Always check your assumptions.
Back in 2018 my friend called and asked me to go with a group of women to a Beth Moore event. All I knew about Beth at the time was that she was an exuberant blonde bible teacher with a big accent and even bigger hair. I thought she was a bit too conservative for my tastes, so I declined the invitation.
After our conversation, I thought maybe I should check if my assumptions were correct. When I googled Beth Moore, I began to see that there was much more to this spunky woman than I imagined. She had spoken out, calling the Evangelical church to step it up in regard to believing and supporting abuse victims in the early days of the #metoo movement.
What I saw was a fierce woman of God who wasn’t afraid to challenge the status quo when it came to advocating for those who had been abused and silenced.
I called my friend back to ask if the ticket and offer was still available. I was able to go and hear Beth Moore speak at the Stampede Corral in Calgary, Alberta.
What stood out to me was this woman’s humility, her boldness in speaking God’s message, and her confidence in who God is.
Over the years I have watched her become more and more focused on integrity and justice. She made choices to stand for truth at great cost to herself and her family.
For two days I got lost in the story of a woman whose passion for God has been the driving force of her life. Despite her fame, she remained humble and gracious, feisty and funny.
Image from Beth Moore’s Instagram feed
The story unfolds in Beth’s beautifully constructed prose. At once hilarious and heartbreaking, what comes through loud and clear in the book and my experience of her, is that Beth Moore is much more than her pictures portray. She deals with difficult subject matter with mastery and discretion – telling only what needs to be told.
Even though there were many times when she could have thrown people or organizations under the buss, so to speak, she chooses not to. The pages are filled with grace, grief, and a steadfast faith. She stubbornly leaves those who have sought to destroy her in the hands of God.
I was encouraged and challenged by All My Tangled-Up Life. I ended the book with a desire to live in greater faithfulness to God and to what he is calling me to do. I cannot imagine reading and being unmoved by this book. I highly recommend this book.