About the Book: Amanda is a raging perfectionist. She begins each day with a long list. “Keep the house picked up; limit myself to two Diet Cokes; spend special time with each of the kids; work out; pray; avoid sugar; read a chapter in a book about something very important; read my Bible; call my mom.” She determines each day’s worth, and ultimately her own, by keeping track of her stats—pounds gained or lost, stuff accomplished.
That is, until God spoke into her life, waking her up to the true costs of her addiction to perfection. Confessions of a Raging Perfectionist is more than Amanda’s confession; it’s a journey of letting go of the subtle but destructive idols of her overactive inner voice and replacing them with God’s truth. Amanda hopes her journey can inspire others to let God dig in to their own lives, uncovering the subtle lies we unconsciously live by.
My Review: I loved this book from the get go. Mainly because I can relate to Amanda, the check list girl. Marking things off my as my day progresses: prayer, cleaning, work, semi-clean kids, bible study, and it goes on and on. I know I am a good person, with a good heart and I have a fervent love for my Savior, but lets face it at times He gets tossed to the back burner in the process of living life till something goes wrong.Then we pull God back out and wait for Him to fix our mess.
I laughed through this whole book, Amanda has a great writing style that is honest and refreshing.It touches you though because its real: real struggles we can relate to, real life, real honesty. It took guts for Amanda to put it all out there, but God is using her to touch and open up the eyes and hearts of so many others that find themselves in the same spot she was/is in. We all compare ourselves to others and sadly we should not because we are all wonderfully and perfectly made by God in His image, just as He wanted us to be. Yet, we do. We compare our salvation testimony, our lifestyles, our spouses, ourselves and then judge our lives based on that unfair comparison. Amanda's confessions made me take a look at my own life and to reconfirm myself to Gods standards, not other people. He is the only one I need to please and allow to guide my life.
After the first 2 chapters I decided to read this book with my teenage daughter. We made a bible study of sorts out of it and used the discussion questions in the back of the book along with our own after reviewing bible verses that Amanda mentions. It was a profound awakening to glimpse inside my daughter and how she views herself and her surroundings because of my view, my impact on her life and it really made me take a step back and reevaluate things. In the end I agree with Amanda whole hardheartedly "I am hugely imperfect and starting to be OK with it!"
I would recommend this book to mothers, teenage daughters, bible study groups alike.
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About the Author:
Amanda Jenkins spent ten years in L.A. alongside her film-making husband surrounded by plastic surgery and high-falutin lifestyles, which is where she became convicted and inspired to write about her struggle with perfectionism. Amanda attended Northwestern Bible College and graduated with degrees in Communication and Biblical Studies. She has taught Bible studies for women of all ages for the past 14 years, and is passionate about communicating truth in a culturally relevant and funny way. Today, she lives just outside of Chicago with her husband, Dallas, and their four young children, including their newly adopted 6-yr-old son. She is also the daughter-in-law of Jerry B. Jenkins, author of the best-selling Left Behind Series, and drops his name in the publishing world as often as possible.
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