Everything: What You Give and What You Gain to Become Like Jesus
by Mary DeMuth

In her book, Everything, Mary DeMuth writes about letting God transform every part of our lives—our thinking, our hearts, and our hands.  We can give it all to Jesus and trust Him with the results.  It is, in essence, a book about living the greatest commandment: “Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.”

Always vulnerable, always real, always honest, always practical, Mary DeMuth’s description of the Everything life can shake up our expectations.  It doesn’t mean ministry is always successful in the way we define success.  It doesn’t mean relationships are always smooth and peace always easy.  It doesn’t mean our plans always work or our past is always perfect.  It just means we trust God with every part of our lives and serve Him with whatever He’s given to us.

Mary herself talks frequently about how her imperfect childhood has been transformed by God’s grace and her time on the mission field of France, far more difficult than she had imagined, was a precious time of yielding everything to God.

Sometimes it was the unexpected twists that kept this book interesting and relevant for me.   Her thoughts about writing, for instance, were precious and often missed in our celebrity society: focusing on what God wants her to say rather than pushing and pushing and pushing for success, striving to be noticed and to build a platform.

My favorite portion of the book is actually her discussion of spiritual disciplines because she assumed you knew the basics like Bible reading, church attendance, and prayer, and wrote instead about truly unexpected but absolutely beautiful disciplines we often overlook: Rest, forgiveness, creativity, silence, gratitude and others.

In some ways, the book is about the lessons she has learned in disappointments, “failures,” and unexpected life events.  It’s about not fighting against God, but surrendering it all to Him.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and 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.”