Not Forsaken opened my eyes to things I was believing about God because I had seen them in my own father. Things that disappointed. Things that hurt.

In the pages of Not Forsaken, Giglio issues an invitation to lay down the misconceptions you've developed about God. To reframe all that you believe about who He is and know God as a perfect Father.

Giglio is sensitive to the fact that everyone's relationship with their dad is unique. Because of this, Not Forsaken takes a slow approach to change your mindset. It's not a book to rush through. There's enough to sit with and make the narrative your own. Giglio creates space for you to explore your understanding of God as father and then reframe it to see God as the perfect father.

Not Forsaken is for those who had a great relationship with their dads and are able to see God as perfect. It is also for those who have had rocky relationships or even no relationship with their fathers. In Not Forsaken, Giglio takes you on a journey to restore and renew your view of God. You'll definitely finish the book changed.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. This review is my own, honest opinion.

I knew what this book was about when I picked it up. I knew it was going to be about our earthly fathers as well as our heavenly Father. I thought I was ready to read it. But I wasn't. I read the first chapter, cried my eyes out, and promptly tossed it on the coffee table and walked away.

But that book just kept calling my name. So I picked it back up and read some more. I cried a little more and put it back on the coffee table. After this second reading session I knew I needed to finish it. I knew I would find healing in the end but I also knew it would be like ripping a band-aid off. And it was.

My earthly father was a flawed man. He hurt me deeply but God showed me how to forgive and move on. Louie Giglio's writing took me through that journey again and it was tough but it was so worth it.

If you have a father, and we all do, you need to read this book. Even if you have to read it over a period of time like I did you should. Being able to see your relationship through the lens of your heavenly Father puts things in perspective.

I found this book to be a hard read but worth every tear. We all have a longing for a good father and this affirms that He's already there just waiting for you to come to Him.

I received a copy of this book to facilitate my review.

We know we live in a broken world, but perhaps one of the most clear proofs of this comes in the kinds of relationships many of us have with our dads. Some folks have dads who have passed away, are absent, abandoned us, or are very passive. Other folks have dads who are abusive physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. Even for those of us with great earthly fathers, we still have fallen human beings as our dads, so viewing God as the perfect Heavenly Father can often be a challenge. That is where Louie Giglio's brand new book, Not Forsaken, comes in!

Louie begins his book in what I find to be a very helpful place by first acknowledging that many of his readers will have had very painful pasts when it comes to their interactions with their earthly fathers. Louie does not jump in head first in the book to talking about what a great Heavenly Father God is. Doing so would have proven terribly unhelpful for those who cannot even fathom what a good Father would look like, or for those who have excessive, debilitating pain in their hearts as a result of the treatment they received from their earthly dads.

Instead, Louie does what Jesus did for Mary and Martha when their brother, Lazarus died he enters into the pain of his readers, acknowledges it, and grieves with them. But he does not leave them there. He then proceeds to unpack, bit by bit, chapter by chapter, the kind of character possessed by our great Heavenly Father, successfully showing just how perfect, loving, tender, and truly fatherly God is.

Louie continues by sharing what all this means for us as sons and daughters of God and how His character changes who we now are and our identity in Christ. This book is a resounding dose of encouragement, hope, healing, love, restoration, and vision as it comes alongside you, picks you up, brushes you off from the pain of your past, and sets you firmly on a new path with a new Father. I highly recommend it!

There is only one thing I would point out about the book that some might consider a "con", and that is that it does seem to be fairly repetitive from time to time. This may have only come across to someone like me, however, who was raised in the church, has a great earthly father, and who has heard about the fatherly character of God all my life. But for someone picking up this book who is reading about all of this for the first time, the repetitive nature of certain aspects of it could actually have a profoundly healing effect as it allows the truth to seep deeply into the reader's heart and mind. All in all, an excellent book that I would recommend to everyone everywhere!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book from Pastor Louie is so timely and needed. Even for those (like me) who had a good dad, we need the extended grace from the perfect heavenly Father. He unpacks how Jesus time and again points us to God who is Father to those who will come to Him. This book will help you to understand what God wants to do for you as the father Jesus told us about.

Just started reading chapter 4 of Not Forsaken, and it's already so good. Looking at God as a father that we can go to, that loves us, that champions us, is so important. We can so easily compare God to our earthly father, which could be either good or bad. We could see God as an angry God, a God that's only there when we need Him, or an almost perfect God. But God is so much more than all that. He loves us more than any person here on earth could ever love us. He cares about us even more than our earthly fathers. No matter who your earthly father is, whether he was/is good or bad, God is even greater than him. Even if you were forsaken by your earthly father, there's good news. Jesus was forsaken by His Heavenly Father, the God of the universe on the cross, so we never would be forsaken by Him.

No matter what your relationship with your dad looks like, this book is so great for everyone. I highly recommend this book, and I don't think you'll be disappointed by it!