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Belovedness: Overcoming Your Inner Critic – A Lyrical Devotional (24 Daily Devotions to Conquer Self-Criticism and Embrace God's Unfailing Love) – The Perfect Christian Gift
Silence your inner critic with the affirmation of God’s deep, sincere love for you. When it’s hard to love yourself…when you feel like all you do is make mistakes…when shame tells you that you’re not good enough…God is waiting for you with open arms.
This inspiring hardcover devotional based on the song Belovedness by Sarah Kroger will remind you that the heart of God is to pursue and embrace you, no matter your story. Each entry includes a devotion, selected Scriptures, a prayer, and insights from Sarah that will reassure you in truth and refresh your spirit with peace.
This inspiring hardcover devotional based on the song Belovedness by Sarah Kroger will remind you that the heart of God is to pursue and embrace you, no matter your story. Each entry includes a devotion, selected Scriptures, a prayer, and insights from Sarah that will reassure you in truth and refresh your spirit with peace.
- GenresDevotional
208 pages, Hardcover
Published May 6, 2025
13 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 22, 2025
I only recently discovered Sarah Kroger. Up until about February or March of 2025, I had never heard of her. I discovered her music through suggestions from Apple Music, as a similar artist to other music that I had recently been introduced to by my pastor and good friend. When ads for this book started coming up, I decided to take a chance on it, especially since it is a devotional book, built on the lyrics of one of her songs, with the same title as the book.
I approached it cautiously, because I am aware that teaching on how much God loves us, calling us "beloved," can be a slippery slope. It is easy to go so far down the "God loves you" path that you wind up thinking that anything goes, and it doesn't matter what kind of life you live, because God loves you and everything is okay.
I do not believe that Ms. Kroger ever crosses that line.
Here's how the book is set up. It begins by quoting the lyrics of the song, page 9, along with a "Here's How It Works" chapter that explains how the book is set up. It then goes through the song, line by line, with a page that even shows the exact time in the song where that line occurs. There is a three page reading based on that lyric line, that often includes some quotes from a book by Henri Nouwen, called Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World. I have not read that book, yet, but it is definitely on my TBR, now.
After the three-page reading, there is a page with three "questions to ask yourself." In other words, questions for reflection on what has just been read. The page opposite those questions has an appropriate passage of Scripture that relates to the reading. Then there is a prayer that Sarah wrote, followed by a page with a quote from the reading. Eight pages per lyric line, and quickly read. I read a chapter a night for a few weeks, and it never took me more than four minutes to read a chapter.
I don't recall any theological issues with the book, although I also didn't find it to be really deep. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that shallow, either. But it's a "devotional" book, intended not for theological study, but for reflection and meditation. And I think it does a pretty good job of that. I found that I was looking forward to each day's reading when it came time for my evening Jesus Time (that's what I call it).
The major points are that God loves us (we know that God loves the whole world, but we also know that there is a more intense love for those who are His children, and this book is written from that perspective), and there is an enemy who is constantly accusing us and whispering lies to us about our worthiness to God. I have experienced this, personally, so I can attest to its truth. And sometimes, those lies don't even come from our enemy. Sometimes, they come from ourselves. There is a chapter on shame, which one of the devil's biggest tools. If he can get us to feel shame, he is winning the battle. There is a huge difference between shame and guilt, and I recommend a reading of Brene Brown's book Daring Greatly for a great description of that difference.
One good part is when she says, "We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son, Jesus." But we tend so often to hold on to our past, when our Father has declared that He will remember it no more. We also tend to compare ourselves to others, but we do not need to do that. We are each unique and precious creations that God has made, to be and to do what only we can be an do.
There is definitely reference made to Psalm 139 in the book and in the song it comes from, as one line says, "You are completely loved and fully known." Shortly after that, it says, "And He says, 'You're mine, I smiled when I made you; I find you beautiful in every way; My love for you is fierce and unending; I'll come to find you, whatever it takes."
I only found a couple of things to be critical of. One was a chapter that is titled, "He Leaves the Ninety-Nine," which is a huge trigger for me. It makes me think of the song "Reckless Love," which I absolutely loathe because of that very line. God never leaves anyone! The parable that this comes from is about a human shepherd who does leave 99 sheep behind in order to find one. But God/Jesus is not a human shepherd. He never has to leave any of us behind to find any of the rest of us. The odd thing is, though, in that chapter, I found nothing objectionable . . . it doesn't ever actually say what the title of the chapter says.
The other thing is that she misquotes C.S. Lewis on page 153. It says that Lewis said, "Be weird. Be random. Be who you are. Because you never know who would love the person you hide." I actually love that quote, but C.S. Lewis cannot be verified as the author of it. It is, sometimes, attributed to him, but a quick search will bring up plenty of resources that say he never said it, and no one really knows who did. Nevertheless, it's a great quote. I happen to try to follow it, myself.
Now for something completely random. Except that, in the grand scheme of things, there's no such thing, right? While I was writing this review, I was also listening to a podcast that my pastor sent me, earlier today, by Timothy Keller, called "The Advocate." By the way, I do NOT recommend doing that, because it's really impossible to focus on both things at once. So I will have to listen to the podcast again. But one thing I did catch was when Keller says, "When the Father looks at you, He sees an absolute beauty." Right when I'm looking at the line is Sarah's song that says, "I find you beautiful in every way."
And suddenly, I'm a sobbing mess. What incredible timing.
Anyway . . . I do recommend this book. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a positive, uplifting, easy-to-read devotional book that can be finished in less than a month's time. I also recommend it to anyone who may already know and appreciate Sarah Kroger's beautiful music (and if you have not yet discovered her, PLEASE look her up . . . "When I See You," "Humbled Heart," "Glory Be," those are just a few of her wonderful songs . . . Oh, and her recording of "The King of Love My Shepherd Is." Go listen to that RIGHT NOW!). Finally, I recommend this book to anyone who is struggling with not feeling loved, right now.
The Father loves you. He does. And He has gone to impossible lengths to prove it.
I approached it cautiously, because I am aware that teaching on how much God loves us, calling us "beloved," can be a slippery slope. It is easy to go so far down the "God loves you" path that you wind up thinking that anything goes, and it doesn't matter what kind of life you live, because God loves you and everything is okay.
I do not believe that Ms. Kroger ever crosses that line.
Here's how the book is set up. It begins by quoting the lyrics of the song, page 9, along with a "Here's How It Works" chapter that explains how the book is set up. It then goes through the song, line by line, with a page that even shows the exact time in the song where that line occurs. There is a three page reading based on that lyric line, that often includes some quotes from a book by Henri Nouwen, called Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World. I have not read that book, yet, but it is definitely on my TBR, now.
After the three-page reading, there is a page with three "questions to ask yourself." In other words, questions for reflection on what has just been read. The page opposite those questions has an appropriate passage of Scripture that relates to the reading. Then there is a prayer that Sarah wrote, followed by a page with a quote from the reading. Eight pages per lyric line, and quickly read. I read a chapter a night for a few weeks, and it never took me more than four minutes to read a chapter.
I don't recall any theological issues with the book, although I also didn't find it to be really deep. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that shallow, either. But it's a "devotional" book, intended not for theological study, but for reflection and meditation. And I think it does a pretty good job of that. I found that I was looking forward to each day's reading when it came time for my evening Jesus Time (that's what I call it).
The major points are that God loves us (we know that God loves the whole world, but we also know that there is a more intense love for those who are His children, and this book is written from that perspective), and there is an enemy who is constantly accusing us and whispering lies to us about our worthiness to God. I have experienced this, personally, so I can attest to its truth. And sometimes, those lies don't even come from our enemy. Sometimes, they come from ourselves. There is a chapter on shame, which one of the devil's biggest tools. If he can get us to feel shame, he is winning the battle. There is a huge difference between shame and guilt, and I recommend a reading of Brene Brown's book Daring Greatly for a great description of that difference.
One good part is when she says, "We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son, Jesus." But we tend so often to hold on to our past, when our Father has declared that He will remember it no more. We also tend to compare ourselves to others, but we do not need to do that. We are each unique and precious creations that God has made, to be and to do what only we can be an do.
There is definitely reference made to Psalm 139 in the book and in the song it comes from, as one line says, "You are completely loved and fully known." Shortly after that, it says, "And He says, 'You're mine, I smiled when I made you; I find you beautiful in every way; My love for you is fierce and unending; I'll come to find you, whatever it takes."
I only found a couple of things to be critical of. One was a chapter that is titled, "He Leaves the Ninety-Nine," which is a huge trigger for me. It makes me think of the song "Reckless Love," which I absolutely loathe because of that very line. God never leaves anyone! The parable that this comes from is about a human shepherd who does leave 99 sheep behind in order to find one. But God/Jesus is not a human shepherd. He never has to leave any of us behind to find any of the rest of us. The odd thing is, though, in that chapter, I found nothing objectionable . . . it doesn't ever actually say what the title of the chapter says.
The other thing is that she misquotes C.S. Lewis on page 153. It says that Lewis said, "Be weird. Be random. Be who you are. Because you never know who would love the person you hide." I actually love that quote, but C.S. Lewis cannot be verified as the author of it. It is, sometimes, attributed to him, but a quick search will bring up plenty of resources that say he never said it, and no one really knows who did. Nevertheless, it's a great quote. I happen to try to follow it, myself.
Now for something completely random. Except that, in the grand scheme of things, there's no such thing, right? While I was writing this review, I was also listening to a podcast that my pastor sent me, earlier today, by Timothy Keller, called "The Advocate." By the way, I do NOT recommend doing that, because it's really impossible to focus on both things at once. So I will have to listen to the podcast again. But one thing I did catch was when Keller says, "When the Father looks at you, He sees an absolute beauty." Right when I'm looking at the line is Sarah's song that says, "I find you beautiful in every way."
And suddenly, I'm a sobbing mess. What incredible timing.
Anyway . . . I do recommend this book. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a positive, uplifting, easy-to-read devotional book that can be finished in less than a month's time. I also recommend it to anyone who may already know and appreciate Sarah Kroger's beautiful music (and if you have not yet discovered her, PLEASE look her up . . . "When I See You," "Humbled Heart," "Glory Be," those are just a few of her wonderful songs . . . Oh, and her recording of "The King of Love My Shepherd Is." Go listen to that RIGHT NOW!). Finally, I recommend this book to anyone who is struggling with not feeling loved, right now.
The Father loves you. He does. And He has gone to impossible lengths to prove it.
January 29, 2026
I really enjoyed reading this book! I took it slow and read it during my holy hour at church! I highly recommend this book if you are looking for something to help you in your journey to understanding and owning your belovedness. The book itself, is beautiful and I really appreciated how she broke up the lyrics and had her own reflection, scripture, prayer, reflection questions and memorable quote! I read a few at once and then spent some time praying and reflecting. But it could also be used as a once a day type reflection. I feel like the is a book I will go back to over and over again and get new messages about my belovedness. I also love how it references Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen, which is a top favorite book of mine! I would give it 10 stars if I could! 😊
May 15, 2025
I received Sarah Kroger's devotional as a gift while attending a music awards show this year. I was intrigued as it did have some similarities with the book of devotions Rachel and I wrote, based on song lyrics. Kroger's book was much simpler and more self-reflective, and it does contain lots of "fluffy" filler pages. All that being said, I did enjoy reading it each morning. Took about five minutes to read a devotion after my personal Bible reading. Great truths about accepting God's acceptance and love of you!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews