Book Review: Unglued Devotional by Lysa TerKeurst

UNGLUED DEVOTIONAL
60 Days of Imperfect Progress

By: Lysa TerKeurst

Published: December 18, 2012

Nonfiction/Christian 




From Goodreads: This companion devotional to the bestselling book Unglued provides encouragement to help readers handle emotional struggles. Including a daily opening Scripture, Thought for the Day, devotion, and closing prayer, this book helps readers begin a 60-day journey in learning to positively process raw emotions, such as fear, anger, and regret.

Have you ever come unglued?  On your children? On your spouse?  Um, yeah, I have.  I'm certainly not perfect and sometimes life, chaos, hectic schedules, and stress can all exaggerate your feelings of helplessness.  Eventually become so irritated that you become someone you don't want to be.  

In this devotional, you take 60 days to read and force yourself to get at the source of your emotions.  This isn't easy work or light-hearted.  It is personal, convicting, merciful, and full of grace.  Through stories and scripture, you will look at how you react to situations and learn your weaknesses.  Then you can begin to focus on your new way of coping.  Daily prayer is also a must in this new way of life.

The thought for Day 60 summed it up well for me, "I want to be an uncommon calm in the midst of chaos and an example of peace for my kids in a world of pressure."  Yes, I want this and making the effort to have a calm home and smooth mornings are a priority.

I also appreciated the quiz that tests your reaction type.  It didn't surprise me that I am an Internal Processor/Internal Suppressor. It means I am a Stuffer that Builds Barriers and yet a Peacemaker.  Gosh, does that describe me to a T!  What I need to find is a balance of stuffing and exploding that helps manage my stress and emotions better.  I tend to stuff my frustrations until they end up overflowing like a volcano! Not a good way to live and not the kind of person anyone wants to be around.  This book offers tools, advice, and hope for handling your emotions.

If you feel like your emotions are on the edge, you are easily irritated, or quick to criticize, this book and it's companion UNGLUED may be just what you need.   Both the book UNGLUED and this devotional would make an excellent choice for a Bible Study or Women's group.  There is also a DVD available for study purposes.  Additional resources can be found at www.UngluedBook.com. 

Lysa TerKeurst is an author and national speaker who helps everyday women live an adventure of faith.  She is the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries.  She is also the author of more than a dozen books including MADE TO CRAVE, a book to help deal with our food cravings. 

Check out www.LysaTerKeurst.com for more on her story as well as numerous freebies like a Teen Driver Contract and daily inspiration.  


If you would like to purchase a copy of this book, click the photo below:

Thanks to Booksneeze for sending a copy of this book.  This review is my honest opinion. I was not compensated in any other way for this review. If you choose to purchase a copy of this book through the above link, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase. Thanks for supporting SincerelyStacie.com reviews. 

Book Review: The Good Woman By Jane Porter

THE GOOD WOMAN

By:  Jane Porter

Published:  September 4, 2012

****

Meg Brennan Roberts is a successful publicist, faithful wife, and doting mother who prides herself on always making the right decisions. But years of being "the good woman" have taken a toll and Meg feels burned out and empty, more disconnected than ever from her increasingly distant husband. Lonely and disheartened, she attends the London Wine Fair with her boss, ruggedly handsome vintner, Chad Hallahan. It's here, alone together in an exotic city, far from "real" life, that Chad confesses his long-standing desire for Meg. Overwhelmed, flattered, and desperately confused, Meg returns home, only to suddenly question every choice she's ever made. Fleeing her responsibilities—with consequences as reckless and irreversible as they are liberating—Meg must decide whether being the person everyone needs is worth losing the woman she was meant to be.

This story attracted me most because it is about a woman in her early 40's who acts like her life is in control when, in reality, most of the time it isn't.  She is also one of 4 sisters, and as one of 3 sisters, I am usually drawn to sister stories.  This story is set in Napa Valley and so I found myself craving wine while reading this book as the descriptions of the settings and wines in this novel were reminding me of my trip to California with my girlfriends and the delicious wines we found there.

I related to Meg right away as she was the one daughter who took care of everyone and was the rule follower.  She worked hard, achieved success and made everyone proud.  She handled all the day-to-day managing in her family and made her children her priority.  Meg feels like her husband doesn't understand the pressure she is under and is too focused on his career rather than his family and his marriage.  Suddenly, life overwhelms her and she makes a choice that will alter her and her family's life forever.  I think any woman reading this story will be able to identify with Meg or her sisters at some point in their life and Porter's portrayal of them and their emotions were spot-on. Porter has a witty and fresh way of delivering her characters and making you relate and care about each one of them

This story reads quickly and flows easily with its first person storytelling.  You are able to get into Meg's head and understand her reasoning and her emotions and feel them along with her.  You join her in her struggles and pain and wish that she hadn't taken the wrong path.  The ripple effects of Meg's mistakes were huge and I liked how the author took liberty in not having everyone be happy or okay with Meg's choices.

One part of the novel that I had a hard time with was Meg's relationship with her mother.  After finding out that her mother's cancer is back and it is terminal, I expected Meg, as the devoted daughter, to be more present with her mom.  Her mom wasn't mentioned much more in the novel and Meg seemed to focus instead on her life rather than wanting to be with her mom.  I don't think that matched well with Meg's character and was disappointed when this part of the story wasn't really finished when the novel ended.  I was also curious about Meg's relationship with her sister, Sarah at the end of the novel.  Did Sarah ever forgive Meg?

I do realize this is the first book in the Brennan Sisters series, with THE GOOD DAUGHTER, about Kit, and THE GOOD WIFE, about Sarah, coming up next.  But, I feel like these were important characters in this story to have some closure with.  I do hope it will be addressed in the coming novels.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, the characters, and the setting.  I look forward to learning more about Kit in the next novel, THE GOOD DAUGHTER and following along in her and her sisters' lives.  

THE GOOD WOMAN would make an excellent book club choice, even one with both male and female members.  With topics such as marriage, infidelity, parenting, family dynamics, forgiveness, and trust, you are sure to have an excellent discussion.  

I'm sad to admit, this is my first Jane Porter novel.  As the author of numerous Classic Romance and Modern Lit books, I guess I am a little late to the party.  I look forward to reading the rest of the Brennan Sisters stories and looking into Porter's other novels.  If you are interested in learning about her and her novels, visit www.JanePorter.com. 

Thanks to Penguin for sending a copy of this book for review.  This review is my honest opinion and I was not compensated in any way for this review.

One Thousand of My Gifts

photo courtesy of Ann Voskamp at www.aholyexperience.com

Continuing my count of one thousand gifts, numbering each one.

39. Supper with my parents and sister, catching up.

40. Reminder of Ash Wednesday and HIS ultimate sacrifice

41. Excitement bubbling over for our annual Valentine's Scavenger Hunt

42. Unexpected romance

43. Love note

44. Date night

45. Taking a great sunset photo and just the right moment

46. Screams and yelling while enjoying a hotel pool

47. A quiet hotel room to sleep off a cold

Romance

I have always been a romantic.  I love flowers and kisses and surprises and the whole gooshy works.  I believe in the fairy tale and being swept off my feet.  But, I also know the real life.  Cooking, cleaning, parenting, running to kids activities, jobs, bills, etc.  So, when a little romance can squeak into the reality of life I get completely giddy.  

I have always told Pat that I do not want flowers for Valentine's Day.  It is the most expensive time of year to buy flowers and for that amount of money you could buy something that lasts longer and I will appreciate more.  I'd rather have flowers other times of year and when I least expect them, like in the spring when you can buy a bouquet of tulips for $10 or a mixed bouquet for $4.99.  

This year, I have to brag a bit and say that Pat hit the romance nail on the head!  Thursday, while getting ready to sub, he brought me a latte that he made from the new milk frother he bought me.  While I was subbing at school, he made milk chocolate, white chocolate and dark chocolate covered strawberries, which we enjoyed with glasses of Moscato d'asti last night.  He got me flower......seeds, and wrote a sweet love note.  The love note itself would have been enough, but all these things together were amazing.  I was overwhelmed with emotion and absolutely blessed by the care and thought he put into my Valentine's Day.  

I try to make it special for our kids and him every year.  So, for Pat to take the time to make me feel special was truly such a blessing to me.  We had our annual Scavenger Hunt for the kids last night and I gave him some gifts as well.  The kids were excited to read the silly clues and hunt for their surprises ending with a surprise weekend getaway at a hotel.  It truly was a evening I will remember for a long time.

Every now and then, every girl needs a bit of romance!

It Was My 17th Anniversary

Last week I received an email recognizing my 17th Anniversary.  I hadn't even realized it had been 17 years since I made a possibly life-changing decision...................................

to be a marrow donor.

I remember in February 1996, while working at a health fair as part of my job as a Sexual Assault Counselor I was across from another booth at this health fair.  This booth was The National Marrow Donor Program through the University of Iowa and they were asking people to sign up to be marrow donors.  I listened to them give their presentation enough times that I decided that was something I could do.  So, I filled out the paperwork and a couple weeks later had my blood work done and officially joined the registry.  

For 17 years, I have been willing to step forward and donate my bone marrow to help save someone's life.  For most of those 17 years, I haven't given the fact that I am on that list a second thought.  Every now and then I may hear of someone getting a transplant and I will think, oh yeah, I'm on that list to be a donor, but most of the time I don't even think about it.  

If you have ever thought about being a donor or maybe this post is making you think about it, I encourage you to check out THE NATIONAL MARROW DONOR PROGRAM.  Rather than give you a bunch of facts or details, just check out the website and truly consider joining the program.  If you are between the ages of 18-44, I highly encourage you to sign up as that is the age group that 90% of the donations are from. You never know when you could be the person with the perfect match and can save someone's life.  I haven't been called for 17 years and I don't expect to be called during the next 17 years, but if I am called, I am ready and willing.

Pedometer Winners

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A Little Monday Inspiration

It is far better to be exhausted from success than to be rested from failure.
Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc.

Mary Kay Ash didn't become the successful and powerful woman she was by sitting around waiting for opportunities to come to her.  She did it by working hard, praising God, and loving others by living the Golden Rule.  She built an empire that has over 2.8 billion in her sales force (as of 2011).  That is a lot of women selling and wearing Mary Kay Cosmetics and I am happy to be one of them!

Success isn't just going to fall in your lap.  You have to work hard for it.  You can't wait around for your dreams to come true, but instead, make them happen!

If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you're right! 
Mary Kay Ash