Author: Shauna Niequist
Title: "Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic For A
Simpler , More Soulful Way of Living"
Rating: *****
Publisher: Zondervan
Publication Date: 2016
Page Count: 234
Genre: Self-Help of Inspiration
"Connection......Meaning.........Peace. Those words have more strength than we could every imagine. This book is an amazing account of our winding, messy journey from exhaustion to peace, isolation to connection, hustling and multitasking to sacred presence. It is also an invitation to a hand reaching out across pages inviting you into the same journey because it has been the greatest, most challenging, most rewarding sea-change of my adult life. I tried all the outside ways first-I imagined the changes I needed to make were about time management , or perhaps, having the cleaners come more often. I quickly found it was not about managing time or housekeeping. It was not about to-do- lists or scheduling or minutes and hours. This journey has been about love, about worth, about God, about what it means to know him and be loved by him in a way that grounds and reorders everything. I've been remaking my life from the inside out, and I want to invite you into that creative, challenging, life-altering work." Shauna Niequist
I believe, it is safe to say, that most of us long for restoration and peace. Speaking from experience, I am the to-do-list woman who feels more organized when she can scratch off completed items.
The problem has never been the list. My problem has been fretting over those unaccomplished items and basing my peace on the hinges of that list. Don't get me wrong. Lists are a wonderful organizational tool and I still do this every single day. A list of items to be performed is not a peace enhancement. Being PRESENT in the daily moments of life and our walk with God is the ONLY MEANS TO PEACE. I know this must sound so cliche but if my forty five year old self could tell my younger self just how important being PRESENT is, I would know:
1.It is more than ok to BE YOURSELF, nothing more, nothing less.
2.There is no finish line. No magical buttons to ease your pain, frustrations, anger, stress or any battle you face.
3.Keep showing up and don't try to control anything because you cannot.
4.Be present in the mess and the delight. Life is full of new beginnings and fits.
5.Stop trying to obtain perfection because you will fail miserably at every attempt.
I experienced a "Presence" this week in the birth of my grandson. I do not have words of explanation for how it felt to be in that moment. There simple are none. As a mother, I watched my daughter display courage and strength that was so indescribable. She is my new hero. She was the most beautiful woman I have ever witnessed in a moment that only God could do. At a moment, my grandson was in his mother's arms as she lay so weak, tired, and just beyond exhaustion, was one that I will never forget. There was no to-do-list for me and there was no place I could imagine being more beautiful than this moment. I held my beautiful grandson and all I could think about was "how this very moment in life and the display of God's miracles was so breathtaking." I WAS IN THE MOMENT!
Soulful living and intentional presence could never be more perfect than it is today. Don't allow setbacks and woes of life to keep you from the very moment you have been given. It is in those moments that we discover the beauty of God's blessings.
I highly recommend this book. Step back, relax and allow Shauna Niequist to take you on the journey of becoming "Present Over Perfect." You will be so grateful that you did!
BUY YOUR COPY HERE: "Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic For A Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living
"Connection......Meaning.........Peace. Those words have more strength than we could every imagine. This book is an amazing account of our winding, messy journey from exhaustion to peace, isolation to connection, hustling and multitasking to sacred presence. It is also an invitation to a hand reaching out across pages inviting you into the same journey because it has been the greatest, most challenging, most rewarding sea-change of my adult life. I tried all the outside ways first-I imagined the changes I needed to make were about time management , or perhaps, having the cleaners come more often. I quickly found it was not about managing time or housekeeping. It was not about to-do- lists or scheduling or minutes and hours. This journey has been about love, about worth, about God, about what it means to know him and be loved by him in a way that grounds and reorders everything. I've been remaking my life from the inside out, and I want to invite you into that creative, challenging, life-altering work." Shauna Niequist
I believe, it is safe to say, that most of us long for restoration and peace. Speaking from experience, I am the to-do-list woman who feels more organized when she can scratch off completed items.
The problem has never been the list. My problem has been fretting over those unaccomplished items and basing my peace on the hinges of that list. Don't get me wrong. Lists are a wonderful organizational tool and I still do this every single day. A list of items to be performed is not a peace enhancement. Being PRESENT in the daily moments of life and our walk with God is the ONLY MEANS TO PEACE. I know this must sound so cliche but if my forty five year old self could tell my younger self just how important being PRESENT is, I would know:
1.It is more than ok to BE YOURSELF, nothing more, nothing less.
2.There is no finish line. No magical buttons to ease your pain, frustrations, anger, stress or any battle you face.
3.Keep showing up and don't try to control anything because you cannot.
4.Be present in the mess and the delight. Life is full of new beginnings and fits.
5.Stop trying to obtain perfection because you will fail miserably at every attempt.
I experienced a "Presence" this week in the birth of my grandson. I do not have words of explanation for how it felt to be in that moment. There simple are none. As a mother, I watched my daughter display courage and strength that was so indescribable. She is my new hero. She was the most beautiful woman I have ever witnessed in a moment that only God could do. At a moment, my grandson was in his mother's arms as she lay so weak, tired, and just beyond exhaustion, was one that I will never forget. There was no to-do-list for me and there was no place I could imagine being more beautiful than this moment. I held my beautiful grandson and all I could think about was "how this very moment in life and the display of God's miracles was so breathtaking." I WAS IN THE MOMENT!
Soulful living and intentional presence could never be more perfect than it is today. Don't allow setbacks and woes of life to keep you from the very moment you have been given. It is in those moments that we discover the beauty of God's blessings.
I highly recommend this book. Step back, relax and allow Shauna Niequist to take you on the journey of becoming "Present Over Perfect." You will be so grateful that you did!
BUY YOUR COPY HERE: "Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic For A Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living
Comments
Post a Comment