you're aleady amazing

 i just finished  reviewing a book for Revell, a division of Baker Publishing group named

 "You're Already Amazing"

by Holly Gerth

&

i loved it!

holly is a life coach, a writer, the cofounder of (in)courage

& i could tell from the first page,

a woman with a heart to connect with women

& to you, her reader.

holly will take you on an easy to follow & very personal

and introspective guide to learning and understanding

how god uniquely created you

& then

how to best channel how he wired you

into living an intentional, purposeful life.

living a life that is unique because of who you are,

how you relate and respond to others, 

how you're motivated,

how you best do what you do,

and

how you most effectively love

& serve others.

i think as women

it's so easy for us to beat ourselves up emotionally because we never feel

we arrive at our "best"

we watch others, we read blogs & magazines,

we sign up to be committee chairs & team moms

we never say no when someone calls to ask us to volunteer

we pluck & tweeze & run on the treadmill

& eat things like flax seed and kale

all in an effort to be our "best me".

we strive to be great

& be great at so many things.

at the end of the day, 

many of us fall into bed 

exhausted & feeling that we didn't quite measure up

or that our to-do list

albeit full of good things

actually hindered us

from doing the best things
& the best things that are unique to us.

we feel that our time was misspent or not fully invested 

in the best of places.

"forcing yourself to live in a way that doesn't make sense for who you are 

will just lead to frustration & wasted energy."

sigh.

in You're Already Amazing,

holly shares wayne cordeiro's insight.

"85% of what we do, anyone can do.

10% could be done by someone else if we trained them.

5% is what only we can do.

making choices about that 5% became a life-changing revelation."

he then goes on to say,

brace yourself,

"your choice of what is most important will shape your soul.

we won't be accountable for how much we have done,

but for how much we have done of what He asked us to do".

can i get an amen?

holly will help guide you as you determine

what does the "best you" really look like

& how you can be her. 

how you are actually already her.

you'll look at your own strengths & skills

you'll evaluate how you best connect with others.

then once you put all those pieces together,

she'll help guide you as you determine

or capture

what God wants you to do with your life.

doesn't that sound freeing?!

holly, as she so sweetly does throughout the book

will remind you of truth...

"you are loved. you matter. 

you have so much to give to the world 

& the hearts in it"

"you're amazing because you're God's creation

& he lives in you. you're valuable because you belong to him.

you're worth investing in because he paid the ultimate price

for you"

i don't want to steal anymore thunder,

but i highly encourage you to read You're Already Amazing..

because you are!

you can order your book  at 25% off, here
or via amazon linked below.
 

angie & jessica are starting 

You're Already Amazing 

book club on monday.

check it out here!

25% off all Heart to Heart with Holly Gerth

~~~~

 

Who He is....

I want to introduce you to a new bible.

Ann Spangler has teamed up with the God's Word Translation

to edit and create 

The Names of God Bible.

The scriptures have many names for God.

I love to learn about the God i serve,

to learn "who" he really is.

The names used in the scriptures provide us with a deeper, more intimate knowledge of him

and his character.

Names such as Yahweh, El Shadday, and El Elyon,

tell us that God is lord,

he is almighty

he is most high.

In the Names of God Bible

you will learn background information associated with his names.

you will have devotional readings for each name

& learn the specific promises connected with each name.

I love this version.

It's a wonderful supplement to my daily devotions

& an excellent avenue for me to draw closer to the Lord

through the power of his name.

Grace for the Good Girl

 

 i am honored and tickled

& humbled and excited

to share with you

Grace for the Good Girl

by my friend

Emily Freeman.

i climbed in bed tonight with the manuscript that i received back in the spring.

we were supposed to sorta pace ourselves

& read a few chapters a time,

then follow up by

 answering a few questions at the end of each chapter on a specified date.

well

i could hardly put this book down.

tonight as i peruse the manuscript again

it brings a smile to my face to find it

 filled, line after line highlighted in neon yellow.

pages are dog eared

&

starred with my favorite blue pen.

i have written notes in the margin 

&  things like "AMEN SISTER!" beside some of my favorite parts.

i began prayerfully and thoughtfully "re-highlighting" my most favorite quotes

or pages in preparation for the release this month.

only to find that i had used orange post it note tabs

on 24 out of the first 36 pages.

that is how much i LOVE this book!

emily personifies the qualities i highly admire in a person.

it's easy for those of us who personally author a blog

to put our best face on for you to read. 

we tidy up our kitchen before we take the picture

& post the images where our family looks its best...as we would for any company that

we invite to our real life brick & mortar home.

but emily balances that perfectly.

emily is the real deal, my friends.

emily is fragile and yet brave at the same time.

emily is an artist whose words create a safe haven for a tender heart.

In Grace for the Good Girl

emily is that same, real deal, sweet girl

who brings a daily dose of hope through the words in her own blog.

as i often do when reading fiction,

i can 'hear' the characters in my mind.

emily writes in such a way that i truly feel as if we are sitting together

chatting and laughing, feet curled up underneath, holding a coffee cup with two hands,

hair falling in her face, sweet southern drawl and all.

she does that to me

& i think she'll do that to you too.

you'll feel like she knows you.

that she may even know your own 'good girl'.

in Grace for the Good Girl

emily will

 encourage you to lay down your lofty,

often times unattainable,

high expectations you've set before yourself,

to re-set your mind

& fully lean on His love.

and then she'll tell you it's ok.

that there is peace & healing in the "being found".

that truly living in His spirit is freedom.

that you can lay down that mask.

you can walk out , maybe unmasked for the first time, ever,

and truly live.

she'll tell you that your new life is in Christ-a new life, living outside of yourself,

outside of whatever good girl you must present to the world around you,

that He is "unoverwhelmable" 

that He can handle whatever you feel you must handle

that He has a limitless supply of grace

& love

& peace

for you.

that you are dearly loved

& that you can rest.

you can lay down that mask 

once & for all

and truly belong to Him.

& be 

be all He created you to be.

i'll introduce my own 'good girl' next post

& how i called her out 

thanks to emily's tender, sweet words.

oh & 

 i have a copy to give away this week too

so stay tuned for that!

Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, 

a division of Baker Publishing Group.

& ps.... emily
you know it didn't go unnoticed by me
& it makes me love you even more
that your name on the front cover
is in all lower case!
atta girl!!

Tiny Prints

i was recently contacted by the customer service department of 

Tiny Prints

to do a review for them.

while i've already submitted my review,

i thought i'd share with you too.

if you've never been to their website, you're in for a real treat.

they offer an extensive selection of products.

i set off to pick out something in the personalized stationery selection.

i was so tickled to find something in my current fave color

with a silhouette.

i chose the modern bust folded note card,

a fun modern twist on a classic icon.

i couldn't be more pleased.

the quality is excellent

the customer service superb

fast shipping

& extensive font options.

i also picked the matching address labels

...too cute!

i want to have a summer party

just so i can use some of these~

alrighty,

go forth & purchase cute stationery!

i'll return to my regular scheduled obsessive posts

concerning my emi real soon.

thank ya'll for all your support & words of encouragement!

& thank you Tiny Prints,

i'll be back!