Shimmy

We will get to the shimmy in a moment, but first I have to say that I am proud of myself. I finished a book. I took my 9 year old to Starbucks with me last night and she sat and read her books and I read mine. We both had iced-lattes. Yep. We start young around here. Anyway, my daughter razzed me a little because she can read like 3 novels to my 1 book. She can read a novel from the time it takes me to get her at school to when we roll into the driveway. I asked her how she does it...she just looked at me from behind her glasses and smiled. She couldn't say or wouldn't say...not sure which. But last night, it didn't matter that I didn't read quick, because honestly I had a lot to soak in.

Okay, so once again, Susanna Aughtmon made me both laugh right out loud and cry. Her latest book, My Bangs Look Good and Other Lies I Tell Myself was so fantastic that it is one of the few books that I can say with all honesty that I finished and because of the conversational style that Susanna writes in, it wasn't difficult to finish. (Sometimes my flesh wanted to put it down because there were some tinges of conviction that arose while reading :) ) Susanna writes in such a way that I just felt like she had pulled up a chair at my table at Starbucks and chatted with me. She both encouraged me and challenged me. She made me want to grow...a sort of iron sharpening iron.

One of the things I love most about this book is Susanna's transparency. See, I am all about keepin' it real and Susanna does just that. It is precisely this raw and candid honesty that makes reading her book so easy. Yet, the funny thing is that Susanna wasn't talking fluff. Her personal stories and struggles so moved me. She challenged me to examine my own heart and ask God to help me exchange any of the enemy's lies that I have been believing with HIS TRUTH. And guess what, I am fixin' to get a bit of freedom here!

So back to the post title "Shimmy." Last week I drove my 3 kids to the D.C. area to visit my sister, a drive that takes 12 hours give or take an extra potty break. More on the trip at a later time. Anyway, when I arrived safely in Virginia, my car began to shimmy at 45 and again at 65. Okay, so I grew up with a dad who fixed most of our car problems so I knew enough to decide this girl needed to take her car to the shop. Long story short, the problem was a broken joint on an axle. My car couldn't run smooth because there was a broken part attached to my wheel.

So where is the connection between the shimmy and Susanna's book? You see, I have a few shimmies in my life, some places where my wheels just won't run smooth. I realized as I was reading that these shimmies are caused by believing the enemy's lies over the freeing power of God's truth. For example, after a long winter of sickness around here and a sick start to spring I began to believe the enemy's lie that God doesn't really hear my prayers...shimmy. Because I began to believe this lie, I found myself getting angry at God and even becoming bitter. But in Susanna's gentle way she reminded me of how attentive and truly poised for hearing our God really is. Here's where the freedom comes. Karate chop the lie and put the truth in its place and guess what? No shimmy.

As a result of reading this book, I have been made aware of some of the causes of my lack of peace. God's word says that knowing truth will make us free. (John 8:32) I am thankful for a friend like Susanna. (Believe me, after reading this book you will feel the same way). She pointed me to the truth that indeed is making us both free little by little! I wish I could just high-five Susanna right now or do cartwheels together or eat a celebratory Dove chocolate bar.

This book is a must have and a must-give-to-every-girlfriend-I have. It is available now at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Check out her blog at http://www.tiredsupergirl.blogspot.com/. You can purchase her book by clicking here: www.tinyurl.com/goodbangs