Sheila nailed it right there in black ink on white pages. In her new book, It’s Okay Not to Be Okay, she gets it. She gets me—this crazy-perfectionist me; this not-quite-good-enough me; this grappling-with-anxiety me; and this wondering-if-God-is-Okay-with-me—ME!

I recently participated on the launch team for Sheila Walsh’s latest book, It’s Okay Not to be Okay. I had preordered her book just like I have her other books. Within a few days I received an email that included a place to apply to be on the launch team. I did, and now I was all set for this new experience.

I received a copy of the book within a few days—several weeks before its release date of October 2. The team was to start reading it, make comments, post pictures on social media, and when finished with it, write a review on Goodreads, Amazon, or wherever we preordered. And when the book I preordered arrives after the release date, I get to give it away to a friend!

I have done all of those things, even the selfie with a picture of the book, which is totally out of my comfort zone. Did I mention that I hate selfies of me?

As I read, I also underline, bracket, star, write notes in the margin, and circle page numbers—depending on how much the sentence or paragraph speaks to me—because I want to be able to find those special places again. The profound statements tucked within the pages of this amazing book are numerous and yes, quite profound! Honestly, there are now full pages that are underlined in my book, and many, many brackets, stars, and notes on almost every page. I can so easily say that I highly recommend this book to my friends and blog followers!

I have loved every book I have ever read by Sheila Walsh, but this book blew me away. I even asked myself: Why does this book so clearly speak to Janie Kellogg? Beside the fact that it is well-written, insightful, and gut-level honest, this book speaks to me somewhere down-deep inside—you know, those places that we all keep hidden. Of course, being a blogger I strive to be transparent and share my discoveries, victories, and failures with you my readers, yet still there is that part of me that no one sees (well, except Jesus).

And just to make my point about profound statements reaching down-deep inside me, I’ll give you a few of my favorite quotes from her book:

“He (Jesus) knows all our little quirks and personality traits, but the glorious truth of the gospel is that Jesus is in love with us right now, even though we are a crazy, mixed-up bunch. He sees us as beautiful.”

“The breathtaking truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that we are not judged on our failures but on the finished work of Christ….That is the heart and passion of this book.”

“It’s okay not to be okay, because Jesus has made us right with God. If we could begin to grasp that, it would radically revolutionize our lives.”

“But if anyone ever tells you that you’re not saved unless you follow their rules, run as fast as you can, because that is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.” (May God bless Sheila abundantly for her courage on this one!)

“We’ll never have enough to fulfill all the demands made on us, but that’s okay. We’re not supposed to have enough.” (This is really great news right here!)

“If Christ had chosen to live eternally with His scars, why would I be ashamed to show mine?”

“Scars are proof that God heals.”

“You are not what happened to you. You are a child of God.”

There you go—now you know—this book will speak to a down-deep part of you too. As soon as I finished the book, I wanted to read it again!

I am so grateful to writers who are courageous enough to let their hair down, open their hearts and show us their wounds. Without fail, it gives the rest of us the courage to do the same. My hat’s off to Sheila Walsh for writing this one—just for me! ~Janie Kellogg

 

All quotes: Walsh, Sheila, It’s Okay Not to be Okay, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, 2018, Pages 57, 61, 61-62, 68, 119, 140, 157, 166.