Everything Is (Not) Fine: Finding Strength When Life Gets Annoyingly Difficult
Ebook
Sometimes the world knocks us flat on our butt.
We feel stretched further than we ever thought physically, emotionally, or spiritually possible. And though we are torn up inside, we feel like we need to keep our chin up and put a good face on things. So we pretend that everything is fine, even though it's not.
Even in the hardest times, strength from God rises from deep in our soul to keep us going. In this honest, inspirational, and humorous book, Katie Schnack goes deep into the hard stuff of life with no sugar coating or toxic positivity to find sustenance she could not imagine. Faced with a child's medical challenges in the midst of a global pandemic, having strength to get up in the morning and actually enjoy the day was so unlikely that she knew it had to come from God. Schnack's plucky authenticity shows us how when life is complicated, self-compassion and humor can bring healing and life.
Everything Is (Not) Fine looks at the hard realities of life, but also gently reminds us of the good. Even in dark times, we can get glimpses of light.
Prologue: You are stronger than you realize. And so is God.
Part 1: Don't make it a thing until it's a thing.
1. Keep your eyes on the path and don't step in bear poop.
2. Listen to your kid's singing, even if it is obnoxious.
3. It might not get easier. Sorry. But! You can get used to it.
Part 2: Give yourself a lot of grace when going through a pandemic.
4. Carve out time for your dreams, even in a global crisis.
5. If you are missing your spouse, simply hide behind a houseplant.
6. Find your yellow Windex.
Part 3: Raising small human creatures is a wild journey.
7. Remember that God loves our kids too.
8. Chill out about parenting, especially during a modern-day apocalypse.
9. Be a joy vampire.
10. Stop placing all your hope for your family's future in Realtor.com.
Part 4: Don't talk about my best friend like that. A.k.a. be kind to yourself, boo.
11. Make friends with a firefighter who buys matching muumuus at Walmart with you.
12. Punch something hard until you feel better. Preferably not a human, however.
13. Write an anti-love letter. It's okay.
14. Don't hate your neck for the next fifty years.
Part 5: Ghosts, messy T-shirts, and chickens, because all these things totally make sense together.
15. Fire your ghost butler.
16. Put your mess on a T-shirt and wear it proudly.
17. Act like a chicken for the sake of humanity.
Part 6: I would rather things be easy.
18. Ride the waves, even in the rain.
19. Sometimes life throws you a plot twist.
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
"If you love chatting with a good friend over Starbies (or Pinot), this book is for you. Katie makes you laugh and cry, and she throws no filter over the real of life's challenges. She tells her story in her way while reminding us that we're not alone in this crazy beautiful world. 'Difficult seasons come, but they also go.' Exactly what I needed to hear!"
"Counterintuitively, it’s the lack of clear-cut solutions that lends this guide its appeal—Schnack's honest rendering of faith challenges will help readers feel less alone, and her sense of humor adds welcome moments of levity."
- Title: Everything Is (Not) Fine: Finding Strength When Life Gets Annoyingly Difficult
- Author: Katie Schnack
- Publisher: IVP
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781514006153, 9781514006146, 1514006146, 1514006154
- Resource ID: LLS:9781514006153
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-05-03T01:14:13Z
Katie Schnack is a writer and book publicist. Her articles have appeared in Relevant, Today.com, Hello Giggles, Romper, and Scary Mommy. Katie and her family live in West Palm Beach, Florida, and she is the author of The Gap Decade: When You're Technically an Adult but Really Don't Feel Like it Yet.