Book Review: True You: Letting Go of Your False Self to Uncover the Person God Created You to Be.

Releasing January 1st is perfect! This timing is impeccable as each new year many of us look for a fresh start. A new goal. An improved plan. Or focus. 

My 2018 has been one full of soul searching and reflection- as my word for the year was RESTORE, and yet things in my life occurred very differently than I expected, leaving me feeling very broken, disjointed, lost, and disoriented. 

So as I've committed to allow God to RESTORE me in Him, I have been seeking what He has for me in all of life.  This book came as I have been trying to pull together the Holy Spirit's work and provision in my life, make sense of the loss and changes, and continue to seek God's will no matter how it feels or looks.  

This book shares the author's journey to peel back the layers of herself and find the one whom God calls her to be. She artistically uses the image of pruning a tree to help the reader grasp how to peel back the layers that keep each of us from showing ourselves first and then our community who we really are. 

Her imagery of pruning the tree, was a great visual tool that helped connect the concepts and fully recognize the work that it takes to find the best branches so the tree will thrive in the future growth. 

I found her approach so helpful. At first I wasn't sure how each chapter was different from the next, but as the book progressed, I realized that she was peeling back the layers we have that hide our true selves from the surface to the core, and that they are all inter-connected, but the deeper you go, the more reflective and intuitive your search is. 

Each chapter end with reflective questions to help this process move along at the needed slow transforming pace. The author integrates scripture and quotes from others who have found their true identity in meaningful and engaging ways throughout the book. I found these chapter questions so helpful, and as I said earlier, the first chapters seemed similar as they layers we hide beneath overlap, but as you move in to the core of you are, peeling back the identity, false identity, perceptions, lies you hide beneath, you are finding your true you! I will be revisiting this book often. It helped me begin to find my inner passion and goals, but battling all the layers will take time to breakdown and focus on the core me. 

What I found to be so true, of my true me, is that I have gone through this process without fully realizing it.  When all of my life changed in what seemed like a minute this year, I engaged in what gives me life, brings me joy, and renews my energy- writing curriculum and delivering biblical truth, literacy, and skills to children.  I've restored my role as a children's ministry person in our local church and I have been able to process the changes with contentment and joy, as my time is spent focused on serving others with my best self!  

Thankful to partner with Baker books and read an advance copy to review.