Tag Archives: Emily P. Freeman

Grace for the Good Girl, by Emily P. Freeman Grace for the Good Girl, by Emily P. Freeman (Revell, 2011)

This is a book for all the women whose honest desire to be good sets up impossible expectations and leads to hiding behind facades and fearing to be found out. Anxiety grows, and we struggle in our own strength instead of learning to rely on God. Hence the subtitle: “Letting Go of the Try-Hard Life.”

The author says, “Somewhere along the way, I got the message that salvation is by faith alone but anything after that is faith plus my hard work and sweet disposition” (page 13). Many of us fall into that trap, and Grace for the Good Girl can help us reset.

One of my favourite lines is about giving ourselves “permission to sit down on the inside and live like I have a God who knows what He’s doing” (page 65).

The book is in three sections: the hiding (in which we find out how we’re not alone in this after all), the finding, and the freedom of being found. It ends with a small group leader’s guide for an eight-week study.

Emily P. Freeman writes with transparency and candour about her own struggles, and shares the stories of other “recovering good girls.” The book is easy to read and encouraging. It points us back to relying on the character and grace of God, and to learning to live by faith instead of by feeling. It addresses core issues like anxiety, identity, emotions, and self-reliance, and while you likely won’t recognize yourself on every page, don’t be surprised to relate to at least a few of the stories.

The “try-hard life” is exhausting. Grace for the Good Girl points to freedom. Emily P. Freeman has also written A Million Little Ways and Simply Tuesday: Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World. For more about the author and her ministry, visit emilypfreeman.com.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Simply Tuesday, by Emily P. Freeman

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Simply Tuesday, by Emily P. Freeman (Revell, 2015)

Subtitled “Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World,” Simply Tuesday calls readers to live in the everyday moments without the pressure to perform or to push on to the next big thing. Even the cover art, a quiet bench with birds and dragonflies, calls us to slow down.

Sections consider our home, work, relationships and souls, as well as a vision for what’s ahead. Readers are invited to find ourselves and our loved ones in the present, and to be present to Jesus with us. The book is part memoir and part an exploration of Christian living, shared by one who’s still learning through life (as opposed to one who’s nailed the answers).

It’s approachable and easy to relate to, an invitation to embrace and celebrate our smallness instead of condemning ourselves for our humanity. My favourite lines:

What gives moments meaning is not the moments themselves but the presence of Christ with us in the midst of them. (p. 47)

True belief is movement toward God even in the midst of confusion or frustration or fear. (p. 78)

I can’t prevent storms from coming, but I can decide not to invent my own. (p. 209)

Emily P. Freeman writes with a transparency and a conversational style that will be familiar to anyone who follows her blog. Something I hadn’t noticed in her blog posts that made the book a little harder for me is the fluidity with which she shifts from past to present and back again. We do this in conversations, to add immediacy: “Fifteen years ago, I’m working at a local high school… It’s morning and the bell rings…” (p. 206) In printed form, I find this jarring. Maybe it’s the editor in me.

Simply Tuesday offers refreshment for anyone struggling in the try-hard life while her soul aches for a simpler pace and a bit of fresh air. It’s not anti-performance or opposing busyness. Instead, it’s a glimpse of what life might look like if we began to nurture the small things in our lives and if we accepted ourselves as who we are instead of always pushing to be more than we are. Highly recommended for weary souls.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Learning and Remembering

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“The problem isn’t that we aren’t learning. The problem is we forget.” (Emily P. Freeman, “How I Keep Track of What I’m Learning“)

Forgetting leads to remedial lessons and to missing the chance to learn even more. If you take time to read her post (well worth it, just click the link above) you’ll see her wonderful journal suggestion. journal and pen I’d love one with graph paper markings (that’s the sort of paper I use in drafting my fiction ideas), but I went to Dollarama instead. Here’s the (straight-lined) one I chose.

I wondered why that particular colour resonated with me in the store. You’ll see in a minute.

I take notes at conferences and retreats. I even had a “listening journal” that I carried on a few trips, because God often speaks to me in snippets that string together over time. So why would I not have one for the day-to-day?

The idea is to review the notes regularly to reinforce the learning and discern any patterns. Of course, while it’s new and fresh, I’m extra alert. Here are a few recent online sources of my learning :

Janice L. Dick shares one reader’s response to her fiction that makes it all worthwhile: “The Power of the Spirit in Our Writing.”

God’s abundant supply involves far more than finances and material things. Check out the list Mary Waind includes in her blog post, “Abundance.”

When I put these two books side by side, I saw why the colour drew me:

Bible and journal

Janet Sketchley

Writing Christian Mysteries & Suspense

Tag Archives: Emily P. Freeman

Review: A Million Little Ways, by Emily P. Freeman

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Review: Grace for the Good Girl, by Emily P. Freeman

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Review: Simply Tuesday, by Emily P. Freeman

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Learning and Remembering

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