Book Review: Sacred Mundane: How to Find Freedom, Purpose & Joy

*Disclaimer: I was gifted an advance copy of the book “Scared Mundane: How to Find Freedom, Purpose and Joy” in exchange for my honest review. Post contains no affiliate links.*

 

Let’s be honest. Daily life is pretty mundane. In fact, daily life usually includes a lot of ordinary tasks.  There have been many times in my life that I have considered myself plain ordinary, without anything “Real” happening in my life. I’ve certainly not seen life as scared mundane.

While reading this book, I realized how very wrong my thinking has been. That everyday life is where God moves us, where he changes us. It’s a little ironic that I write here at Extraordinary Everyday Mom and I still haven’t really embraced the sacred mundane that can be found in the middle of every day.

In “Scared Mundane: How to Find Freedom, Purpose, and Joy” Kari has this to say in her dedication: “And to the countless everyday heroes who are faithfully, quietly, selflessly serving Jesus in the midst of the mundane. You are wiping counters, noses, and bottoms. You are working dead-end jobs to provide for your family. You are making hard choices that no one sees or celebrates. You are silently saving souls through your tireless intercession. You hear no applause, receive little thanks, and too often go unnoticed. You are the heroes of heaven, of whom this world is not worthy. Thank you, faithful sisters and brothers. This book belongs to you.”

I know, friends, this daily grind doesn’t feel very scared. In fact, there are times I’m sure that we’d all like to run away from it. But it is the every day that God can use to shape us and to mold us.

Kari says, “It is the mundane, overlooked, ordinary stuff of life that changes us from the inside. That heals us.”

3 Lessons Learned Through Scared Mundane

#1: Surrendering all of our dirty, messy lives to God means we let go of control and allow him to change us.

-If we will live our lives for the glory of our heavenly Father, we won’t need to strive to be perfect for him any longer. I don’t know about you, but the struggle with being perfect is one I’ve known oh so well. It’s freeing to know that all we really need to do is surrender to our Father God.

#2: We must be willing to sacrifice our wants and desires for his.

Kari says, A sacrifice, then, is the sacred act of offering something to God for the purpose of drawing near to him. Our days, our pain, our dreams, our bodies, our lives-offered up to God for the purpose of drawing near. Sacrifice material. All of life, a sacred offering.

-If we are willing to let go of what we want for what he wants, that is when we can be completely transformed from the inside out.

#3: What do I believe?

There have been many times over the past year that I’ve asked myself that very question. As I type this, I’m slowly learning to rest in what the Word of God says. I’m learning to block out the noise all around me and really listen to him.

Kari says, “In our desire for transformation, we’ll never succeed if we begin by addressing our behavior. We must begin with belief. All behavior stems from belief: we must always act according to what we believe. Always.”

God has begun to show me, that if I will get into his Word and Prayer, he will change me if I will just let him. Instead of striving, he’ll do it from the inside out. I can rest in him, knowing he’s the one who is well able to change me.

Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

I highly encourage you to check out this book.  Kari is giving away all royalties to benefit World Vision’s work with women and children in need. You can buy it by clicking on the image below.

Scared Mundane

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Kari reaches thousands of women worldwide through speaking events and her popular blog, Sacred Mundane. She’s a pastor’s wife, homeschool mom, Bible teacher, mentor, and passionate seeker of truth. All royalties from the sale of this book will benefit World Vision’s work with women and children in need.

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