You're Already Amazing

You're Already Amazing
by Holley Gerth


MY THOUGHTS

This is the first time I have ever taken the time to go to an author's webpage and thank her for writing a book as soon as I've finished reading the first page. The woman she was talking about in Chapter One had to be me, although we had never met. And the words typed on the page, spoken by God, were directed right to me.

The subtitle of this book is "Embracing Who You Are, Becoming All God Created You to Be". It is not a book about doing things to become a better Christian, a better Proverbs 31 Woman, a better anything. It's about learning who you are NOW -- how God created the unique being that you are today. Understanding your personality, preferences, strengths, and gifts, then using them as you were designed to serve in the Kingdom so you can be the best YOU you can possibly be.

It is also a book dedicated to understanding that God created you to be his pride and joy, to have those particular characteristics that may drive you a bit crazy every now and then, and to use them for good! He wants you to understand that it is HIS job to grow you , shape you, and make you perfect in HIS eyes. It is now our job to become the perfect wife, mother, social chairman, Sunday School teacher, or church lady -- that is not what he made us to be.

Holley uses her years of experience as a writer, licensed counselor and certified life coach to honestly share her struggles with perfectionism and insecurity as she helps women truly understand who God created them to be. This is a life=changing book that I would highly recommend for all women who struggle to fit into their own skin in this world of high expectations.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Every woman can relate to the feeling of instant inadequacy after walking into a room crowded with other women, comparing themselves to everyone else in the room. We’re transported back to the seventh grade lunch room, and our quest for acceptance and perfection seems never ending. But what if there was a way to quiet our insecurities and to embrace our differences to live the life God designed specifically for us?

Good news, there is. Award-winning author, (in)courage co-founder and life coach Holley Gerth
ask readers to pull up a chair and shares the best news we’ll ever hear: You’re Already Amazing. Her warm writing style, filled with sincere encouragement and confessions about her own shortcomings, makes it easy for readers to imagine they’re enjoying an intimate conversation over a cup of coffee.

In You’re Already Amazing: Embracing Who You Are, Becoming All God Created You To Be (Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8007-2060-5, 224 pages, March 2012, $13.99) Gerth knowingly tells readers to give up the idea of perfection, to stop comparing themselves to other women and to stop trying to be everything to everyone. She gives permission to not feel guilty for what they
are not and to embrace how God created them.

By reading You’re Already Amazing, women will be told, perhaps for the first time, that they are perfect because God has made them perfect through his love. Not everyone is comfortable in front of crowds or can cook a five-course meal, but everyone has gifts and skills that are uniquely theirs. Gerth walks readers through exercises to identify their talents and skills as well as develop a life statement that captures what they are passionate about and who they want to affect with their life.

“I’m slowly learning it’s not about being perfect but about being perfectly loved,” says Gerth. “Women need to hear that they’re doing enough. That they’re already amazing because they are God’s creation, his child. For too long I thought that God wanted me to be perfect, but God doesn’t want us to be perfect, he wants our love to grow more perfect.”

Readers will emerge from You’re Already Amazing with a deeper sense of self and redefined life goals. They will find a true friend through Gerth’s relatable writing style and sense how life-changing her words can be. Ultimately, our goal shouldn’t be self-improvement, aspiring to impossible standards, trying to please people and wearing ourselves out in the process. Instead we should be content with how God created us and to find the gifts only we can offer the world.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Holley Gerth is an award-winning writer, licensed counselor, certified life coach and speaker. She is cofounder of (in)courage, an online destination for women, which received more than one million page views in its first six months. She also reaches out to readers through her popular blog, Heart to Heart with Holley and through her partnership with DaySpring, a subsidiary of Hallmark. Holley lives in Arkansas with her husband, Mark.

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books for everyday life. For more
information, visit www.RevellBooks.com.

Available March 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Revell Books provided a copy of the book for this review, but did not influence the content of the review.