Thursday, December 01, 2011

Stuck... a BookSneeze review


I tend to have an obsession with Bible study.  I love following along someone's journey and flipping back and forth between the Old Testament and the New.  Seeing how it all fits together in a story of sin, grace and redemption thrills me.


When I saw Stuck by Jennie Allen up for review on BookSneeze, I jumped at the chance to review this DVD Bible study for small groups.  I asked four friends to join me and together we have met weekly to work through Jennie's study.


From Jennie...




This study began for me out of a deep struggle—a stuck place. It would serve better to call it something a tad more dramatic . . . it was a war. The kind of war that happens inside of you, the kind that nobody sees. God versus me and all my junk. It wasn’t something I could even put words to at the time. In fact, those close to me were oblivious to the chaos ensuing behind my gathered exterior.
But it was real and raging, and even though I couldn’t describe it, I was keenly aware of its presence and was exhausted by it.

I was stuck.

I experienced a sense of bondage I could not name and did not know how to escape. The outside of my life was bright and shiny, but inside I was a mess: anxious, lonely, afraid, and looking for significance.
This study exists because I know I am not alone in this. The more I am let into the deep crevasses of people’s hearts, the more I am convinced that every one of us is fighting something. Yet we look out from our secret wars and see people who smile peacefully and seem to be all right—and we smile back at them.

I’m done smiling.

God is about doing something on this planet. He is about doing something in me, and as long as I am privately fighting and losing inside, He is not getting a thing done through or in me. He has a plan for these spaces inside of us, the places we feel broken, but we have to go to Him.
Stuck is a journey to take an honest look at the fight going on inside, leading us to the God who has a plan to restore it, to restore us.

Tools:

See. Eight short but deep videos provide a starting place for transparent conversations.
Study. The Study Guide uses projects, stories, and Bible study to engage the mind and heart.
Lead. The Leader's Guide prepares you to lead this study and encourages you along the way.
Ask. Conversation Cards offer questions for spontaneous and authentic discussion time.

A little of my heart:

Women are hurting. A lot of us feel stuck. This is not a novel perception- this is human. We are stuck trying to be perfect. Stuck in sadness. Stuck feeling numb. Stuck pursuing more stuff to make us happy. Stuck in something we can’t even name. And most of our stuck places are invisible to the world. Which keeps us from dealing with them.
When I wrote Stuck, I dreamt of creating things that took women to deep places- real places. I think we may have learned so much about God- that we missed actually knowing Him.
I want us to live truth- not just memorize it. And this takes encountering a supernatural God. I pray this study will push you up face to face with Jesus, and in the process you will grow closer to the women around you- going to war with stuck places. The trenches are a good birthplace for the deepest of friendships.
I don’t know that the goal is getting unstuck. Our stuck places are the very places that make us ache for God, leading us to Him and His freedom. God’s never been one to tie up our problems with little pretty bows and send us on our way. We wrestle and as we wrestle on this journey, we depend entirely on him. We are inadequate to fix our lives.... and we have a relationship building God who likes to move in and settle in holes within us that hurt.
I want us to band together as women and grow and live and experience God.

While, our group loved the 9 minute video clips of a very real Jennie sharing her heart, we {heart} the discussion questions each week.  We all agree this was the highlight of our group.  Each of us had a different question to read and any who wished could answer.  These questions prompted us to share our hearts and our struggles and it gave us a window into each other's soul.


Deep :: Short :: Real is how Jennie Allen has chosen to market this new study. I would definitely agree that it was short and real.  This study is not as deep as a Kay Arthur or Beth Moore study.  While I love doing studies by both of those authors, this study is less intimidating than theirs.   


Jennie Allen does not assume that a woman doing her study has accept Jesus as her Savior.  In the first week's homework, Jennie does an incredible job laying out the plan of salvation.  




This study would be a great study for a new believer, one who is searching or someone who desperately seeks to be in the word but lacks time to do a long study.  


***disclaimer... I received a copy of Stuck for my honest review as part of the BookSneeze blogger program.  I received no other compensation.

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Thank you for your kind words!