The subtitle here is Embracing Who You Are, Becoming All God Created You to Be. The title might sound cheesy, but the content is a pure treasure trove of truth and encouragement. I have not highlighted so many lines and complete paragraphs in a book since reading Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts.
I loved so much the way Holley writes as if we're just two friends sitting down for coffee and a heart-to-heart talk. She is one of the most sincere and humble authors i've ever read, which is probably what i appreciate the most when reading a book such as this. With chapter titles such as "Who Am I, Really?" and "Why Do I Feel This Way?" to "What Does God Want Me to Do with My Life?" and "Is It Okay to Take Care of Myself?"Holley does get to the heart of the matter.
We women struggle almost constantly with comparison and perfectionism and wanting so much to make everyone around us happy. In this book, i learned about the importance of really figuring out who God made me to be--my strengths, my weaknesses, the people i'm most drawn to serve, the sphere in which i thrive--and then finding the freedom to live it out. And at the center of it all is the grasping at realizing exactly how deeply we are loved by Jesus. Because, the truth is this, as Holley says it, "You really are loved. Just as you are. More than you know…I don't have to be perfect. I only need to be perfectly loved. And i am. So are you."
I won't share too much because i really want to encourage you to read it for yourself. It was more "interactive" than i was expecting (with the helpful tools of figuring out your strengths, skills, your "who," etc.), but i'm so glad it was. Especially since i read thru the book with a friend (half-way across the US, and we'd visit on the phone once a week to discuss), it helped force me to actually engage and answer the questions. In the end, i know i definitely got so much more out of the book and it started to really stick in my heart.
Now, just a few of my favorite quotes (and i probably shouldn't post so many, but i know some of you can't just go out and buy the book this minute, so i'm sharing a few more so you have some real nuggets to mull over).
"We're afraid we won't be loved….A part of me still feels insecure. Fear pulls at the edges of my heart…It seems Jesus lays his hand on those frayed edges, those places i wish i were different, and He stitches them up with grace. He tells me again: Love all. Please One. Be who I've created you to be. You are enough because I am enough in you."
"We are to love people, but we're only asked to please God….We're called to care about others, to be kind and considerate, to try our best to bless them. But, ladies, we don't have to make everyone happy. And if we don't have to make everyone happy, then we don't have to be perfect. God has already declared us good enough, worthy in His sight, valuable, and with much to offer the world."
"We're here to express faith through love--for God, others, and ourselves. But how that happens does vary with each one of us. By understanding how we're created and called to express love, we find focus and direction. We can say yes to what matters most and no to what isn't necessary without guilt. We can make sure our days are spent wisely and we live well."
"It seems the point ins't how much we have on our own but Whose hands we place it in. God knows how to turn our little bit into a whole lot…What matters most to Him isn't that you always get it right but instead that you stay right by His side."
"The disappointment only comes when we expect all of the more we're promised in the then and there to happen in the here and now….What we've been talking about isn't making our lives perfect. Instead it's about learning to turn to Jesus when our hearts feel restless, to have the courage to be who He made us here and now no matter what…We were made for more than this, and yet we're also made for this moment. Out of all of history, God chose this time for you to be on earth…In between the laundry, the endless trips to the office, the mundane parts of being human, we can forget that we're part of a bigger story, a greater plan. And here's the thing: we only get one you. There never has been, and never will be, another you in this world. God doesn't have a backup plan or replacement policy."
And finally, "We may think back with regret on who we wish we'd been. We may look forward with fear about who we might (or might not) become. But the only place where we can offer ourselves, where God can use us, is the moment we're in right now."
(Revell Publishing, 2012. Direct link to purchase on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Already-Amazing-Embracing-Becoming/dp/0800720601/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1392657812&sr=8-4)
