I will definitely need to read this again ...

I am not sure if my "so-so" attitude about this book is truly about the book, or my reaction to the message. Am I just continuing to fight for control? Still struggling on that personal note.

The anecdotes generally added to the message, but sometimes made me glad I am not the author’s friend; I just might end up at the unflattering end of a story in her book. I felt the writing style and the message were also not very deep. I wanted more, but maybe that’s a reflection on me—it’s easy to let go if you just do it.

Another reviewer commented that this book is largely meant for married women with children, and I can definitely see why the reviewer felt that way. While the over-arching message is the same for all, the examples and explanations given really targeted married mothers.

Would I recommend this book? Not sure. The jury is still out.

The perfect book for a perfectionist, Type-A control freak who moved to Africa and some days just wants to push the "reset" button and head back to the U.S. There were some very important lessons here about relinquishing control, embracing the "whatever" (less-than-perfect) and finding contentment in all circumstances.

Some things that spoke to me:
* We are only in charge of obedience. God is in charge of results
* Paul says that he has learned the secret of contentment...learning implies that this is not an instinctive process. It's hard work and it's only through repeated practice that we can get it right.
* "Contentment isn't merely having what we want; it's wanting nothing more than what we already have." "[contentment is]Christ in me. Not me in a different set of circumstances." (quoted from Elisabeth Elliot in the book)
*"God is more concerned with your attitude and your obedience in the role in which he has presently cast you than he is about giving you a starring role in life."
* "In our make-it-happen culture, it feels very foreign to embrace inaction while waiting for God's timing...the world screams, 'Well, don't just stand there; do something!" However...our Creator whispers, 'well, don't just do something...stand there!'"
*"Instead of longing for God to change the trajectory of your life's story line, look for his face as you practice your faith at each twist and turn along the way."

While looking though my digital collection of Christian books, I came upon this title and knew this had to be read immediately- and proceeded to finish it in one day. I've read from Karen Ehman before and appreciate her straightforward writing style, which serves as motivation to strengthen my obedience to God while providing practical ways to focus on the topic at hand. This book was the kick in the pants I needed to look at my own actions and begin to make changes rooted in the Word. I already know I'll be revisiting this book again many times!

I'm a struggling control freak so this appealed to me. I highlighted some stand-out points that summarised things I need to work on, or focus on, so for me it was a worthwhile read.

However, I didn't entirely love with the writing style. There was nothing wrong with it, but it just wasn't for me. The author uses a lot of words strung together with hyphens to describe things, and busy adjectives rather than plain, clear ones. If this were a memoir (which it often times feels a bit like), that sort of style would suit it well, but as it's meant to be a self-help book, it seems plain speaking and clearer word choices would've sharpened and tightened it.

That said, I'm glad I picked it up. Just not one I'm likely to dip back into from time to time.

I enjoyed this book! It was super convicting for this “control freak.” I’m looking forward to putting it into practice. I’ve already done a few things and it’s made a difference for me. There have been a lot of things out of my control this year and this taught me to really let it go.

I found that this book did not give enough specific, actionable advice. The advice was more general. I also had not realized that the book was heavily focused on women who are wives and mothers, so I could not relate to many of her examples. There were a few parts that I found hard to align with my personal thinking (such as a woman's role is to follow, and a man's is to lead).