Last summer I met this incredible girl with a smile that fills up a room. From our first phone conversation until we met face-to-face in the hallway of a hotel conference center in Charlotte, North Carolina, I knew this was a woman who loved Jesus. As she reached out to hug me, she said, with the perfect Southern drawl, “I fell like we are already friends.” And we were.
Amy Carroll is the real deal, y’all. Genuine, funny, and passionate about encouraging women. She the girl who looks yoi n the eye when you’re talking and listens for what you don’t say as well as what you do.
Bless her, she had to accept me as a last minute fill-in co-leader for a session at She Speaks last year. And if she hadn’t told me she’d already signed the contract on her book, I’d have believed she wrote Breaking Up with Perfect* after trying to work with me. 🙂
I received my copy a couple of days before leaving for two weeks at the beach—one week of youth camp followed by a week of vacation. Carefully tucking the book into my bad, I planned to read it and enjoy Amy’s truthful teaching which is always full of humor and grace. At 7 a.m. on the first full day at the beach I sent her a text,
I had to tell you I am only on page 13 of your book and it is already encouraging me (and kicking my tail!) This line … “not only is personality refinement possible, it is part of God’s restorative plan for me.” So good, friend. So good.
I finished the book and underlined, starred, and wrote in the margins. I read the passages of Scripture Amy referenced and I saw myself in so many of her illustrations.
But of all she wrote and the ways God spoke to me as I read, that first sentence I underlined kept coming back, a tug on my heart, a nudge toward the freedom truth always brings —
... not only is personality refinement possible, it is God’s restorative plan for us.
It’s so easy to say “that just the way I am” and never allow God to work in areas of our lives, like perfectionism. But God is always in the business of restoration. So often we are putting up the roadblocks that keep Him from accomplishing the work He desires in us.
Maybe you struggle with perfectionism—wanting to control or trying to measure up or, like me, needing to be seen as the best …
Amy’s book is full of biblical truth to offer you freedom.
Maybe you are a “good girl” who craves the affirmation and accolades for being the one everyone can depend on …
Amy’s words are a gift of release, pointing to Christ as our Helper and Savior.
Maybe you are a “not good enough” girl who is constantly battling between trying to prove your worth and feeling the weight of your failures and inadequacies …
Amy’s wisdom is balm for the weary soul as it points faithfully to the One who declares your value through Himself.
I don’t know a single woman who won’t find a word of encouragement and a whisper of challenge from Breaking Up with Perfect*. And if I could, I’d give this book to every woman I know who has answered the question, “How are you?” by saying, “Fine.”
This isn’t a ten-step method for becoming a new you; instead, and far more beautifully, this book is like a conversation with a trusted friend who is willing to share her journey — struggles and all — to help you see the perfect One who offers the only escape from the never-ending, never-satisfying pursuit of perfect.
Thank you, Amy, for Breaking Up with Perfect* … and for inviting all of us to do the same!
And to all of you, get this book. You won’t regret it.
xo,
Teri Lynne
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