Move On: When Mercy Meets Your Mess
by Vicki Courtney

Andy Stanley wrote, “Either you were a mess, are a mess, or are one dumb decision away from becoming a mess.”  With the human propensity for such a messy state, we all need mercy, and that’s the hope that Vicki Courtney offers in her book, Move On.  She is utterly vulnerable, sharing failures and mistakes that so many hide away–some of them in her pre-Christian days, some of them as a Christian author and speaker who still isn’t perfect.  And that’s the point—we can’t be perfect on our own.  That’s why we need Jesus.

I loved her conversational, easy style, her humor and vulnerability.  I’d never read any of her writing before, not her books or her blog, so her style seemed a little ‘fresh’ and new.  It didn’t sound overly rehearsed, like a talk she’s given 100 times before.  I loved that she sounded ‘real’ and was willing to share real stories from her real life.

She touches on Christian legalism, shame and guilt, coveting attention and wanting more ‘likes’ on Facebook and Instagram.  Ultimately, she manages to strike that difficult balance between knowing we need grace and yet still being called to become more like Christ.  Each chapter ends with questions that could be used for private contemplation or for a Book club or small group to discuss together.

It’s so easy as a Christian to be overwhelmed by failure, to come face-to-face with our own sin or mistakes or weaknesses and feel like we’ll just never be enough.  Satan prods us with condemnation.  Better to give up.  Better to hide away.  These are the lies he tells us.  But Christ compels us forward.  Yes, we fall—but we don’t stay there flat on our face.  We don’t get back up and abandon the field completely.  We get up and we keep going.  We shake off the past and keep heading toward Jesus.  We do indeed ‘move on.’

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.”