Wild + Free
/I (Brooke) am so excited to share this post with you as it's personal to me. I'm not buddy-buddy with the authors, but I do know them, have met them in real life (hugged them, of course), have seen what they are capable of (and been part of it) and know that they are the real deal. As one of the founding members of The Influence Network which these ladies created, I am delighted to share with you this snippet from ISSUE 04's feature with Jess and Hayley and their new book "Wild and Free."
Guest writers Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan
In many ways, we couldn’t be more alike and more different all at once.
The first time we officially met, in the flesh, we crowded our then six kids into a local café. Jess had just moved to the state of Indiana and Hayley had invited the Connolly’s to come visit. We’d talked online and communicated as bloggers – watching one another and interacting with each other’s lives online. We had a few mutual in-real-life friends, so it felt totally normal to pack the kids into a car and drive a few hours to make the relationship a proper one. That day wasn’t monumental and we didn’t exchange best friendship bracelets – but it was a sweet promise of what more the Lord would do in our lives, through one another, in the future.
And one day in October, about a year and a half after that phone call where we decided to start The Influence Conference, we had another wild idea over the phone. Maybe this declaration of wild and free was meant for more than just us to trade back and forth? Maybe it was a book we should write together? The more we prayed and talked, we realized – it was a book we could ONLY write together, it needed both voices and both perspectives. It needed Jess’ “Let’s Do This!” coaching call from the sidelines, and it needed Hayley’s “there, there” comfort and reminder to abide.
Wild: walking in who God created us to be Free: resting in what Jesus has done for us
Wild and Free is our love letter to the women of today. We believe Jesus is mighty in them and His grace is overwhelming, covering all insecurities and fears and hurts and what-ifs. It’s not that we believe that women should be more wild and free, we believe they already are and might just need the encouragement to live it out.
Read the whole piece including more details of Jess and Hayley's frendship, The Influence Network and how it grew from online to in-real-life in ISSUE 04 and get a copy of their book, "Wild and Free."
