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

I'd been a part of the Influence Network for a few years, attending two Influence Conferences, so when Jess and Hayley, the Influence Network founders, wrote a book, I was sooo excited!! This book is jam PACKED with truth and encouragement. From the first page, it will feel as if you are sitting across from Jess and Hayley at a coffee shop, instead of reading the pages out of a book. Having heard them both speak at Influence Conferences, it's like I can hear their voices chanting encouragement and truth through the pages. This book is for anyone who has felt like their either "not enough" or "too much." This book starts off with an anthem to enter into the freedom God provides to be the woman He created you to be, and that anthem is repeated throughout each page of the book. Wild and Free will help to quiet the voices of insecurity and maximize your unique, God-given influence. It's a must-read!!

Wild and Free, written by friends, Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan, is a "Hope-filled anthem for the woman who feels she is both too much and never enough." As women we so often compare ourselves to those around us or limit ourselves because of culture captivity, not walking in the freedom and liberty and power Jesus intended for us. In this book Connolly and Morgan explore what it means to find freedom in Christ and to live it out, wholly, wildly, holding nothing back. They share personal stories, scripture passages and ways to apply these principles to your own life. This book was sent to me by Book Look Bloggers in exchange for an honest review, so I will be honest and tell you I hard a really hard time getting into it. It's not that it didn't have within the pages truth and life and goodness, it did. But I felt like I had already read this book, its meaning told again and again in other words and by other authors. While the reviews on Instagram and Amazon are mostly five stars and quoted as "life changing" and "a must read" I'll be giving Wild and Free three stars out of five for the simple reason that it didn't captive me or impact my life in a huge or profound way.

Have you ever wanted to feel free? Ms. Connolly and Ms. Morgan have written a powerful book about learning to live wild and free. They remind us of our identity in Christ while delivering a bold message. Their book is a lot like a call to arms. A call for us to wake up and start living the "wild" life we were called to. I really enjoyed the overall message of this title. The fact is, we need more women boldly preaching the truth. Now I can't say I agreed with everything said in this book, but I did for the most part. This book encouraged me and nudged me forward to live wild and free. Who doesn't want to live free? Who doesn't want to passionately follow God's call on your life? This book emboldened me to charge forward, to strive to grow in my walk with Christ. A verse they shared in the book puts it so very well, "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14 (AMP) I encourage you to get this book. I encourage you to get this book and read it. Ponder and meditate on what you read. Search the scriptures for yourself. Seek truth and you will find it. Ms. Connelly and Ms. Morgan pour out their hearts desire and are with you every page. If you desire to feel free, to take off the shackles of religion and step into His freedom for you, then what are you waiting on? Take that first step! I received this book from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review of my opinions, which I have done. Thanks!

This book was talked about so much on social media that even though I was reluctant about giving it a try, I did request it from Net Galley eventually. From the perspective of someone who's been raised in a Christian home, embraces the Christian principles, and knows her status as a child of God - well, this brought little perspective. Sure, there were some nuggets that cemented what I already knew, they were like a friendly reminder when you lose track of something important. Trying to look at this from the perspective of someone who is not living and breathing "Christianese", yes, this is a good starting point toward understanding and grasping the position one has in Christ. The book tries to make clear that there is room in Christ for everyone, for those who are on the wilder side, have a bigger personality, are ready to think grand, people who sometimes think they need to take it down a notch, and also those who are learning to shed their fear and live freer. For those trying to figure out the Christian life - yes, read this book to see someone else's story and journey of faith. Since this is a book written by two authors, and this is great since they have such different personality, it was good to see two voices complementing each other. This makes the book apply to more than one category of readers. My favorite thing is that each chapter has a short response from the other author. I knew nothing about these two authors before I read this book, but their deep friendship, they way they encourage one another was another thing I thought was wonderful about this book. However, at times it felt a bit all over the place. Maybe it was just me, but I felt that some ideas were repeated over and over, and I lost track of what subject was discussed at the moment. Moreover, it felt at some point that there is no clear distinction between the things the two authors were saying. Truth be told, I got slightly bored by the time I reached the half of the book. This book is certainly a good read for those who aren't that familiar with the Christian life, but for the others, those who are familiar and supersaturated with all the Christian books that seem to write about the same thing, well, maybe not the book for you. 2.5/5 stars I requested and was granted a free ebook copy of this book from the publisher via Net Galley. All thoughts expressed here are my own.

I've been anticipating this book for a long time, and I was so anxious to dive into it! Wild and Free:A Hope-Filled Anthem for the Woman Who Feels She is Both Too Much and Never Enough is written by friends Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan. I've followed Jess Connolly through her blog and Instagram accounts for quite some time, and I appreciate her heart for the Lord and for her Biblical insights and life application thoughts and takeaways. I, like so many other woman, resonate with the longing to be wild and free. In the book, co-authors Jess and Hayley define being wild and free as "wild: walking in who God created us to be" and "free: resting in what Jesus has done for us." In the book, Jess and Hayley alternate writing chapters, with Jess writing mostly about being wild and Hayley writing about being free. Each chapter ends with a prayer and a little response from the opposite author. Overall, I thought this was a great book. Certain chapters had me underlining like crazy and I resonated so deeply with the words on the page. There is a lot that I want to go back and review and unpack throughout the book. I wish the book would have included some reflection questions and life application steps at the end of each chapter in order to help reflect on the ideas and to start living more wild and free. However, as I read I was reminded that what it really comes down to isn't the words in the book but rather a conviction stirring in your spirit. As I read Jess and Hayley's words, I felt the Holy Spirit tugging at pieces of my heart that I need to hold up to the Lord and seek transformation. The book inspired me to do that, and it encouraged me to see the hope available to me, right now, right as I am. I would definitely recommend this book if you are tired of feeling like too much and not enough and need a fresh spark of hope in your life. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Booklook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I'm a sit down and devour a book in a day or two kind of gal. I love to read and I love books. In fact, there are only two types of books that I find myself slowing down for: books that fill page after page with meaningless nonsense and books that are so full of life and wonder that the pages are about to burst from what they contain. Wild and Free is definitely the latter and so worth the time it asks of its readers. Exploring the fears of being "too much" and "not enough" there are few women who would be unable to find points of connection in Jess and Hayley's words. These friends and co-authors draw heavily upon Scriptural truth and life experience to call women forward to "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." (text from back of book) Although the contrasting experiences and personalities of the authors are sure to help readers find connection with the book (cause let's face it there are always some personalities different people are drawn to first) it was the open honesty and humanness of the authors that drew me in. Through these pages it was easy to picture myself sitting down over coffee with a friend and exploring life intricacies (which sounds like a great way to spend a few afternoons in my opinion). Like all good discussions I didn't agree with the authors on everything. My personality/time working on my MA make me sensitive to those who try to rush through pain or oversimplify but sometimes it's in those differences that good thought and discussion can happen to allow for growth. For those looking for a great book for a ladies book club this book is perfect (need a pick me up for summer, fresh start with school in the fall, new you with the new year this is a great option). You see, the only downside with this book was bot having other women to cheer on and be cheered on by. I really feel that the ability to do life with a group of gals while going through and working through these chapters would make the book that much more impacting. This is definitely a book going on my "reread later" shelf. 5 out of 5 stars. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

I've read thru this book twice now in about 3 weeks- once taking it in and savoring it and another time, highlighter in hand, trying to mark my favorite lines. (which ended up being about half the book!) Wild and Free is a breath of fresh in the world of christian women's books! I have read many, many self improvement/ christian women books and while I have gained a lot from those reads, I've also partly been left a little disillusioned with formulas and strategies that, while helpful, aren't always "the fix". I appreciate that Jess and Hayley get down to the core issue for absolutely any of us-the Gospel and what it means for our identity as women. I love that they speak universally and from two different view points and personality types. The language is very much "This is who God says you are how He sees you thru Christ, so walk in the freedom of who He created you to be" rather than "This is how I figured out what God created me to do and this is how you can be like me." A line that really made me smile was, "If you're going to live as wild as you already are, you're going to have to get weird." I've found this to be pretty true in my life! If we're going to live out of our truest identity in Christ and be open to the Holy Spirit's nudges, we're going to look "weird" to the rest of the world-and that's ok! The authors' heart for all women and the beautiful message they have woven together to raise up and inspire their readers comes thru pages beautifully. This is a book I will be recommending to all the women in my life! *I received an advanced reader copy of this book to review.*

I cannot recommend this book more highly. It surprised me in depth and energy. What I love about this book is the freedom it brings and also the invitation and equipping to free the women (and men!) in my own life. It challenges me to look at my self, my friends and my local church; to stay where I am and dig deep to find the true treasures right in front of my face. Jess & Hayley each have a unique voice they bring to this book and both are needed! I was worried it would be difficult to switch in and out of chapters as they trade off but that ended up not being the case. The book reads smoothly and you can tell these two friends and ministers took pacing and styles into consideration. Their diligence is appreciated and it pays off tremendously. I will be recommending this book to all my people and will be reading from it with a group this summer. I cannot wait to see the freedom & wildness it will release on my community. Bring it on!

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