“Surrender All” Book Excerpts

Surrender All by Joni Lamb

 

Nation Wide Release: Sept. 2008

 

Why Surrender?:

"Exciting times lie ahead for all willing to surrender. Life will not be perfect, nor will it be painless. But there is no greater life than the one that follows the path God sets before it. The Path of Surrender is a place of peace within a place of rest.  Each of us is so born uniquely gifted and talented and to use our talents and abilities as God intended provides the purpose of our lives."  (Page 216)

 

 

Find Life's Purpose:

"Without surrender, we can live our lives to a degree, but I believe that we will never walk into God's Divine purpose. My Grandpa had so much potential, intellect and talent but he never realized his full potential because he didn't surrender until the very end."  (Page 78)

 

 

SURRENDER

Marriage:

"Marcus and I have been married for 25 years. In all that time, we've never had a fight or even a minor disagreement. And if you believe that, I have some waterfront land in the Mojave Desert I'd like to sell you.

If ever there is a place where the act of surrender is needed-make that required-it is in the institution of marriage."  (Page 40)

"I've heard people joke that husbands and wives should come with an operator's manual. But there is a manual for a good marriage. It's called the Bible. When we follow the Lord's words and surrender fully to Him and pray, He can fix anything." (Page 44)

 

Parenting:

"There are no perfect parents and no perfect kids but if we surrender our kids to the Lord and ‘train them up in the way they should go,' they will likely forgive us our human failings."  (Page 67)

 

Balance:

"Most of us, men and women, struggle to find a balance and to do what works best for our families and our situations when it comes to our careers. There are no easy answers, and one family's solution rarely works for another because of their different circumstances.

I realize that God has given me an opportunity to reach the masses through Christian television, but I do my best to make sure my calling never overrides my first responsibility, which is to my family. Do I always succeed? No. Is it often a struggle? Yes."  (Page 81)

 

Health:

"We tend to seek miracles and instant healing, but the truth is that even when you surrender your illness to the Lord, most of the time you don't get a miracle overnight. God works on His own schedule, for His own purposes."  (Page 104)

 

Friendships:

Now, in some cases, God may choose to heal that friendship or relationship and He will bring you together. But it is important to understand that in other instances, He may decide to let the bonds wither and die. It may be that God sees a relationship as toxic for one or both parties so He intervenes. It is in your best interest to surrender to God's decision and let it stand. (Page 115)

 

Finances:

"Marcus felt God had called us to start this Christian station in Montgomery and that we had to do whatever it took to fulfill that mission. ‘The money belongs to Him, not us. And if I have to work a secular job the rest of my life to pay it back, I'm willing to do that,' he said.

And so, we surrendered our finances to the Lord. We risked it all and we very easily could have lost it all." (Page 131)

 

Daily Life:

". . . . Doctors told her[Pam] that the fetus had been irreversibly damaged by the drugs and they advised her to have an abortion. She refused, surrendering her health to the Lord's will in the belief that He would guide this child.

Twenty years later, Pam and Bob Tebow stood on a stage in New York City with that child, their son "Timmy," as he thanks Jesus Christ "my Lord and Savior" after becoming the youngest person ever to win the Heisman Trophy awarded to the person considered to be the best college football player in the country. The record-breaking University of Florida sophomore quarterback accounted for 51 touchdowns in his first season as a starter, throwing 29 touchdown passes and running for another 22 during the regular season." (Page 146)

 

Crisis:

"Others have told me that not even the Lord could help them in their time of crisis. These are very dangerous lines of thinking. I want to help you understand that there is nothing God cannot fix, no addiction that He can't replace with love, any crises that He cannot relieve. And there is no sin that the Father will not forgive." (Page 160)

 

It Won't Always be Easy:

"It is one thing to surrender to God's will in your daily life when things are just humming along nicely. The real measure of your commitment comes when we stumble or hit a wall, or get handed a challenge that disrupts our lives and routines, and, in the worst case scenarios, threatens to alter or even end our lives completely. (Page149)

 

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