Enough Already #bookreview @Litfuse

Enough Already (Abingdon, March 2015)

Recognize your own outer and inner beauty as defined by God, not the media or others.

Most women know that God loves them, but might he love them more if they finally lost that last ten pounds, or got their hair to lay right, or finally found a pair of jeans that looked good and let them breathe? Well, maybe God doesn’t care about jeans, but women do, and all the talk about inner beauty hasn’t kept all of us from staring into a mirror and taking an inventory that never quite measures up. Enough Already will:

—Elevate the soul-freeing, spiritual truth that God is the Creator of beauty and that women are called to appreciate and care for themselves as his own.
—Enable women to accept God-given beauty so that when they look in the mirror they see his handiwork, not their flaws.
—Equip women to win the ugly struggle with beauty once and for all.

Learn more and purchase a copy at Barb’s website.

Barbara Roose is an African-American, wife, mother, and pastor with a passion for creatively communicating God’s truths in a manner that is relevant and easy for people to apply to their lives. In February 2002, she joined the staff at Cedar Creek Church in Perrysburg, Ohio. Currently, she is the Directional Leader and Pastor of Spiritual Formation. For the past eight years, she has had the privilege to serve as periodic teaching pastor to 10,000 (average) weekly attendees. Since 2010, she has spoken at various women’s conferences in the U.S. and Honduras. In October 2012, she was a guest speaker for best-selling author and former Women of Faith speaker, Nicole Johnson’s Seasons Weekend Experience. Barbara and her husband, Matt, have been married 21 years and live in Toledo, Ohio.

My thoughts:  This book is awesome.  I think all women, young and old, need to read it.  It’s not just about feeling good about your physical body and whether you need to wear makeup or not.  It’s about what’s inside.  I have to say my favorite chapter was “If the Barn Needs Paintin'” simply because I am that woman.  I struggle to do for myself.  I have a gift certificate for almost the entire amount of getting my hair cut and colored.  I’ve had it since December.  I still haven’t used it.  It’s not that I don’t want to, I really do!  It’s that I can’t get past feeling guilty for the small amount of money on top of the certificate that I’ll be spending on ME.  I should be spending that money and that time on my kids right?  And the verses she used in the chapter from Ecclesiastes 3 are ones that I used to tell myself it was okay!  Imagine my surprise as she uses them to tell me the opposite!  

Seriously though ladies this is a wonderful book.  It’s going to make you think and help you realize that you should paint the barn now instead of waiting until it’s too late.  You’ll think to yourself “Enough Already” and get with the program!