Do you ever get frustrated because no matter how hard you try to keep life in control and manage all your responsibilties in a timely, orderly, organized and non-stressed fashion – that all heck still breaks loose?! I know I do. And that is why I am so excited to be a part of promoting my wonderful friend and P31 sister Karen Ehman’s new book called “Let. It. Go. How to Stop Running the Show and Start Walking in Faith” which releases today!
The truth is, women are wired to control, and we do try to do it all – but sometimes our strength of being conscientious can morph into the weakness of being a slight—or all out—control freak! Karen’s humorous, yet spiritually practical book will help you to:
- Take control of your schedule yet welcome interruptions from God
- Draw the line between mothering and micromanaging
- Influence your husband instead of manipulating him
- Learn to control your emotions when you can’t control the circumstances
- Stop pursuing the appearance of perfection and start pursuing the person of God
In addition to her book, Karen is also offering an incredible opportunity to avoid stress this Christmas season by participating in her free 5 day Christmas challenge called From Chaos to Calm. Click here to sign up and you’ll be entered to win a free Kindle Fire!
Im excited today because Karen has given me two copies of her new book to giveaway! So to enter to win a free book, just leave a comment on my blog stating what is the primary area of your life where you try to have the most control, yet often get the most frustrated. Winner to be announced here on my blog on Friday so check back or subscribe to get all the udpates!
Good luck!
What don’t I try to control? I try even when I know it is not in my power.
My kids and their behavior!
One of the areas I struggle with is my schedule.
I think it would have to be my kids and hubby! I think things should be done a certain way at times and feel frustrated when they don’t go my way!!
I would love to win this book. I try to be the controller in the house with my husband and the parenting of our son. I think this book would help me tremendously.
I am SO looking forward to this book. I didn’t think I had any contro issues HAH. They may not rear their ugly heads in my home but it is a struggle to keep them under wraps in the ministries I serve in. So looking forward to reading this book!! My biggest control issue is being Director of our church nursery and so far I have bitten my tongue but it’s really starting to hurt!! So would love to know how to let go and let God be in control!!
God Bless you Tracie!!
Everything! Seriously… my family gets the worst of it, cleaning, being on time, attitudes etc. I desperately want to let it go….
I so need this book! I have spent years trying to control too many things. I am slowly getting better with God’s help. I have struggled with letting people in to know the real me – know my faults and fears. I have started writing and that has helped me so much. Can’t wait to read this book though and continue working on being who God has called me to be.
I would have to say I try to control my whole life! I know I need to Let Go, and Let God control, but it is very hard! I need this book!
In general I’ve struggled trying to control all of life but the main area over the past year has been my husband and our marriage. We are going through an incredible hard time right now. I’m frustrated yet looking to the Lord to help change me and bring about his plan for my life, and my relationship with my husband.
I’m so thankful for this incredibly hard year…For this is the year when I began to really KNOW God. In the natural, it looks like Iv’e lost a lot, and I have. But in the spiritual, Iv’e gained so much more. I’m looking forward to what God is going to do next. He will restore all that the locust have eaten.
I try to control the outcomes…because of trust issues. This, I’m just learning, how to let god be in charge of the planet!
I think the one area I try to control the most and succeed the least is my work life. Have my own task list on top of 4 of my supervisors’, trying to get along with everybody and meet everybody’s needs (more or less) without losing sanity or raising my own blood pressure seems to be a tough lesson to learn
I would love to win this book. I have many reasons but it comes down to peace. I would love to have peace by knowing I am doing God’s will for my life.
I though that I am a woman who let others control; but recently I discover that I like to control my husban and my girls and get fruatrated when I oose control. I am praying to overcome my anger. God knows when will be the time for me to live in peace.
Thanks and God bless you all.
I’m honestly not sure what area I struggle with the most. One big thing for me, though, is to be annoyed about things I CAN’T control – and then I grouse and complain about it, when there’s nothing I can do either way. It doesn’t make any sense, and just puts me in a bad mood. But I don’t like that I can’t control everything.
I try to have the most control over my sons and that gets me so frustrated (mainly with myself!). I try to “back off”, but I want to help them, and feel that my attention to their lives will show them that I care. Oh, to have the wisdom to know when & what to say and do!
I am currently trying to control the clutter and cleaning of the house. I can pay the bills, get the kids where they need to be, but it seems to be at the expense of the house. I need some different strategies.
Everything! Unfortunately… my family gets the worst of it, cleaning, being on time, attitudes etc. I desperately want to let it go….Help!!
I TRY to control too much…in this season of my life the big one is my children and my tongue!!
I struggle with letting go of control in everything, but if it is one thing I have to say for TODAY; that is letting go of what others think of me of letting my boys wear shorts on this cold day! I am picking my battle!
I’m a micromanager, especially of my home life!
I’m a control nut! And it drives me nutty!!! It drives others around me nutty as well!!! I would love to win this book!!
The area that I struggle with the most is making sure my kids homework is done and their rooms are cleaned up. It’s a never ending struggle at our house:/
I’m struggling to control the clutter in my house. No matter what I do clutter seems to continually pile up everywhere. I’m trying to let go!!!
I try to control my children too much and I can’t seem to get a handle on the clutter in my life….I need to learn to let go!!
It is hard to pick one thing, I am a control freak. I would love to.learn how to give up some control.
Well the one person I try to control the most is my husband – and guess what?? That doesn’t work. It backfires actually. Learned that already. I’ve grown a lot in this area, but still struggle with it.
I try to control our house, I try my best to keep it clean but with busy schedules and young kids, it doesn’t stay clean for very long which gets very frustrating.
I feel like I have always tried to control everything in my life. I am a people pleaser and always want to control situations so everyone around me is happy and satisfied. I find I exhaust myself and am trying to start my journey to let God have control, which is perfect timing for this book.
I am a total control freak – I want everything a certain way always.
I want to control everyone’s attitudes 🙂 That is a struggle in my house for me.
The kids!
My husband and my 2 boys
Trying to control things around the house.
the clutter! in my small apartment
I am the control queen!lol But my biggest issue is with my teenagers.
I feel like I have little control in so many areas as I’ve been overwhelmed for some time. trying to get some control or maybe better management.
I can not wait to read this book. I know it is so for me. It is so hard NOT to be in control of everything. Especially, raising two teenagers as a single mom. I worry about their life path. Am I leading them properly to trust the LORD in all that they do and become. It is exhausting a times. So glad you wrote this book. God has such perfect timing!!!
Def with my kids! Can’t wati to read karen’s input in her new book!
My daughter just turned 13…..need I say more? Thank you for your book!!!
I tried to have the most control parenting.
I’m tweeting if it counts for extra entries on the site
Our home and its cleanliness. I like it to be somewhat picked up, but the other four occupants of our home do not!! I need to not let it get under my skin, its not worth it.
Wow. Control is the main thing that God has to work with in my life in nearly every aspect. Finances, work, children, time. He has had to constantly remiind me, sometimes with some harsh realities, that He is control of my life and that He does a much better job with it than I do. I have to surrender more and more each day, and yet I keep trying to take some of the things back–un-surrender!!
God Bless you for bringing us these insights to us at this time
Probably the biggest area of wanting to control is people’s decisions when I know they know better. I can try in love to show them the truth, but in the end it is their choice. IT is REALLY HARD to watch!
Thanks for the opportunity to win the book.
I try to have control in organizing and scheduling. It has it’s benefits, obviously. However, there’s a fine line in being organized and being in control. Sheesh. Help!
I feel frustrated most when I don’t control the schedule… Need to let it go!
I’d have to say I really don’t want the control, but I take it anyway just so things get done. Some things I just need to let go…
I have been praying about “control” a lot! I always think that I know what’s best – and I’m usually wrong! I still try to control my adult children. I’m also struggling with taking control of the clutter in my house, and there’s a lot of it!
Thanks so much for the chance to win…I can’t wait to read this book!!!
I try to be in control of my adult and teenage children when I should start letting go.
For me too, it is trying to control my children.
Trying to control other people’s attitudes.
I’m finding I have wanted control in several areas, husband, schedules, money but God has been changing me and I would love to read this book!
Area of most frustration….. is taking the quality time with my husband and two boys. Everyone, everything else…. job, church, extended family, friends…. when they call, I seem to go running, leaving house and home behind.
I am most frustrated with life in general but mostly our finances after dealing with my husband having cancer. It seems there is always the unexpected and it takes a toll after a while. My job has been very crazy due to the company I work for being bought out and that is beyond my control. I am trying harder to give it to God and try to let go.
Hardest thing to not control? Allowing my personal schedule to be flexible enough to meet the needs of my hubby and daughter! I like to do things in a certain order (and well) but need to be more accommodating to my loved ones.
Just finished the 5 day challenge! Fantastic! I set such high expectations and try to control everything – people, circumstances, etc – to fit my mental image.
Most of the time, nothing in my life is under my control. I have either given it to God, or (mostly at work) am trying and failing to control it. Work is the worst area for me. I manage a busy office and rarely feel in control, so it feels like I put energy in to trying to control things, but really don’t succeed at it. God has done a major work in me to teach me that I will only mess things up when I’m driving and I need to give Him control of every single thing.
For me it has to be my schedule that I try to most control. I would love to have more free time, but there is always something going on.
Nothing is under my control Anymore since my Brain Injury accident in 2007 & I’m slowing accepting this as I slowly get my life together as it is Now! I know God has a purpose for keeping me alive from the accident & I am trying to find it and glorify Him while waiting….
Probably my family and my house
I have a hard time with control in my household. I feel that I have to micromanage every area and then I easily become frustrated and upset if things don’t go as I plan. I have fought this for many years and just in the past year have learned to ask God for help in this area of my life.
I hope I win. If I do, I will read the book, then start a women’s study on it 🙂
What area of my life am I not a control freak? I can’t think of one. Definitely something I need to work on. I have been working on this for several months now and have made some improvements, but I still have a long way to go.
I know this is crazy, but I’m just now discovering I’m a perfectionist. So, there are lots of areas where I need to stop freaking out and Let It Go!
It’s probably a toss up between money and my kids.
I’m a little embarrassed to say that I’m a control freak about the way the housework is done. You think I’d just keep my big mouth shut and take any help I can get from my hubbie and kids!
I am a perfectionist. I try to control the outcome of everything I do, which stresses me out and limits me to accomplish very few things.
I will have to say most areas. I know its sad but when I was diagnosed with cancer 6 years ago that was somehow easier to say “My life is in your hands” .
I would have to say I try most to control other people and their actions. I cannot wait to read this book!
My extended family (namely my in-laws). I try to control everything concerning interactions with them and end up frustrated and upset.
I am a control everything at all times person. I am highly stressed, highly frustrated, and I know it’s all out of my hands but I still feel the NEED to be in control! Help!!
I most try to control my kids and their time (time management, respect of others’ time).
About two years ago, God began working with me through a teaching that I heard about letting go. For many years, I had been a control freak. Every detail was planned and every dollar was budgeted. It wasn’t until I lost everything through an illness that I discovered the truth that I couldn’t control the future-it was truly in God’s hands. During those months that I was bedridden, despair was a constant companion. I still couldn’t let go of the memories and the “would-have beens” and “could have beens.” I realize now that even when everything “seemed” to be controlled, I still yearned for a greener pasture whether at school, home or at work. I couldn’t “let go” of that conversation yesterday or the sentence that I missed somehow when editing that essay for class.
Oddly enough, when I lost everything that mattered, God’s timing was impeccable. Looking back, I began to explore avenues that I never would have if I had graduated with my doctorate in pharmacy as I had planned. And, all of those holes which had opened up in my life began to be filled by God instead of through my own actions. Those friends I had lost. My passion for the physically and emotionally broken-I could fill that prescription for years but I would never see the healing that God’s love and the community of an online bible study would do for and through myself and others.
I am so thankful for this book and can’t wait to read it with Melissa Taylor’s Online Bible Studies in early 2013. Although God has allowed me to let go of many of the broken pieces in my life, there are pieces which require a bit more cajoling like this aging thing and the fact that I am still single. I still have to hand over my finances and that lingering prideful shame and embarrassment of where I am in life compared to that vision of myself saving the world and funding humanitarian efforts which had been born so long ago now. God can use our broken pieces and create something beautiful. I’ve seen it happen in so many lives including my own through God’s Word and Proverbs 31 Ministries. And, at this point in my journey, I need to be reminded that God is always in control and that I CAN NOT and WILL NOT take up that mantle again.
I get frustrated when it comes to controlling my emotions. I keep things bottled up to not upset people and then something happens and I just explode. So I tend to distance myself from people rather than deal with the issues. Gets very lonely that way.
I am such a control freak- my OCD gets the best of me so much. I am a single mom amd struggle with being everything to everybody the typical people pleaser. I can’t wait to read your book. It sounds just like what I need! Thanks for your bog !
As I was looking on fb tonight I saw your new book. In the past few weeks I have felt like I was on a roller coaster. I have to be in control of every part of my families life. I’m not only making my husband miserable but my kids are beginning to feel the pressure. I’ve been praying for god to help me to give up the crazy control. I give things to god but I take them right back. I’m struggling with forgiveness to my husband therefore I need to control him even more. I hope I get chosen for this book because I feel this may be answered prayer.
Sounds like a wonderful study! Let.it.go
Trying to take care of the house!
I think I struggle with my home the most. I try to control everything from laundry to homework piles, to where the kids drop their coats and the never ending stream of dishes that make it into the kitchen sink. It’s my house, it should be able to stay the way that I leave it right?? No- not with 3 kids and a husband if different views and they believe it is their house too. Silly- silly family 😉 haha I have multi-generational control issues- which makes breaking the cycle even harder.
While I do beleive this can be (is in my family) a generational curse for me personally it would be with wanting to make sure I do things right, that people like me and that I have good relationships with my family members!!!
I can’t pinpoint one area; I try to control EVERYTHING. Feeling out of control can actually make me feel ill at times:-(
I know I need to “let go and let God”, but I really do not know where to start.
Family and home life.
I try and control my day and my children so that the schedule goes as planned. I’m ‘successful’ based on how much I accomplish rather than how well I accomplish what God has set before me. Would love to have a copy of this book and look forward to checking it out in depth! Thanks!
My work environment. Working with people with entirely different personalities than mine, I find my stress level rising when things aren’t running the way I would choose. Oh yeah, control freak I am!
I try to control my children and my household and fail miserably at both. I know I should setup guidelines and boundaries for the kids and let them succeed or fail on their own – they’ll learn more and be more responsible that way, but then things don’t get done. or rather, don’t get don’t my way. i so need this lesson on how to just let it go.
I would love a copy of this book… Chaos is my middle name… Stress and Drama seem to follow me every where I go and I can’t seem to put it down at the God’s feet and leave it. Because I just know in my heart no one else can deal with it like me…”right???” lol.. Just reading the title made me want to go “awwwww”… Boy would I like to see inside and see if I am able to apply some of Karen’s truths to my life.
I too, would love to read this book. We have an eleven year old with some extreme behavioral problems and most of the time, our home is chaotic at best as we try to get through each day. I think because there are so many aspects of daily family life for me that are out of control, I have become a control freak when it comes to the things that I actually am able to control…laundry, housework, etc. I know it sounds silly, but as much as I cry out for help from my husband around the house, when he does step up, I’m less than satisfied by the way he helps to the point of getting totally annoyed and just dismissing him from his duties, because it’s not up to my standards. I realize this is totally messed up and I honestly am so disgusted with my need and tendencies to control such ridiculous things. Help!!
My husband is the senior pastor at our church, which means I wear many hats and juggle many things. Unfortunately that doesn’t help my tendency to try to control things. We often find ourself struggling for power in making decisions about the church and our family. This desire to control seems to permeate every area of my life, but the desire to control my husband and our children are the two areas I struggle with the most. I just hide it in good intentions and wanting the best for them.
What don’t I try to control? I like my house cleaned, my son dressed to the nines, my hair fixed perfectly, my husband well groomed, delicious dinner cooked every night, laundry put away, work caught up… The list could go on. How do I let go of my “perfect” world? I’d love to find out!
Oops…accidentally posted my comment under another link. I struggle with controlling the way my household runs. I feel like my family members cannot “do it right”. I am ready to Let.It.Go!
Control and me go hand in hand.. I like to control work, home life, and my family. I do need to let go and let God control my life.
Wow! Your review of Karen’s book looks like an e-mail I just sent to my friend! I am so tired of my life having become one big “to-do” list!!!!! However, I know it’s all my own doing but I can’t seem to figure out how to let it go either!
Right now, it is work. There are so many things up in the air and I feel so out of control, yet I’m having a hard time giving it up to God. I KNOW I need to. I so need this study right now.
I would have to say people. God has been showing me that I need to change my expectations of family and friends and Let. It. Go!
I try to control my husband….I know that is horrible but I do it. I do it in little ways, like sighing when he tells me that he is playing golf with his friends; like going into great detail about all the events (kid activities) that I attend ALONE (which I emphasize) because he is working late again; and it goes on and on. He is a good man and tries hard to please me but when I constantly try to control his every waking hour – he gets rather annoyed….I need to let it go!
I think I try to control everything. But, my husband and toddler are where I am the worst.
I would say just about anything around the house—-and the schedule on which it NEEDS to get accomplished.
trying to control my lack of schedule and the clutter in my house.
Was thinking I am not a control freak – I am usually a person who gives in, but in reading your blog I’m seeing I have a problem when my schedule is interrupted. Sometimes it’s ok, but sometimes it is really difficult like now when a remodeling schedule of 9 days has gone into the 5th week and there is no place to decorate in my house – a single red candle is all I can find and it’s on my kitchen counter. Now that the tile is finished we can start moving some things back but not really because waiting on another man to come and do the baseboards tomorrow so it is holding us up and then Mom was admitted to the hospital this past week with pneumonia and congestive heart failure so Christmas may be a bit different than traditionally this year. My favorite time of time of the year and I CAN’T control it like I have always done. I need to know how to “Let It Go” and should be reading the book NOW!