Update: Congratulations to Teresa and Kelly K. as our winners of this week’s giveaway. Thanks to everyone for contributing your great comments. If I hear of any promotional sales or free ebook offers on Jennifer’s book, Invisible, I’ll be sure to post it on my Facebook page.
**************************************
I’ve got some super exciting news to share with you today!
My dear friend, Jennifer Rothschild, is releasing her new book this week and she’s asked me to tell you all about it!
In fact, Jennifer was so gracious to answer a few personal questions for us which I’ve posted below.
Let me just tell you – Jennifer is the real deal! She’s so honest about her own struggles with insecurity and identity. We’ve all struggled, right? I know I have!
Well, Jennifer’s new book is going to completely change our perspective and help us see clearly our true identity in Christ.
The name of Jennifer’s new book is Invisible: How You Feel is Not Who You Are.
Guess what? I’m giving away a copy Invisible this week!
I’ll have more details about the giveaway towards the end of this post, but first, check out what Jennifer had to say:
1. Your new book is titled Invisible. What do you mean by the title Invisible?
Sometimes women can feel overlooked, unimportant or insecure. And, when we do, we feel invisible. Think about it—a mom who spends her days changing diapers, driving the mini-van and washing dishes. She can feel only as valuable as she is useful—invisible. Or, a woman at work who is constantly ignored when she gives her ideas—she can feel invisible. Or, a single woman at a party, trying to be a part of a conversation but she constantly feels like she doesn’t know what to say, she feels like she is not smart or cute enough; like no one even notices her—invisible.
2. In Invisible, you share Gomer’s story —from the story of Hosea and Gomer. What drew you to Gomer?
So, I wrote the book Invisible because I have struggled with insecurity and insignificance; I have felt invisible too. And, then I read this story about a woman named Gomer—a woman chosen, loved and prone to wander. Bingo. That’s me! I think she did what she did because she didn’t realize that she was not how she felt.
3. How did you grow and change through writing Invisible?
Well, I learned that there is a big “me” in GoMEr! I used to judge her—you know, like, I am not her. I could never be her. After all, she left her husband and went for other lovers. She had everything and she left what she had—security and identity—to go find it in all the wrong places. I learned that I cannot judge Gomer because I am gomer. I have often left my security and identity in Christ to go find it in the other lovers of acceptance, popularity. So, I was humbled by seeing myself for who I am and then, just plain amazed and overwhelmed to see that God not only loves me and wants me to return to Him, but He goes to whatever lengths He needs to to get me back. Amazing love.
4. The book of Hosea tells the story of how Hosea pursues Gomer even when she turns her back and rejects his persistent love. What is a time you were like Gomer?
I’ll be honest. I don’t have big dramatic Gomer Moments where I turned my back on God, but certainly have had moments where I found myself stuck in a pattern of getting my basic security and identity needs met in the wrong ways and wrong places. I open the book with a story about one of those moments. We were on a drive to a lake get away and by the time I arrived, I had been so drawn in by social media and how everyone else’s life’s were so perfect that I was a walking, talking, face book stalking identity crisis. So, here I was, “in Christ” but in full blown identity crisis.
5. What is one truth you hope readers will walk away with after turning the last page?
Oh, I hope there are a lot more than one! Gomer’s life is chock full of teachable truths that can free a woman from her chains of insecurity and get her out of an identity crisis.
But, if I had to choose just one…I hope the reader embraces that she is a gomer—I am a gomer—we all are gomer because we are all dearly loved and accepted. We lack nothing in Christ—we have the love we long for, acceptance we need and He makes us complete. That is who we are! Sure, we will still feel insignificant and insecure sometimes but I hope the reader will begin to internalize that how she feels is not who she is. I want women to realize that we are not the be-perfect or the be- tolerated, we are the beloved! Yes! Bring it on!
Thank you, Jennifer! You’ve amazing, Friend!!
Jennifer’s new book, Invisible: How You Feel is Not Who You Are is now available! If you order this week, you’ll receive several free gifts as Jennifer’s way to say thank you! Go to theInvisibleBook.org to learn more and grab your copy.
Now, if you’d like to be included in this week’s giveaway and possibly win a copy of Jennifer Rothschild’s new book, Invisible, {that launches THIS week} simply leave a comment below sharing why this book is meant for you.
Let’s help Jennifer spread the word about Invisible. Just click one of the the share buttons below and let your friends, family and co-workers know! You can also pin this beautiful graphic on your Pinterest board as a reminder that you are loved, accepted and complete in Christ!
Note: If you’re reading this in email formate, just click HERE to go straight to my blog, then scroll down to leave a comment.
Deb Huffaker says
This book would be an encouragement to a dear friend of mine. HOPE I’m not too late to enter.
Jan says
I’d love to read this book & share it with others. Jennifer has put into words something I often feel.
Kimberly says
This book looks amazing and so true to how I feel.
trish says
I look forward to reading & learning from this book…a life-long struggle with feeling invisible…self-doubt…insignificance…has left me shedding tears quietly for too long…
Jen Lehr says
I’ve often felt invisible and insignificant in life. Some of those feelings have translated into feeling invisible in my friendships and struggling to believe that my friends really do want me around. I struggle to believe that I have anything to contribute, anything that would give them a reason to want me around instead of just tolerating me. Deep down, I know this isn’t true, but it’s the lie that I so readily believe over and over again, and it causes me to withdraw from life over and over again. The message of this book is a very important and very needed one!
Deborah says
Strikes right to the center of every part of my being.
Julie says
I just love the message- you are not how you feel. That is so freeing, esp as women we go through seasons- being “mom” to a housefull, then the Mrs. Again and redefining that relationship- or finding yourself a single mom , widow, unemployed- its an everchanging landslide of emotions if we dont find ouselves rooted and grounded, remembering that we are dearly loved.
Vicki says
I too have left the security of God to seek approval in the world of social media & judgement of others. It’s exhausting. I’m working my way back to finding my strength & identity in the love of Jesus & our Father. Thank you for your work to help us find that strength.
Brandy Moore says
I read this interview with tears rolling down my face. I have felt invisible, replaceable, and lost for too long now. I cannot wait to read this book!
Teresa says
I feel invisible at work. I work for a motel in a rough part of town. When I first started here, there were many drug dealers and prostitutes using our motel rooms to run their businesses. It took over a year of calling the police almost every night to “clean up” the motel. Though I have given good advice on how to keep people from sneaking in their friends to stay when only one person paid for the room (we charge by how many adults are in room) and bring our rating up, none of the ideas have been utilized. It is not just for my safety ( I work the night shift) that I make these suggestions. And I am told they are good suggestions, but nothing is done with them.
Leah DiPascal says
Teresa, I’m praying now that God will place a hedge of protection around you while you’re at work. To keep you completely safe at all times and that He uses you to share the love of Christ with others who stay at your motel.
KellyK says
This sounds like something I need. I am almost definitely invisible. I am single. Live alone and have little to no friends. I say that because all my friends are either married or have children. So its hard to maintain that close a relationship with them. This is something men don’t seem to deal with. Losing friends to marriage and children. Because women have so much responsibility in each they often feel they have to let go of their friendships and focus most if not all on their families. Men on the other hand seem to be able to maintain those friendships because while they have responsibilities they don’t seem to be the hands on kind of responsibilities. Being me I have always felt invisible. I have never dated anyone. Most guys don’t even know I exist if any man knows. I feel invisible when I am with others because they already have strong bonds and I am just the outsider trying to fit in to this relationship. It doesn’t help that I am completely socially inept. I have no social skills what so ever which only leads to major anxiety in social situations. I often even think I am invisible to God himself. I feel like he often overlooks me and hasn’t acknowledged my existence in a long time. Often I get angry with God because I feel that is the only way to get his attention which really doesn’t work either. Then that leads to me doubting he even exists. I am so disconnected from every person and every being in the universe. Maybe it is me who doesn’t exist. At least moms and wives are needed. No one needs a single woman.
Leah DiPascal says
Kelly, I can sense the pain in your words and my heart aches for you. Being single can feel so lonely at times, but as a married woman, I can tell you that being married has it’s lonely moments too. That’s why whether we are single or married; have children or no children; it’s extremely important to make our #1 relationship with the Jesus. Only He can fill all the empty spaces in our heart. He sees you. He loves you. He longs to spend time with you. You are never discounted by Him. God’s thoughts about you outnumber the grains of sand. You are always, always on His mind.
Bobbi Wineberg says
Especially during my depression years, I so felt this way. As a mission pastor’s wife, I still feel like this from those who don’t know or seem to care about our work. It’s a lonely feeling that I have to give to God a lot.
Abby Breuklander says
Oh this sounds like such an amazing book , I can’t wait to read it!! I’ve felt so invisible the last couple years due to some chronic health issues, but I’m just now realizing that He’s truly at work in all of this, that I’m not invisible to Him! He’s been there every step of the way!
Jennifer O. says
I have felt invisible at many different points in my life. I have never studied Gomer before but would love to get to know her story through this book. I work in a junior high school and I know there are many kiddos there that feel invisible too…..hoping I might be able to use the book to help some of those kids as well.
Mary Townsend says
I was so intrigued by this post and not having recently read the book of Hosea, I read it again. I also Googled Gomer. The feelings of remembering all the times I have run into the abyss of seeking fulfillment in all the wrong people or places. I thank God that by His Grace and in His Mercy, through His pursuit…I am here in the right place in this time of my life, this very moment. I would love to read this book. Thank you for the blessings that I often find here in the community of your blog! God bless!
Stephanie says
Thank you for sharing this. I feel this book would help me because I feel invisible. God Bless you!
Barbara Postema says
Leah, I can’t wait to read Jennifer’s new book. I will order one for our church library so others can benefit from her as well. She is a great author and one who gives me much to think about and challenges me in my walk with Jesus. God bless, Barb Postema
Linda N says
Excited to see the cover! It’s the one I voted for because it’s how I have often felt – a mistake that a huge eraser has rubbed out. So looking forward to reading this. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
Miranda says
I feel insignificant all the time especially during this difficult time in my life. I always feel like my opinion doesn’t matter so why should I speak it.
Leah says
Hi Friends,
I’ve been reading the comments and praying for each of you this morning. Some of you have been through very painful situations and hurt by others. Although you may feel invisible, unappreciated, unwanted, insignificant or unvalued, God never sees you that way. You are His dearly loved child. God says your are more valuable than priceless jewels. You are the apple of His eye and you’re His greatest achievement. His love for you will never diminish or fade away. God’s love can never be taken from you. Don’t believe the Enemy’s lies. Instead believe the truth of who God says you are. Today and every day!
Jen Armstrong says
❤
Mindy says
This sounds like a book so many of us can relate to. I tend to get lost in my identity as a mom and all that goes with that. I forget that my identity is found in Christ alone.
Robin says
My insecurities can be overwhelming at times.
Jennifer Endicott says
I can so relate to this as I am in the midst of an identity crisis of who I am in my ministry role and what God is calling me to do next. This sounds like an awesome book! Would love to win it!!!!!
Becca says
Good Morning Leah,
I would appreciate receiving the book “When I Feel Invisible …” by Jennifer Rothschild. This is a feeling too have struggled with throughout my days as a plain teenager boys befriended to get to my prettier friends, early 20s as a single woman away from home, 30s as a newly-wed, step-mom, and young teacher, 40s and 50s as a grandma – because I’ve been told I’m not their “real” grandma! Ouch!
Jill Beran says
Thanks for sharing Leah! I’ve loved many of Jennifer’s books and trust this will be the same with “Invisible”. I can relate to much of what she said feeling invisible as a teen, a young single woman, a mom. At the same time, grateful God has used His Word to teach me that He is El Roi, the God who sees me!! Blessings to you!
janet says
this is going to the top of my to read list. I look forwarding to really getting into this as I also feel invisible.
Gloria Hardee says
Thank you for the opportunity to win Jennifer’s new book. As a mother and grandmother, you would think I would be past the stage of feeling “invisible ” or unnoticed by friends and family. No matter what age you are or what season of your life, Satan is alive and well. He wants to keep God’s children in some type of bondage. For women, it can be the feeling of being cared for or loved. I battle daily with feelings of uselessness or feelings of no one cares. Feelings of being invisible can attack at anytime and at any age. Thank you, Leah and Jennifer, for your inspiration.
Aubrey M. says
I didn’t use to feel invisible…I used to feel invincible! But as I start to believe the evil lies of sin and the devil, I found it easier to become invisible. I’d love to read this book in the hopes of coming out of the shadows and being seen again.
Sherrie says
INVISIBLE! You have no idea how often I use that word to describe myself! That is exactly how I feel – completely invisible. I really need to get this book.
Wendi McPike says
Invisible is the exact word that describes how I have felt for a very long time. Thank you. That is empowering and freeing to identify just that. I can’t wait to get into this book.
Teresa says
Since my husband walked away from our marriage (inverse Gomer), I have been invisible. His family, that loved and cared for me for nearly thirty years) now avoid contact with me. And my own family, to whom I returned penniless, after losing my job, received me with stony faces. My identity was further shattered by a debilitating disease which carves out my physical strength and mental prowess. If ever there was a person with an identity crisis, it is me. I need to win a copy of this book to affirm that God has my new identity in him all planned out and waiting for me in this empty, alien world.
Hope says
I’ve been struggling through an uncertain time. Too many questions on what the future holds and not a lot of answers. Sometimes I feel invisible even to God…think He has forgotten me. Thank you for reminding me that He sees me. He made me for a purpose and I am loved by Him.
heather says
Thanks for sharing this book! I am on a path of healing and seeing myself as GOD sees me. This book would be a great way to look into some of those areas I still need to work on.
Jen Armstrong says
Invisible…just like most, I have often felt invisible. Invisible as the only child in a home where sexual, physical and emotional abuse were my normal. Invisible living in foster care and adopted by my aging grandparents who’d long ago finished raising my uncle and my mother. Invisible in school where kids were preparing for work or college while I was busy numbing myself with cutting and alcohol, stumbling through days in an internal world of confusion, clouded by the heavy weight of depression. At 37, as a wife, mother of 3, friend, Jesus lover and Bible study teacher, the overpowering grip of depression still takes its toll on me…maybe more now than ever. Last year, as I battled constant and growing thoughts of suicide, I felt invisible. No one could see my pain. No one else knew the torment of nightmares from the abuse that ended decades ago. No one could see the flashbacks I could see, the ones that sent me right back into that he’ll I had begged God to free me from many times. I was invisible. In February 2015, I knew it was time…time to say goodbye to the world that could not see me. On a Friday night, I sat in my own dining room laughing with friends while my thoughts and my unbearable pain continued to go unnoticed. It’s amazing and yet sad, what a smile can hide. As my husband layer down in our bed and said goodnight, I swallowed, what I thought, we’re enough pills that I could drift off to sleep and forever be invisible. Today, I am the same invisible woman I was back in February, only now, I am no longer silent. Maybe my pain isn’t visible. Maybe the scars go unnoticed. Maybe people just don’t want to see. But I have a voice. I am speaking out for depression. I am a voice for all who’ve felt invisible. I even taught a study at our church in March and April, just weeks after my own suicide attempt…the study was on depression. Many men and women came. Many thanked me for doing the class, for using my voice when they felt so unheard, so invisible. I look forward to reading Jennifer’s book and am thankful that she too, uses her voice. Blessings, Jen
Leah says
Jen, thank you for sharing so honestly about the struggles you’ve faced since childhood. I’m sure that kind of pain runs very deep and although I didn’t experience the kind of abuse you did, I have battled depression in my life and like you shared, it can be so destructive. I’m so grateful God is healing you and using your story to bring hope to others in the midst of their own dark, depressive states. Keep sharing your story! For it is by the blood of the Lamb (Christ) and the word of our testimony that we overcome and defeat the Enemy (Revelations 12:11).
Jen Armstrong says
Leah,
Thank you so much for your kind words. It has been a long, hard road. The best thing I have learned is that even when I felt everyone else couldn’t see me or abandoned me, God never did. He has carried me through so much. Each day is a choice to keep going and it’s not an easy choice to make. I’m confident that someday, I will be in His presence and honestly, the temptation to see Him sooner is great. But I know He is leading me. I know others need me to show them there is hope. Thank you again for your encouragement and for sharing Jennifer’s book. You are very much a blessing to so many, including me!
Nicole says
Jennifer is right…. We are all Gomers. I can say without a doubt that was my past and is something that is still a struggle. I would love to dig deeper into this topic!
Sarah Travis says
“Invisible” sounds incredible Leah! Thank you for sharing Jennifer’s new book with us today. I can definitely say I have felt invisible many times, especially in the past few years. moving to a new country and make you feel invisible and as you struggle to find your place of belonging, and also invisible in the minds of those you had moved away from.
I am so thankful we are never invisible to our All-knowing, All-seeing Father God!
Sarah Travis
Heather Britain says
This book is meant for me because it’s the story of my life.
Kimberly Kicklighter says
This would be an amazing book to receive. I always feel invisible and would like to change that somehow. I believe this book would have some great incite on finding a goal to achieve. Thank you for an opportunity to be in this giveaway.