| Title: Beautiful Death By: Courtney Jo Format: Paperback Number of Pages: 250 Vendor: WestBow Press Publication Date: 2022 | Dimensions: 9.00 X 6.00 X 0.53 (inches) Weight: 12 ounces ISBN: 1664278648 ISBN-13: 9781664278646 Stock No: WW278641 |
Author: Courtney Jo
Located in: Columbus,Indiana
Submitted: December 16, 2022
Tell us a little about yourself. I am in my thirties. I spent 20+ years living in addiction and rebellion. I wasn't raised knowing who Jesus is. I could talk for days about "war stories" as we call them. I lived most of my life with the attitude of death. I mostly wanted to die and never took the time to figure out why. I always blamed God for making me that way or blamed my mother. I hated my earthly father and disrespected my grandparents who took me in and raised me when I turned 15. I went through multiple pregnancies but when I got pregnant for the third time with my daughter I made the choice to pray. I had been battling in the spiritual realm with witchcraft and demonic energy just consuming my everyday life. I grew tired and weak and couldn't keep going. I didn't want to make those choices anymore but it was impossible to control my addiction. It had power over me and now for the third time I almost lost my chances of becoming a mother. I wanted to grow up. I wanted to feel alive. I just didn't know how to get there.
What was your motivation behind this project? First, I am not educated to be a writer. I dropped out of high school 2 weeks into freshman year. I never finished. I did obtain a GED when I turned 19 but I had always chosen the drugs over everything. When I attempted college a couple times I failed. So, all of my boasting goes to Jesus Christ because without Him I'd be nothing. It was very hard for me to submit to the calling that I knew Jesus wanted me to do. For the most part I wanted to honor my grandmother who meant so much to me. I spent most of my life absent from her. I treated her with disrespect when I did come around. Those last three years of her life is what God gave back to me. I am so thankful for His mercies. God grabbed me up from the grave, literally and told me He would bring me home. When I heard Him I knew He would restore the relationships I had with my family. By faith I was released from jail eight months pregnant and went straight home to live with my grandparents. I spent everyday writing and journaling. I would study the Word of God every single day. When my grandma got ill and I was her full time caretaker I never thought I could get through it sober. The day she died I sat at her body and knew I needed to write. The project may not be perfect in content, but the heart behind it will outstand any critical judgement. I pray this book blesses God like He blessed me.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? 1. That we make that connection through God and our struggles. 2. The awareness that we are not alone. We have a God that is so much bigger than any hardship or trial we may face. Just the name of Jesus alone has power. 3. People to want to know more about me. I hope this project opens doors for people to want to know more about my past and everything that has happened. 4. I hope people can relate to me and share with me how Jesus has saved them. 5. I want them to gain spiritual insight. I know what the power of God's Word can do. Scripture radically changed the way I thought. My brain changed. My decisions changed. My ears changed. I had authority over what I chose to listen to. My lips changed. I quit treated my family with disrespect. I quit cussing. I just hope that people understand that Jesus just wants us to be better humans.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? A lot of healing came from working on this project. I heal through writing and praying. When I ask for God's will and the power to carry that out, I'll get a nudge at the earliest time of the morning to just start writing. When I read this book I am reminded just how much I have grown. Both spiritually and individually as a woman.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? I was defiantly influenced by Joyce Meyer. It took a lot for me to gain the power through Jesus that I can write and that He has equipped me to speak a message. When Joyce talks about her not being educated yet she still writes it gives me that inspiration that I can too. I read Battlefield of the Mind and Do it Afraid when I started this project. Rachel Hollis. I read her books when I took care of my grandma. I struggle with depression really bad. Her book called, Girl, Wash Your Face really helped me to take care of myself better. She just wrote about her life, and that's what I wanted to do. I wanted people to know my raw personality and how in the flesh I am a horrible person. Very selfish. I liked to listen to Steven Furtick and seems like whatever I am studying in the Bible will be what I turn on when I watch him.
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: Step outside yourself when it's not fair. Stop and count to five before you leave the house. I allowed the enemy to rob me of my calling of not only being a mother but also learning more about myself and who I am as a woman. I pray that anyone who reads this in Jesus Name that you dive into the purpose God has on her life. The one He created you for. Don't let another day go by without pursuing that opportunity and taking your passion with you. I have a website where I do blogs and would love to hear from my readers.
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