April 17, 2008

*This chat has been edited for clarity  

Anne McDonald: I'll open in prayer, go over protocol and then introduce tonight's guest. Lord, thank You so much for loving us so much. Thank You for Your daily care. Please be with each of our participants tonight, as well as those who want to come, but can't be here. Please especially bless the socks off tonight's guest.

Let our conversation tonight be a blessing to You and to others. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

Protocol reminder: When the floor is open to questions, please raise your hand by typing ? for questions, ! for comments. and to keep us from stepping on each other's toes, please type ga when you are finished... ga = go ahead 

Tonight, I'm tickled to introduce my dearest friend, author, life coach, and cofounder of ACFW... Andrea Boeshaar. Andrea, welcome.  

* Annie leads the applause and turns the floor over to Andrea 

Andrea Boeshaar: Thanks! Hi, everyone. I'm thrilled to be here. Well, as Annie said, I'm an author of about 20 books... novels, novellas, nonfiction. You can check out my titles and more about me on my website: www.andreaboeshaar.com 

Andrea Boeshaar: Last summer I earned my certification as a Christian life coach and tonight I would like to talk about discouragement in our writing and how a life coach can help you overcome it. 

Andrea Boeshaar: Discouragement: It’s the state of being discouraged, deprived of confidence and courage. Like an ugly weed in a beautiful flower garden, discouragement can creep into our lives and choke off our happiness. It can also keep us from writing. I've been there! Believe me. I think we all have. But a Christian life coach can help in the following ways: 

1)  Building Faith, Hope & Love. A Christian life coach can and will encourage you in your faith and help you regain a focus on Jesus Christ and take your eyes off yourself and your situation. In essence, a life coach can help you turn your thinking around, from yourself to God. 

Another way a Christian life coach can help is: 

2)  Purpose. I don’t agree with everything author, Rick Warren writes; however, I do agree with this quote from his book The Purpose Driven Life:  Warren wrote: “It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.” 

A Christian life coach can help you realize your own purpose. This is very important when you think about how many people don't realize how much they are valued by God!

Depression and suicide rates are at all time highs. Why? Because they lack a sense of purpose. 

A Christian life coach can help in: 

3)  Goal setting. Once you realize what your purpose is, you can begin to set goals. A life coach can help you determine whether those goals are realistic. Many times setting unrealistic goals and not meeting them can bring discouragement. 

The 4th way a life coach can help you overcome discouragement in your writing is...