I don’t know about you, but I love to do things my way! I love to know what to expect and have life fall into place and meet my expectations.
I love feeling like things and circumstances are in control – or that I am. And honestly, in some circumstances I need to be in control, but then there are those times when I need to let it go and trust God with the outcome.
My friend Karen Ehman is a self-professed recovering control-freak. I love that about her! She’s joining me today to talk about her new book, Let.It.Go. Karen is my oh-so amazing-friend and ministry teammate with Proverbs 31 Ministries. She’s also the wife of one very wonderful guy (he helped move furniture and a huge wall hanging at my house not too long ago}! She’s also the mom of 3 great kids, a national speaker and 4-time author. Here’s a little about her new book and how you can win a copy!
Karen’s book Let.It.Go. will empower you to:
- Take control of your schedule yet welcome interruptions from God
- Draw the line between mothering and micromanaging
- Influence your husband instead of manipulating him
- Learn to control your emotions when you can’t control the circumstances
- Stop pursuing the appearance of perfection and start pursuing the person of God
*A companion 6 week dvd and Bible study guide is also available.
I had the chance to interview Karen about this new project. Here is what she had to say:
Karen, tell us a little about why you wrote this book. Are you a control freak?
Ummm….yeah! What woman isn’t about at least some aspect of life? We have so many areas that we must be in charge of—at home, at work, in the church and community. What happens is that we let our strengths of multi-tasking and getting jobs done morph into a weakness of being controlling.
So, are you saying controlling can actually be needed at times?
Of course we must control our homes and schedules and such. We should work with diligence and excellence. What we have to be careful of is going from being conscientious to being controlling. Being conscientious is doing a job well. Being controlling is trying to manipulate the outcome. There is a difference and we know deep down inside when we’ve crossed that line. This book helps women determine how to control what they should, trust God with what they can’t, and most importantly, how to decide which one is which!
What are some areas you cover in the book where women try to run the show?
We try to be in control of our homes, our schedules, our kids, our husbands, our circumstances, others’ opinions of us…..the list is long!
So what is at the root of why we women control?
We control because we don’t trust God. We think we know better than Him just what is best for us. It is as old as the garden of Eden. Well, guess what? God called and He’d like his job back!!
The holidays are coming up. Do they bring out the control freak tendencies in women?
Oh yes….in fact. One whole chapter of the book is about my friend Lisa Whelchel daring me five years ago to not make any decisions for a whole three weeks RIGHT AT THE HOLIDAYS!! It was painful. And actually, in the end, wonderful. I think this topic is so important that I’ve written a free five day resource for women dealing with the holidays called From Chaos to Calm: The LET. IT. GO. Christmas Challenge. Your readers can sign up for it here.
What is your prayer for the woman who reads your book?
I pray that through learning to relinquish control and let go of the reins, she will be able to grab hold of her faith. That her relationship with God will strengthen as she learns to stop trying to fix outcomes and get her own way but seeks His perfect will for her life—and the lives of her loved ones—instead.
Thank you so much Karen!! I’m so excited about your book!
Enter to WIN: Click “Share your Thoughts” below this post and let us know why you’d like to win 2 copies of Karen’s new book, Let.It.Go. as well as a Starbucks gift card! Also, share on Twitter, Facebook and via email and link back to today’s post and then leave another comment for a second chance to win! {I’ll be announcing last week’s winner in another post shortly>}
Letting go and trusting God completely is the only way to find true peace and is the turning point of learning to let go and let God. Thanks for putting this message in a book – would love to read it while sipping Starbucks – thanks, Tammy
I would love to go to Starbucks with my mom. Then, come home and read Let It Go.
I need this lesson: “Stop pursuing the appearance of perfection and start pursuing the person of God”! Looking forward to the book. 🙂
I need this lesson: “Stop pursuing the appearance of perfection and start pursuing the person of God”! Looking forward to reading.
I would love a copy of the book. I have 4 kids, ages 8 and under, I am a pastor’s wife and work part-time. I have a hard time knowing how much to expect, out of myself and out of my kids and husband. I know how I WANT things to go, and dealing with them not going that way would be a great help! 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving!
Letting go of control, could really use some insight and guidance. Looking forward to the book. Thanks!
I adore every devotional posted by Renee and after recently receiving the book A Confident Heart am excited to begin reading it. If I do not win this new book by Karen there is no doubt it will be added to my Christmas wish list. I am a perpetual control freak and as a teacher, wife and new mother (my baby was born Oct 2), I constantly find myself down about the things I can’t control and need to be letting go of to God. My husband also struggles with depression brought on by PTSD from his 2 tours to Iraq as a Marine and from childhood abuse so as his wife and helper it is hard to give these things to God and remember it’s not my fault and I sure can’t fix it. I think Karen’s book would do me a world of good as a way to, not only help myself and my relationship with God, but also my marriage. My sister-in-law (married to my husband’s brother) who also happens to be my best friend, could also use a copy to aid in her life, marriage, and close at hand adventure of becoming a new mother as well (she’s due in June). I look forward to reading this book one way or another and seeing what I can do about my problem being a “self-professed control-freak”. Thank you both for your encouragement!
I would love to win these and share one with my mom or a friend! I dwel on so many things and so many times have a hard time having the right attitude. I need a little perspective. I also need to learn to loosen up with my son a little, much like in her proverbs31 post on her son doing dishes. 🙂
Sounds great. Would love to read it.
My women bible study just finished studying the series “Greater”. Karen Ehman’s new book, study guide, and DVD sound just like the right material for our next study. Would love to have copies for some of the stay-at-home mothers in the study.
This book sounds so helpful in so many ways! I think it would be a wonderful resource to use in the ministry I’m involved with right now. I’d love to win a copy!
Blessings,
Tammy ~@~
I’m a Martha who desires to be a Mary.
Wow – do I need this book – at home recovering from a week in the hospital – recoving from a colitis attack caused by NOT. LETTING. IT. GO……worries have been huge these last few years – a separation from an emotionally abusive husband, near loss of my grandaughter to meningitis, divorce, ongoing legal troubles from now ex-husband, job stress, children stress…..I could go on. Through it all, God has been my constant guide and support, but I had lost sight of that the last few months and Here. I. Am. today…..using this time at home recovering to learn to Let. It. ALL. Go. and let God take back over!
Definitely struggle with letting go! Would love to win a copy of this book—-my husband would love for me to learn something from it :o)
I read Proverbs 31 daily and it always seems like it has been written just for me. I have faith but I think I am lacking trust in God. I don’t usually enter to win things but this is speaking to my heart so I am responding.
Thanks for your honesty Renee and illustrating how living a Christ centered life is real and everyday.
I am enjoying the relevance, insight and humor of Karen’s daily challenges in preparation for Christmas. I can envision my close friend and I going through her book together as we continue to face the challenges before us right now (husband’s unemployment, ill aged parents). We commit to build each other up with joy. I think her book would be treasured (and the Starbucks would be relished on a cols winter day in Minnesota) 🙂
I can definitely be a control freak. It is exhausting. My latest realization of being a control freak is with my 13 yo daughter. I want the best for her and for her to do better than I did. I’m learning the hard way that she has to make her own choices and live with those consequences.
Women encouraging women in the faith. God is so good to provide just what we need to hear. Thanks, Karen for using your talents to help us.