My Life Changed When I Found Out that God Used this Four-Letter Word! – AND Exclusive Sneak Peek

Posted April 20, 2025 | xochitldixon

I didn’t grow up in a church. I never heard people talking about Jesus. I’d never heard the gospel preached. No one invited me to Vacation Bible School, church camps, youth retreats. I never even heard about Easter egg hunts hosted by a church until I was already going to church.

Instead, I heard plenty of threats about a punishing God who shamed me for every bad thing I did and blamed me for bad things that others did to me.

I prayed, asking God to forgive me repeatedly. Even as an adult, when life’s heartaches overwhelmed me, I pleaded with God, tried bargaining with God, made promises to God, and begged Him to tell me what I did wrong so I could fix it in hopes that He’d stop punishing me and make the pain go away.

I had no trouble seeing myself as a sinner, but had no idea how to stop sinning so God could take the target off my back.

After I stole my first Bible, at the age of thirty, I found out that God used the four-letter word!

Knowing changed my life!

I wasn’t prepared to read about God acting out the four-letter word. But when I started studying Scripture, I couldn’t unsee the word even when it wasn’t written.

LOVE.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17, NLT)

God “so loved the world,” including those who rejected Him, mocked Him, and nailed Him to the Cross on Calvary.

God so loves the world, even those who can’t seem to get everything right . . . like me.

God the Father sent God the Son so that everyone would have a chance to believe in Him, to be loved by Him and to be transformed by the four-letter-word that changes everything.

LOVE!

Jesus doesn’t wait for us to clean up our act before He offers His unconditional love to us.

Jesus came to redeem us before we repented. He gave His life for us before we asked for forgiveness.

He knew we could never be good enough or do enough good things to earn His love, to be worthy of His gifts of forgiveness and grace, or to be perfect enough to look saved and live out a new life in Him without Him doing something first.

So, He loved completely before we knew we needed His saving grace.

John 3:16 is proof that He doesn’t even demand that we love Him first.

The Creator and Sustainer of all things in heaven and earth chose to be the initiator, to pursue us, to wait for us even though He has the power to force us to love Him and be obedient to Him.

God chooses to wait with loving patience for us to realize how desperately we need Him, turn to Him, and simply receive all He is offering us.

We don’t even come to Him on our own either.

Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:44, NIV).

He also said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32, NIV, emphasis added).

Jesus doesn’t say He will draw to Himself a select few who have deemed themselves worthy of His love. No, Jesus said that He will “draw all people” to Himself after His resurrection.

He gives us a choice to accept His love, love Him back, and receive Him as our Savior and Lord. But Jesus never asks for our permission to love us or waits for us to believe before He loves us.

But, when we choose to believe Him, God helps us keep believing and loving Him and others.

Once we’ve received God the Son, all we have to do is surrender to God the Spirit.

Living in a fallen world often leads to the temptation of thinking God loves us because we try to be good, because we’re better than we were yesterday, or because we’re not as bad as someone else.

We are tempted to fear or reject those who don’t yet know Jesus or who live like they don’t believe in Him, even though Jesus loves those who don’t yet know Him and pursues those who live like they don’t believe Him so they can experience His unconditional love.

We were once lost, too.

Yet, we act as if obedience to His Word is something we can force on people who don’t believe, when those of us who do believe and love Jesus can’t even obey Him perfectly in our own strength . . . even though we have unlimited access to Him and the unwavering assurance of His presence and power.

“Jesus was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” (Romans 4:25-5:1-2)

God’s love is unconditional and dependent on Him not us. Period.

He never tells us to change anyone or force anyone to believe. He knows no one has a chance without Him, so He tells us to love people because He first loved us.

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.

Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.” (vv. 5-10)

Though we are still utterly helpless without Him, we can believe that Christ’s redeeming work is finished.

Jesus is our Risen King, who reigned before the creation of the world, who reigns now as He sits at the right hand of the Father, and who will come again in all glory and still reign.

Hallelujah!

Until then, the Spirit of God enables us to be citizens of heaven with Christlike character cultivated by the Spirit who enables us to walk by faith, live by faith, and love by faith.

“If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ’s love controls us.

Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.

He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.” (2 Corinthians 5:13-15, NLT)

Love fills our new life with purpose and gives us power to serve as sojourners on a mission to share the gospel wherever He has placed us, wherever He leads us, and with whomever He entrusts us to love on His behalf.

“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.” (vv. 18-19)

The world will try to deceive us with images of love that can’t last, expectations that make us feel unloved and even unlovable, false beliefs that make us struggle to show love and make it easier to refuse love.

But our heavenly Father sealed His promise with a kiss of abounding grace, securing us in His Son as we walk in step with His Spirit one sacred stride at a time . . . simply because He loves us.

Knowing God says this four-letter word and means what He says changes everything . . . including us.

As God lavishes us with His unconditional and unrelenting life-transforming LOVE, He empowers us to love Him and others. The question isn’t if we believe this is true, the question is what will we do.

Today, in the power of the Holy Spirit, will you join me in celebrating the Resurrection of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, rejoicing over the lovingkindness of our Father, and loving the One True God by loving the beautifully diverse people He designed and determined for us to love?

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Exclusive Sneak Peek for Members of My Blog Family

I thank God for creating you and leading you to become a member of my blog family. I appreciate your prayers as you help me spread God’s truth and love to the ends of the earth. I can do nothing without God or your partnership in ministry!

So, I want to thank you and include you in a special celebration as we praise God together.

Here is an exclusive sneak peek at the cover of my second devotional published by Our Daily Bread, a book I started praying over in 2017, researching in 2019, and writing in 2022.

Sacred Strides: Walking in the Power and Presence of the Holy Spirit is available for pre-order TODAY on Amazon and wherever books are sold!

The official release date is scheduled for July 1, 2025.

To God be the glory, the honor, and the praise!

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Bulk Order Discounts from Our Daily Bread Publishing 

Eligible Ministries/Churches/Nonprofits or Church-sponsored Book Clubs, Bible Study Groups, and Ministries can receive special discounted prices for bulk orders of Sacred Strides: Walking in the Power and Presence of the Holy Spirit.

To find out if you are eligible, please contact Our Daily Bread Ministries at:

Our Daily Bread Publishing

Ministry Sales / Tax Exemption

1-800-653-8333

[email protected]

To order the Our Daily Bread quarterly devotionals, please:

* Visit www.odbm.org

* Email [email protected]

* Call 1-800-653-8333

You can also send a written request to:

Our Daily Bread Publishing

ODB Quarterly Devotional Request

P.O. Box 3566

Grand Rapids, MI 49512

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Here are four easy ways you can continue partnering with me in ministry:

  1. Pray for me.
  2. Pre-order and order my books.
  3. Love your neighbors by pre-ordering and ordering extra copies of my books as gifts.
  4. Write a review on Amazon and any other review platforms you enjoy.
  5. Share my books on social media. Please tag me when you post photos or my book covers.
  6. Encourage your church/ministry/nonprofit/church-sponsored group to order bulk copies.
  7. Invite me to serve as a speaker at your next retreat, book club, one-day or multiple-day event.

I can do nothing without God or your ongoing prayers and support!

To God be the glory, the honor, and the praise!

 

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The Life-Changing Power of Childlike Faith and an Invitation to Read through the Bible in 2025

Posted December 31, 2024 | xochitldixon

Suggested Reading: Psalm 116 and Matthew 18:1-10

Whenever I invite people to read through the Bible in a year, I’m prepared for mixed responses. Some have no interest. Some are intimidated by the commitment of a year. Some have tried and didn’t finish, so they’re hesitant to try again.

I pray for all three groups and continue loving them, because I trust God’s plan and pace are perfect. I plan to keep inviting the first group. I encourage the second group to consider how small a commitment of 15-30 minutes a day is, especially when considering how much time we spend doing other things that don’t have the power to change our lives for the better. And I remind the third group that not finishing still means they started and read more of God’s whole story than the year before.

This year, however, as God has me prayerfully seeking to grow in my childlike faith, I would like to share a story about a child who has studied Scripture and read through the Bible multiple times in his life.

In 2002, my six-year-old son Xavier started studying the Bible with me. He was a pro at memorizing Scripture. When my words, actions, or attitude were not in alignment with God’s Word, he would quote a Bible verse and say, “In your face, Mom!”

I couldn’t get mad because he learned that tactic from me.

When we had a decision to make, a conflict to resolve, or a behavior to adjust, I would quote the God-breathed words of Scripture. More importantly, I equipped my son to prayerfully search for answers in the Scriptures.

He first read through the Bible in a year with us at the age of ten.

Praying before and while reading Scripture for deeper study and for familiarity opens our line of communication with God.

As we grow in the knowledge of God, we grow closer to Him and each other. Deepening intimacy makes it possible for us to respond to God with questions, tears, praises, prayers, and sometimes with a chuckle when the Holy Spirit lovingly uses Bible verses to create those “In-Your-Face!” moments.

This year, using Tyndale’s NLT Go Bible for Kids with the Our Daily Bread daily devotions and Bible in a Year reading plan, I’m asking God to help me live with childlike faith.

Childlike faith is not based on living from a place of naivety. Rather, having childlike faith means to engage with God through prayerful exploration of the Scriptures with wonder and curiosity.

As we grow in childlike faith, God increases our willingness to submit to His authority in every aspect of life with repentance as we turn from our sins and reverence that leads to trusting His unchanging character as revealed through the unerring words of Scripture.

The writer of Psalm 116 reflected this depth of intimacy in a beautiful song of thanksgiving.

Beginning with a declaration of his intimate communion with God, he wrote: “I love the LORD because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath” (vv. 1-2).

We cannot gain this level of intimacy with God by simply obtaining knowledge of God. Rather, as we experience God at work through the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in all believers, we participate in an ongoing and growing relationship with Him and His people.

God draws us nearer to Him and reveals Himself to us personally, leading to our salvation and the lifelong process of sanctification, which are foundational to living with childlike faith.

The psalmist wrote of God’s salvation and ever-present love working in and through the lives of His people.

He wrote: “The LORD protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and he saved me. Let my soul be at rest again, for the LORD has been good to me. He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. And so I walk in the LORD’s presence as I live here on earth” (Psalm 116:6-9, NLT).

The psalmist also declared his willingness to live for God in verse 14: “I will keep my promises to the LORD in the presence of all his people.”

These are relational statements that demonstrate an ongoing walk with God as an individual and within a community.

Hundreds of years later, as Jesus prepared to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament, His disciples asked who was the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Instead of giving them a recipe for greatness according to worldly standards, Jesus pointed to an intimate relationship with Himself that required them to have childlike faith.

“Jesus called a little child over and said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:1-4).

Childlike faith embraces the need to repent of our sins and show reverence to our ever-present God through our moment-by-moment Spirit-empowered surrender.

As we enter 2025 and until Jesus calls us home or comes again, I pray we will join the psalmist in singing with grateful praises:

“O LORD, I am your servant, born into your household; you have freed me from my chains. I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of his people ̶ in the house of the LORD in the heart of Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!” (vv. 16-19).

Whether we’re reading the Old Testament or the New Testament, everything points to Jesus. He is the life-changing power who enables us to live with childlike faith!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” (Hebrews 12:1-2, NLT)

I look forward to growing with you!

Will you read the Bible in a Year with me in 2025?

On January 21, 2025, people across the nation will be celebrating the National Day of Racial Healing. I want to participate by empowering every boy and girl that God made in His image with biblical truth.

When you pray with me and give copies of my picture books to the children God has entrusted you to love, you can encourage them to celebrate multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-generational communities that include people with and without disabilities. The main character in all my books is a child with a service dog, inspired by my service dog Callie.

You can use my books to teach that race is a social construct designed to divide and oppress God’s image-bearers. In the Bible, God acknowledges differences in ethnicities but never shows favoritism by the color of one’s skin like the world insists on doing.

My multi-ethnic and multi-cultural family reflects the beauty of belonging and has inspired my writing.

In 2001, after an older student called my son a racial slur in kindergarten, I wrote Different Like Me to help me process the incident as a new believer in Jesus. As I prayed, God blessed me with the words to celebrate our differences and sameness as God’s beautifully diverse image-bearers. Almost fifteen years later, God led me to share the manuscript with my agent. Three years later, the gifted artist, Bonnie Lui, said my words guided her to create the joyful illustrations that started my adventure into the world of picture books. In 2020, Our Daily Bread published Different Like Me, which was a 2021 ECPA Christian Book Award Finalist. God blessed me with the Spanish translation, Diferente como yo, in 2022.

In 2018, I wrote What Color is God’s Love? with the intention of revealing God’s unchanging character through His colorful creations, including His image-bearers. I worked closely with my talented illustrator, Darshika Varma, whose vibrant illustrations present a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-generational community of people with and without disabilities working, playing, and serving God together. What Color is God’s Love? was released by WaterBrook Kids in March 2024.

Publishers Weekly said the book reveals “the full spectrum of God’s character” through the colors He designed! Even colors that are often neglected or seen as dull or negative, like black, gray, and brown, are celebrated, shown in a positive light, and used to share biblical truth. Please download the FREE What Color is God’s Love? Breath Prayer Cards, which include the Bible verse and a short prayer God used to help me build the truth statements I shared on each color spread.

I wrote Wonderfully, Marvelously Brown in 2019 to affirm one of my granddaughters after a classmate said she couldn’t belong to our family because she had a darker complexion than her siblings. In October 2024, WaterBrook Kids released Wonderfully, Marvelously Brown. The rich illustrations by award-winning illustrator Sara Palacios on each page combat the lies that feed colorism, racism, and the tendency to pretend we are colorblind. Based on the fact that God created melanin, which is brown, to design the perfect skin tone for every single one of His image-bearers. From the darkest ebony to the lightest ivory, we are all wonderfully, marvelously brown!

My picture books include Bookend Bible verses and are built on the unshakeable foundation of God’s unerring and unchanging truth. Each one creatively acknowledges that God shows no favoritism or prejudice as He loves every image-bearer He created in love and empowers us to love one another. To God be the glory, the honor, and the praise!

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FREE Praying Christian Women’s Online Conference AND Zoom Link for TODAY’S Live Zoom Book Launch Party

Posted January 21, 2023 | xochitldixon

 

The enemy tried desperately to distract, discourage, and defeat me as I prepared my message for The Praying Christian Women’s Online Conference.
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I can hardly wait to share the empowering truths God began revealing as I cried out to Him when I couldn’t take one more step, after I realized I couldn’t WALK or STAND on my own in January 2022.
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Please join me for this sweet time of prayer, learning, and fellowship during The Praying Christian Writer’s Conference.

On DAY 2 of the conference, I’ll be sharing Fireproof Faith: Praying and Living in the Power of the Holy Spirit.

REGISTER TODAY with an easy 4-Step Registration Process!

You can enjoy the conference for FREE (see details about free access in the “4-Step Registration Process” below) OR you can order an ALL ACCESS PASS that gives you UNLIMITED ACCESS, so you can watch the messages at your own pace and multiple times. With the ALL ACCESS PASS, you can watch any or all of the messages whenever you need encouragement.

The Praying Christian Women’s Leadership Team is offering SPECIAL PRICING during the conference, January 23-25, 2023 (see details in the “4-Step Registration Process” below).

Please USE THE LINK that goes directly to MY REGISTRATION PAGE by using the QR CODE in the graphic I shared with this post OR by CLICKING HERE.

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4-Step Registration Process:

Step 1: Everyone must register for the FREE conference. Please use the QR Code I provided in the graphic with this post, which leads to MY REGISTRATION PAGE, or visit MY REGISTRATION PAGE by CLICKING HERE. You will have an opportunity to upgrade to the All Access Pass when you register.

Step 2: Check your inbox. The Praying Christian Women Leaders will confirm your registration, but you may need to check your junk or SPAM folder if you don’t see it right away. The Praying Christian Women Leaders will then e-mail you each morning of the conference (January 23rd, 24th and 25th) with the links to that day’s sessions, and again that evening with a recap. If you choose the All Access Pass, a link will be sent to you when the conference is over for lifetime access to all sessions.

Step 3: Enjoy the conference! Watch as many sessions as you’d like, all completely free within 24 hours of going live.

Step 4: Consider the All Access Pass if you don’t think you’ll have time to watch all of the sessions you want, or if you’d like to enjoy the conference all at once when you have a bigger chunk of time. With more than twenty speakers lined up, it might be hard to take it all in! The All Access Pass will be $49 for the duration of the conference, but after it’s over the price jumps to $79 so grab it sooner than later if you think you’ll want it!

SPECIAL THANKS: Thank you for using the QR Code I provided in the graphic with this post, which leads to MY REGISTRATION PAGE, or visiting MY REGISTRATION PAGE by CLICKING HERE when you register for this FREE Online Christian Women’s Prayer Conference. I hope you will enjoy the FREE conference. But I encourage you to join me in ordering the All Access Pass, so you can enjoy the conference at your own pace and refer back to any or all of the messages with the special UNLIMITED ALL ACCESS PASS.

If you have any technical difficulties or questions, now or after the conference, please contact The Praying Christian Women Leaders any time by emailing them at:  [email protected]

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I’m praying for you and PRAISING GOD as we step into 2023 with Spirit-empowered courage and confidence!
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To God be the glory, the honor, and the praise, praise, praise!

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I am so excited to invite you to a virtual book launch to celebrate the release of You Come from Greatness by Sara Chinakwe (chin-ah-kway).

Click here to join us LIVE TODAY Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 11 am Pacific Time.

“You Come from Greatness is a celebration of Black history, an anthem for future generations, and a reminder for young readers to embrace their God-given worth. You will follow in the footsteps of greatness, kings and queens, doctors and dancers, poets and inventors ̶ like them, you were born to shine.”

When I first read You Come from Greatness, I was in tears. This book is everything I was looking for when my sons were growing up! This is the endorsement and review I wrote after reading Sara’s book:

In You Come from Greatness, Sara Chinakwe’s poetic prose and Ken Daley’s vibrant illustrations celebrate some of the great Black men and women who made a difference in Black History . . . American History . . . or more accurately, World History. Though written first as an affirming love letter to empower Black readers, young and older, You Come from Greatness can encourage all readers to honor past and current Black leaders, while embracing their own power and purpose as God’s intentionally designed and diverse image-bearers. You Come from Greatness is a much-needed resource that can embolden world-changers, with their identity secured in Christ, for generations to come.

– Xochitl Dixon, Our Daily Bread writer and the author of the 2021 ECPA Christian Book Award Finalist, Different Like Me and Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace.

Please love your neighbors by ordering your copy of You Come from Greatness and extra copies to share as gifts and to donate to local libraries, schools, and churches TODAY, and please take a few moments to write a short review on Amazon. (CLICK HERE to order your copies of You Come from Greatness: A Celebration of Black History by Sara Chinakwe TODAY!)

The more reviews Sara has, the more Amazon will help her reach more readers with this beautiful message of hope that points to God and empowers readers to DREAM BIG and be all God created them to be.

You’re invited to join us for a LIVE Zoom Book Launch Party TODAY!

I’ll be serving as the moderator. We’ll have book giveaways, an exclusive Q&A with the author, and more.

Click HERE or see the Zoom Link information below this post to join us LIVE TODAY Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 11 am Pacific Time.

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Xochitl Dixon is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: You Come from Greatness – LIVE Zoom Launch Party with Sara Chinakwe
Time: Jan 21, 2023 11 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89172341937?pwd=QjVMOGhURXgvS0VJRitNdmlyZHdRdz09
Meeting ID: 891 7234 1937
Passcode: 265089
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Radical Forgiveness Begins with a Prayer AND a LIVE Zoom Book Launch Party Invitation

Posted January 17, 2023 | xochitldixon

(Suggested Reading: Matthew 5:43-48, The Message)

My husband and I enjoyed a community event to honor the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday. I’m smiling and praising God as I remember the beautifully diverse people surrounding us, standing-room-only.

As I reflected on the messages shared by the speakers, God brought to mind a woman who had sent me a private message chastising me over a year ago. She scolded me for using my writing platform to speak against systemic, institutional, and generational racism. I had responded with an invitation to pray and discuss these issues so we could better understand each other.

She then replied with a long email with a sharp and condescending tone, informing me of “all” my “wrong thinking.” She “didn’t mind me talking about celebrating diversity,” though she claimed “God doesn’t see color.” She said I needed to stop saying that the church should speak against systemic racism because “systemic racism isn’t a real thing.”

After all, she insisted, “racism ended with the Civil Rights Movement and everyone is treated the same and has equal opportunities in life now.” She ended her lesson with a list of a few famous African Americans who were “successful because they worked hard and had the same opportunities as everyone else,” which was her way of providing “proof that racism isn’t a problem now.”

When I first read her message, I got angry. My first impulse was to blast her in an email response and tell her how wrong she was about the things she claimed. I wanted to give her a point-by-point argument to prove she was wrong and I was right.

But the Holy Spirit stopped me in my tracks.

Instead, I called a friend who I knew would pray with me and offer wise counsel on how to deal with the situation.

After I read her the email, with tears flowing and my anger seething, I listened as she spoke wise words and sighed with relief as we prayed together. She recommended I ignore the email and pray for the woman but told me it was my decision to make as I prayed over the situation on my own.

After praying for days, I decided not to respond.

My words wouldn’t change the woman’s mind. She was convinced she was right, even though she was not a woman of color and could not possibly understand what she didn’t know or hadn’t experienced.

Maybe one day she would be open for a conversation, but my friend and I agreed that the woman’s tone and choice of words proved she was closed for discussions or learning opportunities at that time.

Besides, an email would not have been the best choice to communicate with her.

I thought my decision to pray for her and ignore her was wise, until I forgot to pray for her. Then, over a year later, I had to be in the same room with that woman during an event. As soon as I found out she would be attending the event, I started realizing that I had not completely forgiven the woman.

I asked God to forgive me and to help me forgive.

Then, I prayed He would bless that woman. Still, I didn’t really know if I’d really forgiven her as Christ had forgiven me . . . completely, unconditionally, and lovingly.

So, I kept on praying over the months I prepared for the trip, as I packed for the trip, as I traveled, as I got dressed for the first day of the event, as I entered the room, and as I walked up to her and said hello.

To my surprise, I felt relief, the peace of God, and an overwhelming sense of compassion toward the woman.

I continued praying this short blessing over her whenever I saw her: Lord, show her the limitless depth of Your love for her and help her love others as You love her.

I praised God when several of the speakers during our meeting spoke about the same things she had chastised me for sharing on my platform. I had no idea these topics would be on the agenda, but God did.

I prayed for her heart to be softened to the biblical truths being shared by others.

I also prayed God would soften my heart toward her and others who didn’t agree with me about these issues and any other beliefs or opinions I held, regardless of how right or biblical those beliefs and opinions.

As I prayed, the Holy Spirit led me to Jesus’ words:

“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.

When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves.

This is what God does. He gives His best ̶ the sun to warm and the rain to nourish ̶ to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty.

If all you do is love the loveable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that.

If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity.

Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” (Matthew 5:43-48, The Message).

God is still working on me, even as I type these words.

But as I practice surrendering to the Holy Spirit’s transforming love, I refuse to allow the enemy to distract me from fulfilling the Great Commission (sharing God’s truth and love to the ends of the earth) and the Greatest Commandment (loving God and others, loving my neighbors as I love myself).

As I pray for our world and for me to follow the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s example of loving like Jesus, I have committed to loving God and others as I share His truth and love wherever He leads me.

To love like Jesus begins with a prayer of surrender, the resolve to forgive as He has forgiven me, and a desire to stand firm on the God-breathed words of Scripture while being faithfully obedient to His Word, which is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit.

So, as I pray for others, as I pray God will continue transforming my heart and mind, I’m trying to follow God’s leading and make the world around me a little better.

How?

I’m speaking against injustice and doing my part to reveal that, according to the Bible, systemic, institutional, and generational racism are sins that the enemy wants to use to divide and defeat us.

I’m sharing my devotional, Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace, with those who are weary as they trust God to work in and through their lives each day.

I’m sharing my children’s picture book, Different Like Me, now available in Spanish Diferente como yo, to help children (and some adults) celebrate our differences and our sameness as God’s beautifully and intentionally diverse and purposefully connected people.

I’ve completed two more picture books, scheduled to release in 2024, that equip and encourage readers to nurture deeper relationships with God and others while celebrating, embracing, and advocating for diversity and inclusion. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! I can hardly wait to share more about these books! To God be the glory!

I’m using my platform as an author and speaker to promote peace and love while working toward creating safe spaces to experience a taste of the world the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of in his speeches, specifically “I Have a Dream.”

I’m being intentional about lifting other “Kingdom Subjects” up in Christ’s love, supporting them as God uses them for His glory.

And I am praying for you, our world, and for my heart so we can be rooted in God’s Word while growing in love with God’s beautifully diverse and purposefully connected people!

As Alan and I settle into our new community, we’re excited to see what God has in store for us.

He was recently asked to join the Solano County Black Chamber of Commerce. We’re praying he can use his God-given gifts to promote God-honoring changes in our community. Thank You, Lord!

Because we live in a world that hates God, more wounds will be inflicted, more conversations will be uncomfortable, and those lines of division will be drawn in hardened concrete instead of sand.

But, as always, love will prevail!

When I thought about that woman today after the event that honored Dr. King’s life, I thought about Dr. King’s sacrifices and his love for all people, including those who hated him. I also thought about Jesus’ sacrifices and His love for all people, including those who hated Him.

As I type these words, I am praying for the woman in the story above, any other person who has offended and hurt me in the past, and anyone who is going to offend and hurt me in the future. I am asking the Lord to help me release my offenders into His loving and merciful hands. I’m asking Him to help me to live with a heart committed to radical forgiveness, so I can forgive others as Jesus has radically forgiven me.

Radical forgiveness starts with a prayer, just like the prayer Jesus said while on the cross at Calvary.

As we pray over our current relationships and dig deeper into Scripture, we can ask the Holy Spirit to help us submit to His loving and wise counsel and empower us to rely on His life-transforming love and limitless wisdom and power.

I look forward to hearing your stories of how God is blessing you with freedom and peace, as we commit to loving like Jesus by forgiving as He forgave us!

Holy Spirit, thanks for opening our eyes to see when we’re blinded by unforgiveness. Please forgive us for not trusting You to be judge according to Your perfect will and to extend mercy whenever You want to extend mercy. Give us hearts that overflow with Your love, the love that the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. exemplified through his life, and the love his family continues to exemplify, as we work together to bring about the changes necessary for Dr. King’s dream to become a reality.

Please remind us that You were intentional when You created Your image-bearers to be diverse and to live and love within diverse communities. Please eradicate racism from this world and from our hearts, Lord. Help us to be willing to listen to one another so we can learn from one another so we can love one another the way You love us . . . selflessly, unconditionally, and intentionally.

Please wrap us in Your supernatural peace as we walk in the freedom and joy of love, which defeats the lover of hate and dissension, the devil, and begins with our commitment to forgive as we’ve been forgiven. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

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I am so excited to invite you to a virtual book launch to celebrate the release of You Come from Greatness by Sara Chinakwe (chin-ah-kway).

“You Come from Greatness is a celebration of Black history, an anthem for future generations, and a reminder for young readers to embrace their God-given worth. You will follow in the footsteps of greatness, kings and queens, doctors and dancers, poets and inventors ̶ like them, you were born to shine.”

When I first read You Come from Greatness, I was in tears. This book is everything I was looking for when my sons were growing up! This is the endorsement and review I wrote after reading Sara’s book:

In You Come from Greatness, Sara Chinakwe’s poetic prose and Ken Daley’s vibrant illustrations celebrate some of the great Black men and women who made a difference in Black History . . . American History . . . or more accurately, World History. Though written first as an affirming love letter to empower Black readers, young and older, You Come from Greatness can encourage all readers to honor past and current Black leaders, while embracing their own power and purpose as God’s intentionally designed and diverse image-bearers. You Come from Greatness is a much-needed resource that can embolden world-changers, with their identity secured in Christ, for generations to come.

– Xochitl Dixon, Our Daily Bread writer and the author of the 2021 ECPA Christian Book Award Finalist, Different Like Me and Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace.

Please love your neighbors by ordering your copy of You Come from Greatness and extra copies to share as gifts and to donate to local libraries, schools, and churches TODAY, and please take a few moments to write a short review on Amazon.

The more reviews Sara has, the more Amazon will help her reach more readers with this beautiful message of hope that points to God and empowers readers to DREAM BIG and be all God created them to be.

You’re invited to join us for a LIVE Zoom Book Launch Party. I’ll be serving as the moderator. We’ll have book giveaways, an exclusive Q&A with the author, and more!

Click here to join us on Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 11 am Pacific Time. 

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You can learn more about Sara and connect with her on her website at www.sarachinakwe.com today.

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To order your copies of You Come from Greatness by Sara Chinakwe, please click here!

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Xochitl Dixon is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: You Come from Greatness – LIVE Zoom Launch Party with Sara Chinakwe
Time: Jan 21, 2023 10:45 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 891 7234 1937
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Give the Gift of Radical Forgiveness for Christmas and a Mega-Bundle Book Giveaway!

Posted December 17, 2022 | xochitldixon

(Suggested Reading: Luke 23:32-43)

As Christmas approaches, some of us are looking forward to holiday gatherings and some of us wish we could avoid folks in our inner circle.

Even as lights twinkle and carolers sing, some people are wrestling with unresolved conflicts. Some have given up on relationships, licking old wounds and straining their backs to adjust their grudge-sacks.

The enemy doesn’t have to work hard to divide God’s people when we do most of the legwork for him.

It is healthy to create boundaries. It’s important to accept that some relationships are not going to be . . . or should not be . . . restored. But unforgiveness disrupts peace, diminishes joy, and places us in disobedience to God.

So, how are we supposed to get right with God and celebrate Christmas if we’re struggling with unforgiveness?

I had to learn the hard way.

A few years ago, at different times in the same year, two women ended their friendship with me without giving me reasons. Though I asked them several times to tell me what I’d done to make them angry enough to end our friendship, I still have no clue.

As I grieved both friendships, I asked God to reveal what I’d done.

Through mutual friends, I found out both women had gossiped about me. I didn’t know what they said, but it didn’t matter. In that moment, I knew they weren’t really my friends.

I decided to pray for them and give them space since we didn’t have to run in the same circles very often.

But when I saw both of them at an event, I started getting mad again. That’s when God reminded me that my unforgiveness impacted my relationship with Him more than anyone else.

I found a quiet place on campus to pray for them and release them into God’s hands. I kept on praying blessings over them, every time I saw them.

Eventually, the Holy Spirit freed me from the bondage of my unforgiveness.

How did I know I was freed?

Whenever I saw those women, I felt peace and was able to be kind . . . even when they weren’t kind in return.

That freedom and peace allowed me to be ready when God blessed me with some unexpected ministry opportunities.

Though losing those friends hurt my heart, forgiving them allowed me to move forward and meet other friends as I stepped into those new ministry opportunities God provided. He’s still bringing new people into my life and blessing me with more ministry opportunities. He’s also helping me appreciate and nurture healthier relationships with old and new friends who want to be in my life.

BUT extending forgiveness, especially when the offender is not repentant, is hard . . . really hard!

It’s easy to love kind neighbors, the neighbors who agree with us, encourage us, and understand us. Who wouldn’t love neighbors who ask for forgiveness when they’re wrong and who are honest about their feelings so we can seek forgiveness when we’ve offended them?

But Jesus calls us to love all of our neighbors, including the ones who need the most grace, the ones who are as depraved and dependent on God’s mercy as we are.

No matter how many times we cry out to God, trying to justify the list of people we’ve tucked in the dark corners of our unforgiving hearts, the words He gave us in Scripture don’t change.

“What do You want me to do, Lord?”

Forgive.

But I’m angry.

Forgive.

But I’m tired of forgiving when there seems to be no remorse.

Forgive.

But I’m still hurt.

Forgive.

But I’m afraid to get hurt again.

Forgive.

In Ephesians 4, God commands us to forgive as we’ve been forgiven (v. 32).

While Jesus hung on the cross, He willingly submitted to the nails that pierced His hands and feet. He paid the insurmountable debt our wickedness earned.

During Christ’s earthly ministry, He had countless reasons to hold grudges, to become bitter, to seek revenge, to refuse to forgive . . . especially when He chose to endure the suffering on the cross.

But as He looked at the people who cheered for His execution‒those who mocked Him without remorse or repentance‒Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34, NIV).

The people Jesus asked the Father to forgive didn’t admit their wrongs or apologize.

Still, Jesus forgave.

In Total Forgiveness, R.T. Kendall states that “[asking] the Father to forgive them showed that not only had [Jesus] forgiven them and released them from their guilt, but also that He asked His Father not to punish them or take revenge on them . . .” (p. 3).

Our loving Savior intended on offering us radical forgiveness before He left His heavenly throne, put on flesh, and allowed Himself to be wrapped in swaddling cloth and placed in a manger.

When Jesus hung on the cross, bruised and bloody, He willingly paid the price for my sins . . . for your sins . . . before we could even think of repenting . . . before we even realized our need for repentance.

When we think of Jesus in the manger, we cannot forget the cost of the cross.

Jesus demonstrated selfless love and forgiveness on that cross and asks us to do the same when we’re struggling to forgive others.

So this year, would you join me in asking God to help us give the gift of radical forgiveness for Christmas?

By offering radical forgiveness, we’re not condoning, minimizing, or even forgetting an offense. God is righteous and just. He can be trusted to handle every situation.

In Scripture, He promises that we will all be held accountable for our actions, our words, and our attitudes. But He is also He full of compassion.

God understands our need to process and heal, but He still asks us to forgive so we can be in right relationship with Him.

He knows when it’s time to take someone out of our lives, most of the time for reasons we may not know or understand on this side of eternity.

He also knows what it will take to build a better relationship after we face the conflict and trust Him to heal the rifts, beginning with our willingness to obey His command to forgive as He has forgiven us.

Forgiveness–placing the offense and the offender into God’s trustworthy hands–draws us closer to God and frees us from carrying burdens that don’t belong to us.

We can trust Him to work in and through their lives as He continues working in and through our lives.

We can choose victorious freedom through right relationships with God and others, instead of insisting on being right, instead of gloating in someone else’s remorsefulness, instead of demanding apologies before forgiving.

As imperfect humans in desperate need of our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ, we will need to forgive others and ask for forgiveness all the days of our lives.

Radical forgiveness requires an ongoing commitment to surrender to the Holy Spirit, but begins with the choice to love Jesus and others like Jesus loves us.

Will you give the gift of radical forgiveness for Christmas this year?

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Lord, thank You for forgiving us and for empowering us to forgive. Please prepare our hearts to receive and submit to Your truth and love. Show us our wickedness and lead us into the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24). Help us recognize, confess, repent, and turn away from our sins. Even if the restoration of a relationship isn’t possible, help us forgive others as You’ve forgiven us so that we can experience the peace and freedom of radical forgiveness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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I would love to hear your story in the comment section below. I’m praying for us!

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BOOK GIVEAWAY!

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I’m one of 16 Christian authors participating in the 2022 Giving Hope for the Holidays Mega-Bundle Book Giveaway!

To ENTER for your chance to receive these 25 Hope-Giving Books, please visit my Instagram page today.

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Here is the list of the 16 authors AND the 25 books we’re giving away:

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You Are: Speaking God’s Word Over Your Children and Chosen: Claiming Your Kingdom Purpose, board books by Emily Assell, founder of Generation Claimed at @generationclaimed

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HUES of You: An Activity Book for Learning About the Skin You are In by Dr. Lucretia Berry, founder of Brownicity at @lucretiaberry

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Jack vs the Tornado and The Hunt for Fang, middle grade novels by Amanda Cleary Eastep at @book_leaves

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Different Like Me, a 2021 ECPA Christian Children’s Picture Book Finalist, and Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace, a 31-day devotional by Xochitl Dixon at @xochitl.e.dixon

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Simply Christmas: A Busy Mom’s Guide to Reclaiming the Peace of the Holidays, a devotional by Tama Fortner at @tamafortnerbooks

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Cora Cooks Pancit, a children’s picture book, and Walk, Run, Soar: A 52-Week Running Devotional by Dorina Gilmore-Young and Shawn Young at @dorinagilmore

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TAMAR: Rediscovering the God Who Redeems Me, a Bible Study by Shadia Hrichi at @shadiahrichi

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Sweet Tea for the Soul: Down-Home Devotions to Comfort the Heart (Sequel to From Grits to Grace), a devotional by Linda Kozar at @lindakozar

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The Complete Guide to the Prayers of Jesus: What Jesus Prayed and How It Will Change Your Life Today, a nonfiction book by Janet McHenry at @janetmchenry

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Far from Home: Discovering Your Identity as Foreigners on Earth, a nonfiction book by Mabel Ninan at @mabel_ninan

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Navigating the Blues: Where to Turn When Worry, Anxiety, or Depression Steals Your Hope, a 90-day devotional by Katara Patton at @katarawp **Scheduled for release on January 3, 2023.**

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Walking in Tall Weeds and A Long Time Comin’, Contemporary Southern fiction by Robin W. Pearson at @robinwpearson

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God’s Beloved Community (Children’s Picture Book), and Color-Courageous Discipleship (Discipleship for Adults), and Color-Courageous Discipleship Student Edition (Discipleship for Youth/Teens) by Michelle Sanchez at @michelle_t_sanchez

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5-Minute Devotions for Teens: A Guide to God and Mental Health and Restore My Soul: The Power and Promise of 30 Psalms by Laura Smith at @laurasmithauthor

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This Life We Share: 52 Reflections on Journeying Well with God and Others and Life is Sweet, Y’all: Wit and Wisdom with a Side of Sass (inspirational gift book with southern humor and recipes) by Maggie Wallem Rowe at @maggiewallemrowe

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Brown Baby Jesus, a children’s picture book by Dorena Williamson at @dorenawilliamson

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On Monday, December 19, 2022 at 8 am Pacific, we’ll announce the randomly selected recipient of these 25 Christian books on Instagram.

TO BE ELIGIBLE TO ENTER this mega-bundle book giveaway, you MUST LIVE IN the Continental U.S.

The 2022 Giving Hope for the Holidays Mega-Bundle Book Giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Instagram or any other organization.

Thanks for joining the FUN!

Merry Christmas!

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Love Like Jesus

Posted February 6, 2022 | xochitldixon

When I woke up on January 14, 2022, I couldn’t sit up, stand, or walk without excruciating sharp pain in my lower lumbar back.

Xavier picked Callie up while Alan called for an ambulance. Paramedics arrived soon after. They used a special chair to tote me down to the ambulance from our apartment on the third floor. As Alan followed the ambulance, I prayed.

I inhaled peace, grateful and confident that God was in control as the young man took my blood pressure and comforted me. I thanked him profusely. By the time I arrived at the emergency room, I’d learned the names of the two paramedics who rolled me into the emergency room. I encouraged them and promised to pray for them.

God gave me plenty of time to pray for the paramedics, the nurses, and the doctors who cared for me while Alan and I spent all day and most of the night in the emergency room.

When I laid flat on my back, the pain subsided. Any other position caused sharp pain on the left side of my lower back.

In my stillness, God helped me see beyond myself.

I saw my hurting husband, who had recently torn his Achilles heel. He wore a large boot and used a cane, as he hobbled around and tried to care for me.

I saw the medical staff, zipping in and out of my small room, and offered a word of encouragement then prayed for them as they rushed to the next patient.

After running a few tests and reviewing my x-rays, the team of doctors decided to admit me into the hospital.

A herniated disc was only one of the issues they identified as the culprit causing my pain. But my symptoms weren’t consistent with the normal patients suffering from herniated discs. My older injuries in my upper thoracic back, shoulders, and neck complicated things, too.

I saw a team of angels dressed like doctors, nurses, and hospital employees from custodial to nutrition, as they worked to admit me into the hospital.

Every person who stepped into my room showered me with compassion and love.

I couldn’t move without causing my pain levels to increase. So, I lay flat on my back and began praying for the people God allowed me to see while I let Him handle my discouragement, fear, anxiety, and despair.

By the time the Northbay angels asked Alan to leave for the night, God gave me a plan that placed peace and joy back in my peripheral vision.

I asked my husband to bring my artillery for the spiritual battle I was already fighting.

As the enemy worked hard to make me doubt the goodness and faithfulness of my mighty and merciful God, the Holy Spirit fueled me with persevering faith and empowered me to fight back.

When my pain overwhelmed me, I released my frustrations and fears through mini-meltdowns. My tears fell into the capable hands of my Savior. I felt His presence and heard His promises lifting my spirit as I read His Word and listened to worship music.

Be the end of the fifth day, I saw God’s love being poured out through people.

I saw my Facebook and Instagram families standing in the gap with prayers.

I saw nurses showing love by going out of their way to help me with pain management.

I saw doctors from three cities showing love by listening to me and working together to plan my next steps.

I saw my husband pouring love over me by caring for me selflessly, while dealing with the pain from his torn Achilles’ tendon and a few unexpected medical issues that required a biopsy and more tests. He is still waiting for test results and preparing for a surgery this month, while insisting he will take care of me!

I saw our son, Xavier, committing a selfless act of love when doctors mentioned moving me to a live-in care facility to avoid the three flights of stairs at our apartment complex. Without even being asked, Xavier offered his home as a place to heal.

During my hospital stay, I loved my doctors and nurses by offering encouragement, praying for them, and giving out over 25 copies of God Hears Her, over a dozen copies of Waiting for God, and over a dozen copies of Different Like Me.

I left the hospital knowing that my journey was only beginning, my pain would still need managing, my bills would still be mounting, but my God would still be good, faithful, able, and loving.

The Holy Spirit helped me see beyond my pain, past my current struggles, and through my worries, so I could see the mission field with people desperately needing to see the love of Jesus.

He helped me see the people sent to love on me, while I loved on them from my hospital bed and while using a walker on my way home.

Some moments were harder than others.

Sometimes I failed to love well.

Sometimes I didn’t want to respond to negative people in love. (I know I’m the only one who struggles with being stubborn and disobedient. Right?)

Sometimes I didn’t feel loved.

But every day provided opportunities to choose and receive God’s love, which always flows into our relationships.

The apostle John confirmed God’s call to love and demonstrated the power of love in 1 John 4.

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8, NLT, emphasis mine)

Love is a sacrificial and intentional choice we make day by day and an overflow of the Spirit of God’s love in us.

“This is real love ̶ not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (v. 4:10)

We cannot receive or give real love apart from Jesus.

“No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.” (v. 12)

God’s children can be recognized by the way we speak, the way we act, the way we think.

John says, “God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” (v. 16)

Then John goes for the jugular and forces us to face ourselves in the mirror.

“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.” (vv. 20-21)

When we’re hurting physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually, we may not feel lovable or loving. But real love isn’t about our forever-fickle feelings.

With Jesus, we cannot help but love.

Our pain may not stop. Our problems may not go away. Our struggles may get harder. Our wait may seem longer. And our faith may feel weaker.

But our God never fails us, never forsakes us, and never forgets to love us so we can love Him and others with the same love that overflows from His abundance. (emphasis mine)

Love changes everything and everyone, starting with us.

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Who have you failed to love well?

How can you show love to that person selflessly this week?

How has God showed you His love this week?

How have you shown your love for God by loving people this week?

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Loving God, we cannot love without Your help. Please give us all we need to submit to Your loving Spirit as He empowers us to respond in love through every circumstance we face. Help us to love like Jesus as we live for Jesus one day at a time. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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You can love your neighbors today by helping me spread God’s love!

Give a gift that will have lasting spiritual impact on that special someone you love.

Different Like Me, one of five children’s books chosen as a finalist for the 2021 ECPA Christian Book Awards, celebrates our differences and our sameness as God’s beautifully diverse and purposefully connected image-bearers. In Different Like Me, a diverse group of children join forces to help a friend and discover that God created everyone to be different and special so we can serve together for His glory!

In Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace, I will guide you through 31 days of spirit-refreshing devotions. We will inhale God’s Word, exhale in prayer, and rest in God’s as we trust Him for healing, for provision, and for miracles when the wait feels endless.

You can shower me with love by leaving a short review on Amazon and any other review platforms you enjoy and by tagging me when you share about my books on social media, too.

Oh, how much that would bless me! The more reviews each book receives, the more Amazon places the books in front of people I can’t reach outside my sphere of influence. To God be the glory the honor and the praise!

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Thanks for being a member of my blog family!

If you are reading this article in your email, please join the conversation in the comment section on my website.

I moderate comments for the safety of our community, so your comment will not show up right away. However, I will read, reply to, and approve every comment that is appropriate to share under my blog articles.

I’m looking forward to growing with you as we remain rooted in God’s Word and growing with God’s people.

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God is Our Strength (Book Giveaway Recipient Announced)

Posted December 20, 2021 | xochitldixon

When we have no strength left, the ever-growing weight of discouragement, frustration, fear, and pride can tempt to call on our will power instead of the power of God.

In chapter eleven of Waiting for God, I explored some of the names of God that helped deepen my understanding of His character.

The first name I mentioned was: El Shaddai, the Lord God Almighty (Psalm 91:1).

“The Lord God Almighty reigns, omnipotent and supreme with unlimited power” (Waiting for God, p. 62).

When we live as if God reigns, we view Him as the ultimate authority.

We invite Him to occupy the throne of our hearts and minds so that our attitudes and actions align with His expectations.

We delight in pleasing Him and long to obey Him, not because of obligation or obsession, but because we are overwhelmed with His love for us and overflowing with love for Him.

When we live as if we know Gods alone maintains control of every detail in our world, we will live as if He alone can influence us.

The Lord Almighty knows all we need and gives us all we need, so we can trust His decisions.

We can depend on Him to pave the right path for us, to set the right pace for us, to determine the best delays and detours for us.

We don’t need to feel strong when we know God is strong.

We can trust God to be our strength, be our peace, and be our everlasting hope.

He hasn’t failed us yet. And He will not begin failing us now.

Hallelujah!

El Shaddai, thanks for reminding us that You are Lord Almighty, unlimited in power. Help us walk by faith, like we believe this truth impacts every aspect of our lives as your disciples. In Jesus’ name, Amen.  

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Congratulations to Patti from Modesto, California.

I will be sending you a copy of 7 Ways to Pray: Time-Tested Practices for Encountering God by Amy Boucher Pye.

I will also be sending you a signed copy of Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace.

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Stay tuned for another exclusive giveaway for my blog subscribers in January!

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REVIVE Your Prayer Life!

Pause for Prayer with Xochitl Dixon introduces Revive Your Prayer Life: An Interview with Amy Boucher Pye, Our Daily Bread writer, speaker, spiritual director, and author of the award-winning Finding Myself in Britain, The Living Cross, Celebrating Christmas: Embracing Joy through Out and Reflection, and 7 Ways to Pray.

Join me for Revive: 31-Days of Spirit-Refreshing Biblical Encouragement and Prayers on my Instagram page and subscribe to Pause for Prayer, my YouTube channel, today!

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Thanks for being a member of my blog family!

If you are reading this article in your email, please join the conversation in the comment section on my website by clicking here, scrolling down to the comment section, and writing your message.

I moderate comments for the safety of our community, so your comment will not show up right away. However, I will read, reply to, and approve every comment that is appropriate to share under my blog articles.

I’m looking forward to growing with you as we remain rooted in God’s Word and growing with God’s people.

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Are you looking for a gift that will have lasting spiritual impact on someone you love?

Different Like Me, one of five children’s books chosen as a finalist for the 2021 ECPA Christian Book Awards, celebrates our differences and our sameness as God’s beautifully diverse and purposefully connected image-bearers. In Different Like Me, a diverse group of children join forces to help a friend and discover that God created everyone to be different and special so we can serve together for His glory!

In Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace, I will guide you through 31 days of spirit-refreshing devotions. We will inhale God’s Word, exhale in prayer, and rest in God’s as we trust Him for healing, for provision, and for miracles when the wait feels endless.

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Join me for Revive: 31-Days of Spirit-Refreshing Biblical Encouragement and Prayers.

For more information or to subscribe, please visit www.xedixon.com today!

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Finding Comfort When Christmas Comes with Heartache (Special Book Giveaway)

Posted December 19, 2021 | xochitldixon

Somewhere, someone is hurting as the world around them revs up for the holiday festivities.

Someone is adjusting to life after a big transition.

Someone is struggling to pay bills.

Someone is grieving the loss of a loved one.

Someone is wrestling with fear or anxiety after an unexpected health diagnosis.

Someone is battling disease or struggling with pain management.

Someone is feeling rejected, lonely, forgotten, insignificant.

Someone doesn’t know how to tell their family they just lost their job, their home, their spouse, their unborn child.

We can add so many things to this list of circumstances causing someone to suffer.

You may know that someone who is hurting this Christmas.

You may even be that someone today.

If not, we can be sure that any one of us could be that someone tomorrow.

So, how can we find the comfort we need when Christmas comes with heartache?

“My comfort in suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.” Psalm 119:50 (NIV)

As I prayed over this verse, I thought about the physical and emotional pain my family endured over the last year. Some of our heartaches and trials will roll over into the coming year.

Longing to gain a deeper perspective, I prayed over the psalmist’s declaration of faith, searched other translations, and found a spirit-refreshing nugget of hope that solidified my peace.

The New Living Translation says: “Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles.” Psalm 119:50 (NLT)

The English Standard Version says: “This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.” Psalm 119:50 (ESV)

The International Standard Version says: “This is what comforts me in my troubles; that what you say revives me.” Psalm 119:50 (ISV)

The Word English Bible says: “This is my comfort in my affliction, for your word has revived me.” Psalm 119:50 (WEB)

God’s promise is what He says . . . His Word!

Yes!

God’s promise revives ̶ renews, restores back to life, makes operative again, brings back ̶ my life.

God’s promise preserves ̶ keeps alive, makes lasting, keeps safe, protects, maintains ̶ my life.

God’s promise assures us that He loves us and never leaves us.

His love is unconditional, “absolute, free from imperfection, pure, complete, without limits”  (Dictionary .com).

His presence is unrelenting, “not yielding or swerving in determination, not easing or slackening” (Dictionary .com).

God alone is able and available to handle anything and everything that happens to land on our list of afflictions.

Even while we are right smack in the middle of heart wrenching circumstances, we can trust God to be our strength, our peace, our enduring hope, and our constant and complete Giver of comfort.

Hallelujah!

God of All Comfort, thanks for using Your Holy Word to reveal Your unchanging character, Your unconditional love for us, and Your unrelenting presence with us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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REVIVE Your Prayer Life!

Pause for Prayer with Xochitl Dixon introduces Revive Your Prayer Life: An Interview with Amy Boucher Pye, Our Daily Bread writer, speaker, spiritual director, and author of the award-winning Finding Myself in Britain, The Living Cross, Celebrating Christmas: Embracing Joy through Out and Reflection, and 7 Ways to Pray.

Join me for Revive: 31-Days of Spirit-Refreshing Biblical Encouragement and Prayers on my Instagram page and subscribe to Pause for Prayer, my YouTube channel, today!

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EXCLUSIVE BOOK GIVEAWAY FOR MY BLOG SUBSCRIBERS!

TO ENTER: Let me know where you are from when you leave a comment under this blog post and you will be entered for your chance to receive a free copy of 7 Ways to Pray: Time-Tested Practices for Encountering God, written by my fellow Our Daily Bread Writer Amy Boucher Pye, and a free signed copy of my 31-day devotional, Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace. Must be a U.S. Resident to be eligible for this giveaway.

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Thanks for being a member of my blog family!

If you are reading this article in your email, please join the conversation in the comment section on my website by clicking here, scrolling down to the comment section, and writing your message. (This link only works if you are reading this blog post as a subscriber via your email inbox.)

I moderate comments for the safety of our community, so your comment will not show up right away. However, I will read, reply to, and approve every comment that is appropriate to share under my blog articles.

I’m looking forward to growing with you as we remain rooted in God’s Word and growing with God’s people.

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Are you looking for a gift that will have lasting spiritual impact on someone you love?

Different Like Me, one of five children’s books chosen as a finalist for the 2021 ECPA Christian Book Awards, celebrates our differences and our sameness as God’s beautifully diverse and purposefully connected image-bearers. In Different Like Me, a diverse group of children join forces to help a friend and discover that God created everyone to be different and special so we can serve together for His glory!

In Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace, I will guide you through 31 days of spirit-refreshing devotions. We will inhale God’s Word, exhale in prayer, and rest in God’s love as we trust Him for healing, for provision, and for miracles when the wait feels endless.

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Revive: 31-Days of Spirit-Refreshing Biblical Encouragement and Prayer

Posted November 29, 2021 | xochitldixon

“You are not alone. That’s not easy to remember, especially when we’re going through difficult days that stretch into months, maybe even years. When the wait feels endless, the frustration is real and the weariness can overwhelm at times. I’ve tasted the bitterness of hopelessness. How long do I have to wait, God? But I’ve also witnessed the sweetness of the Lord’s unchanging goodness and loving faithfulness as He showed me that patience has nothing to do with waiting for Him.” (Excerpt from Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace, Our Daily Bread Publishing, 2019)

Shortly after I penned those words in 2018, God planted my husband and me in an unfamiliar town right smack in the middle of the tundra and changed my perspective on waiting as an act of worship.

After our world hit pause during the pandemic, He led us from Wisconsin back to California. I would miss the new friends God sent me in the Midwest, but I couldn’t wait to return home.

I never expected our first year back would deplete me physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually while shoving me right back into the pit of loneliness, discouragement, insecurity, and hopelessness.

My health took a downward spiral. We stayed in a hotel for almost a month because we couldn’t find a rental house with a yard. Once we found a place, my husband and I quickly began dreading the three flights of stairs that led to our small apartment.

Though blow after blow of unexpected trials and disappointments hit us from all sides, God didn’t hold back on His blessings during those trying months.

Since our return to California in September 2020, God led us to multiple closed doors before unlocking the bolted door to our new home, which is not yet move-in ready, and a new job for my husband.

God provided a new doctor in California who is working to improve my mobility. He gave me more opportunities to use writing as a tool to serve Him, too.

I’ll share more about those praises and prayer requests later this month.

Though this year has been strained with trials, each day has been sprinkled with triumphs that make it tough not to praise the Lord.

Still, the walk hasn’t been easy. A few weeks ago, I couldn’t even walk from my bathroom to the bedroom. I’m still recovering from my last procedure.

So, here I am again . . . waiting for God and trusting daily in His plan and pace . . . . again . . . one painful step at a time . . . and sometimes . . . one strained breath at a time.

As I wait for God expectantly, submit to Him completely, and rely on Him intimately, I am practicing the art of rejoicing as He restores me through each moment of surrender.

I’m asking Him to help me draw nearer to Him and open up to Him with courageous honesty and confident faith.

I’m looking forward to sharing this journey with you.

Through the month of December 2021, I will be reading one chapter a day of Waiting for God.

I hope you will join me for this special time of reflection as we explore keeping in step with the Spirit when our strength is depleted.

Connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and here on my blog December 1-31, 2021 for Revive: 31-Days of Spirit-Refreshing Biblical Encouragement and Prayer.

I look forward to growing with you!

Merciful Creator and Sustainer, thanks for being my strength, my peace, and my enduring hope as I walk with You when I feel like I have nothing left to give. Revive my faith with Your God-breathed words of Scripture and Your promised presence in all circumstances. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

 If your heart is weary and longing for answers—for healing, for provision, for miracles—Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace renews your hope with strong biblical truth and encouraging Scripture-based prayer. Guided to inhale God’s Word, exhale in prayer, and rest in God’s love, you will be restored, able to worship the Lord even when the wait feels endless.

 

I share personal stories and the experiences of others to help you reclaim your peace and joy, knowing God has not forgotten you.

 

You can love your neighbors by ordering extra copies of Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace to share as gifts. To God be the glory!

If you are looking for the perfect story to show your child that being different is okay, Different Like Me is what you need.

Take a fanciful, colorful journey with a diverse group of children as they collectively work to bring a large fish balloon toward a surprising conclusion in Different Like Me. While encountering the differences that could divide them, they also discover what brings them together.

Different Like Me, one of five books nominated as a 2021 ECPA Christian Book Award Finalist in the children’s book category, is perfect for children ages 3 to 7 and shows children with physical disabilities, communication limitations, and cultural distinctions coming together.

Empower young readers to embrace their uniqueness and rejoice in God’s beautiful and intentional diversity.

You can love your neighbors by ordering extra copies of Different Like Me to share as gifts!

Endorsements

Written with whimsical rhyming text, this book celebrates and embraces diversity and uniqueness, yet emphasizes the ways we are all alike. It’s relatable to all ethnicities and belongs in every home and school library.  ̴ Crystal Bowman, award-winning, best-selling author of more than 100 books for children 

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Different Like Me is just the book to help children understand the value of each and every child of God. Its powerful message will help children of all ages embrace their own God-given uniqueness and that of other children around them.   ̴ Elisa Morgan, Author, Speaker, Media Host Our Daily Bread Ministries

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Do they like me? Are they like me? Could we be friends?

This lyrical book gently invites readers to recognize that we are each God’s beautifully unique image-bearers. He Hand-crafted us for His pleasure and glory, for friendship, and to love one another. Every child will find themselves on the pages of Different, Like Me. I look at my bookshelf, what do I see? Sweet affirmation, of you, and of me.   ̴ Sandra Byrd, author of the best-selling, The One Year Be-Tween You and God: Devotions for Girls 

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Living Like a Masterpiece

Posted September 11, 2021 | xochitldixon

Suggested Reading: Ephesians 2:1-18

As I celebrated my 51st birthday, I reflected on how my life has gone nothing like I’d planned!

I’m also admitting that God’s plan is way better than anything I could have imagined. And I have a pretty active imagination.

Though some seasons have seemed a bit too-stormy and some roads have felt a bit too-long and too-hard, God has always brought me through.

He’s never wasted an experience, good or bad. He’s refined me in ways I never realized I needed. And, oh how He’s blessed me beyond what I dared to dream possible.

Still, sometimes, I don’t live like I believe what He says about me.

If you’ve ever struggled with believing what God says about you, please check out the Worship Expressed God Says I Am . . . Collection today.

Then, check out Ephesians 2, where the apostle Paul explores the benefits of being made alive in Christ.

Paul writes: “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil ̶ the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.” (Ephesians 2:1-2, NLT)

I can imagine the apostle grabbing his fellow believers by their shoulders and giving them a good shake.

“Why are you insisting on living as if you’re still dead in your sins?”

Paul reminds us that none of us can escape the reality of being dead in our own muck before Jesus.

“All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature” (v. 3, emphasis mine).

Then, Paul uses one of the most powerful declarations in the Bible: But God!

“But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved.)” (vv. 4-5, emphasis mine).

Paul reveals the link between life and death is our wholehearted belief in who Jesus was and is and always will be, as well as what Jesus did when He died on the cross and rose from the tomb three days later.

Our complete dependence on God the Father secures our ability to live like we believe the reality of our new-life status through our intimate connection with God the Son, Jesus Christ, which is only possible through God the Spirit.

“For He . . .” signifies a reliance on God, not self.

The pressure to live for God with loving obedience and faith is not on us, in our weakness, but on our willingness to surrender to God and rely on the strength of His Spirit who dwells in us.

Because of God ̶ of who He is and what He accomplished through the cross and the resurrection of Jesus, as well as from before He created the world and into all eternity ̶ Paul’s following statements stand on firmly established truth.

“For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all He has done for us who are united in Christ Jesus.” (vv. 6-7)

God’s work is finished.

God’s plan is, always has been, and will always be in motion, but His destination has already been reached.

We already have a secured spot, a place at His table, a guaranteed reservation that impacts our lives on this side of eternity.

The life-transforming power of Paul’s message is clear.

“God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:8-10, NLT, emphasis mine)

We received God’s gift of salvation because we are His masterpiece . . . “we” being plural.

In our me-centered world, it’s tempting to take these verses to encourage ourselves, build up our self-esteem, pep-talk our way into not giving up. When we do this, we miss one vital aspect of Paul’s main point.

Paul draws our attention to our union in Christ and with one another when he affirms that we, as the community of believers ̶ the Church ̶ are God’s masterpiece.

Once singular and self-centered, we are now made “anew” as an interdependent body of cherished children. God has entrusted each of us individually and us collectively with gifts intended for us to steward with Spirit-empowered wisdom, courage, and commitment to Kingdom-Building.

God planned our paths long ago and has been guiding our steps, molding us through refining fires, and empowering us to live like a masterpiece ̶ connected to Him and others through Christ’s life and sacrificial love shown on the cross and as He rose from the tomb.

“Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of His death on the cross, and our hostility toward one another was put to death.” (v. 16)

Because the fruit of the Spirit cannot help but be evident in the life of believers in Jesus, those who truly place their faith in Christ simply cannot be hostile toward one another or toward nonbelievers.

“We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.” (v. 21)

We are a masterpiece . . . together.

We can ask God to help us believe what He says about us in the God-breathed words of Scripture.

We can ask God to help us surrender to Him as we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit.

God is waiting for us to lift our arms high with confidence in His ability to empower us to live like a masterpiece ̶ each one dependent on God and interdependently serving God and others.

As active members of the Church, dedicated to bringing Him glory, we can fulfill His greatest commandment and the great commission.

What can you do this week to live like a masterpiece ̶ as a loving member of the Church God loves and uses for His glory?

How has God changed your perspective on your need for Him and the Church over the last year? 

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Last month, I served alongside three talented Christian Children’s picture book authors to explore why representation in children’s literature matters.

This month I am celebrating God’s love with these wonderful Kingdom-Builders who have been honored, along with me, as 2021 ECPA Children’s Book Award Finalists and a Winner.

This week, I have the privilege of being the highlighted author as these phenomenal women of God lift me up, encourage me, and help me reach more people for Jesus by helping me spread the word about Different Like Me.

I need your help, too.

If you have read Different Like Me, would you please write a short review on Amazon?

Reviews can help Amazon place Different Like Me in front of more readers.

To write an Amazon review, please click here, sign in, and answer the following questions:

  1. Why do you like Different Like Me?
  2. Would you recommend Different Like Me to others?
  3. How have you shared Different Like Me with others?
  4. (Optional) How has God used Different Like Me to encourage you or your little readers?

You can also partner with me in ministry by helping reach readers in your personal sphere of influence in the following ways:

  1. Invite me to an in-person or Zoom author visit, during which I will read Different Like Me and visit with the children at your church, school, homeschool group, afterschool program, and kids’ event (i.e. Vacation Bible School, MOPS meeting or event, AWANA, Harvest Festival, Angel Tree Party, etc).
  2. Connect with me to gather sponsors who will donate signed copies of Different Like Me to give away to all the children who participate in your kids’ event (i.e. Vacation Bible School, MOPS meeting or event, AWANA, Harvest Festival, Angel Tree Party, etc).
  3. Love your neighbors by ordering extra copies of Different Like Me to share as gifts.
  4. Keep an extra copy of Different Like Me in your car and ask God to show you who He wants to receive your gift.
  5. Donate copies of Different Like Me to your local libraries, Little Free Libraries in your community, local churches, local schools, individual classrooms, afterschool programs, foster care centers, children’s hospitals, and more.

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God is working in amazing and surprising ways this year as I team up with more folks who are dedicated to sharing God’s truth and love to the ends of the earth!

My husband, Alan, our youngest son, Xavier, and I have said “yes” to an wonderful outreach ministry opportunity.

In September we launched Worship Expressed, an online store where you can purchase Christian apparel and accessories that I have prayed over while designing. We even have a few designs created by our son, Xavier.

Worship Expressed is adding to our product line and will be working with Christian authors to create a few special collections before the holiday season arrives.

Please help us invite others to worship God through our attitudes, our words, our actions, and the Worship Expressed apparel and accessories we choose to use and wear every day.

How can you partner in ministry with the Worship Expressed family?

  1. Click here to “LIKE” the Worship Expressed with Xochitl Dixon page on Facebook, then “Like” and “Share” some of our posts.
  2. Click here to “Follow” the Worship Expressed page on Instagram, then “Heart” and “Share” some of our posts.
  3. Click here to visit, shop, or join the Worship Expressed family by creating an account.
  4. Take photos of you enjoying your Worship Expressed apparel and accessories and tag us on social media.
  5. Contact us through the Worship Expressed website to share your testimonies about how God used your Worship Expressed apparel and accessories to help you invite people to talk about Him, praise Him, and share the Gospel with others.
  6. Love your neighbors by ordering extra Worship Expressed apparel and accessories to share as gifts.

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Thanks for being a member of my blog family!

I hope you will connect with me in the comment section under this blog post.

If you are reading this article in your email, you can reply to this email OR join the conversation in the comment section on my website by clicking here, scrolling down to the comment section, and writing your message.

I moderate comments for the safety of our community, so your comment will not show up right away. However, I will read, reply to, and approve every comment that is appropriate to share under my blog articles.

I’m looking forward to growing with you as we remain rooted in God’s Word and growing with God’s people.

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