Trish's Reviews > Teach Us to Want: Longing, Ambition and the Life of Faith

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Teach Us to Want: Longing, Ambition and the Life of Faith
by

Jen Pollock Michel (Goodreads Author),

Katelyn Beaty (Goodreads Author) (Foreword)

Trish's review

Mar 04, 2019

really liked it

bookshelves: my-audible, soul-food, re-read-in-the-future

I read this very slowly, savoring each piece. I really appreciated the author's honesty, and how she constantly turned the focus back on scripture rather than personal feelings. Most of her stories focused on her role as wife or mother, so I definitely see this as a book for women. I also really appreciated her emphasis on community, and how God uses his church as a tool for honing us.

There are no simple platitudes here. Life is hard and the struggle will be lifelong, but God IS good. Rooting ourselves in that goodness shapes our desires.

Close to a 5 star, but sometimes the stories/lessons got a bit muddled.

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Quotes Trish Liked

“God is the I AM that I AM not the I AM that we wish.”
― Jen Pollock Michel, Teach Us to Want: Longing, Ambition and the Life of Faith

tags: character-of-god, discipleship, glory-of-god, sovereignty-of-god

5 likes

“New freedoms surface old habits. I haven't left sin behind, only discovered a new medium for my treachery. My real trouble as a writer isn't trying to mean the words that I write. It's living into the words that I mean. Nonfiction writing can feel like the high art of hypocrisy.”
― Jen Pollock Michel, Teach Us to Want: Longing, Ambition and the Life of Faith

tags: creativity, exposition, media

2 likes

“We want. Life leaks. Desires are disappointed. And God, our Father, remains eternally good.”
― Jen Pollock Michel, Teach Us to Want: Longing, Ambition and the Life of Faith

2 likes

“Without grace, there is fear. And where there is fear, confession will be muted. Confession will always be unwelcome in places where authenticity engenders judgment and where we are pressured to conform and perform. Until we’re allowed to be the mess we are, we will continue the hiding, the lying, and the pretending.”
― Jen Pollock Michel, Teach Us to Want: Longing, Ambition and the Life of Faith

2 likes

“Sticks and stones may break your bones, and words – can cut your insides.”
― Jen Pollock Michel, Teach Us to Want: Longing, Ambition and the Life of Faith

tags: community, relationships, vulnerability

1 likes