For the Love {Review}

For the Love by Jen Hatmaker

Visit the Author's Website HERE

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publishing Date: August 18, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

The popular writer, blogger, and television personality reveals with humor and style how Jesus' extravagant grace is the key to dealing with life's biggest challenge: people.

The majority of our joys, struggles, thrills, and heartbreaks relate to people, beginning first with ourselves and then the people we came from, married, birthed, live by, live for, go to church with, don't like, don't understand, fear, struggle with, compare ourselves to, and judge. People are the best and worst thing about the human life.

Jen Hatmaker knows this all too well, and so she reveals how to practice kindness, grace, truthfulness, vision, and love to ourselves and those around us. By doing this, For the Love leads our generation to reimagine Jesus' grace as a way of life, and it does it in a funny yet profound manner that Christian readers will love. Along the way, Hatmaker shows readers how to reclaim their prophetic voices and become Good News again to a hurting, polarized world. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Buy a copy today! 

My Thoughts:
YAAASSS. About time we get more brilliance from Jen Hatmaker. I've an honest mind to lock her away in some secluded cabin until she finishes another book.

Review complete.

Okay, I'll give you a little something more. From the title, 'For the Love', I fully expected something completely serious from Hatmaker. But I must have just bumped my head :) "For the Love" is a phrase Hatmaker loves to employ on a daily and almost hourly basis. This book explores both sides of the phrase, both the serious and the more lighthearted. It is something that Hatmaker just has a knack for. In my first adventure with a Hatmaker novel, '7', I was amazed at her ability to explore such deep, impactful topics and yet keep such a lighthearted, sarcastic feel. The same is again true here. It is just a brilliant combo that could only work for Jen Hatmaker.

Some of the latter chapters really struck me the most. "Jesus Kids" discussed the top reasons teenagers and college students leave the church and how we can work to circumvent that in our own children. "Dear Christians, Please Stop Being Crappy" was an eye opener for sure and probably the most thought provoking for me. But then of course, sandwiched between the serious were chapters like "On Turning Forty" and all her Thank You Notes (the idea lifted straight from the ever hilarious Jimmy Fallon).

Honestly? And I mean honestly: bump this book to the top of your TBR list. Pause and reflect on the brilliance, the depth of her passion and love for the church, and her ability to make it all real and relatable. Hatmaker is like a big sister or the loud best friend you have always wanted. 'For the Love' is a mixture of emotions, but wrapped in a giant hug of love and empathy. 5 stars. And if you haven't yet: pick up '7' first. You crazy person.