So Long, Insecurity: You've Been a Bad Friend to Us [Hardcover]

Beth Moore (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 2, 2010

2011 Retailers Choice Award winner!
Perhaps one of the biggest issues all women face is their own insecurity. Beth Moore, one of today’s most admired and trusted Christian writers, wants women to be free from the insecurity trap. So Long, Insecurity will strike a chord with women everywhere, as Beth speaks truth into the lives of readers, showing them how to deal with their innermost fears, rediscover their God-given dignity, and develop a whole new perspective—a stronger sense of self. Women of all ages and backgrounds will resonate with this message of security and discover truths that will free them emotionally and spiritually and lead them to a better life as they walk with God.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Prolific Bible teacher and women's ministry leader Moore (Get Out of That Pit) moves away from her characteristic dead-on expositions of scriptural principles in her newest; the topic is insecurity, and the content, she admits, is close to an autobiography. Moore, always transparent with her own personal struggles, is refreshingly so throughout this text. Readers will be chortling in laughter one moment and sucking air the next as Moore exposes the many faces of female insecurity. The author names and claims each one, then defuses every bit of power these nonsensical inner voices possess by countering their lies with God's truth. Women, no matter what their age, battle against advertising's siren call for unattainable physical perfection; the habit of making a man's love the ultimate validation; and the worldly definition of success as money, power, and status. Moore uses personal essays, women's true confessions, expressive prayers, and lots of commonsense suggestions to jar women out of their insecure rut. Readers will delve into this work and find themselves comfortably uncomfortable, and this is a very good thing. (Feb.)
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Review

So Long, Insecurity: You've Been a Bad Friend to Us Beth Moore. Tyndale House, $24.99 (350p) ISBN 978-1-4143-3472-1

Prolific Bible teacher and women's ministry leader Moore (Get Out of That Pit) moves away from her characteristic dead-on expositions of scriptural principles in her newest; the topic is insecurity, and the content, she admits, is close to an autobiography. Moore, always transparent with her own personal struggles, is refreshingly so throughout this text. Readers will be chortling in laughter one moment and sucking air the next as Moore exposes the many faces of female insecurity. The author names and claims each one, then defuses every bit of power these nonsensical inner voices possess by countering their lies with God's truth. Women, no matter what their age, battle against advertising's siren call for unattainable physical perfection; the habit of making a man's love the ultimate validation; and the worldly definition of success as money, power, and status. Moore uses personal essays, women's true confessions, expressive prayers, and lots of commonsense suggestions to jar women out of their insecure rut. Readers will delve into this work and find themselves comfortably uncomfortable, and this is a very good thing. (Feb.) --Publishers Weekly, December 14, 2009

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; First Edition edition (February 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414334729
• ISBN-13: 978-1414334721
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (196 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Beth Moore has written many best-selling books and is a dynamic teacher and a prolific Bible-study author whose public speaking engagements take her across the United States to challenge tens of thousands. Beth is focused on teaching women all over the world and is known and respected wherever she goes. She is a dedicated wife and mother of two adult daughters and lives in Houston, Texas, where she leads Living Proof Ministries and teaches an adult Sunday school class at her church.

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#58 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#58 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

161 of 168 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Once again, Beth Moore has inspired me February 15, 2010

By Novel Teen

Format:Hardcover

Review by Jill Williamson

I love Beth Moore. I've never met her, but I've done several of her Bible studies and had the privilege of attending one of her conferences. The woman inspires me. Why? Because she's real. She's suffered through life, just like the rest of us, and she refuses to let that define her. Praise Jesus for that! That, and her passion for studying the Word of God, draws me, and thousands of other women, to her like sheep to a shepherd. She is a disciple of Jesus. She teaches His truth in a wonderful, personal, life-changing way.

So when I saw this book, I knew I needed it. I've always had low self-esteem. And I am plagued by insecurity. The smallest little comment will send me into a spiral of woe. One example, I have the nasty habit of interpreting faces. I can read minds, too, you know. If someone looks at me funny, I know I did something to make them upset with me, and I can't stand it until I know everything is okay again. I've also trained myself to interpret email tones. I entertain my husband every time I read an email to him. He says I read every word with a negative, attacking tone, as if the author has a personal agenda against me--or someone.

One of my husband's most telling phrases is: It must be exhausting being you.

Well, ouch.

But he's right. It is exhausting being so insecure. I don't mean to do this to myself. And I'm tired of it. And a bit ticked off, as Beth was in the beginning of her book. Having read the book, I will say that I now have confidence that I can beat this thing. Insecurity distracts our minds from living the life God intends for us. It keeps us weak instead of strong. It keeps us distant instead of loving. It keeps us judging instead of reaching out and building lasting friendships....

Once again, Beth Moore has inspired me. I'm saying, "So long, Insecurity! You don't own this girl!" Whoo hoo! Now that's something to get excited about. If you've ever felt insecure, sit down and talk it out with Beth. And that's exactly what this book was. A nice, long, heart to heart with Beth Moore about a topic that plagues us. I highly recommend it. Read more ›

184 of 210 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars ok, but not Beth Moore's best February 4, 2010

By M. Johnson

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've received so much benefit from Beth Moore's Bible studies, particularly her studies of Esther and David.

But, I didn't find this book to be helpful. In my opinion, there isn't enough content here to justify a book.

The first half of the book discusses seven factors that contribute to women struggling with insecurity: instability in the home, significant loss, rejection, life change events such as a move, contemporary culture, and pride/perfectionism.

I was frustrated by the fact that these chapters consisted largely of anecdotes from Beth's friends and readers of her blog. Beth referred to having done "research" for these chapters, but that research wasn't evident in her writing. Missing from these chapters was any sort of in-depth analysis of the seven issues.

The second half of the book stresses the importance of finding our security in God. This is so true and is certainly worth stating again and again! But missing from the chapters was the rich interweaving of Scripture and practical application material that I've come to expect from Beth's teaching. Again, anecdotes came at the expense of depth and exposition.

However, there was one chapter in the book that really spoke to me - Chapter 8, A Beautiful Prize Called Dignity. This chapter contains a study of Proverbs 31:25, a verse that Beth beautifully revisits at the end of the book. This chapter represents Beth Moore at her best and is why I so value her teaching.

Finally, Beth briefly touches on the importance of discernment with respect to the contemporary culture. This material was intriguing, but was an aside so could not be presented in detail. I would love to see Beth pick up this topic in future teaching....

Bottom line: for me, the book didn't live up to the high standard Beth has set in her earlier teaching. Read more ›

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Beth's 24-Apr-2010 Simulcast: So Long, Insecurity April 27, 2010

By Vanilla Bean

Format:Hardcover

I attended Beth's simulcast, "So Long, Insecurity!" this past Saturday along with 300,000 women across hundreds of locations in the United States. Her presentation did not cover all the points of the book but was meant to augment it. To the extent that it is useful to you, here is a summary from my notes.

Beth encouraged us to say "So Long, Insecurity" and to choose to be SECURE based on the God's character and love... her talk was based on Ephesians 4:17-5:2 (which you may want to read before reading the rest of the comments if you'd like to see the scriptural basis for her observations)... she noted there are...

Six characteristics of a SECURE woman...

S ~ Saved from Herself ~ Insecurity represents "self curved in on itself" a form of pride that is the foundation of all sin because when we are insecure we are looking at everybody and everything based upon how it relates to us. Security on the other hand comes when we are filled with God's Spirit and our thoughts are going up and out of ourselves. Beth encouraged us to move away from selfish and self-absorbed thinking.

E ~ Entitled to Truth ~ Perfectionism is insecurity in art form said Beth as she noted that apart from God we live in futile thinking that darkens our understanding, separates us from God, hardens our hearts, makes us insensitive, and then we give ourselves over to sensuality, indulgence and greed. We must turn to Christ, to His truth, to be free from insecurity.

C ~ Clothed with Intention ~ As the Proverbs 31 woman is clothed with strength and dignity, we too are clothed with intention ... as we have been taught, Beth exhorted us to keep on doing it. She noted we need to make up our mind to purposefully put off the old self and its way and instead walk in our new self ...... it takes will, strength, and the Lord's power to say, "Whoa, that was the old me" and to stop and walk in newness. Beth says our mind needs to choose to think securely, then we need to act securely, and FINALLY our emotions will follow. She noted that we can either be corrupted by our old mind or renewed by our new mind.

U ~ Upended by Grace ~ Beth told us that insecurity drives our bitterness toward others (unforgiveness and taking offense). We are new creatures in God who have received God's grace and forgiveness and can now lead lives of kindness and compassion as we offer grace and forgiveness to others. Hebrews 10:22 says, "Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart (come as we are) in full assurance of faith (faith alone, not works), having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience (purity comes from confession and repentance) and having our bodies washed with pure water." Beth shared with us that if we will recognize the grace which God washes us clean, we too can then freely give that grace to others. She noted that choosing the old self of unforgiveness is like eating a tapeworm that will eat all of the nutrition that we glean from the word of God.

R ~ Rebounded by Love ~ We are God's dearly loved children, and Beth asked how different would our lives would be if we took every step believing this deeply. She said that when we have hurts in our hearts that we don't allow God's love to heal, then our hearts become hardened. Beth told us that fully assimilating God's dear love for us is what will allow us to truly love others, to truly give, to truly live without needing to have them love us back (or to give us any other thing like value, worth, or affirmation) ... God's plan is that God's love is sufficient for all of our needs.

E ~ Exceptional in Life ~ God created us to be women, to have significance, and to receive His love. Beth noted that as we embrace these truths of His plan, then we can truly live exceptional lives, where we are the exception (living securely in God's love) not the expectation (set by culture to beat us down for not measuring up).

May you have a blessed day ~ Bon Appetit! Read more ›