The first thing that Michael Phelps did when he won his 8th gold medal at the Olympic games was give credit to his teammates. No ones gets to his place in life alone. In contrast, another gold medalist beat his chest boastfully as he trumpeted across the field, showing off his feat.

Personally, I prefer the humble, grateful ones. To me, they are the true champions, because they remind us that being a champion is more about character than ability, more about gratitude than self-absorption – a lesson that I have learned the hard way.

Having just seen my own little dream come true, I really want to give credit to my teammates. It’s a strange thing to see the dream of your heart realized. The feeling I got when I first received my recently published book, Girl Perfect, in the mail, was this: Wow, dreams do come true. Wow, God does really hear our prayers, and He really does answer them! I felt like I had living proof of His goodness in my hands.

But I had living proof of even more than that – that we do not achieve our dreams alone, and that amazing things can happen when people band together for one sole purpose – to shine God’s light into a dark world.

The name on the book, "Jennifer Strickland," stands for so many more names than most readers will ever know. But I want you to know that it should really say, "Shane, Linda, Larry, Zach and Olivia Strickland, Jan, George and Greg Porter, mentors like Greg Johnson, Steve Arterburn, Jim Burns and Jan Leonard, editors like Debbie Marrie, Deborah Moss and Donna Hilton, and dear friends like Lori Kennedy, Kristen Smith, Caris Leidner, Katie Hickey, Wendy Sylvester and many, many more, who believed in my dream and sacrificed time, energy, prayer, frustration, tears and countless hours of their own lives to help my dream come true.
Today, I choose gratitude for all of you and the many more who supported me during this journey. This was a team effort. Behind each word and each story, there was a dedicated group of women praying as I wrote; behind each difficult moment in which I stumbled and sometimes fell, there was my mother-in-law, Linda, who caught lots of my tears and patiently listened as I wrestled with the truths coming out, and who spent innumerable hours filling our children’s love tanks and cooking dinners so I could write; and there was Larry Strickland, my father-in-law, who always brought me coffee, tea or dark chocolate right when I needed it; and there was my husband Shane who with his quiet strength kept me focused on the firm belief that it could be done, and that it should be done – that telling the story of my journey was worth it for the single goal of helping young women.

And of course there was my mother and father who chose to face the painful moments of their daughter’s life with grace and courage; and the editors who put up with my "girl perfect" mentality – that the book had to be perfect — while once again I learned a lesson in the writing and the publishing — that "perfect" is found only in heaven, and not in books!
So please, if you read Girl Perfect, do not pass by the acknowledgements. They are first because my thanks to all those who supported me comes first.

And maybe like me, you too might need to take a moment to stop and think about those in your life who have helped you get where you are, and let them know how much they mean to you. Those are moments well spent, because as the Olympians have taught us, those are moments that are the mark of true champions.