Loop: Author interview with Jennifer Camp
Friends, I want to introduce you to my friend Jennifer Camp. Jennifer’s book, Loop, has just released and I want you to know about it for the jewel that it can be in your life. Her writing is a tender invitation to hear God’s voice spoken over you. More info on getting your hands on the book below, but first I want you to listen to this dear woman’s heart for you… hear her responses to the questions I’ve put to her.
I think you’ll find, as I do, that her desire to internalize the fullness of God’s words to us in scripture is earnest, warm and beautiful.
What is Loop?
Loop is simply this: a collection of whispers to my heart as I asked God what He wants to say to His daughters. Daughters who are busy. Daughters who are weary. Daughters who are lost. Daughters who are finally ready to lay down their burdens. Daughters who are eager to abandon the lies they’ve been believing–about God, about themselves, about how they are made and what they are designed to do. Loop is written for you.
What is your hope for the hearts of the women who read Loop? (And for what kind of woman would it be a good Christmas gift, since we’re all shopping now?)
My hope for Loop is that women who are hungry for God will hear His voice to their hearts. Loop would be the perfect Christmas gift for the friend, the mom, the sister, the next-door neighbor, the aunt who is tired of trying to fix her life on her own. It is for the woman who has forgotten she is loved, she is adored, she is chosen. It is for the woman who is open to listening carefully, to pausing, to noticing how God wants to care for her. It is for the woman who is eager to be pursued by a God who wants to grab hold of her and never let her go.
Is there a story you can share from one of your readers on how it’s already impacted her?
There are so many stories. Just this question brings me to tears, as Loop is beautiful in how I never knew, when it was first being crafted, one by one, that it would bring hope and invite rescue for so many women. I just knew I needed to hear His voice; I needed to heed Him more than anything else—and then I wondered if there were more women like me, too. So, I started to ask God, in prayer, “what do you have to say to your girls, your daughters?” And then I would write down His response. My Loop email file is filled with stories of women who face anxiety, sickness, and depression. There are stories of pain and sorrow, of hopelessness and fear. The emails come from places of wounding and the determination to hear hope in the midst of trials. It is an honor to hear the stories, and to be able to write back—only from a place of surrender and of prayer, a reaching across what feels like a huge space but what God has made an intimate connection between one sister to another. I have written on my blog for almost four years now—but it is the stories of Loop readers (when it was exclusively sent out as an email devotional twice a week) that have changed me and made me see God’s character and love Him even more.
Most great writing comes from a personal experience that prompts it. What was that moment/situation behind Loop?
For most of my life, I was the girl who believed love was earned through achievement. I grew up going to church and learning about God. And I believed in him, but I didn’t know him. So, I made some decisions in high school to try to prove my worth—a worth that cannot be proven. One worst choice was the decision to have an abortion at age 16. A second worst choice was closing down my heart and letting my pride keep me silent from sharing the truth of my true self, my selfish, self-absorbed self, for twenty years.
For me, my journey to get to know God was through the recognition of my brokenness. Loop began from a heart tired of trying to prove, a heart longing to surrender, a heart yearning to be loved by a God who she knew, finally, has loved her—despite herself—all along.
Do you have a favorite selection from Loop — one day that was most meaningful to you to write? Why?
My favorite? Each one. Every one. Each layered upon the other. They blanket my heart. They show me His face. They are words that fill the room where I sit and bring me right into Him. It is where I want to be. It is where I want to stay. My husband had rings made for me that stack, one upon the other, with words on them that come from Loop. (You can look for them in the book). They remind me of the foundation of what Loop is all about—the invitation to believe something very simple: “Stay here, my love. I stay.”
If you could sit face-to-face with your readers, on a cozy couch with mug in hand, what would you want to talk about with them?
Seeing my readers face to face would be a dream come true. They are my heart, when I pray, when I listen, when I spend time with God. He loves them so much. He delights in singing over them, reminding them of his presence with them. I would want to hear their voices—the sound of their voices—and their stories. I would want to learn about what they think about when they look for God, when they seek Him. I would want to know what it is like for them to be with Him, to spend time with Him. We need each other stories, each other experiences, as they help us know Him even more.
Jennifer Camp is the co-founder of Gather Ministries and author of the newly released Loop: What Women Need to Know, a one-year, twice-a-week devotional for busy women hungry to hear God’s voice right to their hearts. Purchase Loop by this Friday, December 5 and receive six art downloads (pictured at left) to print out and hang in your home or give to your friends for Christmas. Or, purchase ten or more Loops and receive the new audiobook of Loop, by February 1. (Just email Jennifer the receipt at jennifer@gatherministries.com.)
You can also find Jennifer writing regularly at her blog, youaremygirls.com, and holyentanglement.com, a blog she writes with her husband, Justin, about the hot mess of a holy marriage. She would also love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter.
Looking for a Bible study to keep you in the Word during Advent? Join me live or virtually. Cost is free and it begins on Monday, December 1. Invite a friend or start your own group. Click here for more information and to register now.