Sweet Relief

If you're looking for freedom from an achievement based mindset and never feeling like you've done enough for God- this is a book I highly recommend. Kaitlin Garrison is a first time author who shares her story of chasing perfection to feel worthy of God and how she realized she is more than enough no matter how hard she works. This is spectacularly researched and heavily based on Scripture. She walks you through false Gospels that get you stuck striving, and shares the sweet, sweet truth that you are already enough because of what He has done. A sincere thank you to Abilene Christian University Press for the complimentary copy via Netgalley.

Kaitlin is such an expressive writer! Ok, so I typically don’t seek out non-fiction. While it is informative I also find it VERY boring. But this book was so BEAUTIFUL. I loved her writing style and “voice”. She grabbed my attention from the beginning, bringing the point to the forefront through stories and illustrations. It kept me interested the entire tim3”e, and it was something I needed (and I think at times we all need) to hear. It beautifully reintroduces the gospel, allowing the reader to “remember their first love” so to speak. Definitely a recommend. Read it if you feel adrift, and need to remember what’s good about the good news again.

I love how this book guide us to have our freedom from our achievement-based mindset about grace. You know that sometimes we had this feeling of never enough, no matter how many things we have done in the name of faith. It's because we didn't grasp the true meaning of grace. We do 'faithful' things in our standards. The writing style feel so friendly and so raw.

As a Christian, life can often overtake us and our values replaced with those that surround us. Kaitlin Garrison asks us in this book to use our God given spirit to be who we are, to not seek the impossible. She shows us that we don’t need to tick off a checklist to achieve God’s grace, but to surround ourself in His love. Going to Church and doing masses of outreach doesn’t make you a better Christian if you are doing it for a check on the list, instead Garrison calls us to free ourselves from that list and reach for the spirit.
This would be a great book for a Church group to use for discussion or to develop ideology for a mission plan.

5 stars
Kaitlin Garrison has opened her heart and stripped away the legalism of her beliefs. She walks the reader through her journey into grace from God. She breaks down the walls of believing that she had to earn her grace with good deeds.
What a wonderful devotional book. This would be ideal for a small group, individual or Bible study.
I highly recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is full of so much goodness. Sweet relief is a call to stop living lives of striving and self sufficiency, to stop trying to be enough, living constantly unsatisfied, and instead to drink from the streams of living water that truly satisfy, letting Christ be our ultimate source and sustainer, and to discover that the only way we will truly be enough is through him.

Kaitlin’s voice is friendly and relatable, and this book whilst convicting doesn’t feel like it’s shouting at you, more like your hearing it from a friend over a cup of coffee. Kaitlin has obviously done a lot of research and study before writing this book, however it is presented in a way that is easy to understand and so encouraging.

I loved the practical resources in this book, each chapter ends with a couple of questions you could journal, and that went deeper in part three where each chapter ended with a reflection, some journal prompts, scripture to memorise and a call to action.

Sweet Relief was the breath of fresh air that women need as they continually face a world saying that they aren't enough and never will be and allow that lie to sneak into their relationship with God too. Garrison effectively breaks down the false gospels we write in our minds and then introduces the incredible freedoms we can walk in thanks to a relationship with Jesus. Honestly written and full of truth, this book is a must read! It also features great application and reflection pieces at the end of each chapter, helping readers to actually apply the truths of this book to their lives.

I am not enough by myself and that is the point. I need God in every aspect of my life, which is how God wants it to be. He doesn’t want us going through this life and trying to do things alone. Something I have struggled with for a long time is being enough and feeling like I am not doing enough to receive God’s grace. It always leads to disappointment and shame that I am not honoring God like I should and that I am not doing it right. This feeling and striving always leads to this never-ending circle of disappointment and then finding different ways to be better. It leads to me to trying to do life without God being at the center of it because I feel like I am not yet enough, that I am not doing enough. Honoring God is never wrong and finding new ways to honor Him is not wrong either, but we shouldn’t be doing it just to get God’s grace, we should be doing it because of who He is and allowing Him to walk with us. Kaitlin beautifully breaks down different ways in which we strive for God’s grace and how it always ends up leaving us feeling like we fall short. I have read a lot of Christian books to grow my faith and learn new things and this one has hit home the most. There are so many lies we tell ourselves that the gospel proves is a lie. This book is great for all Christians no matter what point in their journey they are. Let Kaitlin give you hope, understanding, and freedom in the gospel to dispel these lies from our lives and receive God’s grace with no strings attached