Lisa-Jo Baker

In a world where women can unfriend each other with the swipe of a finger, how do we find friendships that we can trust to last? Maybe by first becoming those kinds of lasting friends ourselves.

As the community manager at the website incourage.me since 2010, Lisa-Jo Baker has had the chance to engage hundreds of conversations with women about friendship. She’s learned that no one can make us quite as unsure about ourselves as another woman. And nothing can wound as deeply as unkind words from a friend. While we are all hungry for friendship, it’s the fear of feeling awkward and being rejected, left out, or hurt (again) that often keep us from connecting.

But what if we knew we could never be unfriended? Would we risk friendship then? 

Starting with that guarantee from the most faithful friend who ever lived—Jesus—this book is a step-by-step guide to friendships you can trust. It answers the questions that lurk under the surface of every friendship—What are we afraid of? What can’t we change? What can we change? And where do we start?—with personal stories and practical tips to help you make the friends, and be the friend, that lasts.

A lawyer with a well-stamped passport and a passion for human rights, Lisa-Jo Baker never wanted to be a mom. And then she had kids. Having lost her own mother to cancer as a teenager, Lisa-Jo felt lost on her journey to womanhood and wholly unprepared to raise children.

Surprised by Motherhood is Lisa-Jo's story of becoming and being a mom, and in the process, discovering that all the "what to expect" and "how to" books in the world can never truly prepare you for the sheer exhilaration, joy, and terrifying love that accompanies motherhood.

Set partly in South Africa and partly in the US (with a slight detour to Ukraine along the way), Surprised by Motherhood is a poignant memoir of one woman's dawning realization that being a mom isn't about being perfect--it's about being present.

Some of the best and most difficult work God calls us to do is to love other people.

In a culture where friendship is measured in follows, likes, mentions, and snaps, and being "unfriended" is a very real worry, girls often think they need to have it all together--the pressure for perfection creates distance instead of real, authentic relationships.

We Saved You A Seat takes girls deeper into Scripture to learn how to create, invest in, and keep up lifelong friendships. Jesus is the role model for our friendships and Scripture is the foundation. We don't wait until we're all put together to come to Jesus. Over the course of seven sessions, girls will learn that true friendship takes...

• Showing up and being willing to go first
• Being vulnerable and knowing that real friendship is messy
• Encouraging rather than competing
• The desire for connection over perfection
• Forgiveness
• Knowing when to walk away
• Action

While girls may talk about the follows and likes and the perfect promposal, what they really want is true, lasting, unconditional friendship. They want connection. They want to know that someone saved them a seat.

Features:

• Leader helps in the back of the Bible study book so anyone can facilitate a group
• Personal Study to be completed between the 7 group sessions

Benefits:

• Debunk the myth that friendship is easy.
• Overcome the fear of knowing and being known.
• Quit running from friendship and find the courage to connect.

Lisa-Jo Baker has been the community manager for www.incourage.me, an online home for women all over the world, for nearly a decade. She is the author of Never Unfriended and Surprised by Motherhood, as well as the creator of The Temper Toolkit, and her writings have been syndicated from New Zealand to New York. She lives just outside Washington, DC, with her husband and their three very loud kids, where she connects, encourages, and champions women in person and through her blog, lisajobaker.com. She is convinced that the shortest distance between strangers is a shared awkward story, and she'd love to connect with you on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram @lisajobaker.

Some of the best and most difficult work God calls us to do is to love other people.

In a culture where friendship is measured in follows, likes, mentions, and snaps, and being "unfriended" is a very real worry, girls often think they need to have it all together--the pressure for perfection creates distance instead of real, authentic relationships.

We Saved You A Seat takes girls deeper into Scripture to learn how to create, invest in, and keep up lifelong friendships. Jesus is the role model for our friendships and Scripture is the foundation. We don't wait until we're all put together to come to Jesus. Over the course of seven sessions, girls will learn that true friendship takes...

• Showing up and being willing to go first
• Being vulnerable and knowing that real friendship is messy
• Encouraging rather than competing
• The desire for connection over perfection
• Forgiveness
• Knowing when to walk away
• Action

While girls may talk about the follows and likes and the perfect promposal, what they really want is true, lasting, unconditional friendship. They want connection. They want to know that someone saved them a seat.

Features:

• Leader helps in the back of the Bible study book so anyone can facilitate a group
• Personal Study to be completed between the 7 group sessions

Benefits:

• Debunk the myth that friendship is easy.
• Overcome the fear of knowing and being known.
• Quit running from friendship and find the courage to connect.

Lisa-Jo Baker has been the community manager for www.incourage.me, an online home for women all over the world, for nearly a decade. She is the author of Never Unfriended and Surprised by Motherhood, as well as the creator of The Temper Toolkit, and her writings have been syndicated from New Zealand to New York. She lives just outside Washington, DC, with her husband and their three very loud kids, where she connects, encourages, and champions women in person and through her blog, lisajobaker.com. She is convinced that the shortest distance between strangers is a shared awkward story, and she'd love to connect with you on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram @lisajobaker.