I don’t know who pointed her out to me, but I will never forget the moment she turned and I could see her. Xochitl Dixon. I’d heard amazing things about this woman, and couldn’t wait to meet her.
You know, technically, I never did. Oh, sure. I was introduced. We said hi. I’m pretty sure that at some point at that conference, she prayed for me. Probably, because she knew that if she didn’t, the food she would be served wouldn’t be edible.
I was in charge of food, you see. For a couple hundred people. Without the ability to actually cook anything. Yeah. The food crew needed help. It was my job to make sure people ate. I needed great, heaping gobs of help. A mutual friend said, “It’ll be fine. Xochit (Soh-chee) is praying.”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this translated to, “God’s warrior is in conference with Him for you.”
Xochitl prayed for people all day, every day of that conference. I found out the next year, she prays for attendees of conferences… before they even arrive. For weeks and months before, she’s praying—for the attendees, the faculty, the place we’ll meet, the appointments God will arrange for His people.
And all while enduring excruciating pain. Almost all the time. I feel like we need a hashtag for her. #BecauseXochitl.
She’s been waiting for a solution to that pain—for healing for years. Waiting for God to do whatever it is He’s going to do for her. Growing, learning… is it any wonder that when I found out she’d written a book, Waiting for God I requested a review copy immediately?
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What Will Waiting for God Do for You?
If you’d told me someone could write a “feel good” book that is both hard-hitting and shows example after example of people going through suffering, sometimes without relief this side of heaven, I’d have laughed. That’s not how I define “feel good,” and it’s not how this Christian life thing is supposed to work. Right?
Ha! Sorry, but I always have trouble not laughing when people claim that God’s people will only have joy, peace, prosperity, and perfect health if their hearts are perfectly aligned with God.
See, I think that’s true. I really do.
The key phrase there is “perfectly aligned.” That happens in heaven, folks. Here, we’re still fallen, messed up creatures. Saved by God’s grace? Definitely. Given the ability to hold fast in tough times? Absolutely. Free from trials?
Not hardly.
So how is this a “feel good” book?
Time after time, story after story, Scripture after Scripture, Xochitl Dixon shows the faithfulness of God even in the dark, hard, horrible times. She reminds us of Who holds our faith and hope in His hands.
Not only that, she does it without climbing into a lofty tower, having cornered the market on spiritual things. No, slugging her way through the dark times alongside the rest of us, she admits her faults, her failings, her moments of frustration and despair.
I don’t know how she does it, but in the midst of all of it, her devotion to prayer, to the Word, and to encouraging the body of Christ, she shows just what living an authentic Christian life really looks like.
That’s what Waiting for God does for you.
It brings you back to the feet of Jesus, time and time again. In a brilliant turn of phrasing that I’m totally stealing here, Dixon’s book helps you grow from being a do-it-yourself disciple into one waiting on the Potter’s wheel, ready for Him to make of you and your life what He wills.
Waiting for His will.
Waiting for Him.
And, as she shows us in story after story, Scripture after Scripture, Jesus is always worth the wait.
Devotionals aren’t usually my forte, but the moment I saw Xochitl Dixon’s unique name on the cover, I immediately requested a free review copy. I wanted to love it, but… devotional…
I didn’t need to worry. The book lives up to its claim. Waiting for God really does teach and encourage us to trust daily in God’s plan and place.
Recommended for anyone who has ever wondered if God is even listening—if He even cares. Also recommended for those who care about careful attention to not putting words in God’s mouth. While I didn’t read every word of the book before writing this review, I didn’t find a single place where I went, “Where’s that in Scripture?” Even when she spoke of God whispering to her to wait, she shares that He used the Word… His words in the Word to do it.
Waiting For God is on tour with Celebrate Lit.
About the Book
Book: Waiting for God
Author: Xochitl Dixon
Genre: Non-Fiction, Devotional
Release Date: August 7, 2019
Inhale God’s Word. Exhale in prayer. Rest in God’s love.
If your heart is weary and longing for answers—for healing, for provision, for miracles—Waiting for God renews your hope with strong biblical truth and encouraging Scripture-based prayer.
Conquer your fears and frustrations as you inhale God’s Word, exhale in prayer, and rest in God’s love. Live a life of deeper connection and immediate communion with God that can lead to contentment in His constant presence, no matter what your days hold or how long God’s deliberate delays may last.
Xochitl Dixon writes each chapter with heart-touching transparency and vulnerability, as she shares her own story as well as the stories of others who are trusting God through waiting seasons with no apparent end in sight. As a woman who lives with chronic pain, Xochitl understands constant struggle yet chooses to put God on the throne of her life.
About the Author
Xochitl (So-Cheel) E. Dixon has a heart for loving God and people. She’s passionate about intercessory prayer, nurturing spiritual growth, and the prayerful study and application of Scripture. Through her daily struggles with chronic pain, due to an upper back injury, she endured in 1992, she writes with transparency, ministers to the hurting, and inspires hope through worshiping God in all circumstances.
She serves as a regular contributor to Our Daily Bread (www.odb.org), a ministry devoted to making “the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all.”
Her devotional, Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace (Discovery House Publishers) released August 7, 2019. She is a contributing author for the upcoming Our Daily Bread devotionals: What Really Matters (August 7, 2019), And He Walks with Me (October 2, 2019), and Moments of Peace for Moms (October 2, 2019).
Her devotions have also been included in All God’s Creatures (Guideposts, 2019), God Hears Her (Discovery House, 2017), Our Help (Discovery House, 2017), and This Far by Faith: Legacies of the Black Church (Discovery House, 2017). Her nonfiction has been published in My Amazing Mom (Chicken Soup for the Soul, 2018), Second-Chance Dogs (Revell, 2018), LIVE Magazine (2019), and Church Health Reader (2019).
She followed God from California to Wisconsin and is enjoying Midwest adventures with her best friend and husband of over 25 years, Dr. W. Alan Dixon, Sr. She loves their sons, A.J. and Xavier, spoils her service dog, Callie, and likes serving as a speaker, traveling, photography, reading, singing, sketching, studying Scripture, and nurturing authentic relationships.
Xochitl connects with readers and shares encouragement devotions, prayer, and Scripture-based memes on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and on her blog at www.xedixon.com. You can also follow her Author Page on Amazon’s Author Central.
More from Xochitl
“Never pray for patience.”
My friend’s warning pricked at the back of my mind. Without realizing it, I began lacing my prayers with fear, doubt, and caution. I couldn’t risk being thrust into situations that would force me to develop patience, so I did everything in my power to avoid asking the Lord to help me be patient.
But even when I didn’t ask Him to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit in me, I always seemed to end up in circumstances that stretched my faith as much as my patience.
When my agent challenged me to write the book I had to write, I pitched Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace.
I thought I’d be sharing tips about how to persevere through trials and endure suffering with grace. But after I signed the contract and received a deadline for my manuscript, my husband received an unexpected job offer.
We followed the Lord from California to Wisconsin.
Writing became a challenge as I suffered a setback in my healing journey. I endured high levels of pain and fatigue. My husband and I struggled with frustration as we adjusted to life in the Midwest during one of the coldest winters in history.
And God changed my perspective on waiting for Him, which has nothing to do with patience.
I’ll be sharing my answers to the end-of-chapter questions on my blog (www.xedixon.com). I’m excited to invite you to join the adventure.
I look forward to growing with you as we wait for God, inhaling His Word, exhaling in prayer, and resting in His love as we trust daily in His plan and pace.
Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, September 2
April Hayman, Author, September 3
Genesis 5020, September 4
A Diva’s Heart, September 4
Through the Lens of Scripture, September 5
AndreaChristenson, September 6
Kelly Harrel, September 7
Mary Hake, September 7
For the Love of Literature, September 8
Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, September 9
Just the Write Escape, September 10
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, September 11
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 11
Texas Book-aholic, September 12
A Reader’s Brain, September 13
janicesbookreviews, September 13
Inklings and notions, September 14
Cultivating Us, September 15
God is Love, September 15
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Xochitl is giving away a grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card, a signed copy of Waiting for God, and a copy of God Hears Her (Our Daily Bread 365-Day Devotional)!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/eaef/waiting-for-god-celebration-tour-giveaway
Sounds like a wonderfully real and yet encouraging book! I had never heard of this author before, but your story of being introduced to her as a prayer warrior really struck me. That’s how I want to be known.
Xochitl has been such a blessing to me over our internet friendship. She is a powerful encouraged and prayer warrior. I am excited to hear about her new book. I added it to my suggested resources on my blog this week as I write about Staying in Step with Jesus. Thanks for hosting her today. I would love to win a copy and would also be happy to review it.
Thank you so much for taking time to bring to our attention another great read. I enjoy these tours and finding out about many terrific books.
This sounds great!
This book sounds like an amazing read.
I read your review through blurred vision, Sister. As I read your encouraging words, I shed tears of grateful joy. The last month has been tough for me. The Lord used you to remind me to lean into Him, to fall into Him. Hallelujah! Thanks for helping me spread the word about Waiting for God and for serving with me as we share His word to the ends of the earth. I am thanking the Lord for creating you and for sharing you with me! I look forward to seeing what He has in store for us, Sister! To God be the glory!
I am anxious to read some of this author’s works. They sound interesting and encouraging.
Thanks, Paula. I am praying for readers and looking forward to hearing what the Lord does as we surrender to Him one breath at a time.