Grace & Mercy: A Devotional Journey

by Kathleen E. Yancosek, Chris Dillashaw

Overview

Grace & Mercy: A Devotional Journey was created from a desire for a fresh look at discipleship within the modern, busy church. The book explores the progression of the seed planted in a sermon: how truth gets watered, germinates, sprouts, grows and eventually bears fruit. Grace & Mercy demonstrates how to have a nourishing and flourishing spiritual life. A soft plot line meanders throughout and the book gently explores themes of communication, discipleship, positive expectations, and diligence. Each chapter includes devotional content for individual readers and exploratory questions for group discussion.

Readers can expect to:

• Discover the value of slowing down, paying attention, and soaking in the wisdom of biblical truth expressed each week in the Sunday sermon
• Understand how to live a more contemplative life
• Grow in their faith from week to week
• Improve awareness in the way God is moving through the people who are in their lives
• Be stirred up toward love, gentleness, and goodness toward one another

"Pictures and stories and memories are three of God's sweet gifts to help us visualize his truths and strengthen our hearts. Katie and Chris use all of these to paint little portraits that add color and depth to how I understand and experience God." --Kirk Freeman, Lead Pastor, CrossBridge Community Church, San Antonio, Texas

"My wife, Beth, is often suggesting daily devotionals for me, but I just can't get into them. She was surprised to see me devouring Grace & Mercy and asked, 'What's different about this one?' I paused a moment, looked up and said, 'I can relate to these. Let's gather some friends and dig into it.' Grace & Mercy provides an interesting and engaging tool to study the Bible." --Jim Lenaway, Pastor, B-Free Church, Bradford, Pennsylvania

"Grace & Mercy presents an honest, encouraging look at life with its disquieting issues. Katie welcomed me to sit beside her "knee to knee" with Jesus, the Wonderful Counselor, then to journey onward, with Him leading the way. --Chuck Rizer, Lieutenant Colonel, Army Chaplain (retired), author of Downwind of Thunder

"This devotional is wonderfully refreshing and special. I love the practical, chatty, relatable style that makes recognizing God's presence and love in our lives so accessible. If you want to benefit from experiencing God in your everyday life, Grace & Mercy is for you." --Rob Davis, Founding Pastor, Vineyard Church, Hopkinton Massachusetts

From Loving Healing Press www.LHPress.com

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615995608
Publisher:	Loving Healing Press
Publication date:	02/14/2021
Pages:	156
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

Kathleen ("Katie") Yancosek is originally from Kane, Pennsylvania. She lived in nine different cities before retiring from the Army in 2017 as a Lieutenant Colonel. She holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in occupational therapy and a PhD in rehabilitation science. Dr. Yancosek has co-authored 38 publications, including three book chapters. She co-authored Handwriting for Heroes, a six-week program on how to transfer hand dominance. Katie lives in San Antonio with her husband, Barry. They have two adult sons. Joshua, is serving in California with the U.S. Navy, and William is a college student at the University of Texas in Austin. Since her retirement, Katie is running a private rehabilitation practice to help people cope with neurological and behavioral health issues. In her free time she runs, reads, and writes. Grace & Mercy: A Devotional Journey was a unique partnership project between Katie and her pastor. Katie hopes this book will encourage personal growth in grace and mercy as well as bring people together around questions that matter. Katie's has two new book projects: one is a recovery workbook called Recover in Color and the other is a children's adventure book called A Tale of Two Squirrels. Chris Dillashaw is the Student and Family Pastor at CrossBridge Community Church. Chris is a graduate of Baylor University with a degree in Religion. He has over twenty years in ministry and has been preaching since he was fifteen years old. He has a desire to see people connect to God's Word in real and practical ways. This creative partnership with Katie confirmed for Pastor Chris that preaching with stories doesn't just get a laugh, but actually helps people to connect with God through His Word. This book was an opportunity to witness the impact of sermon messages landing on the hearts of the listeners. Chris hopes that Grace & Mercy  A Devotional Journey will bless pastors and inspirational speakers. Chris is excited about the book's real-life application, and hopes that readers will develop a deeper love for God and the mystery of His revelatory Word. Chris has a heart for the nations and has evangelized in more than 25 countries. Chris is a native Texan and grew up in San Antonio. He and his wife, Ann Marie, have two daughters. What's next for this pastor? Chris will be loving and serving Jesus with his whole heart and preaching every Wednesday night to his Ablaze Ministry students and to the entire CrossBridge congregation on selected Sundays. He will preach to anyone who will listen and

Table of Contents

A Note from Katie 1

A Note from Pastor Chris 2

A User's Guide to this Book 3

A Book Club Guide 4

Prayer 6

Chapter 1 - Cold Front 7

Chapter 2 - Walfgreens 13

Chapter 3 - Seashells 16

Chapter 4 - Sweet Candy 21

Chapter 5 - Food for Thought 29

Chapter 6 - Clean Up on Aisle Two 33

Chapter 7 - The Congo 39

Chapter 8 - Number Our Days 44

Chapter 9 - Sloppy Can of Worms 51

Chapter 10 - It's Just Pickles 57

Chapter 11 - Calipari 63

Chapter 12 - I Need a Bag 69

Chapter 13 - What's Got Your Goat? 75

Chapter 14 - Quotable Quotes 81

Chapter 15 - Dead Chickens Can't Fly 89

Chapter 16 - Grief 95

Chapter 17 - Zion 101

Chapter 18 - Do I have Your Attention? 109

Chapter 19 - Tabernacles and Tears 117

Chapter 20 - That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles 123

Chapter 21 - Little Flock 131

Interview with Pastor Chris 139

Grace and Mercy: A Devotional Journey Playlist 143

About the Authors 145

Editorial Reviews

"Pastors, Grace & Mercy is a must read. Every pastor, minister, and Christian speaker would be affirmed, encouraged, and educated if they could be exposed to honest thoughts about their messages, from someone willing to listen well and write down what they have learned. Everybody in a church congregation should read this book - not only to be personally inspired, but to be encouraged to write down the gleanings from your own pastors' sermons. What a wonderful way to bless the one who breaks bread with you! Anyone discouraged about Christianity, or disappointed because of a church experience, should read this book. It will renew your faith and hope in what God is doing elsewhere. Perhaps it could stir up a new work in you. Small groups should read this book as a study, since the content and study guide questions are so helpful, practical, and on target. Last of all, if you just want a fun story and be inspired by the journey of one woman's experience as a mom, wife, doctor and lover of God, this book is for you. Katie Yancosek has crammed more than three lifetimes worth of experiences into one and writes about them in a fun, refreshing, and compelling way." -Joe Castillo, Artist, Pastor, Speaker, and author of Sandstory and The Face of Christ

"Grace & Mercy makes faith come alive. A perfect book for a book club! The writing is fresh, candid, and detailed. The stories bring the ins and outs of an ordinary life to the surface. The tensions of walking in faith by the Spirit of God are expressed with such honesty. The conversation starters for each chapter are sure to lead to meaningful discussions in any group setting." -Milagros Moore, Evangelist, CREDO Minister, Hagerstown, Maryland

"When I read selections from Grace & Mercy, I remembered Pastor Chris's sermons and was excited to hear how they affected Ms. Katie. This book shows how the pastor's message from a Sunday or Wednesday can change our hearts and minds. It reminds me to take sermon notes and think about what message is preached each week. Teenagers will enjoy this book!" -Harrison Doyle, high school student, Ablaze: Student Staff, San Antonio, Texas

From the Publisher