Earlier this week I finished reading Everything by Mary DeMuth. Although she has authored some fourteen books, somehow I had missed ever hearing about any of them or of her. This is the first of her writings that I have read. I cannot say enough about this book. I found this book to be a powerful & enjoyable read. There is no way that anyone would be able to read this book & not desire change. Mary writes with vulnerability & depth of honesty that has caused me to hang on to her every word. Although I finished reading the book days ago, every day since I have gone back to read some section that is yet speaking to my heart.

In this book, Mary teaches us that everything matters. Everything we do. Everything we think. Everything we feel. Everything we believe. It all matters.

In returning to the first few pages, I again read these words:

God’s nearness and the growth that happens in His light come from the very things we desire to flee.

• We grow when the walls press in.
• We grow when life steals our control.
• We grow in the darkness.

(page xiii)

In rereading those words this morning, I realized that, indeed, those were the very times that God seemed closest to me & I also grew the most. I also discovered, in hindsight, I no longer resented those times. It is in those pressing & uncomfortable times that we are faced with a choice. And our choice will determine whether we grow or stagnate.

Mary caused me to think about my head & my thoughts; my heart & what I love & embrace; and my hands & the manner in which I will live & take action. The book is rich with quotes from others & Scriptures that caused me to find hope in everything that God has allowed into my life. I came to realize that there were many times over the course of my life that Jesus truly had to be everything because I had nothing. I had to choose to live holding onto Him. And that is a choice I have never regretted.

Mary opened her book with this quote:

Spiritual growth is more than a procedure; it’s a wild search for God in the tangled jungle of our souls.”

Michael Yaconelli

This is a wonderful book by which to start untangling our souls & make Him our Everything! I am so grateful to Mary for writing this book. It has touched me deeply. I will surely be reading more by her!

*I was not compensated for this review. I posted this because I hope for others to be blessed by this book.

I linked with: The Cozy Book Hop .