Hope changes everything. It can disarm guilt, shatter shame, and put your past in its place. All you have to do is make the choice to let it in. It won’t be easy. It won’t be quick. But it is possible and we serve a God who promises over and over again that anything is possible. Pete Wilson, pastor and the author of Plan B , presents a new look at the power of healing through hope, revealing 4 unique choices that have the potential to change your life forever. With Wilson’s telltale cadence and candor, Let Hope In explores accounts of seemingly hopeless moments in the Bible illustrating God’s ultimate plan for healing by letting hope fill the dark places of your past. Discover how pain that is not transformed becomes transferred. Embrace the freedom of being okay with not being okay. Learn that a life of trusting is far more magnificent than a life of pleasing. Because hurt people hurt people, but free people have the power to free people. So make today the day that you get unstuck. The day you fill your past with the light of hope, the day you say good-bye to regret and shame. The day you choose to change your future and embrace who God created you to be, simply by making the choice to let hope in . Pete Wilson is the founding and senior pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tennessee. Pete desires to see churches become radically devoted to Christ, irrevocably committed to one another, and relentlessly dedicated to reaching those outside of God’s family. Pete and his wife, Brandi, have three boys. LET HOPE IN 4 Choices That Will Change Your Life Forever By PETE WILSON Thomas Nelson Copyright © 2013 Pete Wilson All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8499-6456-5 Contents Choice One: Choosing to Transform Instead of Transfer......................1. Transform or Transfer...................................................32. Leaving Shame Behind....................................................153. No Regrets..............................................................29Choice Two: Choosing to Be Okay with Not Being Okay........................4. I Can't (Confession)....................................................435. The Healer..............................................................556. Embracing the Past......................................................69Choice Three: Choosing to Trust Rather than Please.........................7. Trusting vs. Pleasing...................................................938. Surprised by God........................................................1119. Fork in the Road........................................................12110. Showing Gratitude......................................................133Choice Four: Choosing to Free People Rather than Hurt Them.................11. Breathe Grace..........................................................14512. Overcoming Fear........................................................16313. Loving Deeply..........................................................17714. Trusting Fully.........................................................193Epilogue: Don't Miss Out...................................................211Acknowledgments............................................................213Notes......................................................................215About the Author...........................................................217 CHAPTER 1 TRANSFORM OR TRANSFER I do some of my best dreaming with my boys. We love to sit inour screened-in porch off the back of our house and just talk.Recently, I proposed the question I often do with them regardingthe future. "What do you guys want to be when you grow up?" Ilove asking my boys this because it changes about once a monthand is usually dependent on the last movie they've watched. My youngest, Brewer, went first. "I want to be a policeman,"he said boldly. My middle son, Gage, took a little more time to think beforehe sheepishly said, "I think I might want to be a teacher likePee-Paw." Then Jett, my oldest, said, "Dad, I want to be an NFL footballplayer. What I can't figure out, though, is whether I'll play in collegeor if I'll just skip college and go straight to the NFL." We sat there for a second just staring at each other whenBrewer looked at me and asked, "Dad, do you think you'll still bea pastor when you grow up?" For a moment I forgot about reality and enjoyed having a blankslate from which to dream. I love the idea of not being "grown up" yet. In my mind thatmeans I still have more ahead of me than behind me. It means Ican dream without all the restrictions of reality that comes alongwith getting older. It means it is still possible for me to become theperson I really want to become. I think most of us are pretty hopeful about the future. Wecarry our dreams around believing that one day we'll give birthto them. We generally believe that tomorrow is going to be betterthan today. We like to think that our careers wil