Unlikely Rebel Book #Review with #Giveaway

No formulas, no pat answers. Just real life. Real questions. Real transformation.

Approach many women in the church and if they’re being honest, they’ll tell you they • try hard to keep it all together; • are frustrated that being good doesn't deliver the perfect life;• feel trapped in expectations;

• make decisions based on "shoulds";

• feel selfish when they say no; and

• are uncertain of their place in God's kingdom.

Between the desire to please God, the need to feel valued, and the compulsion to make everyone around them happy, women often find themselves denying their desires. It's safer to stay in the life of "shoulds"—even if it means being spiritually and emotionally disconnected.

Kelli Gotthardt knows their pain. Always considered a "good girl," she threw herself into every ministry, saying yes to every request her church family made. On the outside, her life looked completely together—but she was drowning in self-doubt and shame. Unlikely Rebel is the story of how Kelly slowly shed shoulds and shame, learning to love God and love who He created her to be.

The journey from the comfort of doing everything expected of a perfect pastor's wife to the uncertainty of living authentically and true to her unique calling is equal parts exhausting and exhilarating. Many Christians condemned her, responding with fear or anger to her greater intimacy with God's calling when it didn’t match their own vision. For others, though, her journey inspired courage to embrace God's path for their own lives.

Now Kelli invites other women to discover God's leading in their lives, learning that if they throw off the despondency of undeserved shame, abundant life awaits.

MY THOUGHTS-I was somewhat unsure about this book. The title kind of threw me off a bit and I was also hesitant because of what I would find inside. Would it convict me? Or would it be just another fluff story that you read, smile and say, that was okay but I didn't really get anything out of it. Well, it definitely gave me some things to think about and I was so moved by it, I am going to give my copy away to one of my readers.

This book is meant to be taken slowly. I felt like I could only read a few pages a day so I nibbled on it and meditated on what I was reading. The author talks about how she took on so many requests, obligations, speaking events, etc and how all the while she thought she was being the "good girl" but in reality she had to take a step back and refocus on who she was serving and what it all meant. She is very open and forthcoming about why she felt the way she did and how it made her feel when she spent hours alone with God and just listened for His voice. Now, I do want to say, some of the authors she spoke highly of and quoted, I don't personally agree with. There are some issues I had with this, but overall I understood where the author was coming from and I loved her openness. It made me look at my life and see if there are areas I need to step back from. Below is one of my favorite quotes from the book and I found it so thought provoking!

"An efficiently busy life that keeps us occupied without being harried and keeps our attention entirely on interesting outer things is probably more potentially destructive of spiritual growth than debauchery or alcohol or hard drugs."

THE GIVEAWAY!

Anyone interested in winning your own copy of Unlikely Rebel? It really is an amazing book that will have you evaluating your own life.

Giveaway will end 5/3. Winner will be chosen through Random.org and will have 48 hours to respond. USA ONLY!



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