Veneer by T. Willard & J. Locy

For those of you who are regular readers here, you should already have a sense that the desire of my heart is to live an authentic, transparent life as I journey the path our Lord has called me to.

When I heard that I had been blessed by Dan King (bible dude) with a free copy of Veneer Living Deeply in a Surface Society by Timothy Willard and Jason Locy I knew this was a book I needed to read. The back cover hints at the riches inside:

Our lives are full of scars, quirks and insecurities we have learned to hide in favor of a more glamorous veneer we hope the world finds more acceptable. This is the modern tragedy. We have forgotten that like the stress-lines and fractures of antique wood, these imperfections in our lives make us beautiful.

Abundant living is more than a wall-post existence. Rich relationships are more than trends, status updates and group invitations. But neither are possible until we allow ourselves to be fully known, imperfections and all. Only then will we come to experience the life we are meant to live.

Willard and Locy deliver truth as they not only describe the problem, but offer advice on how to take off our masks and live stripped of our veneers.

A relationship of intimacy requires courage, the ability to look past uncertainty and see what could be. Courage looks beyond our fears and permits us to express feelings that lead us towards intimacy.  It requires courage, for example, to confess to your wife that the distance in your relationship is driving you to depression or even an affair.  It requires courage to tell your friend that she's headed for a fall with her family if she doesn't make serious changes in her work life.  It requires courage to admit and to confont.  But the wounds from a lover are worth it."

I want to live with that kind of courage and the cry of my heart is that others would make that same choice.

With books like Veneer to help us along the way, perhaps my dream will see full flower.