Sammie

Delivered:My Dark Path Through Addiction is a heart-rending memoir of a woman who lived in complete depravity but who, in a moment, became a compelling and triumphant affirmation of God’s ability to transform hopelessness and desperation into overwhelming victory.

Janet Gillispie’s story begins with drug and alcohol use at age 13. Her intense yearning for love and attention led to marriage at 15, soon followed by divorce and the birth of her first child. The downward spiral of addiction continued through a second failed marriage, two more children (one taken from her by the state and one given up for adoption), an abortion, and a miscarriage. Unable to hold a job because of her drug habit, she became homeless and turned to prostitution to support her addiction. Life on the street became a daily battle for survival.

            But at 41, giving birth to her fourth child, Janet had a supernatural encounter with God. In seconds, her life was completely transformed. Her story will inspire and give hope to anyone battling addiction and hopelessness and will encourage families who fear their loved one is beyond redemption.

Delivered: My Dark Path Through Addiction is available for pre-order at Amazon.com. 

January 13, 2013: My journey to living more gently.

My journey toward living more gently began about 25 years ago, but then I called it “simple living.” That’s still a great term and one you’ll hear often on this blog.

 At that time, I had a husband and two teenage daughters, a full-time job, a house and car and yard to maintain, and I was beginning the journey of freelance writing for magazines. Yes, I was busy – way too busy and far too committed to some activities that didn’t really define me or grow my soul. Additionally, my possessions were weighing me down.

 Now, don’t misunderstand. There’s no money tree in my front yard. I have always struggled to make my money last as long as my month does. But, still, I had a closet full of clothes and wore maybe ¼ of them often. The rest hung there. I had several sets of dishes in my kitchen cabinets and placemats or tablecloths to match. I think you get the idea.

 With all the stuff comes responsibility. Things must be maintained. Space must be cleaned. When we purchased a new “something,” it had to be bigger, better, or flashier than the old “something” it replaced. And that was my life.

 If you’d have asked, I would have told you faith was a great part of my life. I gave my heart to Jesus when I was 12 years old, and I’ve been “in church” all my life. However, most of my faithiness and churchiness at that time was more frantic activity. Just the same as the rest of my life.

 But then I read “Voluntary Simplicity” by Duane Elgin.  I learned from Elgin how to move “toward a way of life that is outwardly simple, inwardly rich.” That book still moves my soul and makes my heart beat faster when I read it.

 But what really cinched the simple life for me was when I read “Your Money or Your Life,” by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez. No, I didn’t read that book; I gobbled it down in big heaving gulps. They described the life I wanted. Money, time, and possessions took on an entirely different perspective for me.

 Many books about simple living line my bookshelves now. And I’ve learned from each one.

 I don’t live in a one-room cabin in the woods. I don’t prepare meals on a wood cookstove and carry water from the creek to wash my clothes in a kettle outside. I don’t even cook all my meals! I still take my grandchildren to eat fast food, and I love it slightly less than they do.

Living more gently means to me living simply and frugally, having fewer possessions, making well-thought-out decisions about how I spend time, money, and energy, putting greater value on relationships, and realizing that creation care goes even beyond environmentalism or being “green.”

 After working 48 years, most of those in the court system, I am now retired from my career job. For more than 20 years, I have been a freelance magazine writer, and I continue to do that. I live alone, but I have two daughters, two sons-in-law, two grandchildren, and two step-grandchildren. I love Bible study and reading, needlework, gardening, having lunch with friends, and beginning each day by asking God to lead me this day where He wants me to be and to give me everything I need to allow Him to work through me for this day.

Through this blog, I pray I will be able to share my passion for living more gently with you in ways that inspire you to seek the abundant life Jesus promises His followers in John 10:10. Just one verse before that, Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). I truly believe that finding pasture is what we are doing when we learn to live more gently.