Customer Reviews

Shame and Grace: Healing the Shame We Don't Deserve

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4 star:		(1)
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I've read a few books on grace recently and none were as complete or as interesting as this one. The author shares his experiences and is very practical in discussing what shame, forgiveness, and grace are and aren't.

There are other popular books out there that discuss grace (Amazing Grace by Philip Yancey, In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado, and The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning) that are fine books in their own right. As fine as they are, this book starts with the problem of shame and then walks you through to grace. It just seems to be more complete than giving you feel-good grace or trying to provide answers as to why the church seems to lack it today. This book just seems to be on a more practical, personal level.

Smedes delivers an incredible gift by identifying where we took on shame, what it looks and feels like, and then proceeds to dismantle it's power with the truth of grace. Especially helpful to those who know God loves them, but can't understand the darkness they struggle with and why it's so hard to love themselves.

This book was given to me to read for a class I took in college, and am I ever glad it was! It's a great book! Once you start reading it, you really start understanding yourself and others better! It opened my eyes to the shame I don't deserve and the grace God offers me that I was pushing away! Read this book!

Smedes' strength in this book is his balance between academic investigation into the causes of shame and nature of grace, and the pastoral, almost familial sensitivity with which he discusses it. Shame and depressing rob us of real life -- don't let them any more. If you are plagued with the sense that you are just not worth much in this world, let Lewis help you understand the gritty power of grace that God offers.

This book was recommended to me by a counsellor. I could hardly put it down. Even after 3 years of Seminary training some of the principles and perspectives presented here were refreshing to my soul. Buy it and read it and give it to someone you love.

If you have addictions of any kind, you should read this book. At the core of what keeps us addicted is often shame and the rejection of the power of grace. We may be shamed by ourselves, our family, our church or our society. We miss the magnitude and scope of God's grace. Satan thrives on that and convinces us how despicable we are, driving us further into our addictions (how can a miserable person like me deserve to be close to God). A vicious cycle, which was close to being broken, continues anew. This book helps us understand that, which gets us on the path to recovery.

Smedes has done his best work in this brief, but effective work on the reality of shame and how shame can inhibit our ability to even function or have healthy relationships. It is very easy to identify with his descriptions of shame and how, from a Christian standpoint, to counteract this potent destroyer of a person being able to reach their full potential.

Lewis Smedes has to be one of the leading authorities on the art of forgiveness. In this book he helps us understand just how much we are loved by God and no mater how much shame we bring on ourselves, God extends grace beyond comprehension. This book helped me get through a very difficult time in my life.....a time when it was difficult to forgive myself. A time when I felt full of shame and guilt. If you struggle with self-forgiveness, you need to read this book.

This is one of the most inteligent and insightful investigations into tthe nature of the human soul that I have ever read. Excellent read. I gauarantee you wil parallel your own life with Semedes' examinations.

Cracking the Parenting Code: 6 Clues to Solving the Mystery of Meeting Your Child's Needs

I have underlined nearly every page of this book. The book has helped me in my personal struggle with insecurity and depression while overcoming a very personal heart break. I am using it as a resource in writing my next book, as it has brought me insight into areas of my life I didn't even know were affecting me. Love it, love it, love it!!!!