Hey CareNet Family! What a blessing to be a part of this organization! I wanted to take a quick moment to introduce myself to you. I am Mallory Cockrell, and am thrilled to share that I have come on board as Candy’s new Executive Assistant! I am married to my incredible husband of 9 years, Spencer, and together we are passionate about worship, prayer and seeing the Kingdom of God established on the earth.

For the last two years I have had the privilege of serving in CareNet’s mentoring program, #Reach4Greatness, and have been so blessed by this ministry. Like many of your stories, mine has been a wild ride, full of twists and turns. God sure does have a funny way of taking our plans, turning them upside-down and then giving us something far better than we had ever anticipated in our limited thinking.Too often we are quick to reject an open door because it looks different than we had played out in our mind. Although not every open door is necessarily the right one, we can miss out if we are not willing to be led into unknown or unexpected places.

For the last 2 months my husband, Spencer, and I have traveled in search of a new job for him after the closing of his current employer. During this time, I realized that I had unknowingly created a blueprint in my mind of what the future held and what I thought it needed to look like. Operating in this small thinking results in an inward tension- the tension between trusted submission and going our own path of what WE think is best.  Psalm 32:9 in the Passion Translation says, “I hear the Lord saying, “I will stay close to you, instructing and guiding you along the pathway for your life. I will advise you along the way and lead you forth with my eyes as your guide. So don’t make it difficult; don’t be stubborn when I take you where you’ve not been before. Don’t make me tug you and pull you along. Just come with me!”

It’s not easy going where we’ve never been, yet Jesus never asked us to know or understand, but to simply go with Him- to follow Him! Submission is simply the willingness to be led, even when it’s unknown territory. It requires trust, humility and complete surrender. So I invite you today to give Him YOUR plans in exchange for HIS! It probably won’t look anything like what you’ve imagined- it will be better!!

I look forward to the days ahead and am so grateful to get to link arms with you all as we expand the Kingdom through the beautiful ministry of CareNet!

Blessings,

Mallory

Buy Candy’s book Rescue here! 

You can swim confidently into the murky waters of parenting teens! Rescue offers wisdom, encouragement, and practical applications. Working with a group of young “Lifeguards” throughout the book, Candy Gibbs gives struggling parents the life preservers they need to rescue teens from a drowning culture. With Biblical insights and Candy’s own creative techniques, Rescue is the “Noah’s Ark” of parenting books, ensuring that today’s teens will carry on a legacy of godliness to generations to come. Find out more!