It’s No Secret by Rachel Olsen

 Right from the cover, It’s No Secret: Revealing Divine Truths Every Woman Should Know by Rachel Olsen gives you a warm and inviting feel. The perfect atmosphere for our Yahweh sister, Rachel, to share 12 truths she has learned along her journey with the Lord.

In true Titus 2 like form brimming with Southern hospitality, she invites us in to see not just her triumphs but struggles as well. Using her life stories along with Bible scriptures she tackles issues like: competiveness, conflict resolution, perfectionism, confession, receptiveness to help from others, humility, and busyness. Each chapter closes with study questions, which would be great to use as part of a group study or individually.

Being what I call a “recovering” perfectionist Chapter 7 Adjust Your Scale: Revealing the Secret to Perfection in God’s Eyes really resonated with me. Her statement on page 136 points out how, for the most part, we perfection-seeking types have  been trying to measure up based upon performance rather than grace alone.

We’ve been conditioned to earn our way, to perform correctly, to not make mistakes. We seek love and respect from God and others through what we do and how well we do it. In turn, we expect others to earn our love and respect. To a degree, we even expect God to earn it by blessing us with “the good life” so long as we behave well.

For those of us who have a hard time asking others for help, Rachel reminds us  in the secret of interdependence that we are not just weighing ourselves down needlessly but also robbing our fellow sisters and brothers.

Refusing to ask them deprives them of their opportunity to serve, of their opportunity to fulfill their purpose.

While the book is light-hearted, it is confrontational as well. Cutting away the excuses we often use for having a deeper and more intimate walk with the Lord. 

Thanks to Karen Davis at The B&B Media Group for providing a complimentary copy of the book for review purposes. Views and opinions expressed are my own.