Book Review: Fighting Forward - Highly Recommend

This book is so inspiring! How have I never heard of this author? Hannah Brencher is a blogger and TED Talk speaker. She is also the founder of The World Needs More Love Letters. (This is a fascinating story. In a moment of despair and rootlessness, instead of focusing on her own anxiety, Hannah began leaving love letters around town for others to find, and it led to a movement. As I said, how did I miss this?) If you have seeds of doubt, that "I don't have what it takes" feeling, Hannah Brencher's fight song essays battle the lies of fear.

In Fighting Forward: Your Nitty-Gritty Guide to Beating the Lies That Hold You Back, Brencher offers hope-inspiring, action-driven word capsules to rally the forces for battle against the enemy within ourselves. The chapter titles alone entice: Just Show Up, Rebuild on the Ruins, Commit to One Mile, Watch for Foxes, Count the Ravens, Hold Me in the Light, Walk Me Through the Rain, Go Find Sarah, and Operate from the Overflow (a few of the encouraging essays in this book). I had been reading Ezekiel and a passage about God rebuilding on the ruins, so that essay was especially timely. [Ezekiel 36:36 - "Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate."] Foxes are things that compete for our strength, and ravens are indications of where God has supplied provisions previously. I loved the Quaker phrase, "I will hold you in the light," and could think of a few individuals I wished to share such a sentiment with now.

You know you are doing something right when Satan seeks to attack vehemently. Brencher shares about a woman who created a whole blog intended to attack Brencher and her ministry. Not only that, but this person emailed her to make sure she kept up on the offensive entries. Really? Who does something like that? A sad, sad individual who gains energy by attempting to destroy others. 

Hannah Brencher's ability to inspire is a gift. She motivates readers to listen to the nudge and participate in the story. She encouraged me to fight the lie that God will use everyone else and leave me on the sidelines. As she reminded, my presence and my gifts are not an accident. I loved her story about the neighbor who offered her flowers and then brought plants from her garden. The woman's comment, "When you have overflow, you can't not share it," was tremendous. It triggered the thought, "where in my life am I not sharing overflow?" I intend to follow her send-off instructions: "make waves with [the] life you've been given." Moreover, I can't wait to check out her other books, If You Find This Letter: My Journey to Find Purpose Through Hundreds of Letters to Strangers, and Come Matter Here: Your Invitation to Be Here in a Getting There World. If you are craving grace-filled pep talks to get you back in the game, Hannah Brencher delivers!