Do You Have the Courage to be You? by Jenny Williamson Blog Tour Book Review

About the Book

Book: Do You Have the Courage to Be You? 10^th Anniversary Edition: A Guide to Discover Your Unique Identity and World-changing Destiny

Author: Jenny Williamson

Genre: Nonfiction Christian Living: Personal Memoirs/Personal Growth

Release Date: September 30, 2023

There is no one else like you. 

You are an exceptional work of art. 

You are special, unique, and original. 

If all this is true, then why do we strive so hard for most of our lives to look and act like everyone else? We spend more time trying to reinvent ourselves than we do getting to know ourselves. It is critical to know you, love you, and value you so that you can be and do all you were created for.

Did you know there is somebody on this earth waiting for you to be you? When you are being you . . . the you God created you to be . . . lives will be changed, history will be made, and prayers will be answered. If you don’t dream it, create it, write it, tell it, sing it, or build it, it will never be done. Lives are literally at stake.

Part memoir and part self-help book, Do You Have the Courage to Be You? tells the story of Jenny Williamson and how she left her ordinary, comfortable life to start an international nonprofit that creates safe homes for children being sold for sex. Her journey of purpose guides readers to find their unique identity and uncover their passion, calling, and mission for life. What does it mean to have the courage to be you? What thought patterns or belief systems keep you stuck? What will you need to face the challenges? Jenny answers these questions in this revised edition of this powerful book. Reading it might just set you on the path to fulfilling your destiny.

Click here to get your copy!

My Review

Williamson helps readers understand how we form beliefs about ourselves that result in our not being who God created us to be. Often a childhood experience generates feelings that then become truth to us. She helps us know how to identify the lies we believe and then replace the lies with the truth. We need to ask God to reveal them to us but Williamson explains the work we must do too.

Probably the most insightful part of the book for me was within the discussion on emotions and specifically on being offended. We choose to be offended. We must take responsibility for our emotions, knowing we can control and change them.

Williamson gives the encouragement to be who God created us to be within the example of her own life journey of being given a dream and then bringing it to reality. This is a very encouraging book showing the impact one person can have on the world. She includes the life changing challenge and a good strategy to be who God created us to be.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

 

About the Author

Jenny Williamson is the Founder and CEO of Courage Worldwide, an international nonprofit that builds Courage Houses for children recovered from sex trafficking around the world. Jenny is known for her contagious energy, her motivational speeches, and her passion for changing the world. She is an international speaker and courageously is and does all God created her for and absolutely refuses to settle for less. She encourages everyone she meets to do the same. Jenny and her family live in Northern Nevada.

More from Jenny

I wrote this book because, for most of my life, I believed I was created without talent, gifts, or any special ability to offer this world. Growing up, I was told I was too loud, too bossy, too stubborn . . . and too much! I didn’t believe God had created anything special in me, and I certainly didn’t believe I had a water-walking, giant-slaying, history-making destiny. I so wanted to matter—to make a difference in this world, but I didn’t believe I had anything special to offer . . . until I began reading my Bible—for myself!

Though I  was raised in the Bible Belt of the South, went to church five times a week, am a seventh-generation Christian, and have a mother who speaks King James (any question you ask my mother about anything, she will answer you with a Bible Verse), I never had read the entire Bible cover to cover. I didn’t have to. I knew all the stories. They start teaching them in “Sunday School” every year and then repeat them the next. These stories didn’t “wow” me because I knew how they all ended. Abraham does have a son. Joseph does get out of the pit and prison. David does become King. Daniel doesn’t get eaten by lions, and Jesus doesn’t stay in the grave.   

However, in my search for meaning and purpose, I picked up my Bible and started reading it from the beginning—word for word. In that search, I found the most astonishing thing: God uses the most ordinary people, often dysfunctional, without great talent, to literally change the world! In that journey of reading, a tiny spark was lit inside of me that turned into a burning flame of desire to be and do all God created me to. It was then I heard the whisper, “Do you have the courage to be you—you I created?” I embarked on the life-changing journey of discovering first who I was and what I was created to do. When I discovered those two things, I wanted to share this truth with everyone who crossed my path!

You, too, have been created on purpose for a water-walking, giant-slaying, history-making purpose. Mine led me to help children who were being sold for sex. I wonder where yours will lead you? I pray this book encourages you on that journey!

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, May 3

Simple Harvest Reads, May 4 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, May 4

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 5

Artistic Nobody, May 6 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, May 7

Splashes of Joy, May 8 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 9

Beauty in the Binding, May 10 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 11

Guild Master, May 12 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, May 13

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, May 14 (Author Interview)

Fiction Book Lover, May 15 (Author Interview)

An Author’s Take, May 15

Tell Tale Book Reviews, May 16 (Author Interview)

 

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Celebrate Lit. My comments are an independent and honest review. The rest of the copy of this post was provided by Celebrate Lit.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)