One of my all-time favorite movies is
Mary Poppins. In the scene following her arrival at the Banks home, she is unpacking her bottomless (and seemingly empty) carpetbag while Jane & Michael watch. She rummages around and pulls out a measuring tape to see how they measure up. Michael is "Extremely Stubborn and Suspicious." Jane is "Rather Inclined to Giggle. Doesn't Put Things Away." They demand that she take a turn, but her result is "Mary Poppins. Practically Perfect in Every Way." (You can watch this darling clip
here if you aren't familiar with it.)
How often we as women think we need to be like Mary Poppins. (Although I'd settle for being able
to snap my fingers to clean the house!) We try so hard to be perfect (or at least supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!) so that we can convince everyone, including God, that we measure up. Only the result is that, like Michael, reaching for something beyond our abilities only results in our being frustrated, out of control, and in a never-ending cycle trying to escape.
This is something I have particularly struggled with for years. Growing up in a home where the expectations were high and deficiencies were always pointed out, I have wrestled with this for much of my life. (Lest you think my folks were abusive, let me clarify that this was not the case and the motivation was to help us improve and be our best. Unfortunately, the result was the sense of never doing/being enough.)
So I was particularly interested in Lisa Harper's new book,
A Perfect Mess: Why You Don't Have to Worry About Being Good Enough for God. As she walks the reader through some of the Psalms, which contain "God's interactions with real people with real problems in need of His gloriously real grace," Lisa reminds us that "God's incomparable love transforms the messiness and loneliness of life into a gorgeous tapestry of grace." (Quotes from the Introduction, pages 2-3)
Chapters such as "Leaping over Legalism," "Tumbling Toward Approval," and "Frantic Isn't a Spiritual Fruit" are sprinkled with verses, truths, and examples. Each chapter concludes with questions for personal insight or discussion, making this an ideal book for a Bible Study, book club, or small group.
I especially loved the chapter "Tumbling Toward Approval" and could relate to much of what it said:
Maybe you too have exhauted yourself striving to be sweeter or thinner or a better scrapbooker. Perhaps you've crafted Bible study answers with the goal of impressing the girls in your small group. It's easy to fall prey to the feel-good addiction of other people's approval. . .I've realized tha many of us are just as prone to perform for God as for anyone else.
I used to think that, along with trying to impress others, I had to try to win God over with a "good girl" routine. . . I felt sure that the only reason I'd get to squeak into heaven's door was because Jesus felt sorry for me and talked His Father into it. Although I walked down an aisle to confess my sins and my need for Christ's love and forgiveness when I was seven, it took decades longer to believe that Jesus actually likes me, that He doesn't merely deliver me but wholeheartedly delights in me. (excerpted from pp. 43-45)
Anyone else ready to quit trying to be perfect and accept that you're
A Perfect Mess? (Giveaway below!)
BOOK SUMMARY
Caught up in the self-imposed pressure to do and be all the things they think a Christian woman ought to do and be, countless women are working desperately to convince everyone, including God, that they have it all together. Few have any idea that the Creator of the universe looks at them with delight even when they yell at the dog, drive a minivan littered with French fries, or think bad words about that rude clerk at the store.
A Perfect Mess offers hope to every woman who yearns for a vibrant relationship with God but worries she isn’t good enough or doesn’t do enough to merit His affection. With characteristic authenticity, speaker and author Lisa Harper shares poignant stories from her own imperfect life to showcase the real-life relevancy of the Bible in the lives of modern women.
As she guides readers on a story-driven journey through selected Psalms, they will be inspired to experience for themselves how God’s incomparable love transforms the messiness of life into a gorgeous work of grace.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Lisa Harper is a master storyteller whose lively approach connects the dots between the Bible era and modern life. She is a sought-after Bible teacher and speaker whose upcoming appearances include the national Women of Faith Conferences. A veteran of numerous radio and television programs and the author of several books, she also is a regular columnist for
Today’s Christian Woman magazine. Lisa recently completed a master’s of theological studies from Covenant Theological Seminary. She makes her home outside Nashville. You can learn more at her
website.
She talks about the fear of not being perfect here:
GIVEAWAY!!The publisher has provided an additional copy for me to give to one of you! Just leave a comment on this post by 6:00 p.m. CDT Saturday and I will draw a winner. (Continental US residents only, please.)
A Perfect Mess can be purchased directly from the
publisher or from
Amazon or other bookstores.
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