Sick Of Me, Why?

I read a new book I want to tell you about.  "Sick Of Me" written by Whitney Capps.

First, let me say, I love the way Whitney articulates her messages so clearly . . . and I love her hair! 


From a former hairstylist
 . . . I know you'd also appreciate how her hairstyle fits her personality. Just thought I'd add that. :)

Having attended the She Speaks Conference by Proverbs 31 Ministries three times, I'm familiar with many of their speakers. Whitney Capps is a favorite. Listening to her speak, on top of being very relatable, you gather in a short amount of time that she knows and loves God's word.
Therefore, when I saw she had written a book and was looking for launch-team members, I decided to break my current rule of not committing to launch teams. (I had made that rule for myself when life got a little hectic, and I felt like I had let down a couple of authors that I wanted to support. I didn't like that feeling.)

This book came at just the right time.

During our painful move in December, I told many people, "I feel like we are going through a birth canal." Not that I remember at all what that was like, but what I imagine it to be is dark, painful, and a bit scary because you don't know what is on the other side.
When we put our house on the market in October, though we'd been working toward it since June, I didn't feel ready. But it was long past our goal of late August, so we jumped. Originally, we decided that since Dale wasn't commuting to Minneapolis any longer -- since he was working out of state, the commute to the airport would be only a few times a month -- and we could move closer to our kids and grandchildren.
Only a month after listing the house, without looking for it, he landed a new job. One where he didn't have to travel. In Minneapolis.
We moved to Bayport to shorten his commute, and now we were going to move away when he was going to be commuting again. I felt like I had some kind of emotional whiplash.
I loved our house in Bayport. Even though I always somehow knew it was temporary, it was pretty, and it was comfortable. I just didn't feel like I had it in me to go through another bumpy uprooting.
Then, things kept getting more painful. You can read more on that here.

I haven't got time for the pain.

I didn't feel like I had time to deal with pain, but I also knew I needed to address it. Every morning I sat to process with Jesus. I was desperate to have Him help me manage my heart. Otherwise, I think I'd have landed in a place I didn't want to go. Like what we used to refer to as "the funny farm" (I can say that because I have been on the brink, so please take no offense at my use of the term.)
In His presence, I'd admit my fears, my bitter or angry feelings, my frustrations, and then I'd move on in the day with perhaps only a fraction of a mustard-seed size faith. I'm so glad that's all it takes to move mountains. It was enough to move me. 
On the other side, just when the dust was settling from the boxes, and we could actually locate the Keurig, a storm of monumental proportions erupted on the perimeter of my life. (I can't say more now, but it was so painful.) 
Fortunately, even tornados subside. In the wake of life's debris, I learned of Whitney's new book. Upon reading the description, I knew it was timely, so I signed up.

I couldn't put it down.

The day after my advance-reader copy showed up in the mail, I started to read and couldn't put it down. Five chapters in one day is not typical for me.
If you have followed the story of my life and our kazillion moves, you might have observed that I've ridden the wild waters of moving with mostly a peaceful heart. Imagine my discouragement then, when I felt like I'd lost my composure. I wondered what in the world was wrong with me . . . or what in the world God was doing in my heart . . . what was He teaching me about me? What was He teaching me about Him? (Did you catch it: me , me, me ?)
As I read the first five chapters in Sick Of Me , answers emerged. Wise words soothed my looming questions, quieting my heart, enabling the waters to settle down. 

Sanctification is the progressive work of becoming more like Christ.

"Sanctification is the progressive work of becoming more like Christ . . . it is both a divine process and a human pursuit. It is something the Holy Spirit does in and through us to make us become more like Christ -- that's God's process in us. But at the same time, we also cooperate with His promptings to become more like Christ through obedience -- that's our pursuit." ~Whitney Capps, "Sick of Me"
I knew when I read the words, that it described my morning-by-morning working out of my junk, and that He was working in me a willing heart.
When I was feeling angry and bitter, He'd ask me to surrender and to trust Him. When I was feeling fearful of things falling apart, He challenged me to believe He was holding it all together. When I felt like I didn't have the strength to go on, He reminded me His strength was perfected in my weakness. 
He showed me all the places I was calling His integrity into question by not trusting His love and sovereign, good hand upon my life. 
Not typically one to seek control, I felt like a control freak. I didn't know why I felt like I was holding on so tightly when I had practiced so often holding loosely. 
The words of Job came to mind often before I ever got my hands on the book. "But he knows the way that I take; and when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold." Job 23:10
The book confirmed that the testing was certainly from the hand of God and for my refining. Reading Sick Of Me encouraged me so much to simply trust the process. I didn't want to feel the feelings I'd felt, I didn't want to experience the disappointments, the pressures, the pain of this journey. But, by the Spirit, I knew I needed to yield to the process, that it would pass, and it would serve God somehow. 

We don't want hard.

I do my workouts at home with DVDs. During one of the most challenging parts of the routine, in order to encourage us to press on, the woman leading the workout makes the statement, "You're going to thank me in the morning." 
The suggestion is "It's painful now, but the pain is beneficial for results." 
That is what Sick Of Me is about, really. Whitney is a spiritual encourager. She cheers us on to stay in the game when the going gets tough. She enables us to set our sights on the prize, and the reward of sticking to the pursuit of transformation as we believe with her that (my favorite quote from the book)
"God calls His people to be seperate. Seperate is hard. Hard is good. God is best." ~Whitney Capps, "Sick Of Me"
If you want a better handle on embracing hard; if you want to see the value of endurance in your current circumstances; if you want to embrace and see transformation in your life,  you can pre-order the book now by going to Amazon  here , P31 shop  here, or Lifeway  here.
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