Stay: Discovering Grace, Freedom, and Wholeness Where You Never Imagined Looking by Anjuli Paschall Book Review

In Stay, Anjuli Paschall explored the topic of staying and facing our pain and past. She encouraged readers that the areas that we resist are the ones where God can greatly use to transform our lives. She pointed out how God wants us to have a deep relationship with Him and to have true intimacy. She begins the book by sharing how she attended a Christian college and how she found a group of friends. She revealed how she struggled with being unknown and how she still felt out of place. She connected with a psychology professor, Helyn Fay and she listened to her insecurities and prayed for her. This greatly changed her life and influenced her positively. She shared how she felt known for the first time and how she had a sense of belonging. She discovered the power of believing that she is loved on the inside. Throughout the book, she looked at vulnerability and how we try and hide behind things that we think will protect us. We have to be vulnerable and be honest about our secrets and trust Jesus to help us. In the book, she opened up about how she met her husband, Sam and how he proposed twice. She also shared the beautiful parts of their marriage and also the weeds and the thorns season they experienced. 

I would recommend this amazing book to anyone who is ready to face their past and they are ready to stay in the arms of Jesus. I liked how open she was in discussing her life story and she shared the lessons she has learned in her marriage. I liked how each chapter covered invitations, such as “to be an outsider, loneliness, listen, sit in the weeds, fear”, and more. One of my favorite things she shared was how she started, “The Moms We Love Club”. She shared how she was able to start Go Fund Me’s for moms who are going through a lot and how they have all changed her own life in some way. I liked how she included discussion questions at the end of the book where readers can go deeper into the book and they can ponder their own lives. If you’re looking for a book on freedom and wholeness, then read this book! 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.” 

If you would like to purchase a copy of Stay, check it out on Amazon.com:

https://www.amazon.com/Stay-Discovering-Freedom-Wholeness-Imagined/dp/0764235842

Let It Go: Forgive So You Can Be Forgiven By T.D. Jakes Book Review

Let It Go is written to provide enormous benefits to readers who are having trouble with forgiving offences. Offences come in petty and gigantic life alteration displayed by our actions, words, and unspoken expectations. No matter if the offences occurred as big or small, if unforgiveness consumes and plagues our hearts it will hinder our growth. Unforgiveness unchecked affects our relationship with our spouses, our children, our family members, our work environment, the ability to truly connect and fellowship with church members, and any other person we interactive with daily. We may think those around us aren't suffering from our bitterness and hurt. But our relationships need our commitment to forgive and let offences go. Bishop Jakes believed forgiveness is a "big idea" and it takes a great Eagle like thinking to forgive ourselves and others. Bishop Jakes affirmed that unforgiveness is the hidden cancer of the soul eating us alive and stopping us from living. Most people don't deal with the cancer that they can cure! We often fail to comprehend that you can't be in relationships that won't produce some conflict along the way. Disappointments, hurts, offences will happen and moving through the pain and healing enable us to live.




Bishop Jakes described that most people haven't showed others the 100 percent of themselves. Most of us don't even realize that we have put up walls around our hearts. If we would let the bitterness go we would be a new person, a better spouse, a better employee, church member, pastor, and friend! Forgiving ourselves for our failures and shortcomings is the first step in experiencing freedom and extending our love out to others. The Bible says, "To love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves" (Matthew 37-39) (Page 186). You can't give away forgiveness and love if you haven't received God's love and forgiveness. It's extremely vital you love and forgive the person he created! Once you have accepted his mercy, then you can extend that same forgiveness to other people who have betrayed you.



Bishop Jakes illustrated that we have four types of wounded warriors. They are the insulator, isolator, the inhibitor, and the bully. This book proved to me that I was an isolator and that I would withdraw in conflict and pain. I feared rejection that people would treat me just like the other person treated me. I thought hiding from the past experience of pain would fix the issue and protect my heart from being disappointment ever again. This book has helped me to start living free again without letting the disappointments and hurts run and control my everyday life. You have an obligation from God to love others and to forgive others, why don't you start doing it?




I would recommend getting this enriching life changing book resource and add it to your collection. This book is for anyone who is holding on to unforgiveness whether it is pain in your childhood, relationships, marriage, church, employment, or any other type of pain. This book is not for the people who can't stand to hear the truth and hate to read a message about forgiveness. Bishop Jakes doesn't hold back, you better brace yourself and be open and willing to deal with the issues and roots! This book is wrote as a how to forgive, how to move forward, and how the effects of unforgiveness can be deadly. I have personally brought into the lie that if I forgive people who have caused me heartache that they are getting away with hurting me. I thought that I was allowing them to continue in their ways without punishment. But who am I do inflict the same pain they put me through. God gets me mercy every day and I need to give them mercy. I loved how Bishop Jakes preached the truth with conviction and he included magnificent Biblical support. This book revealed so much helpful information of forgiving and moving forward with my life. I will be keeping this book close to me and I will be reading it when new offences try to make me buy into the bitterness root again. You don't have to remain stuck as a chicken and living at less than 100 percent of your true free self. An Eagle living at 100 percent captivity can be achieved for any man or woman who is willing to forgive and rise above the adversities that we encounter! This book changed my life and I pray that it changes yours too! Freedom is arriving! Are you ready?


Check out Let It Go on Bishop T.D. Jakes website:

http://tdjakes.org/letitgo/


If you would like to purchase a copy of Let It Go check it out on Amazon.com or ChristianBook.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Let-It-Go-Forgive-Forgiven/dp/1416547290

http://www.christianbook.com/let-forgive-you-can-be-forgiven/t-d-jakes/9781416547297/pd/547297