PIECES OF YOU
April Farlow
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GENRE: Christian Living
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BLURB:
Knowing
who you are has always been challenging, and in today’s world, more and more
voices are coming from more and more places telling us who we should be. The
result? A broken sense of identity that we’re struggling to put back together.
In
Pieces of You, April Farlow shares how she discovered her identity is formed by
the God who made her. Along the way, she’s learned that if we want to put the
pieces of who we are together in a real, lasting way, we have to look to Whose
we are for help.
It’s
time to take a look at the unique pieces that make up who you are …
The
pieces you compare …
The
pieces informed by the father figure in your life …
The
painful pieces …
The
pieces of your relationships …
The
pieces on which you’ve built your beliefs …
The
pieces that give you rules and boundaries …
The
pieces that show what you value …
The
pieces that give you purpose …
The
pieces that help you build a vision for what’s to come.
As
we work to put those pieces together, we’ll look to the God who made us, knows
us, and loves us to guide us. Because when you take all your pieces—the good,
the bad, the broken, and the beautiful—and place them in your Heavenly Father’s
hands, there, you’ll find peace. There, you’ll find security. There, you’ll
find a real sense of who you are and Whose you are.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt
Three:
As
it turns out, relationships are complex, wonderful, and constantly changing.
Whether it’s a relationship with a spouse or significant other, a family
member, a coworker, a friend, or just a neighbor we cross paths with
occasionally, we don’t always appreciate the complexity or influence these
relationships have on the pieces of who we are. We don’t always see how they
shape not just how we see who we are but how we see who others are, too.
Relationships
are complex. They’re made up of people who are flawed and imperfect, and we
will inevitably get it wrong a time or two. And that means they likely deserve
way more work and attention than we give them. After all, relationships can
influence who we become. They leave a permanent tattoo on our skin, our
personality, and our ability to have other relationships. They’re strong enough
to give us a common bond yet powerful enough to tear us apart.
But
you don’t need me to tell you this, do you? You experience the complexity of
relationships in your life regularly.
I
mean, even science is backing us up here. Social psychologists have claimed
that our identity is often shaped by what we think other people think of us. If
the people we’re in relationship with label us as beautiful, we believe it. We
hold on to that if they say we’re smart, personable, or athletic. We think it
about ourselves. We let it become a piece of who we are.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Pieces of You” is written
to help readers discover who they are in light of Whose they are.
I
wrote the book because I spent the last 20 years helping business leaders
define and communicate who they are. I
found that when you are not able to align this with Whose you are, then you
always come up with missing pieces. My
time away from work is spent with women around my age juggling career and
family. I noticed that when I describe
my work, friends lean in with curiosity about how to apply the exercises I
teach in their work and families. This
prompted me to invite 30 friends to discuss “who you are,” both as a person and
as a follower of Jesus Christ. We came
together for 3 sessions to beta the content for this book and my friends kept
asking for more. I discovered that women
are hungry to make their lives count and find space to grow their faith and
their families intentionally. This book
is a collection of the exercises and stories that we shared in our meetings
with the ladies I refer to throughout the book as my kaleidoscopes.
Those meetings helped me
determine the ‘pieces’ that had the greatest impact:
The pieces you compare…
The pieces informed by the
father-figure in your life…
The painful pieces…
The pieces of your
relationships…
The pieces on which you’ve
built your beliefs…
The pieces that give you
rules and boundaries…
The pieces that show what
you value…
The pieces that give you
purpose…
The pieces that help you
build a vision for what’s to come.
I wrote this book to help
put those pieces together, to help women look to the God who made us, knows us,
and loves us to guide us. Because, when you take all of your pieces—the good,
the bad, the broken, and the beautiful—and lay them at your Heavenly Father’s
feet, there, you’ll find peace. There, you’ll find security. There, you’ll find
a real sense of who you are and Whose you are.
I pray readers finish this
book and walk more securely in their identity and
purpose with an unshakable sense of confidence in who they are and Whose they
are.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
April
Farlow has spent the last 20 years motivating audiences to get out of their
comfort zone, speak up, and represent their values. In corporate environments,
one piece is missed—the ability to talk about forming your identity in God.
Today, as a speaker, author, coach, and non-profit leader, April is changing
this by sharing her faith journey and helping others do the same with clarity
and conviction.
In
2017, after speaking to a group of foster youth, April founded Lydia’s Place, a
ministry serving young adults who have experienced foster care or homelessness.
April and her husband have four girls and live on a mini-farm outside of
Athens, Georgia.
http://www.instagram.com/aprilwfarlow
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ReplyDeleteThis looks like a great novel. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThe blurb and excerpt sound good.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you hope readers will get from this book?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a really interesting book.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds intriguing. Love the cover.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful cover
ReplyDeleteExcellent excerpts
ReplyDelete