Stuck DVD-Based Study [Hardcover]

Jennie Allen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 2011

Do you feel stuck?

So many of us live stuck. Stuck in trying to seem perfect. Stuck in sadness. Stuck feeling numb. Stuck pursuing more stuff to make us happy. Stuck in something we can't even name. These stuck places often go unattended inside of us and they are shaping our lives more than we would like to think. We've been trying to fix this feeling with everything but...

God. He has a plan for these spaces inside of us, the places we feel broken, but we have to go to Him. Stuck is a journey to take an honest look at the fight going on inside, leading us to the God who has a plan to restore it, to restore us. Because as we realize that our stuck places are the very places that make us ache for God, we find Him waiting there for us with hope and freedom.

Study Kit Tools:

Study. The study guide uses projects, stories, and Bible study to engage the mind and heart. There are seven weeks of Bible study and an introductory session for your group.

See. Eight short but deep videos provide a starting place for meeting God and for transparent conversations. Each video is 8-12 minutes long.

Ask. Conversation cards offer questions for spontaneous and authentic discussion time. You choose the questions that speak to you.

Lead. The leader’s guide prepares you to lead this study and encourages you along the way.

Additional Stuck study guides can be purchased separately (ISBN: 9781418548742)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jennie Allen's passion is to communicate a bigger God through writing and teaching. Winner of the 2013 New Author of the Year Christian Book Award, she graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with a masters in biblical studies and is blessed to serve alongside her husband, Zac, in ministry. They have four children, including their youngest son who was recently adopted from Rwanda.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson; DVD/Pap/Cr edition (October 11, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1418548731
• ISBN-13: 978-1418548735
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 2.7 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,219 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My passion is to inspire a new generation of women to encounter the invisible God. I love words and I believe God uses them to heal souls and to reveal Himself to people. I am blessed to be working with Thomas Nelson to publish several studies and trade books, engaging women's minds and hearts toward Christ. The first study, Stuck released in the fall of 2011, and the book, Anything released Spring 2012.

I graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with a Masters in Biblical Studies. And while all that sounds pretty fancy... I am really just a mess of a girl, trying to figure out God, and why I seem to keep struggling with the same invisible issues I had in kindergarten.

I am so blessed to serve alongside my husband Zac, in ministry in Austin, Texas. We have 4 children: Conner 11, Kate 9, and Caroline 6 and our youngest son, Cooper 4, recently adopted from Rwanda.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#89 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#89 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Are You Stuck? November 9, 2011

By Pat J. Sikora

Format:Hardcover

One of my areas of delight and specialization is working with people who are stuck in their personal or spiritual growth. People who know there's more, but they can't seem to grasp it. Or people who are so defeated they no longer even dream of more. Most of these people have been abused or seriously wounded in childhood and have never developed the skills to mature. This is a focus not many aspire to, but I love it. The problem is, there aren't many resources out there for this target population.

Until now. I recently received a review copy of Stuck: The Places we Get Stuck and the God Who Sets Us Free by Jennie Allen. This is an intriguing 8-week Bible study for women covering areas we all get stuck in--broken, mad, discontent, scared, overwhelmed, and sad. The final chapter is Unstuck. The leader's package includes a DVD, a leader's guide, a participant's guide, and an intriguing deck of cards. I was immediately impressed with the quality of the product. No black and white study guide here. Thomas Nelson has invested in slick paper, colored ink, a variety of fonts, and great graphics. Even the 8" by 7" size is distinctive. The product is just downright appealing.

OK, but what about the content? Allen is a pastor's wife from Austin, TX with a master's degree in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. The study is solidly biblical. She doesn't offer quick fixes or psychological strategies. Her lessons are straight from the Word of God. The study guide offers several mostly objective and interpretive questions, with "projects" for each chapter. The participant can make a list, draw a picture, or answer questions. The study guide is to be done in advance, leading to a short discussion before the DVD is shown.

The DVD is beautifully done. Again, Thomas Nelson spared no expense. In each segment, Allen is in a different location, one that complements the chapter content. She is real, authentic, and compelling. A mom with young to pre-teen children, she relates well to that generation. Her openness will prompt excellent discussion.

And for the main discussion, she has developed something I haven't seen before. There is a deck of cards with application questions for each chapter. The leader puts these one the table with the questions face up. Participants pick one they like, and these questions direct the discussion to apply the biblical principles. It's a clever approach that gives the participants a part in directing the discussion.

My only regret is that she targeted this to women. I'd love to use it in our mixed small group and I know some men who could benefit from her teaching. But if you are leading a women's group, consider this study. I think you'll like it.

(This review was originally published at [..]

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars LIFE-CHANGING!!! OUTSTANDING!!! Message Is "Don't Waste Your Life Anymore" October 24, 2011

By Jackie Kaulitz

Format:Hardcover

I believe a reader's time and money is very valuable and my purpose in reviewing books is to be as critically honest as possible so that others will be able to fairly determine whether a book is worth reading or not. Last I counted, I had given 9 1-and-2-star reviews for books, while giving 9 4-and-5 star reviews. I can't stand all the 4-5 star reviews on Amazon for feel-good books. To me, a book better have some meat. Something that will add to your life and change it for the better. Knowing I am a picky reviewer, know that I fully believe in this DVD/book combo. It is one of my favorite books of the whole year - and I'm pretty tough to please.

Jennie Allen's DVD is about rediscovering the purpose in your life and not wasting your life on silly useless day-to-day tasks. This is truly about losing your life to God, so that you may find it. Jennie does an outstanding job communicating this to the reader/watcher - with real life examples. This is 100% for men and women. This is NOT a women's only book. If men don't watch/read this, they will be making a huge mistake. Although the book/DVD is easy to follow and understand, the topic is deep. It's YOUR LIFE after all! Jennie quotes St. Augustine and John Piper, so you know she's not a girl of fluff.

The only criticism I have is that the material isn't always given in a direct straight-forward manner and this leads to confusion - BUT STICK IT OUT! You won't be sorry! You need to listen CAREFULLY. Sometimes rewind twice. Because, just when you think she is teaching something not quite true, she'll come around to the truth right afterwards. Give this a chance - at first, as I started to watch, I thought "This girl is so off base" because she explains the human emotion-feely side first, then explains the TRUE Bible based truth afterwards. So sometimes you will go "oh, no, she's off base and just like those other preachers" but if you listen carefully (sometimes you have to really follow closely), you will realize she pulls the story back around and hits you with the truth! Bam! And you go "WOW..." I've never heard ANY female Christian ever speak so accurately about her beliefs before. In fact, I would rate her up there with only about a dozen serious men in terms of Biblical accuracy and their idea of how to live the Christian life.

I'm sure I'm not really doing the book/DVD justice, but let me try to summarize a bit: Jennie gets into that as humans, we mess up and sin a lot. We then are burdened with guilt and feel a big separation from God. But God is a god of grace - he has forgiven us and doesn't demand perfection in works. The Christian life isn't about performance to get our salvation. Jesus died for imperfect people. Just when I thought she was going off the wrong path, Jennie comes around and shows me she DOES understand the Bible - and she encourages us to seek a RELATIONSHIP with God. She explains that if we will allow God into our lives (and stop hiding from him because of our shame and imperfection) and fall upon God, that God will take care of us. People expect God wants something from us - perfection - but he is more concerned with relationship. Jennie helps us deal with out emotions correctly and not get caught up in keeping a distance from God. She says "Stop pretending we aren't screwed up. Realize the need for God. We are afraid if we ask God for help, he might not be there, but he will be there. Trust God." We are that ugly lump of clay. We need to put ourselves in the potters hands and let him mold us into something beautiful.

We are all discontent and seeking for things that aren't important - clothes, shoes, status - Solomon chased women, Adam and Eve chose "the apple" or forbidden fruit. We are choosing and chasing the world. Paul tells us to be content in all circumstances. If we chase the world's things (including fabric to decorate our home), we are giving importance to something of no importance in the greater perspective of the world and our lives. "God, you alone fill me."

When we get scared and anxious, we are telling God that we don't trust him. "There is some drug in life that say to be busy is to matter." John Piper says "It is possible to waste your life." We are spending our life on errands and our to-do-list, while God has written this beautiful story - a plan for the entire world from start to finish. And we are choosing to not be apart of it by busying ourselves with daily tasks. "We are wasting our minutes. And these minutes turn into hours. That equals the sum of our life." Errands. What if we are missing everything God wants for us because our calendar is too full.

Jennie says she thought she was living right for a while. "So I go to God "What am I doing wrong?" Maybe I didn't believe those things about God THAT deeply. I wasn't really trusting God. I was trying to control my life." Her life, just like ours, didn't reflect that she believed the Bible ALL THAT much - at least not enough to be living by it DOWN TO THE CORE - Give God control of your life. Trust him. "You don't have to try to impress God anymore because God wasn't impressed anyway. So go run the race. Run your guts out... because you are just here for a minute in this world. Display God's glory on this planet."

My disclaimer - I received this book from the publisher free of charge but I always give honest reviews. I want you to be able to choose the best book based on stars because I know you have limited time and energy to read.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Kinda stuck November 6, 2011

By bookbagger

Format:Hardcover

I really wanted to like this Bible study. Truly, I did. I wanted to share it with my friends. But I don't think I'm going to. I'm really not all that favorably impressed, unfortunately.

If you're at all familiar with Rob Bell and his Nooma videos, that's what's cookin' here except the main player is a woman named Jennie Allen. Other than the fact that a woman is in the videos, "Stuck" appears to me to be pretty much a carbon copy idea of the various Nooma studies.

There are seven lessons in the study book and each lesson has an accompanying video component. Jennie Allen is attractive and well spoken, but her delivery quickly became so predictable the message became largely lost. On me, anyway. I think the point of this study is to identify one's "stuck-ness" and hopefully get beyond being "stuck", but honestly. . .I became so stuck on what was annoying to me about the videos I just couldn't get deeply into the study.

In addition to what has become to me an already over-done idea (filming someone awash in spiritual questions - as if she is the only one who's ever asked an honest spiritual question) I found the study book itself to be somewhat lacking. Content-wise the study is pretty basic. The questions are largely open-ended and encourage one to explore inside oneself. I'd give at least a B to the content of this study - figuring it probably is a hit with what I imagine its target audience to be (probably young adult women, given the examples she uses from high school, college and her young family's experiences)

I can't give the material quality of the study book much more than a low C, though. I was immediately disappointed with the quality of the print. The study book text is printed mostly in gray scale (except for what in in orange-scale) on thin paper that allows you to almost see the print on the other side. Almost. If the print were actually dark enough to read comfortably, you'd be able to see it through the other side of the page, but it's not quite dark enough to read comfortably. I had serious trouble focusing on the print almost to the point of eye strain. Use a little more ink, please. Give me some contrast!!!

In all fairness, this study may appeal to a "seeker". Someone who has little spiritual or biblical background, but who is honestly seeking for spiritual truths. Or maybe someone who's neglected their spiritual walk and is beginning to find her way back. I'm not sure this study is going to provide much depth, but it may be the ticket to get someone who's awash in their own questions onto an honest road of spiritual seeking.

Frankly, though, I just couldn't get beyond the Nooma-ish-ness to appreciate what Jennie Allen is trying to do with this study. If you like Rob Bell's style, you'll probably like Jennie Allen's. If you have no clue what I'm talking about, just google Nooma and you'll find plenty of videos online to give you a taste of what you can expect with the video portion of this study. Just because I don't care for it, doesn't mean you won't.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com in exchange for my honest review.