For my Reading Challenge 2016 “a book you’ve been meaning to read” selection, I picked Looking for Lovely by Annie F. Downs. It’s her most recent book that I pre-ordered and have been wanting to read ever since it came in the mail, but school and its required readings kept pushing it down the read pile. Finally, I got around to it and it’s amazing. And I believe, I read it at just the right time. That’s a God thing, I’m sure.
Before I start telling you my thoughts on Looking for Lovely, I want to first say that I’m not being paid for this post or this review. I didn’t get into Annie’s book launch team (sad face) and there’s nothing requiring or pressuring me to write what I’m about to. But I am including an Amazon affiliate link right here: buy Looking for Lovely by Annie F. Downs through this link and at no additional cost to you, I get some change for coffee.
I really really really do like this book. I like it so much that I bought a second copy and I’m giving it away in my Subscribers Only Giveaway! See, I’m backing up my words with my money. Subscribe to my blog (right sidebar, mobile users scroll down) and you are automatically entered to win (fine print here). Giveaway ends August 31, 2016 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.
And I like Annie. I have two of her other books, follow her on social media (her Snapchat is fun), and look forward to the reading what she has to say. Okay, then. Let’s do this.
Looking for Lovely is Annie’s way of telling us to look at the silver lining and then some. She is so vulnerable and honest in this book. She shares her most painful moments and the moments that are so private I wouldn’t have the guts to publicly share them if they were mine. But Annie opens up in this book and shows us, through her personal stories, how to look for the lovely in our lives no matter what season we’re going through.
Annie tells us of her broken crazy, a time in her life when she was – to understate it – a mess. I call that time in my life…the time. I’m not as creative as Annie. But the time was my broken crazy and healing from it changed me in many ways, one of which was I look for lovely. I call it grounding myself. Again, not as creative. But the idea is the same.
During my own broken crazy, I had depression. I was – to understate it – a mess spiraling down. Today, I know what it feels to start spiraling when I get lost in the noise and lies of this world and the enemy. I have to consciously look for lovely. I ground myself in what gives life to my life. I pull myself out of my own funk through the lovely things God has placed in my life.
Annie shows us different ways to look for lovely, and includes challenges at the end of the chapters we can easily follow to look for lovely. Annie also gives us a picture of what would happen if we keep looking for lovely. What happened to her when she didn’t give up looking for lovely. And what the loveliest lovely we can look for is. I won’t spoil it for you. Go read Looking for Lovely and find out for yourself.
And by the way, my 3rd Blogiversary Giveaway ends soon. Enter through the Rafflecopter widget in this post. Go win some lovely things!
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