happening and had so much respect for Patricia that I felt a bit star-struck. The part that I do remember is that she prophesied I would write “books, books, and more books.”  You can imagine my complete astonishment when I turned and walked away.

A Season of Incubating

Almost thirteen years passed, and I had no books to show for it. That did not mean that I did not write. In fact, I self-published a women’s web magazine and a blog and wrote stories for my amusement. However, I did not write any books. I couldn’t. I developed writer’s block regarding books. Looking back, I think it’s because the book(s) inside of me were incubating.

Fast-forward to 2020 or thereabouts. I came upon a social page for Unlocking Your Book that invited budding Christian authors to apply to a new mentorship program. Imagine my surprise to discover that Patricia King endorsed the program along with Brian Simmons, who translated The Passion Translation. I had just recently purchased his New Testament edition, and it had quickly become my favorite translation of the Bible. Additionally, the mentoring program caught my interest because of Patricia’s prophecy regarding writing books. Viewing the introductory video, I knew it was a sign from heaven. So, I applied.

Regardless of what I may have believed, my application was not accepted, and it would be another few months before any further applications would be accepted. I took the rejection as an indication that “now” was not the right time. I had intended to apply at the very next opportunity. However, I missed the submission deadline each time it rolled around.

A Matter of Timing

Three or four years passed, and I ultimately abandoned the idea. That’s when a social post from Unlocking Your Book came across my feed inviting me to participate in a week-long writing challenge. I decided to join and completed the challenge successfully. At the end of it, participants were encouraged to apply to the mentorship program.

With the submission deadline less than a week away, I scrambled to complete my application. When it came time to upload it, I whispered a prayer: “Father God, if this is a door that You want me to walk through, You are going to have to open it for me.” Then I pushed the “send” button. I knew that if my application were not accepted this time, I would likely never attempt again.

Meanwhile, I had partially lost vision in my right eye due to a retinal tear and was scheduled for eye surgery – a vitrectomy. Recuperation would take a few weeks, plus continued blurry vision for several months. I was unsure I would see well enough to type on a computer, much less participate in a mentorship program. To say that I was taking a leap of faith was an understatement.

Three days before the surgery – and only a few days after my application was submitted – I received a notification of acceptance. The added surprise was that I was not only accepted into the mentorship program, but they had agreed to publish my book based primarily on the chapter outline and summary I had submitted.

A Messenger in the Making

What was most remarkable was that I had planned to write on an altogether different topic than the one I submitted. However, when I sat with the Holy Spirit during the writing challenge and listened to God’s heart, the chapter outlines and summaries that poured out were topics I was unfamiliar with. So, I would need to depend entirely on the Holy Spirit to help me write the book because the inspiration did not come from my brain.

I must convey that the mentorship program through Unlocking Your Book (and Messenger Books) is unlike any out there. That is because the Holy Spirit is front and center, guiding each author. We students quickly realized that we were not merely there to write books. The Holy Spirit was transforming us into God’s messengers. We each carried a message that God wanted to birth through us and release into the world. Our mentors – Jeremiah and Teresa Yancy — were the midwives who supported us with prayer, encouraged us as needed, and provided us with practical tools and information.

So, as I wrote my book, the Holy Spirit partnered with me. I spent hours each day praying, reading the Bible, and listening. Over the next five months, I would sit at the computer and birth the words through my keyboard. Jeremiah and Teresa often told us we would become the message as our journeys unfolded. I have found this to be true. When I completed the chapter titles for the book – before beginning to write – I realized that I was reading what would ultimately become the Holy Spirit inspired script for the next season of my life.

The Life of a Messenger

All this is to tell you how much Jeremiah and Teresa Yancy’s book The Messenger Life means to me. They faithfully birthed the message God placed in their hearts throughout their writing process. I have witnessed how they have become the message they were given to write. They have partnered with God and devoted themselves to up-and-coming messengers to help us understand our calling, help us find our voice, and nurture us through the birthing process – and our transformation. God is using them to raise an army of His messengers and release the arrows of their messages into the earth. I know this firsthand because I’m living it as we speak.

The Messenger Life will impact many lives because it is more than just a book that guides budding authors. This book teaches us what it means to “become” all that God created us to be. It draws us into deeper intimacy with God and teaches us how to partner with the Holy Spirit in a way that transforms us. It describes the process of spiritual rebirth that all believers experience through Jesus Christ.

I highly recommend The Messenger Life to every believer and those still seeking. When it comes down to it, we are ALL commanded and created to be God’s messengers on the earth, whether we write books or not. This book will help you better understand your purpose no matter what type of messenger God has created you to be. It is more than just a good read. It is your invitation to embark on your unique journey through the leading of the Holy Spirit with the authors as your cheerleaders and tour guides.

“Lord, how wonderful you are! You have stored up so many good things for us, like a treasure chest heaped up and spilling over with blessings— all for those who honor and worship you!” (Psalm 31:19 TPT)

GET IT HERE:

The Messenger Life by Jeremiah and Teresa Yancy

PAID LINK