Seated with Christ by Heather Holleman

Are you looking for a book that will get you thinking more about Jesus and less about yourself?  Heather Holleman has a wonderful new book out called, Seated with Christ: Living freely in a Culture of Comparison.  Who doesn't fight with comparing yourself to your peers around you?  It is so easy to get wrapped up in ourselves and forget our true mission and calling in this life.

From the Back Cover:
calm, connected, and secure--the power of seated living

Many of us life half alive.  We compare, compete, self-analyze, and self-promote in our endless, busy pursuit of perfection.
Seated with Christ heralds a new kind of living.  If it's true what Scripture says, that we are treasured by God and given a place at His table, then all we need to do is take our seats.  Heather Holleman shows us how.
Joyfully sharing her journey to seated living, she invites us to walk out on the fight for acceptance, stop comparing ourselves to others, and leap from cycles of shame.  She tells of a confidence that lets us celebrate the seats of others and be perfectly content with our own.
Take your seat and live--simply, freely, fully--because of Jesus, for Jesus, and in love of Jesus. Quit trying: be free.

My Review:
I absolutely loved this book.  It was well written and flowed from start to finish.  I know what it is like to crave acceptance as the "not cool" girl at school.  I loved her story at the beginning of the book (pgs. 32-33) about talking with her own daughter concerning the girls at the "cool" table shunning her.  Heather's comment was, " Don't think about them anymore.  You have a seat at the best table already. You're wanted there. Jesus chose you for His table." (p.33) What a thought to share with your daughter about the beautiful image Paul paints for us as being seated in Christ.
Towards the end of the book, Heather takes all that she has learned and applies it now to the mission of outreach in her own community.  This part of the book was beautiful.  I sat and wept as I read chapter 10. I've struggled with reaching out to people.  It's hard to speak up especially if you're more introverted.  But when you quit fearing and are broken over how shallow your life has been seeking your own pleasure instead of God's, you can begin to see how God can use you in your own community.  Being available and willing is the first step.  I love how she says she just talks to all her neighbors as if they are believers.  Instead of fearing rejection or wondering what will they think, she just says, "Hey guess what I learned about from my Bible reading today?"  And you know what?  People didn't reject her.  They listened and some of them received Christ.  And that is what broke my heart.  Here I am, age 40, and I have wasted so much of my life on myself. This is a new way of thinking, a new way of engaging with those who are in my natural pathway that God has placed before me. There is so much more that I could say about this book, but I think I'll leave you with one last quote that spoke to me.  "My motivation isn't to please God or to earn His favor; that's already decided. My motivation is to enjoy Jesus more and more and to allow His Holy Spirit to lead me into deeper freedom and intimacy with Jesus." (p. 139)
Pick up this book.  It will encourage your heart and point you to Jesus just like everything in life should do.

Here is a link to a video on Vimeo where Heather talks about Seated with Christ.
And click here to see her website.

***I received this book free from Moody Publishers in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.