Have you ever thought about how God is different from you? If you're like me, you've recognized that there is a sure-fire difference between your finite, messy, and limited self and an infinite God, but have you ever taken time to think about the specific ways that God is different from you and been left in awe of His glory? Whether your answer is yes or no, I want to share a book with you that will make you think about these things. When a book comes across my path that broadens my understanding of God through His Word, I can't help but share about it and recommend it to others. None Like Him by Jen Wilkin is one such book. If I could encourage you to read one book this year, other than well... the Bible, it would be this book. Throughout the book, Jen lays out 10 character traits that make God different from us and what that means for our lives in light of God's character. On her website she shared that her purpose for writing the book was to show people how "meditating on God's character enriches our understanding of Scripture" and how "meditating on God’s character is intensely practical." The gist: meditating on God's character affects our lives. Here are the ten character attributes she touches upon in the book:
I wish that I could sit down with each of you over coffee or tea (or your hot drink of choice) and just talk about these different attributes of God, because they really leave me in awe of Him. I could talk about each of these attributes, and I'd love to devote a few blog posts in the future to them, but for right now I'll focus on one. Jen takes a chapter to focus on one attribute at a time, and when I started reading the chapter about God's limitlessness, I was blown away. I often live my life as if I'm limitless - I try to accomplish all of the things on my list, try to keep up with all of my friends, or take care of all of the house chores. I live my life thinking that I'm limitless, in my pride, I try to rival God. There is no one like God though, and I am reminded daily that I am so limited. God has placed healthy boundaries over our lives, like sleep. However, He is not bound by the same limits that we are bound by. How does this knowledge of God's limitlessness affect my life? Well, it gives me peace in the moments when I try to live like I don't have limits. When I feel overwhelmed by the amount of things I try to accomplish, a phrase enters my thoughts: You are limited, Madi, but God is limitless. It really frees me to submit to the boundaries God has placed in my life, like getting enough sleep, saying "no" to good things that hinder the best things, and guarding time for rest. Knowing that only God is limitless frees me from trying to rival God, and it makes me want to glorify and worship Him in the midst of my limits. This is just one example of how this book has impacted me, and I could share more about the other attributes, but I want to leave you wanting to read this book for yourself and to explore the ways that God is different from us and why that is most certainly a good thing. So if you're looking for an excellent read, None Like Him by Jen Wilkin is definitely a book to add to your list. The Amazon link to the book mentioned above is an affiliate link. If you click on the link and purchase this book, this blog is supported at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting She Laughs Without Fear!
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I believe that sharing insightful blog posts is caring, so I like to devote posts specifically to sharing things that I've read that have been encouraging, inspiring, insightful, or helpful. Here is this week's round-up:
For those of us that desire to blog and are not sure whether we should write on a personal blog: Is Blogging Dead? For those of us that struggle with exercising and finding joy in the discipline of exercise: Do You Exercise Like a Nonbeliever? For those of us that want to read a book that will help us to be in awe of God: None Like Him. For those of us that want to make changes to our bodies: Five Lies About Your Body For those of us that have felt the sacrifice of loving others: On Sacrifice and Greater Love May these articles encourage you on the journey. There is something strange about writing a review for a book on overcoming rejection, especially when your sentiments towards the book veer more towards rejection than praise. It is with humility that I share that Uninvited by Lysa TerKeurst is one such book.
I wanted to appreciate this book, especially since a number of women that I love read it and recommended it. I've heard a number of women share how it has encouraged them and how relatable and helpful it has been to them. I do not doubt that the Lord has used this book in their lives. However, I struggled while reading this book. Before I share some of the critiques of this book, I wanted to share a few things that I did appreciate. Honesty One of the things that I appreciated about this book was Lysa's honesty in sharing the ways that she has experienced rejection in her life. I could easily identify with the various situations that she shared and they recalled instances in my life when similar things happened to me. Chapter of Prayers Lysa takes a chapter to share several prayers to the Lord to encourage in times of rejection. Her prayers are based off of Psalm 91 and would be a helpful resource to someone in the midst of feeling rejection. End Chapter On Jesus I spent the entire book wishing she would focus on how Jesus experienced and responded to rejection and how we should respond to rejection in light of the love shown to us by Christ. It wasn't until her second to last chapter that she brought up how Jesus is the one that helps us to overcome rejection and live loved. I appreciated this last chapter, but wished it had come sooner. While these are some of the encouraging points of the book, there are a number of things that concerned me with this book and prevent me from recommending this to women that struggle with rejection. Shallow Content I spent most of my time reading this book just wanting more. Lysa shares personal stories and gives truisms about God and His love, but I did not see how this book would help someone overcome deep hurt from rejection, such as from a spouse or a parent or a close friend. The deep and heart changing content did not come until the second to last chapter in which Lysa focuses on the character of Christ in the midst of rejection. It saddened me to read this book and realize that I would not want to recommend it to a person that needs biblical encouragement in the midst of facing rejection. Twitter-Style Writing Uninvited is written in a twitter-style with staccato sentences and pages dedicated to a twitter ready quote. While I can understand wanting to appeal to a younger audience in the writing of this book, the twitter-style writing made it difficult to follow her writing. I really wanted to like this book. There were a number of passages that I appreciated, but the shallowness of the content is my main critique. If there is someone that wants to read an encouraging book filled with truisms about God in the midst of rejection, this book might be helpful. However, if there is someone that struggles with working through the rejection that they face, I would recommend looking at the life of Jesus in the Bible or finding another biblically focused book on the topic. I received a copy of this book from Book Look Bloggers in exchange for an honest review, and this is my honest review of this book. |
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