Grace for the Good Girl by Emily P. Freeman

I have been a regular reader of Emily Freeman’s blog Chatting at the Sky and was an active participant in her online community gathering Tuesdays Unwrapped where we took the time to explore the gifts God was placing in our lives. Emily’s new book Grace for the Good Girl letting go of the try-hard life is surely one of those gifts.

The back cover intrigues with:

You're strong. You're responsible. You're good. But . . .

. . . as day fades to dusk, you begin to feel the familiar fog of anxiety, the weight and pressure of holding it together and of longing left unmet. Good girls sometimes feel that the Christian life means doing hard work with a sweet disposition. We tend to focus only on the things we can handle, our disciplined lives, and our unshakable good moods.

But what would happen if we let grace pour out boundless acceptance into our worn-out hearts and undo us? If we dared to talk about the ways we hide, our longing to be known, and the fear in the knowing?

I wasn’t sure I thought of myself as a “good girl” for I am one of those that Emily writes about who spent a lifetime of turning-away before I allowed the Lord to own my heart. Yet as I moved through page after page I did indeed find myself within her words.

If the masks we wear are the false identities we show the world, then our performance is the rubber band that holds them in place. I perform so you will like me. I perform so you will think I’m okay. I perform because it’s comfortable. I perform to prove my worth to you, to God, and to myself. I perform because I don’t know how not to. Page 24

There is hope, there is One Who desires to rescue us from our “good life” and allow us to live a life dependent on Him.

The Jesus dependent life is not a balance between a little bit of law and a little bit of grace. Be sure not to tip too far to one side! That’s the problem: we can’t figure how to keep the scale balanced all the time. The true gospel says we don’t have to. Page 74

Jesus came to save me from myself. He came to save me from self-effort. He didn’t just die for my sin to give me forgiveness; he rose again to give me life. And so he beckons me, “Come.” Page 124

There is freedom in the pages of this book. You will find yourself and find the One Who longs to lavish His grace upon you, and if you want to share the good news with others, there is a small group study included.

Don’t miss the chance to learn more about His great love. Don’t miss this book!

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

The opinions I have expressed are my own.