Present over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living

: July 29, 2018; 21 March 2019

https://amzn.to/2t3A6Aw

About the Book

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In these pages, New York Times bestselling author Shauna Niequist invites you to consider the landscape of your own life, and what it might look like to leave behind the pressure to be perfect and begin the life-changing practice of simply being present, in the middle of the mess and the ordinariness of life.

Written in Shauna's warm and vulnerable style, this collection of essays focuses on the most important transformation in her life, and maybe yours too: leaving behind busyness and frantic living and rediscovering the person you were made to be. Present Over Perfect is a hand reaching out, pulling you free from the constant pressure to perform faster, push harder, and produce more, all while maintaining an exhausting image of perfection.

Shauna offers an honest account of what led her to begin this journey, and a compelling vision for an entirely new way to live: soaked in grace, rest, silence, simplicity, prayer, and connection with the people that matter most to us.

About the Author

Shauna Niequist is the author of Cold Tangerines, Bittersweet, Bread & Wine and Savor. She is married to Aaron, and they have two wild and silly and darling boys, Henry and Mac. They live outside Chicago, where Aaron leads The Practice and is recording a project called A New Liturgy. Shauna also writes for the Storyline Blog, and for IF:Table, she is a member of the Relevant podcast, and a guest teacher at her church. Shauna’s three great loves are her family, dinner parties, and books, and she believes that vulnerable storytelling, hard laughter, and cold pizza for breakfast can cure almost anything.

About the Reviews

I saw Shauna give a presentation at the She Speaks writers' conference in 2016. As a radio show host an a writer who aspires to be published, her words intrigued me, and I had to know more. Fast forward a couple of years, and I have experienced burnout in a real way such as to be completely devastating. This book helped to provide a road map and validation that what I was experiencing was in no way abnormal. The lyrical writing was purely delicious, and I savored each morsel. It was like a wise friend speaking life and truth into me in a way that has paid dividends in my soul, life, and the work I carry out for the kingdom of God.

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Even as a guy, I find this easy to relate to, if a bit feminine with examples. That's fine - I don't think for one moment I'm the target audience. I keep this on my desk at work and read it more like a devotional than a true Christian living book. I may go weeks without looking at it, or read 5 chapters in an afternoon. The average chapter is 5 pages, so not a hard task.

Yes, she gives examples that I'm sure some can't exactly relate to, but the big picture principles stick. If anything this adds credibility to the principles she presents - in that they apply to both a nearly 40 year old author mom and, in many ways, to a male professional ten years her junior. I just finished a chapter on white dishes. What?? She admits that having too many dishes was a struggle and a distraction. Though I can't personally say that dishes are a struggle of mine, I have other forms of clutter, both physical and psychological, so what she says really makes sense. If you take the title at its word, "Present over Perfect," it really does help you to focus more on big picture concepts of your life, what you're here to do, who matters most, and gets you thinking about your top life goals.

And this comes from a guy reading a ladies' book.

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I just started this book but it hits home. I can't wait to see if it tells me what to do to live a more soulful way. There are so many things that are just like my life. Nice to read that I am not the only one feeling this way. Stunned that I have never noticed anyone else going through the motions. I would recommend this to anyone, men, women and teenagers. So that maybe they can avoid this cycle that our society has made us think this frantic hectic lifestyle is the way it should be.

Product Info

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Zondervan; First printing June 2016 edition (August 9, 2016)
Language: English
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,135 customer reviews

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