Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

Anything {Book Review}

Anything
The Prayer That Unlocked My God and My Soul
By Jennie Allen
About the book:

What if you told God you would do anything . . . and he took you up on it? 

In the years since the initial release of Anything, God continued to stretch Jennie Allen and her faith because of the courageous prayer of surrender that she and her husband, Zac, prayed, “God, we will do anything. Anything.” Previously caught in the dizzying haze of worldly happiness and empty pursuits, Jennie went on to begin living out the adventure God had written for them-to include becoming the founder of IF: Gathering, an organization to gather, equip, and unleash the next generation to live out their purpose. 

Anything is a prayer of surrender that will spark something. A prayer that will move you to stop chasing things that just make you feel happy and start living a surrendered life that matters. 

This newly revised edition is updated throughout to include a new introduction and an in-depth Bible study component for those who have been wanting to lead a study on this topic. 

Join Jennie on an adventure to discover your anything, those things that actually mean nothing until you know the God truly worth giving it all up for. And when you do, that will change everything. 

I’ve always felt like a bad prayer.  Who in the world has a problem praying? Certainly not anyone I’ve met…Our Pastor doesn’t, my Mama never did, no one ever did on the Waltons and even my littles don’t…but I’ve always felt as if I do.  And if asked to pray in a group, oh boy, Lord help us all.  It normally ends with the tears streaming, no one being able to understand a word I’m saying and me feeling like a fool.  With that said, any time I can review a book about prayer, I snatch it up in a hurry.

Anything – The Prayer That Unlocked My God And My Soul provides us with an intimate look at the spiritual journey Jennie Allen embarks on the day she realizes that the God she has heard about all of her life seems more plastic than real to her, and that she wants more.  Reading that captivated me.  I’ve grown up with the mindset that there are just some things you may kinda feel but you try hard not to think them, and you certainly never voice them.  Feeling as if God was more plastic than real was one of those things.  I’m going to be honest, that made me want to read on!

The book is an updated version of her first book with the same title. While her new book is similar, she writes about how her faith continued to grow and her relationship with God became deeper. She “let go, and let God” take over her life, for good. Her book is a prayer to surrender, a prayer to stop you from pursing a safe, boring life and start living the life God intended you to live.

Her search leads her to grapple with issues that most Christians would rather not think about… and ultimately, to pray with her husband a prayer of surrender and abandonment that will change their lives and the lives of those around them.

Jennie Allen does a wonderful job conveying biblical truth, explaining that our lives are not meant to be safe and comfortable, but radical and profound.

This book was provided to me free of charge by Book Look in return for my honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Jennie Allen is a passionate leader following God’s call on her life to catalyze this generation to live what they believe. She is the author of Restless and the Bible studies Stuck and Chase, and is the founder and visionary of IF: Gathering. Jennie is married to her best friend, Zac, and they have been blessed with four children.

{Semi} Wordless Wednesday

Breaking Up is Hard To Do

Early Sunday morning is my absolute favorite computer time. I grab my coffee, head to my computer desk and just soak in the silence. This morning as I was scrolling through my Facebook feed, I saw something that stopped me in my tracks. A comment on a mutual friends status from someone I used to hold very near my heart. We were so close y’all, I even cut the cord when she had her daughter. And then one day she was gone, without a word. I spent the next few minutes in reflection and thinking about friendship.

Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever. 
1 Samuel 20:42

How beautiful is that? I mean, that’s hallmark movie stuff right there. We have sworn friendship to each other in the name of the Lord. Doesn’t that just make you smile? Yeah, me too. How many of us crave a friendship like that? Those true, genuine friendships are one of life’s real blessings.

I thought true friendships were supposed to last forever?  Surely I’m not the only woman that makes that assumption when entering a friendship.
So when a friendship ends virtually without notice, I’m left standing, mouth agape, wondering where it went wrong…where I went wrong…what did I do wrong? 
How is it possible that in the blink of an eye, someone can turn around and walk away without even looking back?
No breakup hurts quite as badly as a breakup with your best friend.  It’s a feeling I never knew existed until it happened.  It’s a punched-in-the-gut, breathtaking feeling in a horrible way.
It’s not my story to tell, so I can’t even share any incite on how to keep a friendship from ending.  But I can tell you that breakups hurt, whether you were in love with someone or just loved by them.
And tell me sweet girls, aren’t we all afraid to talk of the breakup to others?  Don’t we fear being labeled as a gossip?  Or that others will think we are wacky, needy, clingy and overly invested? I didn’t want to be judged for being brokenhearted over an ended friendship.
I simply needed to know how to heal from a breakup that no one else would label a breakup.

The most frustrating, and absolutely sad part was is in my heart I honestly felt as if I was a good friend. I put so much effort into that friendship. I was devoted. I was faithful. I did all the right things in hopes of finding a heart-friend.

The only place I knew to run to without being judged for my feelings, and my heartbreak, was to God. I ran to Him quickly, and daily. And in that gap between my heartbreak and His healing, I chose to trust His timing.

And I will tell you this, years later, I realize wholehearted it was what was best for me. While I hate that the friendship ended, I don’t regret what came of it. What it revealed in me when that friendship was stripped away was not healthy and Jesus needed a wide path in to heal some things in me. To make beauty from those ashes.

But girls, listen to me closely, don’t be afraid to share! You have no idea how many of us have been heartbroken by a breakup with a friend. And when you speak of it, with an honest heart, you will see other teary-eyed women nodding their heads and agreeing. So many of us have walked through friendships that have ended. You aren’t alone.

And while I can’t fix it for you, and I can’t take away your heartache, I can tell you this.

Don’t be afraid to call it a breakup.

Don’t be afraid to talk about it.

Run directly to Him. He wants to hold your broken heart in His hands and with His loving grace, piece it back together.

And somehow He will make beauty from your ashes.