This week on Real Talk with Rachael I'm talking with author Kat Armstrong about her new book The In-Between Place. Kat was born in Houston, TX where the humidity ruins her curls. She is a powerful Mexi-German Bible teacher and author of two books (No More Holding Back and The In-Between Place). As the co-founder of The Polished Network, an outreach to working women navigating careers and exploring faith, she is invested in the lives of women eager to learn about how the scriptures are relevant to their everyday lives. She has a master's degree from Dallas Seminary and she is starting her Doctorate in New Testament context next year in 2022. She and her husband Aaron have been married for eighteen years, and live in Dallas, TX with their son Caleb and attend Dallas Bible Church where Aaron serves as the lead pastor.

Key Points from Our Conversation:

• In her first book No Holding Back, Kat challenges us to ask, “Why am I allowing limitations on my pursuit of Jesus’s calling?” By debunking five common myths about women, she invites readers to discover the joy and freedom of being all in for Jesus.
• Her latest book The In-Between Place was inspired by her own experience of grief and its parallel to the story of the woman at the well in John 4.
• Kat defines the in-between as "a place where people don't want to go and they don’t want to stay." It's a place where you find yourself asking how you got there.
• “In between places can make us feel hopeless, but they can also be our most hope-filled places.”
• Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman is the longest recorded in the New Testament. He took the time to meet her needs when she was depleted.
• We have the wrong impression of the woman at the well. Women at that time were only valued if married and could produce a male heir. The woman was likely infertile and widowed and the only way to live was to be a concubine.
• We often get the impression that Jesus is shaming the woman for her lifestyle, but it's more likely He was telling her that He understood her story and what she had done to survive.
• Jesus told the woman at the well how to move past the past, find hope in the present, and how to step confidently into the future. It doesn’t matter how we got to the in-between – whether it's our fault or not. Jesus is ready to meet us there.
• Talk to Jesus about things He already knows about. He’s a great listener and He wants to hear from us. It's His desire to affirm and commission us.
• If you feel stuck in the in-between, start by being honest with Him about your situation. Drop whatever you're doing and go before you’re ready. And share your faith. You have everything you need.

Let’s Get Real Practical:

Our thoughts affect our feelings and our feelings affect our actions. One reason we get stuck is that we have a negative core belief.

Take time to name one area where you feel stuck. Then, examine the thoughts you meditate on in that area. Write down your negative thoughts. What feeling is associated with that thought? What behaviors result from that thought?

Now, challenge the negative thought and replace it with the truth from God’s word. What feeling is associated with that and what actions result?

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