It's Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered

I personally ordered this book after having read "Uninvited". My world shattered when my child ran away and it released a domino effect that kept breaking my world into small particles. It happened so suddenly, after all the work it took for us to get there and then..it was gone...Just like that. This book will most likely be a re-read for me. I felt understood. It was like she reached out and grabbed me by the hand and motivated me to look at my life differently with God than I was at the moment. This is a definite recommend. Especially when you wonder why things are going the way they are.

This was such an amazing read. It popped up as a recommended read at the right time. I am going through some things and have been questioning a lot and Lysa's book helped put a few things into perspective for me. Some of my favorite takeaways are;

Sometimes we don't even know this is coming from the enemy because the recognizable voice you hear is your own. Man did that hit me hard. The negative voice I am hearing is the enemy trying to tear me down using my own inner thoughts. As I was reading this it had me in tears.

Next news is what comes at us to tell us what we are dealing with. Truth comes from God and helps us to process what we are going through. I never looked at it that way. Most of the time if I get bad news I wallow in it and think that this is the end but I haven't given it to God yet so it is not complete.

Finally God longs to help me. God longs to transform me and God loves me.

I love Lysa, she is so engaging of her readers. Giving sound advice to navigate through tough times, she doesn't hold back. Even if it is a tough topic, it is never sugar coated.

I’m not a fan of self help books. I usually get bored. But this was so enticing to read and felt more like a story than a self help book.

This was a great book! I just finished reading through it chapter by chapter with a group of girl friends. It’s highly recommended for that (there’s even discussion questions at the end of each chapter). Or just for anyone going through something hard. It’s a reminder that the Lord uses our pain no matter how small or big to bring us to himself. She teaches that through stories of her own life, stories of others, and a lot of scripture.

This is not Girl Wash Your Face.. because “girl” even if you do wash your face and pick yourself back up, the only one who can ever make you whole is the Lord. This book is such a good reminder that He is our sustainer and we cannot do it on our own.

I’d honestly give it 4.5 stars. Only downside was that some chapters got a little bit repetitive.