by kelligarms | Mar 20, 2017 | Book Review
In order for me to be with a great woman, I was gonna have to learn to be a great man first.
Rory Feek’s book This Life I Live is, simply put, a love story. But it is not only his love story with his wife Joey but also his love story with God. Before reading this book, I didn’t know much about Joey and Rory. I had seen a few episodes of Can You Duet?, and articles had crossed my Facebook page during Joey’s battle with cancer. That was all I knew when I picked up the book. However, knowing the end made each chapter more impacting as the story developed.
The conversational style of the writing made it feel like I was sitting across from Rory, laughing and crying with him. Each chapter can stand alone and is easy to read even though he tackles very difficult topics throughout the book. He doesn’t shy away from discussing his past mistakes and how they have made him the man he is. He bravely embraces topics of raising his older daughters alone, watching his wife battle cancer, and facing raising their daughter alone, as well. He confronts the issues of salvation, tithing, family, sex, repentance, and the list goes on. And he takes responsibility for the choices he made, never laying blame at someone else’s feet. He is gracious to those around him who have made mistakes, and often reminds the reader that we are all doing the best we can with what we have.
I am me because of me. No one else. My decisions brought me here, good or bad.
To look at him today, I never would have guessed at Rory’s childhood and the choices he made in his past. Rory’s story of redemption is powerful! It is a good reminder that, no matter what I’ve done or who I’ve been, I am never so lost that God can’t save me. His experiences with repentance, confession, and forgiveness brought me to tears.
Yes, I have been forgiven greatly. Many times over. And so I must forgive greatly and trust that God has a greater plan in store than the one that I can see.
The characters in Rory’s life made an impact on me, as well. From his difficult relationship with his parents to his lovable Uncle Goombah to the woman who changed his life forever, the people who invested in him helped bring him to where he is today, both personally and professionally.
My wife understood that there are things you cannot put a price on, and there’s a huge difference between time wasted and time spent.
Rory’s descriptions of Joey are loving and tender. He describes her in terms of her grace, dignity, passion, and love. I so wish I had followed their story more closely while she was on this earth! As the tears blurred the words on the final pages, I thought about how Joey felt as a new mother, knowing that her daughter would grow up without her mother and that Rory would have to raise another daughter alone. As I struggled through those emotions, I was reminded of Rory’s words:
We must turn the page and trust that the story He is telling is bigger than that one page or that one chapter.
by kelligarms | Mar 2, 2017 | Book Review
Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. Proverbs 30:6
In light of this book being released as a movie, I decided to upload a review I wrote of The Shack several years ago when I was teaching at Baptist Bible College. Because of the length of the review, I’ve attached it as a PDF. Though this review does not touch on every issue in the book, it is a good place to begin the discussion. Be warned that this post contains spoilers.
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by kelligarms | Jan 4, 2017 | Book Review
Whether you are in an eight-hundred-square-foot home or living in a dream house on the lake, contentment is found on the way to the ‘farm,’ not on the ‘farm’ itself. — Joanna Gaines
Chip and Joanna Gaines charmed their way into my heart when Fixer Upper seasons 1 and 2 hit Netflix. I will admit that I binge watched the show, and I think I finished both seasons in one day. I love the way the Gaineses structure and decorate the homes with each specific client in mind, and Joanna’s style and decorating sense absolutely blow me away. But the thing about the show that impresses me the most is the relationship between Chip and Joanna. The way they relate to each other demonstrates how much they care about each other and put each other’s needs first. Part of me wondered if it was all just for show–if they were only behaving that way toward each other for the benefit of the viewers. But after reading The Magnolia Story, I am even more impressed with them as individuals, business owners, a couple, parents, and followers of Christ.
I bought the book on a whim as I was surfing through my kindle store, thinking that I would get to it someday. Little did I know that once I read the introductory chapter, I would not be able to put it down. The conversational style of the writing along with the interactions Chip and Joanna have on the page itself were enough to draw me in and make me feel connected to them as a friend more than a reader.
Beyond telling the history of their little family and letting us in on the multiple business ventures on which they have embarked, they share the lessons they have learned along the way. Some lessons have been about business, but most of the lessons learned are about life and living it to the fullest. Joanna gives the credit to God for leading her step by step through the major decisions in her life, and Chip acknowledges that God performs miracles on a daily basis, even when they do not recognize it right away.
My favorite part of the book is a story Joanna tells about recognizing her perfectionism is keeping her and her family from enjoying life. As she comes to this realization, it changes the way she thinks about her home and its purpose. The benefits of this lesson extend beyond her home and family as she tries to incorporate spaces in the homes of her clients for each individual who will live there.
I have never chosen a word of the year for my family, but as we enter 2017, and after hearing Joanna’s heart in this story, my choice for 2017 is “Thrive.” I do not want to simply survive–survive my children’s schooling and their activities, survive these early years of being business owners, survive the ministries of which I get to be a part. I want to thrive in the day-to-day moments and enjoy them. I want to remember them with fondness instead of cringing at the memories.
And, in the interest of full disclosure, I binge watched Fixer Upper on Netflix again after reading the book. It is even better when you feel like you know the stars!
If you can’t find happiness in the ugliness, you’re not going to find it in the beauty, either. — Joanna Gaines
by kelligarms | Dec 28, 2016 | Book Review
I didn’t want happiness at the expense of holiness. I wanted happiness as a part of being a human created to ‘glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’
Have you ever felt guilty because, in spite of all the blessings in your life, you still were not happy? Jennifer Dukes Lee addresses the reasons for our happiness and unhappiness in her new book The Happiness Dare.
We have all heard it said that God does not want us to be happy; He wants us to be holy. This carries the connotation that, if we are happy, then we must not be holy. Lee challenges this idea because while God does want us to be holy, He also intends for us to be happy. Happiness and holiness are not mutually exclusive. She addresses the many ways God rejoices in our happiness and encourages us to look for God, not only in hard and painful times, but also in the pleasures of life. Although we tend to turn to God in our times of pain, He is as present in our pleasures. We simply need to look for Him.
When our happiness increases in manifold, God-honoring ways, we are not being selfish or sinful. The happier we are, the more we are becoming like our Savior.
Lee presents the idea that God created each of us with our own individual happiness style. This happiness style gives us our happiness sweet spot where “earthly pleasure, heavenly joy, and our unique wiring intersect.” While some of us get great joy out of thinking, planning, or reflecting, others of us experience pleasure in a job well done or a selfless act of service. My happiness style, for example, is “thinker,” and my secondary style is “relater.” I primarily like to learn and think and come up with new ideas, but then I like to tell people what I’m learning and share my ideas with others. I also have a smattering of “experiencer,” “doer,” and “giver,” in that order. Do you love to teach? Do you love to serve others by donating your time or your talents? Do you love planning family vacations? Could you spend hours watching your children play at the park? With guidance and practical tools, Lee walks us through discovering our happiness sweet spots and experiencing them to the fullest.
In embracing the gifts, we honor the Giver, because he is the one who gave them.
Lee goes on to address the “happiness hijackers” in our day-to-day lives and gives us strategies to combat them in simple and practical ways. As we take small steps to fight the hindrances to our happiness and to embrace our happiness sweet spots, we will not only gain happiness in our lives, but also grow closer to being the people God created us to be. And the happiness we will experience is not the fake-it-till-you-make-it kind of happiness but true, unhindered happiness which shines for all to see and rubs off on those around us.
It’s true what they say about candles–they lose nothing by lighting another candle. They only add to the light, in a world that feels so dark.
A few days before I read The Happiness Dare, a friend and I were laughing as we discussed our love of cake and the idea that in heaven we will eat cake every day! This made Lee’s final metaphor especially appealing to me. I encourage you to read Lee’s book. Whether you are naturally happy, are afraid to be happy, or do not know how to be happy, The Happiness Dare has something to offer you.
Happiness can be like venom to the enemy of your soul.
