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Saturday, August 13, 2016

"UNashamed ...

"Unashamed ...
Drop the Baggage, Pick up Your Freedom, Fulfill Your Destiny"

Book Description
{I don't share book descriptions often but this one captures many points}

"Shame can take on many forms. It hides in the shadows of the most successful, confident and high-achieving woman who struggles with balancing her work and children, as well as in the heart of the broken, abused and downtrodden woman who has been told that she will never amount to anything. Shame hides in plain sight and can hold us back in ways we do not realize. But Christine Caine wants readers to know something: we can all be free.

“I know. I’ve been there,” writes Christine. “I was schooled in shame. It has been my constant companion from my very earliest memories. I see shame everywhere I look in the world, including in the church. It creeps from heart to heart, growing in shadowy places, feeding on itself so that those struggling with it are too shamed to seek help from shame itself.”
In Unashamed, Christine reveals the often-hidden consequences of shame—in her own life and the lives of so many Christian women—and invites you to join her in moving from a shame-filled to a shame-free life.
In her passionate and candid style, Christine leads you into God’s Word where you will see for yourself how to believe that God is bigger than your mistakes, your inadequacies, your past, and your limitations. He is not only more powerful than anything you’ve done but also stronger than anything ever done to you. You can deal with your yesterday today, so that you can move on to what God has in store for you tomorrow—a powerful purpose and destiny he wants you to fulfill.
Join the journey. Lay ahold of the power of Jesus Christ today and step into the future—his future for you—a beautiful, full, life-giving future, where you can even become a shame-lifter to others. Live unashamed! "

How does one begin a review on a book dealing with "shame" and your personal take away of the impact and effect "Unashamed ..." has on you as God reveals the hidden parts of your life that you have faced or face as God goes deeper personally with you through the words written by Christine Caine, as she unveils through her own life, how she moved from a "shame-filled" to a "shame-free life" inviting God to walk with you through this same process of "dropping the baggage, picking up your freedom, to fulfill your destiny"? It's not all that simple, yet knowing how Christine Caine not only has done this for herself, other women like you and I that read her words, but also because of her living testimony, she has become a powerful advocate, recognized teacher, preacher, author, activist as a founder of "The A21 Campaign", where I'm sure she puts to practice over and over again for those rescued from human trafficking, that desperately need to know God can do this for them too, which certainly lets the rest of us know, that in our own "shame" journey, we too can "live unashamed". 

It's interesting to note that perhaps "shame" may not be an issue for you as such, but as you read through these 11 chapters, you notice that your problem or issue quite possibly relates to "shame"{as Laurie McClure found out and shares as she prepares for the upcoming study at Faith Gateway with the Study Guide of this book and honestly lets us know her revelations 'brick by brick'} even by looking at just the Introduction and examples of "shame", we can see ... 

"...Shame is “the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of acceptance and belonging" . . . Guilt says, ‘You’ve done something bad.’ Shame says: ‘You are bad.’  – Brene Brown" - "Christine summarizes it this way: “Guilt is about my do. Shame is about my who.”

We don't have to live "shackled by shame"!

It's my understanding that the Book (with 11 chapters that I read) and the Study Guide (with 5 sessions that are part of the 5 week Study at Faith Gateway - sign up) pack different lessons and additional ones from Scripture. As I have mentioned often I prefer books that include the study guide in the book, not as separate purchases, but in this case, the study guide implements more of what the book describes. 
Since I have read Christine Caine before and heard her speak, I am better acquainted with her story and like her powerful style. She writes from experience and from her heart with true honesty, and a gift of putting her ideas and feelings in words that inspire and are easily understood. You can identify with her and her journey even if your own is not as intense or if it is as heavy-ladened and find a God-given response. 

The best part for me was about the "power of choice" that even though I cannot change the past, "neither what has happened to me, nor what I have done", I can make decisions that will change the future. The key to becoming shame-free is choosing to change your perspective and not allow the enemy (or anyone else, not even yourself) to convince yourself that you or I, are not victims in any way; telling ourselves "I am not voiceless, powerless, helpless, useless, meaningless, etc.", Jesus Christ came to set me free (which I knew) but now I learned that it is a choice to focus more on what Jesus has done than on what others have done or said, God has given me a good plan and purpose with a destiny, so that I will have faith to stand up, start moving forward and live free from shame or anything else that hinders me from walking in the freedom Jesus won and gives me to live abundantly and un-ashamed, (or whatever) unshackled, unleashed, unwavering, undistracted, uncluttered, unmasked, unmistaken, uncovered, unafraid, undaunted, (another of Christine's books) and on and on (taken from part of the ending of this book) understandable in our choices ... This is the new image that I will take away from reading all Christine shares in how to inspire others like myself to live in the fullness of God's promises, shining brighter, able to "BE ME", and live unashamed.


unashamed study christine caine

Also Christine Caine did this as a Book Club back in May 2016  with the Propel Facebook group. I can't wait for the upcoming study with the videos and chats where I am sure to glean much more. There's even a peek of the first Session "Run, Don't Hidehere so you can find out if this is suited to you and your life better. The 10 day reading plan available through You Version gives a very good glimpse into "Unashamed".

Disclosure: I received this book free from Book Look Blogger's Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255