Whole: An Honest Look at the Holes in Your Life-and How to Let God Fill Them - eBook
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Life Transforming
The holes in your life can ultimately be what make you WHOLE. Very thought provoking. Lisa Whittle shares her heart and life to illustrate the truth that although we will have challenges, things that shake our beliefs and life in general, that God still wants us to be whole. Our experiences can be just that - experiences. Not the sole definer of all that He has made us to be and the end of our story.
She is very transparent in her story (it seems she holds nothing back!) and I admire her for that. From her notes at the end, I thought it was interesting that she felt she was supposed to "come at the book from my failures, not my successes". It's an interesting perspective and a powerful one, I believe.
I was really excited to read this book, as I have so much in common with Lisa Whittle. She is a pastor's daughter, she's been married the same amount of time as I have, they planted a church (we are planting now with our 1st anniversary in a few weeks), and we have both experienced holes - as well as some wholeness through a deeper relationship with God.
My favorite part is towards the end of the book; due to a number of circumstances she is feeling pretty raw, and God says to her, "Lisa, I love you. I know you are hurting right now, and I know why. But in these months of doing Thrive Church, have you gotten to know Me better?"
She answers yes. He says, "If then you have gotten to know Me better and you were created for that purpose, how can you consider your experience with Thrive Church a failure? It is instead a wild success."
I was so moved by this because I've been there (challenging circumstances, feeling like a failure, when will things ever "get better"), and although I wouldn't want to live those specific circumstances again, necessarily...I am grateful for the result of knowing Him better. Priceless. A wild success. :)
September 2, 2012
Thought Provoking
{W}hole by Lisa Whittle is about how our life experiences, whether good or bad, can leave holes in us. These holes effect how we see ourselves, others and God. Lisa Whittle shares her personal testimony (and holes) throughout this honest and revelatory book. She states, that our experiences and/or roles don't define us. But it's about allowing Jesus Christ to fill our holes, by making us "whole" and thereby re-writing our story.
This book is jam packed full of incredible insights which made me take my sweet time reading it. I would read a page and then stop to reflect on it. I would find myself underlining passages and then thinking about it the rest of the day. This is one of those special books that can change your life.
I really appreciate Lisa Whittle's transparency in revealing some very painful and personal experiences in her life. I was able to identify with a lot of what she wrote, especially the feelings accompanying those experiences. It actually stirred me and made me reflect upon my own holes. The holes that I would rather ignore, bury or run from. The holes that came from very pivotal or painful moments in my life, which in turn, changed the course of my life.
As a result, this book wasn't easy for me to read. However, it was necessary as it was timely.
I want to share some passages from this book that spoke to me:
* Often, the things we find most demanding and difficult are the very places we most need to have healed.
* God seeks our dependence upon Him to make us whole.
* Wholeness rises from the ashes of our experiences when we cling to the God who makes it all possible.
I believe this is a very important and helpful book and I highly recommend it to everyone.
In conclusion, I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from Tyndale House.
February 9, 2012
I loved it.
I received this book from Tyndale Media Center for the purpose of reviewing it, My reviews are based solely on my opinion and I am not required to give a good review!
This book came at a real opportune time for me, I think we all go through those times where we feel that we have a significant "hole" missing or that something that ought to be there isn't. I honestly didn't have really big expectations for this book, I've read too many that give simple cop outs as to why the reader doesn't measure of and is there for "missing" being whole. I'm glad however to know that this book was so much more than that. Lisa Whittle showed a lot of vulnerability in what she wrote about her personal life struggles, and I'm very impressed that she was willing to get that vulnerable in order to connect with the reader.
As someone who is involved with leadership in churches (My husband is a Pastor) I am really weary about books that like to point out all the ways that the church has "failed" them. I tend to feel defensive about this, as I feel that while churches do try to work towards helping people and being there for people, we are also human and there for imperfect. So when I started reading about the way that her (Whittle's) church "Failed" her I was rather weary and a bit defensive at first. However, that feeling didn't last. Whittle was honest in her approach, and while acknowledging where the church fell short, she didn't play the blame game and belittle/criticize her leadership.
I like this book a lot, and in fact have recommended it for our leadership in the church. I think it will be a valuable resource for our leadership team, as well as a great tool for our congregation!
November 2, 2011
Thoughtful, easy to read
I enjoyed this book. Each chapter was small, stuck to the topic with a short relative anecdote and then followed by two very thoughtful questions that makes one think about how the chapter would actually apply to their own life. The writing was clear, concise, and thoughtful. We all have holes in our lives whether they are the result of human interaction or our own flights of fantasy. When we come across one of those holes Jesus is there to help us delve into them, get to the bottom of them, heal them, and then make us whole. The author points out that without experiencing the hole and digging deep to the bottom instead of glossing over it, Jesus can't make us whole and we can't go on with our lives. We are stuck in the hole until it is healed. Lisa looks at what the holes look like when they are the result of being religious instead of spiritual; becoming defined by a role such as a career, mother, care-giver rather than the person who just happens to use that role to work; defining oneself by an experience rather than a person who had an experience dealt with it and moved on. These and many more holes can hold a person back and prevent a more in depth walk with God.
November 30, 2011
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