Wild and Free: A Hope-Filled Anthem for the Woman Who Feels She is Both Too Much and Never Enough

by Jess Connolly, Hayley Morgan, Jennie Allen (Foreword by)

Overview

You don't have to be everything to everyone. You don't have to try so hard to button it up and hold it together. Join Jess and Hayley as they reveal how women today can walk in the true liberty we already have in Jesus.

For all the fullness of God available to His daughters, we often feel limited by two defining insecurities: "I am too much," and "I am not enough."

Coauthors and best friends Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan have felt the same, until one essential question turned the tables on it all: If God is wild and free and he created women, what does this mean for us today?

Wild and Free is an anthem and an invitation in equal parts to find freedom from the cultural captivity that holds us back, and freedom to step into the wild and holy call of God in our lives. With fresh biblical insight tracing all the way back to Eve and a treasury of practical application, Jess and Hayley reveal how women today can walk in the true liberty we already have in Jesus.

Because you don't have to be everything to everyone. You don't have to try so hard to button it up and hold it together. And you certainly don't have to quiet the voice that God gave you when he created you to sing. Wild and Free will help you shake off the lies of insecurity in your life, and step forward to maximize your God-given influence for his glory and the world's good.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310345534
Publisher:	Zondervan
Publication date:	05/03/2016
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	456,052
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Jess Connolly is a gal who wants to leave her generation more in awe of God than she found it. She is the author of several books, including You Are the Girl for the Job, and coauthor of Wild and Free. She is founder of Go + Tell Gals and helped start She Reads Truth. She and her husband planted Bright City Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where they live with their four children. She blogs at jessconnolly.com.

Hayley Morgan is a speaker, social entrepreneur, and coauthor of the bestselling book Wild and Free. She also runs Nellie Taft, an online boutique featuring women's clothes made in the USA. Hayley lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, with her husband and their four young sons. She blogs at www.Hayley Morgan.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword Jennie Allen 15

Introduction Jess Hayley 17

The Anthem of Wild and Free 21

1 We Have Become Tame and Tethered Jess 23

2 We Have Become Caged by Our Limitations Hayley 41

3 God of the Wild Jess 63

4 The God of Freedom Hayley 83

5 Our Eden Identity: Created as Wild and Good Jess 99

6 Our Redeemed Identity: Re-created as Free Hayley 115

7 Your Invitation Back to the Wild Jess 131

8 Unchained and Unafraid Hayley 149

9 The Danger of Staying Tame Jess 165

10 When We Prefer Captivity Hayley 181

11 Spreading Like Wildfire Jess 197

12 A Campfire Commissioning Hayley 211

Acknowledgments 233

Notes 237

Editorial Reviews

Wild and Free is equal parts encouragement and challenge to live the wild and free lives our heavenly Father has planned for us. Through Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan’s open and honest writing, I felt like I’ve gotten to know them better, to know myself better, and most importantly to know the loving God I serve better! Read it for yourself and for your daughters.

Duck Dynasty and author of Strong and Kind Korie Robertson

Imagine living in the moment with God, defined by His truth, without the weight of shame, fear, insecurities, or expectations of others. It’s not too far out of reach! Page by page, Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan are the friends who take your hand and transparently lead you to that beautiful place with the Lord. Every woman needs to read Wild and Free!

New York Times bestselling author and president of Lysa Ter Keurst

I tend to play it safe, hesitate, and shy away from becoming all God created me to be. With the passionate voice of two visionaries and the beautiful blend of gut-honest truth shared from their own stories and struggles, Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan have written a message every woman needs to read.

author of A Confident Heart and Proverbs 31 Minist Renee Swope

As a woman who sometimes doesn’t believe it’s actually possible to live wild and free, this book is water to my soul. Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan’s words are full of grace and truth as they remind us that being wild and free is actually how we were always created to be.

podcast host of The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey Jamie Ivey

Wild and Free is a breath of fresh air. Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan share their hearts and their story with refreshing candor, vulnerability, and grace. I love them. I love this book, and I know you will too.

author of Breaking Busy: How to Find Peace and Alli Worthington

Wild and Free is the missing puzzle piece for anyone who has ever felt like they are stif ling a rebellious streak, crazy whim, or creative idea. This book promises to point those urges in God’s direction and will bolster your confidence to help you live out your hidden purpose.

founder and creator of Day Designer Whitney English

Wild and free are two of my favorite words, and now there’s a book that explores both in a way that is practical, applicable, and relatable. I love how Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan dig deep into not only the how but also the why behind each word! Each chapter will make you feel inspired and encouraged to pursue both, not just in principle, but in practice.

Bianca Juarez Olthoff

Into the milieu of self-help, “do more, try harder” books and Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pressures, Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan have given a sweet gift to the women of their generation—freedom from finding our identity in anything aside from the love of our heavenly Father and the work of Jesus Christ. With refreshing transparency and deep devotion, they respond to the pressures women experience today with answers that are any- thing but trite religiosity. Because we are loved by God, we can live in freedom and find a place of rest as He grows us into all He has for us. I’m honored to recommend their fine work.

author of Good News for Weary Women Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

Open these pages only if you are ready for your life to be radically changed. Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan have penned an important message of grace and truth for women, freeing them from the chains of misplaced identity. Like a conversation with two wise friends, Wild and Free is refreshing balm for weary souls like mine. I laughed, cried, and danced in celebration as I devoured these nourishing words! I’m grabbing extra copies for my daughters to read when they are older. This book will no doubt change generations as women walk alongside Jess and Hayley, uncovering the truth that in Christ alone, we are free.

author of Make It Happen Lara Casey

If you feel small and scared, constantly worried about pleasing God or finding his good plans for your life, then I have good news! Wild and Free is the key to unlocking that cage of anxiety and f lying straight into the freedom Christ died to give you.

author of Unafraid and cofounder of Austin Christi Susie Davis

Wild and Free touches the deepest parts of a woman’s heart, giving her permission to both live with abandon and shed the shackles of doubt and unworthiness. Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan’s friendship is felt with the turn of each page and reminds us we’re not alone. In fact, their relationship reminds us we’re part of a beautiful community of women who desperately want to love big and live unapologetically meaningful lives—wild and free.

creative director of Emily Ley Paper & Gifts and a Emily Ley

Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan have given you the key to unlock the dungeon of performance and perfectionism. Read this book and watch the chains fall off—and then come outside and rest in the warmth of God’s great love.

author and speaker Jessica Thompson

What Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan have done here is a beautiful work. It reflects not only the truth of the gospel, but also the truth of who they each are and how uniquely God has made us. I’m thankful for the way Wild and Free gave me permission to be me and to love others the way Christ does.

author of Looking for Lovely and Let’s All B Annie F. Downs

Where social jockeying is the norm and self-worth is measured in clicks, our hearts are in exile. Where do I fit? And can this world even handle me? Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan’s words are gospel-soaked arrows of hope shot through the desert noise. As it turns out, the opposite of lost is free.

author of Falling Free (available fall 2016) Shannan Martin

If ever there was a time for a book about how freedom in Christ directly speaks to womanhood in our demanding culture, it is now. No matter what our particular calling as women, we are enough! But goodness, I needed this truth in this way from women who are struggling to figure it out, just like I am.

blogger/writer/speaker Jami Nato

Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan are a dream team role model duo for young women everywhere. Their minds, souls, and spirits are wildly different, but together, their hearts gracefully point to one common purpose: to find freedom and rest in God alone.

Erin Loechner

In a culture where we are constantly bombarded with the message to fit in and conform, Wild and Free is a desperately needed call to action, summoning the passions, desires, and dreams that have, for far too long, been hidden in the caverns of our hearts. Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan have somehow managed to unpack our Christian boxes and ideologies, leaving us with the freedom— God’s freedom—to run wildly in the direction of the call of God in each of our lives.

Kennesha Buycks

Imagine living in the moment with God, defined by His truth, without the weight of shame, fear, insecurities, or expectations of others. It’s not too far out of reach! Page by page, Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan are the friends who take your hand and transparently lead you to that beautiful place with the Lord. Every woman needs to read Wild and Free!

New York Times bestselling author and president of Lysa TerKeurst

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