Elizabeth's book is incredibly easy to read with small bite-sized chapters, but don't be deceived as these nuggets will leave you reflecting for days. I love that the chapters are deeply personal, full of Scriptural references and incredibly practical. Elizabeth's humility and humanity and love for Jesus are evident throughout. She teaches us how to embrace the life we have with a love for God whether our desires are realised or not.

I went to college with the author and was thrilled to see that she'd written a book! Embrace Your Life is filled with Elizabeth's trademark optimism and joy, but it doesn't shy away from difficult things. I appreciate her honesty and theological insights to help assist the reader in loving right where they are. Highly recommended for anyone, but particularly young adults in the thick of being out on their own for the first time.

Embrace Your Life by Elizabeth Woodson is filled with encouragement for getting through the tough stuff. She directs the reader to God. Many women will love this book.

A book for anyone who feels that life is not what they hoped or expected it to be. Woodson walks alongside readers intertwining biblical truth throughout to show readers that there is extraordinary to be found in the ordinary of life. A true inspiration and worth reading. Can not wait to share with others!

So often when the disappointments in life hit us we want to run and hide (or is that just me?!). “Embrace Your Life” is such a beneficial guide in helping the reader embrace their lives - even in the midst of longing and disappointment. Even though the author is much younger than me and the examples she shared are from a younger generation, I was still able to relate and glean the wisdom from the scriptures she shared in abundance.
I would definitely recommend this book to others who are wanting to grow in their walk with God.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book. I was not required to write a review and the opinions in this review are my own.

Elizabeth Woodson is a black woman, single, and living on the older side of young. I am a white woman, married, and living on the younger side of old. Differences aside, we met over the words of Embrace Your Life, because we share in common a need to reconcile the life we envisioned with the life we actually have.

If longing is your companion, Woodson offers a scriptural guide for living in that liminal space wholeheartedly. Good theology supports an understanding of the roots of longing, and lessons from the life of Joshua provide a model for the believer who is intent upon accepting God’s invitation to self-examination, lament, hope, remembering, faith, and joy.

Woodson sounds the alarm to awaken those who have been busy masking their longings with unhealthy and unhelpful behaviors. Best of all, we are not defined by our longings. As important as they are to us and to God, he invites us to make his glory and his Word our ultimate desire. Nothing else can bear the weight of our all our hopes.

“Keeping it real” with God includes telling him our real feelings, asking him for our heart’s desire, and trusting him with the outcome. The end goal is contentment, not as a result of swapping lives with someone who’s living our dream, but by choosing to embrace the given, not allowing the not-given to blind us to the goodness of God or the beauty of the life he has assigned to us.

Many thanks to BH Publishers for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.

I often get stuck thinking on my circumstances. I need the message of this book daily to remind me to embrace my life. I am so thankful for Elizabeth to share her story so we can learn how to go to Christ with our unmet longings.

Elizabeth points us to Jesus and hoping in HIM as we face failures, losses, and life not going as planned.

I highly recommend this book! My own life has been full of seasons of disappointment, longing, and unmet expectations that over time begin to affect other areas of my life. For me, when those trials go on for long periods of time or are still realities, it can become lonely and I often lose sight of the bigger picture. With grace and empathy Elizabeth comes alongside us in our struggle. She gives us a Biblical framework for how to consider our longings. She takes us to the roots of our longings and gives us wise counsel in how to rightly view God and ourselves. She directs our attention to the story of Joshua, Old Testament Israel, and includes New Testament references that display the love that God has for the biblical characters and us. She not only gives us Scriptural definitions and guidance, but then also gives us practical application. Each chapter ends with questions that lead us to honestly assess ourselves. Spiritual formation and discipleship are the practices that come to my mind while reading each chapter. The format of the book is a great fit for personal reflection, but will also work for roommates, couples, or small groups. Elizabeth encourages us in the joy we have been given in Jesus Christ, that we have a role to play in His story, and that even in our longings we are loved. I will be buying this book for my teen children, extended family, and friends, and I will keep it close at hand for personal reflection in the future.