***UPDATED with winners names below***
What do I hold on to the most in my life in complete and utter fear of giving it over to God? What do you hold on to? Jennie Allen recently released a book called ANYTHING and in it she shares how one simple prayer changed her life and how it can change ours as well. One night on the floor of her bathroom she prayed this prayer …. “From this point on things are changing. I am living for the moment when I will face you. I want to get to heaven out of breath, having willingly done anything that you – God of the universe – asks … anything.”
I read this book and felt short of breath through most of it. I felt what Jennie was saying, and I was enamored with her dance with Jesus through this subject of abandoning it all. She writes about her fears, what was holding her back, what she was scared of letting go, and she writes about the joy that this prayer brought and the feelings of wanting to abandon it all for the costs. I was right there with her. I want that too.
Jennie has been asking people what is their “anything”. What is the one thing that's holding you back. I tried to think of my “anything”, and friends I'm embarrassed to say my “anything” is not just one thing, it's lots of “anythings”. I feel as though sometimes I try so hard to control my life and hold on to everything I can grasp around me full of fear of what might happen if I let it go. It's as if I'm an octopus and I'm desperately trying to use all my arms to hold everything I love and desire close to me, so that God can't touch it, because I fear so much that God just might ask me to suffer for the things I truly love. I fear that he just might take me down a path that few people travel in this world.
I hold my kids tight for the fear of losing one of them to sickness or an accident. I hold my husband and marriage so tightly to try and persuade God to let me keep Aaron until I'm old, and we hold hands in bed one night and drift off to meet our Savior together. I keep a tight hold on my thoughts, because what if I really shared what I think with someone and God asked me to deal with that un-forgiveness or bitterness. Isn't it better if I keep it tight in my heart?
My anything might just be fear.
Jennie tackles this in chapter six, and I resonated with her words in so many ways. She says this,
“What if he lets me suffer? What if he asks me to sacrifice. What if none of my dreams come true? The very thought of doing anything demands everything. We have to face our fears. If we believe he is real, if we believe he has an eternal heart, we have to face the fact that a God like that may mess with our temporary comfort and fictional scrapbook.”
Oh dear Lord you are ripping away my heart all over again. I'm praying again for God to use my WHOLE life as he pleases. That includes these precious babies he has given me and my fabulous husband. God you are in charge.
I want to constantly remind myself of 2 Corinthians 4:17 which says, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” Whatever might come upon me that seems difficult or bad in my eyes is momentary and God is using it to prepare me for glory. When I read that I want to say “YES I AM IN! ANYTHING!!!”
What is your anything? What are you holding on to so tightly that God is asking, begging, demanding you let go of? Friend I want you and I to let it go. To say to God, I will do anything. Anything. What if we let it go? What could God do?
That video trailer brings me to tears EVERY SINGLE TIME that I watch it. Maybe because I know some of the people in it and I know their stories, or just maybe because I too want to lay it all down and know that God's working ALL things in my life for his good, not just what I think is good. Who am I to know what is good and what is bad, when it's all for his glory. I want to trust 100% in that statement and not hold on to what I think I have control of, because in doing that I just might miss some joy that God wants to bestow upon me. I want to give him ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING.
I would love for you to have a copy of Jennie's book ANYTHING. To win one, please do one or two or three of these things. If you do more than one, leave a separate comment for each one and you get more entries.
1. Tell me your anything. What is the one thing that's holding you back.
2. Head on over to Jennie's facebook page and like her. Feel free to leave her a comment if you would like.
3. Visit the WHAT IS YOUR ANYTHING webpage. Read a view stories and possibly submit your own.
and if you want … tell your friends. Share on facebook and/or twitter.
Contest will end on Wed at midnight (CST) and winner will be announced on Thursday, May 10th. You must live in the US to be eligible.
CONGRATS TO ASHLEY, GINGER & JACKIE you each won a book!
Here are your random numbers:
10 25 8
Timestamp: 2012-05-10 14:32:09 UTC
My anything is my plan. I love my plan more than Gods most days and hate to even admit it. Lord change me.
Oh girl! My anything is definitely my husband, my child, and my future children. I struggle every second to let God have that control of my life. At about 16 weeks pregnant I remember telling someone that I was surrendering my children (I was pregnant with twins) to God. That He was in control and His plan is greater and better than mine. Two weeks later I was in the emergency saying I couldn’t feel movement. They did an ultrasound and we had lost our son. 19 weeks later I gave birth to my daughter that I love with everything in me, but losing my son has definitely challenged me to figure out if I really trust God even when things don’t work out the way I want them to. I’m so excited about this book, and hope I win.
I liked her Facebook page.
I am happy to say mine is now past tense. My anything was leaving my family, friends and comforts. However, I can say even though it is still tough leaving those things my family and i will be moving to Haiti, in January, for an undetermined amount of time! We have been watching God bless this decision like crazy!! Faith is an amazing thing!
My anything is my comfort, I am fearful of feeling the pain I have in the past so I seek the easier way then then the way God is calling me to.
My anything is my ‘freedom’ to do what I want to when I want to.
Way too many things. Fear that I will lose people I love or watch them suffer. Fear that the Lord will have me walk through life as a single woman. And just letting go of my hopes and dreams in exchange for His.
I liked Jennie’s facebook page.
i’ll be the weird one and say that as much as i’m intrigued by jennie’s book, there is a huge part of me that does NOT want to read it. because i know exactly what that anything is and i try, i try, i try to suppress it as long as i possibly can. but what value does this illusion i’ve created for myself have within a world that hangs so delicately in the balance of a god who commands the waves of the oceans and the beatings of my heart?
needless to say – i’ll be picking up this book soon even though part of me is dreading it. my heart needs it.
oh! and i liked jennie’s fb page. 🙂
Ginger I hear you! As I re-read chapter 6 last night I cried at how this ANYTHING, this IDOL of mine is always there creeping back up to grab a hold of my heat. I will push it down and try and surrender it to God maybe until the day I die. I will do it, though. Yes I will.
My anything is control. I hate to relinquish control. The areas where I have let it go, God has blessed our family abundantly.
My anything is my family. Just the thought of losing my parents, brother or sister, gives me a mini panic attack. I feel like Luke 14:26 was written directly at me.
I liked Jennie’s facebook page. Also just realized I’ve watched her kids in childcare before. Pretty darn cute family!
Hello Jamie, thank you for this giveaway! Four months ago, I felt the Lord calling me to homeschool my children. My “anything” is the security of keeping them in the good school district that we live in. Thank you for writing this blog entry! I need to remember 2 Cor 4:17. Hoping to win this book!
control… or the appearance of control; having it all together.
and a million other things that I’m not ready to admit yet!!
my anything is fear of being alone..forever (well, on earth). I want to be married and have a family, but God hasn’t provided even an aspect of these dreams to be fulfilled yet. I’m older than I look, and I’ve never dated…yes, I mean..NEVER.
also, I am self employed, and worry that I won’t have enough income to pay rent and bills each month even though God called me to do this and always provides through gigs and blessings through others.
I also liked Jennie’s fb page
Is it okay that my “anything” feels like it’s EVERYTHING? On any given day it can range from comfort to fear of failure to believing in my own plan more than His.
I also liked Jennie’s FB page.
My anything seems to be everything, but then I guess that ultimately boils down to my sinful pride…because while I would never say this “out loud,” I’m sometimes living like, “I know what I need better than you God.”
We are soon moving overseas and my “anything” is for sure fear. Fear of something “bad” happening. Fear of danger. Fear for my kids, for my marriage, for our family, for our extended family, etc etc etc. I think this book would be so encouraging and good for my soul in this season where I feel like I am giving up everything.
I also liked her facebook page. 🙂
And I visited the “what is your anything” website… and I’m thinking of posting my own. 🙂
My anything is control. I have struggled with an eating disorder for over 15 years. I try and try to give it to God and somehow walk away with it again. I think I’m scared to give up all the control and truly let God have all of me. So maybe my anything is fear and control.
Either way….I want to be able to give it ALL to Him. So badly, deep in my heart. I want it and It’s scary!
I liked her Facebook page.
I posted on her wall.
I am 16 1/2 weeks pregnant with our fifth child. We found out at 13 weeks that our sweet baby has several fatal chromosomal abnormalities. I am discovering lots of anything’s that I need to work through while on this journey. One of them being the protection of my kids. I love my babies so much and fear something happening to them. Now that we have our little baby that isn’t going to make it I am coming to terms with the fact that I am so out of control and need to get rid of my anythings so that I can truly trust in God’s perfect plan.
It appears that my other 2 comments are not showing up. Just in case…I liked her facebook page and I posted on her wall! 🙂