Life Surrendered: Finding Freedom at the Cross

by Jessica Herberger

Letting Go of Control Leads to the Best Possible Outcome.

Jessica’s perfect life began to unravel, as she faced the twin pressures of raising her kids and watching her parents age. But along the way, she found new clarity on the freedom available to those willing to unclench their fists, lay down control, and truly die in a new way. Drawing inspiration from Jesus’s story from Garden to grave, Jessica’s message can help anyone struggling with maintaining control when life and family relationships are hard. Life Surrendered can help you live differently with more peace, less stress, and greater faith by looking as you look closely at the events of Good Friday.

128 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2022

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeper Max Lucado. This book is one whose overall tone and structure fans of Max Lucado - a guy who has been writing books for decades and who is so popular he is on grocery store bookshelves - will easily recognize. But it is also quite a bit deeper than Lucado generally goes, and Herberger here brings up some great points about the various deaths she discusses as she looks at Easter Weekend. Ultimately a truly solid book of its type, but likely without a truly universal appeal. Should do *very* well within the Christian nonfiction market though, where in fact it could be a breakout book - it really is that good. And timed well, with publication roughly 6 weeks before Easter 2022. Very much recommended.

[Kristjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a devotional focused upon the events of Good Friday, with an imaginative reflection to help us obtain a new understanding of the Cross. Told in 16 chapters across four (4) parts, with each chapter devoted to a “little” death (detachment) that we should embrace. Each chapter is a mix of imaginative exegesis of the relevant scripture along a few personal anecdotes. For a devotional with the goal of reimagining the events of Good Friday, there really isn’t a lot that is new here (or even very controversial), but are a few that stand out … such as the observation that Simon (the man pressed into carrying the Cross of Jesus for a time), would have needed to completely reverse direction to do so (something I never really considered before). As might be expected, the personal vignettes are hit or missing with my own experience, but they are all short and at least have something to which I can still connect. The chapters conclude with the “Via Dolorosa Way of Grief” (similar to the Stations of the Cross where we follow Jesus from Gethsemane to Golgotha) that is organized into three (3) sections of questions to contemplate: Reflect, Confess and Reconsider; to help the reader connect with the chapter topic. This is probably the only part that is somewhat unique amongst similar devotionals … so if you are not into reflections questions, this book is probably not for you. That said, for the rest of us, this book provides the reader with a wonderful place to start on their meditation on the Passion of Christ during Holy Week. In addition, be sure to check out the link at the end for the online supplemental materials …

Introduction
Part One - Foundations of Freedom
- Chapter One: The Freedom of Releasing Control (Death of Self)
- Chapter Two: Letting Go of the Battles That Aren’t Yours (Death of the Fight)
- Chapter Three: You Don’t Need to Respond (Death of the Rebuttal)

Part Two - Not All Letting Go is Good
- Chapter Four: When All Seems Lost (Death of Hope)
- Chapter Five: Crowd Control (Death of the Compassionate Crowd)
- Chapter Six: Seeking Truth (Death of Reason)

Part Three - Reimagining
- Chapter Seven: Who Am I? (Death of Entitlement)
- Chapter Eight: Care of Others (Death of Distress)
- Chapter Nine: Advocating Forgiveness (Death of Revenge)
- Chapter Ten: It’s Just a Name (Death of Earthly Titles)
- Chapter Eleven: Reinventing Relations (Death of the Ties That Bind)
- Chapter Twelve: Implausible Timing (Death of Presumptions)
- Chapter thirteen - Upending Traditions (Death of How It Was)

Part Four - Beaty for Ashes
- Chapter Fourteen: Certainty (Death of Doubt)
- Chapter Fifteen: Boldness (Death of Fear)
- Chapter Sixteen: Fearless (Death of the Fear of Death)

Postscript - Beauty in Dying (Death of a Loved One)
Timeline of Good Friday Events

I was given this free advance review copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#LifeSurrendered #NetGalley.

[BJ Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jessica Herberger experienced the painful joy of giving birth and the sweet sorrow of losing her mother almost simultaneously. If I remember correctly, she was at her mother's bedside at death, then went into labor, then was released from the hospital early so that she could go to the funeral. That is how close the events were stacked.

This short book uses the events of Good Friday as a template to structure her memoirs of this time. She walks through one small portion of that night, gives a very creative and loose exegesis of it, and then ties in her own reflections and experiences. The chapter will conclude with a "Via Dolorosa" section where she gives a paragraph explaining what it is we should let go or let die in our lives and then reflect, confess, and reconsider sections giving a few brief questions or talking points each.

This would be a decent book for a group to work through during Lent. But honestly, with all the truly great books out there covering this most beautiful of days, this one can easily be passed by. It was probably incredibly cathartic for Herberger to write this book. But it isn't all that benificial for us to read it.

[Rachael Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to find the words to clearly articulate all the wonderful things about Jessica Herberger's "Life Surrendered." Many tears were shed through the reading of this book. Tears of gratefulness for Jesus & His sacrifice, tears of Joy of what's to come, and tears for the many deaths in my own life. Each chapter, each section, a new fresh look into the journey to the cross. Jessica does a great job of weaving personal story with scripture and invites us to look with fresh eyes at the people, places, and postures surrounding Good Friday. After reading "Life Surrendered" I'm more sure now than ever a part of our Christian walk is to die....many times. Not that we'll ever be comfortable with death, but Jessica reminds us why this is a life God calls us to. A new life of freedom, growth, refinement that can only be found in Christ. This is a great read anytime of year...not just around Easter. Highly recommend for personal study or small groups setting. Thank be to God for this sweet companion to the living, breathing, word of God.