Summer Reviews “Girl, Wash Your Face” (Part One)

Aug 31, 2018 | Article, Uncategorized | 38 comments

Why This Is Happening

Not a few of you have asked us about Rachel Hollis’s book, “Girl, Wash Your Face”. Admittedly, I have never read a “self-development” book, but since this baby is a New York Times bestseller and Hollis is currently sitting in the number one spot in Amazon’s Women’s Christian Living, Self-Help, and Religion and Spirituality sections, I am going to oblige. Perhaps I will finally learn how to help myself religiously. Or something.

I will tell you from the outset that I am not naturally drawn to any of these topics unless they are written by someone with years in ministry and a tried-and-true track record. It’s not that I think that Hollis can’t have anything worthwhile to say. It’s just that I tend to be skeptical when someone with an Instagrammable lifestyle blog spends a lot of time trying to convince me that, no, really. Honestly. She is so messy. Like the messiest. But you all know how I feel about copious uses of the word “messy” so I digress.

What I’m Expecting

I have purchased the book, I have read reviews, endorsements, Hollis’s Twitter feed, and the book’s introduction. I am supremely confused. Jen Hatmaker and Jefferson Bethke want you to read this book. An atheist Amazon reviewer liked the book. Pastor’s wives are sharing it with their congregants. Target is displaying it on their end-caps, which are usually reserved for heavyweight sellers like Oprah and Nicholas Sparks. Given that Joel Osteen is also usually following us with his eyes when we meander past said end-caps, but Hollis doesn’t have the same book selling history he does, I am going to make a few predictions:

Hollis is probably hilarious. It takes skill to make a reader laugh. I am expecting she can do this well. I bet she’s relatable, witty, and easy to read. Since her Amazon bio page has the word “empower” or some form of it at least five times, I am going to guess she is very Katy Perry Roar-y and we are going to know it by at least chapter two. Maybe we will all make like Sarah Bessey in Jesus Feminist and go out in the forest and clang pots and pans because, you know, girl power. I am going to guess that in some ways, she’s going to have a hard line on exactly what my inner monologue can be when I’m at my messiest. After all, this book is about not “believing the lies about who you are” and as a sinner, I am guilty of needing to correct my thinking all the time.

The Introduction

On the second page of the Introduction we read:

“Have you ever believed that you aren’t good enough? That you’re not thin enough? That you’re unlovable? That you’re a bad mom? Have you ever believed that you deserve to be treated badly? That you’ll never amount to anything? All lies. All lies perpetuated by society, the media, our family of origin, or frankly—and this is my pentecostal showing—the Devil himself.”

We should really make some distinctions here that Hollis doesn’t make. For starters, some of these are always a lie, and some of these might be a lie, and one is for sure true on the only scale in the universe that matters.

In Romans 3:11-12 we read:

No one is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God;
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.

So the absolute truth is that you are not good enough, none of us are good enough, and none of us shall ever be good enough. We are not good. We are fallen. We are sinners. We reject and despise God. If you’re spending your time wondering if you are good enough or pronouncing that you are good enough, you are believing a lie. Jesus did not come and die on the cross because you were good. He did so because you will never be good enough. “Good enough”, in the context of the Christian life, has no place.

God did pronounce in Genesis that His creation was “good”. And the Bible does give us a holistic way to view ourselves as being image-bearers of God that is positive. Our Creator made us in His image and gave us the task of taking dominion over His creation. But I don’t get the feeling this is quite what Hollis is talking about, given that her list here of other possible lies includes things that simply do not correlate or have any teleological bearing.

For example, she lists “not thin enough” as a possible lie. On the next page she explains that “taking the easy way out is how you end up on the sofa, fifty pounds overweight, while life passes you by.” Apparently, for Rachel, there is a “not thin enough”.

I do want to note that she is right that no human deserves poor treatment from other humans. You do not deserve to be treated badly. But what about the notion that you are not unlovable? How can that always be true? Have you ever lived with another human for more than a day? Has that not been enough to convince you that sometimes humans act in incredibly unlovable ways? And wouldn’t that negate the very nature of the love of Christ—the God-man who loved us while we still hated him? Shouldn’t we be willing to confront our brothers and sisters when they are behaving in extremely unlovable ways, and isn’t that the best kind of love of all? The unconditional kind that images Christ and His bride? (Yes. The answer is yes.) Most of us have experienced the love of at least one other person, but that is certainly not because none of us have never been unlovable. And thank God for that.

There is freedom in understanding that we aren’t here to be good enough or lovable enough to earn anyone’s favor. We are called to something better. We are called to love our spouses and our children when they aren’t being lovable. Our spouses are called to love us when we aren’t being lovable. And upon the basis of Christ’s love and grace towards us, we are called to imitate Him. You can stop spinning your wheels trying to convince yourself you are “good enough.” You can rest in knowing that Christ loves the unlovable, and as you image Him more and more, the less unlovable you will be. Christ didn’t love unlovable you and then leave you in that state. He has freed you from bondage towards the sin that produces some extremely unlovable behavior.

The following page offered a ray of hope:

It’s worth asking, right here, right up front, where faith plays a role in all of this. As a Christian I grew up learning that God was in control, that God has a plan for my life, and I believe in the marrow of my bones that this is true. I believe God loves each of us unconditionally, but I don’t think that means we get to squander the gifts and talents he’s given us simply because we’re good enough already.

Okay, well, great. I am not sure how this plays out in the rest of her theology, and I won’t touch on her so-far-lacking “good enough” paradigm again in this section.

A caterpillar is awesome, but if the caterpillar stopped there—if she just decided that good is good enough—we would all miss out on the beautiful creature she would become.

I seriously doubt that caterpillars have the wherewithal to make “decisions”, both in the sense that she is using and not in the sense that she is using, and I’m offended we couldn’t get to the end of the first section without a misplaced caterpillar metaphor that literally has nothing to do with how we should use the talents God has given us.

All of this to say, the end of the introduction promises to exposit each of the lies Hollis has believed that have held her back, hurt her, and caused her to hurt others. She is going to tell us how she has taken the “power” away from these lies. I’m looking forward to finding out where Christ’s victory over sin and death comes in to this, how a Christian woman should battle insecurity, and if she’s willing to give Christ the glory in her battle against lies. Call me a skeptic, but I am not feeling super hopeful.

Why This Is Happening

Not a few of you have asked us about Rachel Hollis’s book, “Girl, Wash Your Face”. Admittedly, I have never read a “self-development” book, but since this baby is a New York Times bestseller and Hollis is currently sitting in the number one spot in Amazon’s Women’s Christian Living, Self-Help, and Religion and Spirituality sections, I am going to oblige. Perhaps I will finally learn how to help myself religiously. Or something.

I will tell you from the outset that I am not naturally drawn to any of these topics unless they are written by someone with years in ministry and a tried-and-true track record. It’s not that I think that Hollis can’t have anything worthwhile to say. It’s just that I tend to be skeptical when someone with an Instagrammable lifestyle blog spends a lot of time trying to convince me that, no, really. Honestly. She is so messy. Like the messiest. But you all know how I feel about copious uses of the word “messy” so I digress.

What I’m Expecting

I have purchased the book, I have read reviews, endorsements, Hollis’s Twitter feed, and the book’s introduction. I am supremely confused. Jen Hatmaker and Jefferson Bethke want you to read this book. An atheist Amazon reviewer liked the book. Pastor’s wives are sharing it with their congregants. Target is displaying it on their end-caps, which are usually reserved for heavyweight sellers like Oprah and Nicholas Sparks. Given that Joel Osteen is also usually following us with his eyes when we meander past said end-caps, but Hollis doesn’t have the same book selling history he does, I am going to make a few predictions:

Hollis is probably hilarious. It takes skill to make a reader laugh. I am expecting she can do this well. I bet she’s relatable, witty, and easy to read. Since her Amazon bio page has the word “empower” or some form of it at least five times, I am going to guess she is very Katy Perry Roar-y and we are going to know it by at least chapter two. Maybe we will all make like Sarah Bessey in Jesus Feminist and go out in the forest and clang pots and pans because, you know, girl power. I am going to guess that in some ways, she’s going to have a hard line on exactly what my inner monologue can be when I’m at my messiest. After all, this book is about not “believing the lies about who you are” and as a sinner, I am guilty of needing to correct my thinking all the time.

The Introduction

On the second page of the Introduction we read:

“Have you ever believed that you aren’t good enough? That you’re not thin enough? That you’re unlovable? That you’re a bad mom? Have you ever believed that you deserve to be treated badly? That you’ll never amount to anything? All lies. All lies perpetuated by society, the media, our family of origin, or frankly—and this is my pentecostal showing—the Devil himself.”

We should really make some distinctions here that Hollis doesn’t make. For starters, some of these are always a lie and some of these might be a lie and one is for sure true on the only scale in the universe that matters.

In Romans 3:11-12 we read:

No one is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God;
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.

So the absolute truth is that you are not good enough, none of us are good enough, and none of us shall ever be good enough. We are not good. We are fallen. We are sinners. We reject and despise God. If you’re spending your time wondering if you are good enough or pronouncing that you are good enough, you are believing a lie. Jesus did not come and die on the cross because you were good. He did so because you will never be good enough. “Good enough”, in the context of the Christian life, has no place.

God did pronounce in Genesis that His creation was “good”. And the Bible does give us a holistic way to view ourselves as being image-bearers of God that is positive. Our Creator made us in His image and gave us the task of taking dominion over His creation. But I don’t get the feeling this is quite what Hollis is talking about, given that her list here of other possible lies includes things that simply do not correlate or have any teleological bearing.

For example, she lists “not thin enough” as a possible lie. On the next page she explains that “taking the easy way out is how you end up on the sofa, fifty pounds overweight, while life passes you by.” Apparently, for Rachel, there is a “not thin enough”.

I do want to note that she is right that no human deserves poor treatment from other humans. You do not deserve to be treated badly. But what about the notion that you are not unlovable? How can that always be true? Have you ever lived with another human for more than a day? Has that not been enough to convince you that sometimes humans act in incredibly unlovable ways? And wouldn’t that negate the very nature of the love of Christ—the God-man who loved us while we still hated him? Shouldn’t we be willing to confront our brothers and sisters when they are behaving in extremely unlovable ways, and isn’t that the best kind of love of all? The unconditional kind that images Christ and His bride? (Yes. The answer is yes.) Most of us have experienced the love of at least one other person, but that is certainly not because none of us have never been unlovable. And thank God for that.

There is freedom in understanding that we aren’t here to be good enough or lovable enough to earn anyone’s favor. We are called to something better. We are called to love our spouses and our children when they aren’t being lovable. Our spouses are called to love us when we aren’t being lovable. And upon the basis of Christ’s love and grace towards us, we are called to imitate Him. You can stop spinning your wheels trying to convince yourself you are “good enough.” You can rest in knowing that Christ loves the unlovable, and as you image Him more and more, the less unlovable you will be. Christ didn’t love unlovable you and then leave you in that state. He has freed you from bondage towards the sin that produces some extremely unlovable behavior.

The following page offered a ray of hope:

It’s worth asking, right here, right up front, where faith plays a role in all of this. As a Christian I grew up learning that God was in control, that God has a plan for my life, and I believe in the marrow of my bones that this is true. I believe God loves each of us unconditionally, but I don’t think that means we get to squander the gifts and talents he’s given us simply because we’re good enough already.

Okay, well, great. I am not sure how this plays out in the rest of her theology, and I won’t touch on her so-far-lacking “good enough” paradigm again in this section.

A caterpillar is awesome, but if the caterpillar stopped there—if she just decided that good is good enough—we would all miss out on the beautiful creature she would become.

I seriously doubt that caterpillars have the wherewithal to make “decisions”, both in the sense that she is using and not in the sense that she is using, and I’m offended we couldn’t get to the end of the first section without a misplaced caterpillar metaphor that literally has nothing to do with how we should use the talents God has given us.

All of this to say, the end of the introduction promises to exposit each of the lies Hollis has believed that have held her back, hurt her, and caused her to hurt others. She is going to tell us how she has taken the “power” away from these lies. I’m looking forward to finding out where Christ’s victory over sin and death comes in to this, how a Christian woman should battle insecurity, and if she’s willing to give Christ the glory in her battle against lies. Call me a skeptic, but I am not feeling super hopeful.

SUMMER JAEGER

Summer Jaeger is the wife to one excellent man and a homeschooling mother of four. When she is not blogging or podcasting, she is perfecting the art of the slow-cooked meal and wishing she was taking long-ish walks on the beach.

@SummrWrites Facebook sheologiansblog@gmail.com

38 Comments

  1. Jacob

    Things that need to be said.

    Reply
  2. Kim M.

    Loved this review!!! Comparing it to the truth of Scripture really brings it all into context for me. ?????????? Can’t wait to read the rest as it comes out.

    Reply
  3. Callie McFadden

    Agreed! Can’t wait to here ya sister! Honestly, while not a waste of your time because you will, no doubt, use this review to edify weak believing woman, but sorry if it will be wasting your time. Still. All that to say! Thank you for reviewing this book. ?

    Reply
  4. Kallie

    Thank you Summer for doing this. I watched a promo video she did, and at the end, she powerfully says, “Girl, wash your face!” I did forget what the rest of the video said, but she has succeeded at creating a catchy tag line, which is probably one of the topics of her next book, “Creating Your Brand and Eliminating Negativity From Your Life”

    Reply
  5. Annie Wagner

    Thank you for this.

    Reply
  6. Shannon

    Thank you so much for this review. I will not be reading it, but I have been wondering what it was all about. As you uncovered a little of what it is about, I realize that this is exactly the teaching I was exposed to for about a decade of my Christian life. Not only was I exposed to it, but I sought it out. I hadn’t realized how damaging this was to me until I began to dip my toe into reformed theology a couple years ago. It’s so tempting to seek out “wisdom” from others who will “encourage” and “empower,” but I have since learned that it was only to my detriment. So thankful for you ladies and that you are willing to read books such as these and lovingly warn everyone of the dangers in reading these books. I have been learning so much since my friend first introduced me to your podcast a year or so ago AND I have been challenged to seek the Lord first in his Word.

    Reply
  7. Jennifer

    To Mrs. Hollis, I say, “Girl, let Jesus wash your feet!”

    Reply
    • Morgan

      Slow clap.

      Reply
    • Cheri Hogrefe

      BOOM!!!!

      Reply
    • Michelle

      Yes!!

      Reply
    • Gail

      Wow, that’s an awesome statement!! Praise to our Lord and Servant!!!

      Reply
    • Tracey Beers

      Me thinks you just titled Summer’s next book. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Andrea

    I disagree with pretty much everything this article says! It is not a Christian book! It happens to be a book written by a imperfect Christian. So sick of Christians judging everyone! So so sick of it!!! Read the dang book and if it doesn’t uplift you and make you want to be a better person and be your best self “live your best life” then you wasted a bit of your time! For me that’s exactly what I gained from the book! I guess, because she’s not perfect and not using a bible verse for everything she has to say means what she has to say is not important. That’s bull! I relate to her in so many ways, then many ways that I’m like, I was way far gone than she was but she explains you can overcome your past, your crappy decisions, and be a better you! Tomorrow is a new day to try again and be a better person than you were yesterday! We live in a worldly society and not feeling good enough is a struggle that most women go through. The Bible says we will never be good enough. Well that’s discouraging. Right, we will never been good enough for God, but he has grace. But why can’t we feel good enough for ourselves. I don’t know about anyone else but I am not walking around life never thinking I’m good enough bc the Bible says so! Seems like that would make for a really unhappy life. And I’m choosing happiness! I choose everyday to live for myself, to take time for myself, to be my best me so I can be the best mom and wife. Sorry not sorry that the Bible is discouraging sometimes and as a Christian I can say that! I’m not going through life judging other Christians and how they live their life. It’s not my cross to carry! Wish most Christians would do the same. After all I truly believe Jesus would prefer a bar stool over a church pew! It’s a dang good book and if you get the chance to follow her Instagram or pod casts you’ll see she’s just an ordinary Christian lady living her best life!

    Reply
    • Jackie

      Thank you!! You said it perfectly!

      Reply
    • Clinton

      I for one think it’s great that her book is exactly what your itching ears wanted to hear.

      Reply
    • Jessie

      I’m so sorry you find parts of the Bible discouraging and you didn’t see the value of Summer’s review of the beginning of this book. I believe Summer is just trying to compare it to the Gospel. The essence of the Gospel is that we are radically depraved and spiritual dead (the discouraging part) but God sent his Son to lead a life of sorrow, to suffer at the hands of His own creation in order to bring life to the dead souls here and obtain a beautiful, redeemed bride that is saved, restored and santicifed by God the Father, Son and Spirit (the good news, the Gospel). As a Christian, this is what should make you happy; that the God of the universe has saved you and has a relationship with you, daily walking with you. Your happiness shouldn’t come from the idea that you are good enough in your own eyes. It should be rooted in your love of God with all you have as Christ did, not love of self. You love yourself and your neighbor because you both are image-bearers of Him and because of His actions. All your affections and happiness should be filtered through the Gospel that save you, what makes you who you are. Please, don’t settle for simple positive thought. Have the real stuff!

      Reply
      • Jayna

        Beautifully said Jessie! As a Christian, “Living your best life” is one in which we are freed from the sins that enslave us because of the grace of Christ. Because he first loved us, we are able to love him and love others (the two greatest commandments) which is where our joy should come from. Is it wrong to be happy when we get to take a walk on the beach, accomplish a goal we have set, hang out with family and friends…absolutely not! However, if our focus is on what we can to do to make ourselves happy and our standards of happiness, then we have missed the mark completely. as we can only be satisfied through Christ. My opinion…I think so many people are unhappy because they are letting the world dictate their standard of happiness instead of God’s standard, and as a Christian, that is the only standard we should be living by.

        Reply
    • Adam

      Why should I believe you? What is true and what is not? How do you know? Please don’t say, “It’s because I’ve experienced it.”

      Reply
    • PC

      Blah blah, don’t criticize bad theology, blah, blah, meaningless “Christian” platitudes, blah, blah, Summer leave my female Osteen alone….

      Reply
    • tg

      Andrea, have you ever read The Valley of Vision? If not, I recommend it to you as it presents a right view of GOd and a right view of man. Though it is honest about the nature of man, all is wrapped in the glory and grace of God so it is anything but discouraging. When our gaze is lifted off of self and onto Christ, there is genuine freedom from the burdens of this world, including the “good enough” debate.

      Reply
    • tg

      Andrea, have you read the Valley of Vision? It portrays both a right view of God and a right view of man. It honestly depicts the fallen nature of man while wrapping it all in God’s love and grace. As our gaze is lifted to Christ, we experience the sweet gospel of self-forgetfulness, which frees us from the burdens (i.e. am I good enough) of this world. For freedom, we have been set free…

      Reply
    • Victorian

      If you are living your life for you, as you say, then you are not also a Christian. A Christian is one who has submitted their lives to Christ — THAT is what it means to call Jesus LORD.

      Reply
    • Sara

      Yes!!! This.

      Reply
    • Jessica Welch

      I’m sorry to say that the true Gospel says nothing of “living for yourself” or being “happy”. It is about living for Jesus and sacrificing yourself for him. I came from living for about 10 years as a feminist and would have picked this book up during that time and written the same review as you…until I took a journey reading the Bible every single day and letting the Gospel speak over my life and it has changed everything. The reason you do not understand the “discouraging” part of the “we are all unlovable” part is because you don’t know the Word of God, which clearly DOES NOT end with “we are all unlovable.” It ends with Jesus dying for the unlovable so we can turn our hearts to him through seeking him out. And therefore our lives get better, more peaceful, but NOT in a worldly sense. We seek God and he rewards us for that (Hebrews talk about this-and Ephesians), but it’s in a sense of our life and heart being rewarded in the condition of our hearts and the fruit we bear. As image bearers of God, we all wrestle with these things. The distress in your post shows you are wrestling with the ideas here, but you will not (and I know from personal experience) gain any sort of happiness from living for yourself or trying to be better or proclaim happiness over your own self. That is not the Gospel of Jesus. Blessings to you.

      Reply
    • Laura

      Yes! You clearly went into this book review looking for ways to tear it down or not like it. You even said you didn’t really want to read it. So don’t. She doesn’t claim to be a Christian author – in fact she says her writing and space is for EVERYONE of ALL faiths and walks of life…. so if she’s not claiming to be a theologian or come at this from that perspective, why use that lense to judge her work?

      Also, as a gospel believing Christian I believe that sometimes you have to take action. There is a priority in need for Jesus, scripture and prayer but sometimes you also have to do other things to help you stop believing lies of the world. At least that’s been my experience. It’s a cosmic war, and my personal choice to take action is part of the battle. God can change my heart and direct my steps and lead me where He knows I need …. but I have an active part in that as well.

      Reply
      • William

        Regardless of how Hollis perceives herself as a “Christian” or “Non-Christian” author, there are a many of good Christian lady folk that are talking this book this up in their Sunday School classes or small groups, which I think the author of the blog is really hitting at.

        I read her book and Hollis is just this month’s “flavor of the month” of thin gruel. Her book, while entertaining, wasn’t exactly filled with anything helpful. Sure, she ended each chapter with “things that helped me”….but there is nothing that gave you the sense that what helped her could help anyone not named Rachel Hollis. Years from now, people will look at this book as nothing more than pure pop-psychology. If anyone is looking for this book to be something that can be passed down through the generations, this ain’t it.

        Even though it’s been a few weeks since I have read the book, I can’t recall anything she advised in her “Things That Helped Me” sections that revealed a more closer connection to God. (Even though I fully insist I might be wrong on this count). I recalled a lot of advice on leaning on your own devices.

        All of these thoughts lead me down the path of the biggest question in my mind. What is making THIS book so attractive to a largely female and largely Christian audience?

        And while I still haven’t figured that out completely, there are some ideas that I just can’t get out of my head.

        When we are in a personal relationship with Jesus, we think we are the most important member of that relationship. Especially from our first days in our walk, we are encouraged and reminded to accept Jesus as our personal savior. And there is nothing, absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, too many times, we think “personal” means ours and ours alone. The fact is, the same personal savior that you have is the same personal savior I have too. It means we have to share. In my mind, personal savior means that there is no one or nothing that can save me except Jesus.

        And this line of thinking pervades a great deal of thinking. There are a lot of Christians who think God’s job was to bring down Jesus to die on a cross to not just absolve us of our sins but to lay out a path to our happiness. This frustrates me because no where is it said that the happiness of believers should be a goal. You could argue the exact opposite. Jesus commands us to take up our own cross and shoulder our own burdens. (Mt. 16:24)

        Happiness is not a goal, happiness is a by-product of living a life that is connected to Jesus. I tend to believe many a person miss this point.

        We can’t forget that when we read John 3:16, God so loved the world, he gave his only Son. God loved the WORLD, not me as individual (though he does) and not you as an individual, either.

        There is a lot of Christian groups and even Churches that are preaching the gospel of “me”. It’s narcissistic, it’s dangerous and it’s not loving to the world. But, it’s really attractive. We want our churches, our schools, our world to cater to our individual whims. If our churches become more entranced in a worldview that isn’t just highly secular, but also highly individualistic, we run the risk of losing those traditions (such as charity and benevolence) that helped actually demonstrate God’s love for the world.

        Reply
    • Jarred

      Andrea, could you share with me the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Not so I can judge. I would just like to hear your thoughts.

      Reply
    • Debbie Collins

      Hi Andrea- I used to think exactly like you. I used to be into the “self help” stuff because I thought Jesus was into it. I’ve come to find out the hard way that no matter how much you want to “better” yourself through this worldly standard, you will never be “enough” and you will forever keep striving to be better. (Rachel’s theology implies that life is all about striving to better self therefore leaves no room for contentment) It’s the most terrible roller coast lie of a life to try and pursue. Please hear me out. Living this way nearly furthered my depression beyond anything Ive ever imagined. Please trust me, your comment makes perfect sense. I used to think exactly like you until finally life got to hard enough that I fell on my face. No self help book was going to save me. Only God can give you life and fulfillment which requires living a humble life of understanding that we are nothing (and I mean absolutely nothing) without God. Much love and God bless❤️

      Reply
  9. Molly

    Thank you so much for writing about this… And reading the book so I don’t have to! I knew it was going to be ambiguously Christian and sounding great although half labore thank you so much for writing about this… And reading the book so I don’t have to! I knew it was going to be ambiguously Christian and sounding great although half Baked theological content mixed with worldly views baked theological content mixed with worldly views. So thank you for solidifying that with me! I don’t need to read it but I knew I needed to know about it to talk to my friends. Thanks so much!

    Reply
  10. B

    I would rather watch horror movies back to back than read this book.

    Reply
  11. Brianne Davidson

    Foremost, as a reformed woman, I cannot tell you enough how thankful I am to have found you all! It is no secret that sound resources are hard to find. It is apparently mildly taboo & slightly odd for women to concern themselves with theological matters. Keep doing what you’re doing. It is appreciated and more importantly, it is needed. ?

    Reply
  12. Abigail

    I guess what neither side is really bringing out is that in Christ we are a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come. Not only have an passed on from “not good enough” but now we are actually “THE righteousness of God IN Christ Jesus.” It is sad to me when we get stuck in our sinfulness as a theological tenet when God has “prepared good works since before time that we should walk in them” and “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him!” I agree with the comment above that Rachel Hollis is just an ordinary women and honestly doesn’t bring a lot of Scripture into her book. But the good part is, Scripture taken on balance is actually not discouraging but full of hope for a wonderful future with God! So the informed believer can move on from “not good” to “good IN Christ” and get a whole lot out of this book, without compromising Scripture or being fearful and judge-y! Shalom!

    Reply
  13. Victorian

    I am so sick of hearing the term “empowerment” in Christianity. The only person who deserves to be empowered is the Lord Himself, and power has never at any time been taken away from Him.

    Reply
  14. Wintery Knight

    I am so thankful that we have rough and direct Christian women who are not afraid to present Christianity as it is, when it’s apparently popular to present Christianity to the world as some sort of new age, self-centered genie in a bottle.

    I just published a couple of reactions to Rachel views. Looking forward to all the parts of your response so I may write another post for you.

    Reply
  15. Kelly Crawford

    I think it is of growing importance that we learn how to divide the word of truth and recognize good theology and bad theology. Theology matters because it informs the way we live. I just wrote a bit about this very thing–God DOES Have Great Plans for You (They Just Might Be Different Than What You Expected)–if anyone is interested in considering this further. What we see on facebook is not always what Scripture says. We MUST learn the difference and be willing to speak truth. Thank you, Summer. https://www.generationcedar.com/main/2018/09/god-does-have-great-plans-for-you-they-just-might-be-different-than-what-you-expected.html

    Reply
  16. Claire Castle

    This made me feel like standing up and cheering. Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are not enough exclamation points for this!!!!!!!

    Reply
  17. Madison

    I love this! Thank you for being honest about the things that are popular. Not all that are popular are of sound doctrine. In response to some comments above… Just because something makes you feel good does not make it okay. Everything should be judged according to scripture. If it doesn’t line up with it then move on.

    Reply

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