A Productive Monday, A Good Fit, and A Highly Anticipated Read
Do your Mondays ever feel like a practice run? Sometimes I feel like they are just the trial-run period to see if you’re going to like the rest of the week. Thankfully, productivity was high today. I went to my usual spot to work, the Barnes and Noble cafe, and worked through my list, which is the most satisfying thing to do. Working remotely/from home is different. I’ve been working this way for almost three years, and honestly, I don’t think I’d want to work in an office anymore. It’s funny though. Some days, I can get far more done in the quiet of my home and other days, it helps to be around other people working. It’s weird how a group of strangers working totally separate but together motivates me. Anyways, I rewarded myself with a stroll around Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters after work to celebrate a good day.
The leaves are finally turning yellow here, and it makes me walk to the rhythm of Dreams by the Cranberries that plays incessantly in my mind during this time of year. I’m hopelessly trying to live out my dream of being Kathleen Kelly in You’ve Got Mail.
I took Charlie for a good walk and then settled in for the evening. This weather has me wanting to light my candles and nestle into the couch. I'm getting into this new book that I’ve had my eye on, You’re Not Enough (and That’s Okay) by Allie Beth Stuckey. She’s a Christian 20-something, who speaks on political and social issues through a sound theological lens. I started listening to her last year during the pandemic, and she helped me make sense of things going on in our country. I’m grateful for her Godly wisdom and discernment.
Here’s the description:
“We're told that the key to happiness is self-love. Instagram influencers, mommy bloggers, self-help gurus, and even Christian teachers promise that if we learn to love ourselves, we'll be successful, secure, and complete. But the promise doesn't deliver. Instead of feeling fulfilled, our pursuit of self-love traps us in an exhausting cycle: as we strive for self-acceptance, we become addicted to self-improvement.
The truth is we can't find satisfaction inside ourselves because we are the problem. We struggle with feelings of inadequacy because we are inadequate. Alone, we are not good enough, smart enough, or beautiful enough. We're not enough--period. And that's okay, because God is.
The answer to our insufficiency and insecurity isn't self-love, but God's love. In Jesus, we're offered a way out of our toxic culture of self-love and into a joyful life of relying on him for wisdom, satisfaction, and purpose. We don't have to wonder what it's all about anymore. This is it.
This book isn't about battling your not-enoughness; it's about embracing it. Allie Beth Stuckey, a Christian, conservative new mom, found herself at the dead end of self-love, and she wants to help you combat the false teachings and self-destructive mindsets that got her there. In this book, she uncovers the myths popularized by our self-obsessed culture, reveals where they manifest in politics and the church, and dismantles them with biblical truth and practical wisdom.”
Doesn’t that sound refreshing to read amidst all the stupid, self-help advice we all have believed at some point in our lives? I’m excited to get through this. I’ll let you know my review at the end!
Are you reading anything interesting these days? Comment below.
(P.S.— click here to hear my song of the day or enjoy my entire fall playlist here.)