Book Review 2013... #1 So Long, Insecurity by Beth Moore

So Long, Insecurity... you've been a bad friend to us.

by Beth Moore

How this book came to me: A friend of mine handed this book to me somewhat off-handedly. She said she thought I might find it interesting. Yeah, right! Based on the conversation our group was having, she knew I needed to pry open my eyes to get some new light shining on an old problem I'm still having. She's known me for 25 years so she has more than a bit of insight into my life. Thanks, A.J.! Perfect timing!

Nutshell Synopsis: The way I understand Beth Moore's writing goes a little something like this -- "Girlfriend, you are a wreck. You wanna know how I know? Because I'm a wreck, too! But God and I have come a very long way together and I'm just gonna put my arm around you while we get you out of this mess you've made." She's just one of those authors who can jerk a knot on your head and you thank her for it. I hope she is like that in real life, too!

Quotes from the book: I underlined, circled and starred so many portions of this book that I'd pretty much provide you with the whole book if I were to write them all here. I'm pretty sure that while Beth (I call her Beth) would appreciate my zeal, I'm equally sure that her publisher wouldn't appreciate me pushing past the limits of copyright law's grace so I'll just choose a few that I think might most generally resonate.

"Be careful not to give too much credence to the old adage that time heals. Mark my word. It's God that heals. Time only tells. The passage of days, weeks, and years can as easily amplify an old voice as weaken it."

"...big egos insist on our being a "the". Not just an "a". We're that desperate for significance. We live our lives screaming, "Somebody notice me!" And do you want to know something interesting? That's exactly how God made us.

That very need is built into our human hard drive to send us on a search for our Creator, who can assign us more significance than we can handle. He not only notices us, He never takes His eyes off us. Every now and then a moment of clarity hits us and we feel known by something-- Someone-- of inestimable greatness."

"Pride is dignity's counterfeit."

"I can promise you that God wills for us to walk out the depth and breadth of our lives with dignity and security. Neither God nor you have anything to gain by your persistent insecurity."

"I used to think that the essence of trusting God was trusting that He wouldn't allow my fears to become realities. Without realizing it, I mostly trusted God to do what I told Him."

More Info: If you don't think you are insecure, you might just change your mind after reading this book. Not that she wants to make us feel insecure, but she wants to expose our "issues" for what they are so that we can eradicate them. After all, it is easier to rid our lives of named enemies than unrecognized ones. In this book, Beth identifies common roots of insecurity, the food that feeds insecurity's nearly insatiable appetite, triggers that commonly cause us to act out (examples are plentiful), how our dignity can be restored, and how to promote dignity in the people around us.

Beth expresses a passion to minister to women and this book does not stray from that for long, but because she loves men, too, she includes some words from them and for them as well. Let me just say one thing she said that I think our increasingly matriarchal society needs to know about how important it is for fathers to affirm their sons' manhood... "If every person on the planet acknowledges that a man is a man but his own father does not, the fight to earn his stripes is twice as bloody."

Reading Level: The reading level of So Long, Insecurity isn't difficult but if you suffer much from feeling insecure you won't want to rush through it. I took time to read and re-read many portions just so that I could gain as much insight into my psyche as I could.

Re-readability: I probably will re-read this book because I'll probably need to at some point. It really is full of insight!

Lasting Impression: #1 "Now that you know, what will you do?" #2 "But... I... have... this...Treasure." This last quote had HUGE impact at the end of a story.  Read it for yourself and see if it doesn't turn on the lightbulb over your head!