Book Review: Praying God's Word for Your Husband

   

I admit, when it comes to praying for my husband, I am often stumped and stick to the basics. "Please, Lord, keep him safe...help him do well at work and enjoy his job...help me to be a good wife…" and so on. Since he was not a Christian when we were first married, I was forever petitioning, begging, pleading God for his salvation, but once the prayer was answered and he began to know the Lord, I tended to forget that my "prayer warrior" work wasn't done yet.

Therefore, I was glad to review Praying God's Word for Your Husband by Kathi Lipp when Baker Publishing offered me the book. In these pages, Kathi walks us through various aspects, circumstances, challenges in the lives of our husbands and how we not only can pray for them but pray God's Word back to Him in our prayers. Why do this? As Kathi points out on page 33: "I was praying Scripture, so I didn't have to wonder if it was God's will. I was praying the promises that God had set out in his Word. Praying Scripture over my husband gave me a new freedom in my petitions to God."

I found this book to be a great resource in not only learning how to pray Scripture but how to apply it to specific circumstances in my husband's life. I also loved that there was a section in the book on how to pray for an unbelieving husband, since I think a lot of prayer references tend to leave this possibility out. I also enjoyed having the Scriptures and instruction broken out by circumstance/situation, because it makes for an easy reference when there is something in particular I want to pray about (employment, relationships, parenting, worry). This is more than a read once book, but a reference to keep handy as an aid in being an effective prayer partner for your husband.

**Available June 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. 


Note: I received this book for free in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own. 

Book Review: When Work and Family Collide by Andy Stanley

When Work and Family Collide by Andy Stanley is a book dealing with the pressures heaped upon working parents, specifically the tendency we have to give our work life a higher priority with our time and devotion than our family life. Andy's main perspective is that no one has enough time to give 100% to every pursuit we're involved in. Therefore, we have to choose which area of our life to cheat (and in fact, the book was previously released with the title Choosing to Cheat). The concept can be applied not just to work and I know some hobby bloggers who could plug "blogging" into that outlet as well because of the demands it places on our time.  

Since I am a work-at-home mom trying to make a full-time living while also being home with my family, the title of the book was intriguing. Work and family collide for me every single day, and I'm always looking for ways to help me get my work done more efficiently so I can be fully present for my husband and kids. That wasn't really what the book turned out to be about. Rather, it first encourages you to see your family as your highest priority, reminding the reader that a company for which you are sacrificing that which is most important in the world may not be so loyal to you when it comes times for layoffs, and the author presents a formula for those spending too much time at work on how to approach your supervisor with alternate solutions.

Since I am self-employed and am blessed to have found a workable solution to help me keep my family my first priority, I didn't gain as much from this book as would someone working a "normal" out of the home job or struggling with a typical work/life balance problem. There were several passages of the text that I would have liked my husband to read, since I know he has a very strong work ethic and can tend to give a great deal of himself to his work, and this has, in the past, been a point of contention. He used to travel a great deal and this book does address that particular situation quite a bit.

To be honest, I found the "you have to cheat somewhere" notion a little strange. He clearly isn't telling anyone to be dishonest or defraud their company; rather it's all a matter of prioritizing, but the "cheat" thing had some negative undertones to it and I sometimes found it hard to overcome the "cheat at work" mindset. I believe it's important both to put your family before your work as a general matter but also, to work hard and give it the best you have. I think managing a family and a career sometimes takes creative problem solving, and I'm not sure that his one-size-fits-all approach (based on Daniel's diet story in Scripture) is really applicable in all or even most situations.

It is a quick read, though, and definitely has some great encouragement for seeing your family in its proper place, then following through on that with action. If you struggle with how to give more of yourself to your family while holding down a career that demands a lot of you, you may benefit from giving it a read.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for a review from the Blogging for Books program. All opinions are always my own. Review contains affiliate links. 

Book Review: I Blame Eve by Susanna Foth Aughtmon

I Blame Eve by Susanna Foth Aughtmon is a quick and easy read that had me chuckling while examining my own heart. The book exposes our Eve-like actions and sheds a humorous light on the lies we believe about ourselves and others. I particularly loved the subtitle: "Freedom from Perfectionism, Control Issues, & the Tendency to Listen to Talking Snakes."

The essential solution Susanna presents is a simple one in theory, harder in practice: Know who you are in God and run quickly from the whispers of the Enemy. I enjoyed the author's voice, finding her quite relatable. She offered enough humor to keep me giggling…

"…Adam and Eve got to sit around naked and unashamed. Naked and unashamed. Now that is an oxymoron if I have ever heard one. In my world, if you are sitting around naked, there is shame aplenty. And if you don't have the good sense to be ashamed of your naked self, I'll do it for you. We live world's apart, pre-apple Eve and I." (page 26)

"You have never known the freakish strength of a toddler until you try to loose his tiny grip on a Thomas train." (page 38)

…but also enough substance to be worth the time.

"When God beckons us with his grace, offering us hope for a new life, it is a two-fisted offer. With one hand he offers full forgiveness for all our wrongdoing, past, present, and future, so we can reconnect with him by way of Jesus's righteousness. With the other hand he offers us a chance at a new way of living in which he leads and we follow. He does not forgive our sins and then say, "Give it your best shot, kid. I hope you figure it all out." (Page 94-95)

Check out I Blame Eve, available April 2012 from your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Baker Publishing Group in exchange for a review, but all opinions are always my own. 

Book Review: My Imaginary Jesus

"Matt Mikalatos likes Jesus a lot. In fact, he can't believe how much they have in common. They share the same likes, dislikes, beliefs, and opinions. (Though Jesus does have better hair.) So imagine Matt's astomishment when he finds out that the guy he knows as Jesus…isn't."

So declares the back cover of My Imaginary Jesus, the spiritual adventures of one man searching for the real God. The front cover quotes Relevant magazine: "Think Monty Python meets C.S. Lewis…" After all the heavy duty stuff I'd been reading lately, I grabbed this up off the Tyndale Blog Network list, figuring I could use a fresh breath of snark in my life, and snark I did receive.

The book follows Matt on a wild goose chase through the streets of downtown Portland in an effort to discover the real Jesus in a sea of imaginary ones… characters like Magic 8 Ball Jesus, King James Jesus, Testosterone Jesus, Political Power Jesus, Hippy Jesus, and Pure Reckless Fantasy Jesus. Here's a clip, taken from page 76:

"Nearby I could see a Jesus with a gray uniform and no mouth sweeping the floor.

'That's Liberal Social Services Jesus,' Bargain Jesus said. 'He thinks the best way to tell people about God is through service, but he never talks about God. He's great to have around because he keeps the place spotless. […] Sometimes his brother, Conservative Truth-Telling Jesus comes around. He has no arms. He thinks the only way to tell people about God is through hard truth, and he never raises a hand to help people with their physical needs. He's difficult to handle, honestly.'"

What I Liked

I loved that the book was set in downtown Portland, and as an ex-Portlander, some favorite PDX haunts popped up like unexpected friends dropping by… places like The Red and Black Café, Highway 26, Sauvie Island, Multnomah Falls Lodge, and even obscure ones like Pix Patisserie and Muchas Gracias. This probably accounted for a lot of my positive association with the book – there's something about Portland's comfortable weirdness that makes it the only acceptable city for a story this… well… comfortably weird.

I think Matt addressed some serious and vitally important issues in an approachable and humorous way. The book makes you laugh but also makes you look honestly at your version of Jesus, the biography you've written about him in your head, and compare it to the real One. It awakens the reality that we all are biased by a variety of false notions and we allow that to influence our faith and lifestyle. For this reason alone, I'd recommend it. I also think it's a perfect text for someone who isn't sure where they stand on the faith issue, or someone who thinks Christians are hypocritical or legalistic.

Believers and non-believers alike can gain something here and honestly enjoy themselves in the process. I think that's a tricky thing to do, and I applaud the author for that. Plus, the questions at the back are great, and in hindsight, I wish I'd have read this alongside a group of people and allowed it to open up some group conversations about the issues this book presents. There are enough philosophical and theological springboards here to engage a lively discussion that doesn't have to be a debate.

You know those movies you watch and think, "That would have been so much funnier or so much better if I'd have watched with a bunch of friends?" That's sort of what I mean. This is a perfect spark, funny and positive but serious at the same time, to start a discussion in a respectful way between people with differing viewpoints.

What I Didn't Like

What started out as familiar and fun, snarky and even genuinely convicting eventually turned daunting. I loved the Imaginary Jesus angle (and found that his favorite fake Jesus was a lot like mine), but I think Matt belabored the point a bit and I honestly think the story would have worked just as well with 50 less pages. Perhaps because it's written in a style I'm not used to reading (though I read plenty of snark and satire) – the sort-of-true, half-fiction, half-truth, sort-of-random-absurdity just kind of got old for me after a dozen chapters. It was a great concept, but I got impatient to be done with it when it became apparent that the wild goose chase was going to last 225 pages and end rather abruptly with the big question of the book feeling to me like it wasn't really answered. Perhaps that was the point, but it just felt a little weak and unsure and I had to actually re-read a bit to make sure I didn't miss something.

I personally would have liked more truth and less seemingly inconsequential drop-in characters. I did find myself wanting to know more about the real stuff he reveals in the story – more about some of his personal experiences that he half-shares, but were genuinely intriguing and interesting. It sort of felt like he wasn't completely committed to sharing his story, and so he made up some and filled some in, leaving the reader wondering what is true and what is made up, and it kind of killed the credibility of some otherwise powerful testimony.

Ultimately, I think it's a book a lot of people will enjoy, especially those who like (or need) to challenge their perceptions on faith and life and Scripture. It presents a huge and heavy spiritual challenge in a totally approachable and relatable way, and because of that, it's worth the read.

Disclaimer: Tyndale House Publishers provided a free copy of this book for me to review. All opinions are always my own. Product links above include my personal affiliate links. 

Book Review: I Am a Follower by Leonard Sweet

Perusing the shelves at the Christian bookstore about two years ago, I remarked to my husband, "Could they possibly publish another book about leadership? I've seen at least 200 in this place already. Someone needs to write a book on how to be a follower. The church is so inundated with the notion that everyone has to study leadership principles that everyone seems to be forgetting our call as Christians to follow Christ."

When I saw Booksneeze.com offering an opportunity to review IAm A Follower: The Way, Truth, and Life of Following Jesus, I quickly put in my request. Finally, I thought, the book we all need to help us transcend this leader-centric culture.

Leonard Sweet starts off strong and in the first few pages, delivers a few powerful punches. "The longest distance in the universe is the distance from zero to one," he writes (p. 9). "Show me anywhere in the Bible that says the ultimate goal of human existence is to be a leader. It's not there. […] The church is not led by leaders but by Christ. Everyone else is a follower. Leadership has led us to a place where everybody is trying to get everybody else to do something, and no one ends up doing anything." (pg. 24)

What I would have loved to see was a chapter or two devoted to the why of "followship," and the rest of the book addressing the how. Instead, the book proved not to be a book about following but a book entirely promoted to the argument against the notion of leadership. By the second chapter, Leonard is worked up and slamming the leadership notion into obscure metaphors comparing leadership culture within the church to cannibal galaxies in the universe, calling leadership principles nothing more than cultish celebrity worship, and getting rather spiteful in his position against leadership as a concept.

The book took such a strongly defensive position so early on, and although I was on the author's side before I ever picked up the book, it wasn't long before I felt engaged in an argument I hadn't planned on being invited to. If you are one who believes the church should follow a business-model hierarchy, you may find a mind-opening concept here. If you don't, it may just feel like 288 pages of preaching to – or, rather, battling with – the choir.

The book was a let-down for me, perhaps because I feel the title leads the reader to believe the book will be a study of following Jesus rather than engaging in a theological argument against leadership and would have been more aptly titled 'Why There is No Such Thing as a Christian Leader' or 'Why Bill Hybels is a Sham.' It missed the mark, in my opinion, by being a philosophical exegesis to argue against the notion that, as Christians, we can ever be leaders in any form. He does suggest, nearly as an afterthought, that we can, perhaps, be influencers, but Christ is the only and ever leader. I may have agreed with his philosophy here had he spent any time dealing with either the practice of influencing or of following in particular.

This book's concept could have been a great resource to encourage the Body to step back and remember our purpose, but instead, it arms you with boxing gloves for battle when you didn't realize you'd even stepped in the ring. That said, there were occasional nuggets of wisdom that hit on important truths.

"Pedestrian churches consist of people who walk with Jesus in his journeys on the earth. I am increasingly calling for artisanal communities where success is measured not in statistics but in stories told in an authentic voice." (Page 82)

"We can't force fruit in our lives. That's the work of the Spirit. Our part is to faithfully sow the seed of the Word into our own lives and the lives of others, to cultivate the soil of our hearts, and to receive the rain of God's Spirit upon our hearts in whatever form God sees fit to pour it out." (Page 93)

I have a hard time believing that there is no place for leadership in the church. Call it influence if you wish, but as a woman married to a man who oozes a truly innate ability and desire to influence and point others toward the cross, I can't make the jump into wiping it out of the Church in general. I agree that our focus needs to be on emulating Christ, not seeking our own success or prestige and that, of course, Christ is the ultimate authority and all good leadership done is done under his authority and pointing only to Him, but I believe influencers have a place in the Body as a part of that design.

If you believe everything you hear in leadership conferences and buy every book on leadership principles you find then give this book ashot. It might challenge your perceptions in a way that helps you find healthy footing and examine your motives. Otherwise, skip it and use your time reading the Gospels for instructions on being a follower.

Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy of this book by BookSneeze.com in exchange for my review. I was {obviously} not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are always my own. Read more product reviews and other information about this book here: http://booksneeze.com/reviews/bybook/9780849946387

Book Review: Beautiful Battle: A Woman's Guide to Spiritual Warfare by Mary DeMuth

Mary DeMuth is one of my mentors, even if she doesn't know it. After reading her honest and raw memoir, Thin Places (which I highly recommend), I was shocked at how closely my early life experiences so closely resembled those she journeys through in her memoir. Mary's writing ministry is powerful and I pray that God will allow me to encourage and inspire others through authentic writing the way Mary does.

When I dug into the pages of Beautiful Battle: A Woman's Guide to Spiritual Warfare, this same phenomenon gripped me to the book's pages. How did she get inside my head and tell a story about exactly what I went through? In the book, Mary uses the lessons learned in her dark and painful time of service in ministry in France to encourage other women facing spiritual warfare.

As I read about these experiences, my still-raw heart flooded with memories of my time in ministry in Texas, the dark and difficult time of spiritual warfare I endured there, an experience I am now recovering from and resting in God's victory of that battle for my heart, mind, and emotions. My experienced seemed to mirror the one she details of her time in France, and while reading, I wished over and over and over again that I had had this book to help point me to the Truth I needed to rest in during that time.

I have to admit that spiritual warfare is not a topic I enjoy reading about. Like many Christians, I tend to avoid the topic of the Enemy altogether, dismissing evil as mysterious and scary and a terrible thing to waste my time pondering. Still, at some point in every Christian's life, we find ourselves neck deep in warfare, and from experience, I can tell you… Being ill-equipped to handle battle is not the best way to trudge through it.

What I enjoyed most about Beautiful Battle was that Mary did not simplify the intricacies of faith or warfare, nor does she make excuses for why God allows such suffering. She does not present a wham-bam formula or an oversimplified, one-size-fits-all version of how to emerge victorious. She does not focus on the Enemy but rather on the Lord, inspiring us in our darkest hours not to consume ourselves with the how of spiritual warfare, but instead on the who – the One who holds the power over defeat, and what it looks like to protect ourselves with His armor.

Something I appreciate about Mary's writing is that in all her books I've read, she isn't afraid to tell the truth. Mary doesn't sugar-coat things or put on a Holy Holly Christian face that I find hard to relate to, the way many Christian authors tend to do when writing from an authoritative perspective on a spiritual matter. Mary is quick to share her real struggles, bare the rawness of her heart and experiences, admit her failures, and expose her own brokenness that we might see ourselves in her (I know I do) and connect with what she has learned to help us take another step in growth.

Authenticity is what I admire most in a writer, and Mary's got it. As she says on page 86 of Beautiful Battle, "Authenticity is our declaration that we will live in the light." Amen, sister! Another of my favorite quotes in the book appears on page 135, "If I keep my heart in fear's forest, I'll never fly."

Mary urges us to not just read the Word of God, but to claim it in its full power. "What would life look like if you truly believed the words of Romans?" she writes. "To live as if nothing fazed you in light of Christ's amazing love? Not even the demonic can separate you from God's love. Rest in that. Believe that. Live that." (Page 140, Beautiful Battle).

Whether you're currently experiencing the terrorizing emptiness of spiritual warfare, you have in the past, or you're headed there in the future, I highly recommend keeping a copy of this book tucked under your armor. Mary only points to the truth of Scripture as weaponry against evil, but she is a wise friend to keep beside us in battle. You can purchase Beautiful Battle, Thin Places, or Mary's other books through the links on this page. 

Book Review - You're Already Amazing

Hi again friends! I'm still on blog hiatus (until Easter), but am still posting book and product reviews per prior commitments. Miss you all!
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"You don't have to do more, be more, have more."

This is what Holley Gerth suggests on the back cover of her newest book, You're Already Amazing. The subtitle teases me with a glimpse of what I long for, "Embracing Who You Are, Becoming All God Created You to Be."

But how?

How do we embrace our worth in a culture that caves in around us, with the lie that is eternally whispered into the depth of a woman:

You aren't enough. You are too much. You must keep reaching, keep trying, keep striving to be good, to be worthy of love.

You're Already Amazing is a big, soul-hug from a good friend, but it's more than that. It's an instruction manual on personality and purpose, and a mirror held up to reflect us only in light of who God says we are without the lies that blind our vision.

This is an interactive text and Holley gives us the opportunity to work through the truths she presents bite by bite. There is a "Go Deeper Guide" at the end of the book with sections for further study of each chapter.

Holley has a beautiful way of presenting her loving message directly, so it hits right between the eyes. She's never harsh, but helps us look at the whole picture in such a way that we can operate in our strengths and gracefully minimize the impact our weaknesses have on us.

"Love in a biblical sense isn't a touchy feely, vague experience. It's a verb. It's a series of choices and actions in our lives. So the next step in our process is to look again at your life through the lens of love." – Page 131

Perhaps the most insightful aspect of the book (for me) is its focus on pursuing purpose rather than perfection. Feeling like I was able to internalize this in a new way frees me up to connect more deeply with what God has for me in the world, not work to burden me but my heart and soul in action with Christ's leading.

Holley leads us to develop a LIFE statement (LIFE = Love is Faith Expressed) to help us check our actions, activities, and motivations against what we know about our journey. Mine looks like this:

I am created and called to express my faith through love, especially by inspiring, nurturing, and encouraging God's children through honest words, shared experiences, and creative nourishment.

There is a profound power in connecting with your deepest purpose in light of the Kingdom, and Holley's words were a beacon for directing me to embrace all that I am and even what I am not, to make more room for that which belongs in my path.

You're Already Amazing exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds. I expected a pep talk, a sweet reminder to love myself, and an encouraging spur in the right direction. I didn't expect the book to be so chalk full of actual steps on that path. Holley is a woman deeply connected with her purpose, and it shows. I'm happy to have had the opportunity to glean from her wisdom and experience in this area. Ladies, don't miss this great resource.

Get You're Already Amazing through the links on this page. DaySpring has the entire Holley Gerth collection at 25% during the month of March! Woohoo! One of the best ways you can spend a couple bucks, for real.

25% off Holley Gerth Collection with code HOLLEYG25!

It's also the (in)courage Bloom book club selection of the month. Join the conversation!

Holley Gerth - You're Already Amazing

(Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.)

Book Review: Sarai by Jill Eileen Smith

I don't read much Christian fiction, mostly because I tend to find the characters a bit hollow and one-sided, the stories wrapping up too cleanly to be believable. Yet, when Revell/Baker Publishing Group contacted me with an invitation to review Sarai by Jill Eileen Smith, I was intrigued. I hadn't read any biblical fiction before and I was curious how a novel about an actual biblical character would read.

I was skeptical about this telling of Sarai, especially in light of the ancient lands and unfamiliar culture the story is set in. I knew the biblical account of Sarai and Abram, but when the first few pages of the novel buzzed casually with terminology like ziggurat and lapis lazuli, introducing characters whose names I couldn't pronounce, I worried the cultural divide would either confuse or bore me with the excruciating detail of an ancient time and unfamiliar place.   

It didn't take me long to realize that Jill Eileen Smith is a gifted writer with a true insight when it comes to reading between the lines of Scripture. She writes with a sensual familiarity of ancient biblical culture and a read on the conflicted nature within every human being. In the novel, she unravels the mystery behind Sarai's lifelong barenness, God's promises to Abram, Abram's nephew Lot and his self-dependence, and the difficulty of a long-suferring faith in Adonai amongst the polytheistic culture of their time.

She beautifully details the human struggle for control in the midst of God's promises, the pain of infertility, the consequence of doubt, the jealous nature between women, the challenges of a nomadic lifestyle, and the nuances of a culture built on ritual and sacrifice, not to mention the redemption of it all by a mysterious but always-loving God. Ms. Smith paints a clear cultural setting but weaves this more as a heart-gripping romance than a history book, while still remaining true to the biblical account. I admire the way she can expand upon the existing story without much speculation, without adding significant plot lines, rather imaginatively painting the story for what it already is.

I'd highly recommend Sarai and I'll surely be on the lookout for other books in her Wives of the Patriarchs and Wives of King David series. Keep your eyes open for Sarai to hit bookstore shelves – it releases tomorrow on Amazon.com, but you can preorder now through the links above.  

Sarai is available March 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. I received this book free from Baker Publishing Group in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own. 

Book Review: The Harvest of Grace by Cindy Woodsmall

Hi friends! *Wave*

I'm still on blog hiatus, but I said I'd be back here and there for a few reviews and other bloggy business, so here I am. Miss you all! :)

Book Review: The Harvest of Grace

Having previously read and enjoyed Cindy Woodsmall's Sisters of the Quilt trilogy, I was glad for the chance I was given by WaterBrook Multnomah to review The Harvest of Grace (an Ada's House novel). I may have jumped the gun a bit as I hadn't realized until it arrived that it was the last book of a three-part series. Figuring I couldn't offer a fair review without having read the rest of the series and not wanting to drive myself crazy reading a hole-filled story, I picked up the first two books in the series: The Hope of Refuge (book 1) and The Bridge of Peace (book 2) so I could read through the whole Ada's House series in order.

Like Cindy Woodsmall's other Amish fiction, The Harvest of Grace intertwines the complex stories of several members of a particular Amish community, and its reader gets to shares in the ups and downs, challenges and triumphs of the so-called simple life. I particularly enjoy Cindy's multidimensional way of building characters and the internal struggle that goes on within each of them. Even the most Pollyanna-esque among the characters in this book has her own conflicted side.

The Ada's House series follows the street smart and not-at-all Amish character Cara Moore through her rocky beginnings as an exotic dancer in New York City, through her difficult transition into the Amish fold when she lands in an Amish community while on the run from a dangerous stalker and decides to stay put. This one aspect of the series is what attracted me to the book – the curiosity of what it would be like, as an outsider, to embrace the Amish lifestyle. This book also introduces Sylvia Fisher and details her own conflict in leaving home to run a farm – not a typical lifestyle choice for a young Amish woman.

The series in general and the book in particular painted quite a few strong female characters and Cindy had a delicate way about breaking female-role stereotypes, something I particularly appreciated about this series in the beginning, but which fell a bit flat by the end of the book when, in typical fashion, wedding bells trump all other pursuits for every single character in the series.

William Faulkner said the problem of the human heart in conflict with itself makes for good writing, and Cindy's way of weaving this conflict through a plot line is artful, nearly all her characters likeable. She accurately portrays the human condition and our tendency to battle between following our head and following our heart, noting the flaws within "good" characters and the redeeming qualities in the "bad" ones.

For anyone familiar with Amish fiction, the Ada's House series offers a familiar plot scheme – the grand finale and happily-ever-after finality of a sought-after wedding or five. The series, like other Amish fiction, ultimately is the telling of the various characters' winding pathway toward marriage, assuming, of course, that post-wedding life will be a happily-ever-after affair full of babies and farm chores and that this will adequately satisfy all the strong-willed women of the story.

If you're looking for a heart-warming book with a happy ending, The Harvest of Grace won't disappoint. I found it casually predictable and the complicated tapestry of events tied together a little too effortlessly, but all in all, it was a likeable story that I'd recommend. While I abhor romance novels, I enjoy Amish fiction (sometimes considered in the "romance" genre) for the mental break it gives me, so the predictability and squeaky-clean story line don't bother me much. While I think I enjoyed the Sisters of the Quilt trilogy more than this one, The Ada's House series is, in general, a good clean read that might have you longing for a bonnet of your very own.

Want a sneak peek for yourself? Read the first chapter here.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own honest appraisal of the material provided.

I'm a Recovering Good Girl

I'm a try-hard.  Actually, I'm a try-harder, since try-hard never manages to measure up.  And I care desperately what you have to say to me, about me, about my worth.

(As Emily P. Freeman says, "If you wonder what gives you the authority to define me, I will say it is because you exist.  I must have worth and it is up to you to give it to me…I beg you to see me, to notice my goodness, to ignore my failure, to be inspired by my beauty, to be captivated by my essence." (Grace for the Good Girl, p. 17, 18)

I shouldn't do that, of course.  

I know where my value comes from.

But I am afflicted with a syndrome that makes me ever striving toward a make believe notion of good enough.

I am a good girl.

And this book?  Grace for the Good Girl by Emily P. Freeman…. Well, I'm only on chapter 1, but it's rocking my socks off. 

"I taught people around me that I had no needs and then was secretly angry with them for believing me.  Somewhere along the way, I got the message that salvation is by faith alone but anything after that is faith plus my hard work and sweet disposition." (GFTGG p. 13, 14)

Can I get an "amen"? 

…And all the bloggers said…Amen.

Maybe you're a good girl too.

If you'd asked me a month ago if I was a good girl, I'd have shook my head.  Nope.  Not hardly.  Good implies … well… good.  And I never feel good.  Not really.  I'm not even well behaved.  I am prone to surfing the internet when I should be cooking something nutritious for my family and craving a glass of wine every now and then and ten minutes ago, I devoured an entire king-size Snickers bar without coming up for air.  I sometimes watch rated R movies and used the "s" word yesterday and considered, at least twice this week, running away to join the circus.

Good girls don't do things like that.

Reading this book, though, makes me realize just how much good girls do do things like that.  They tell themselves all kinds of lies about the hundred arbitrary ways they'll never measure up… and then suffer in the misery of persistent failure.

If you don't already have a copy of this book, do yourself a favor.  Join me.  Buy it, read it, soak up the truth that has already begun to penetrate my mask-wearing heart.  And thank you, Emily P. Freeman, for writing such honest and beautiful words that cut to the core of this people-pleasing, try-hard heart.

Linking up to: www.mommadaybyday.blogspot.com.

Buy this book through my Amazon affiliate link and support WhimsySmitten.com!