In the introduction to her book All I Need Is Jesus and a Good Pair of Jeans: The Tired Supergirl’s Search for Grace Susanna Foth Aughtmon describes with perfect clarity and amazing insight the universal quest of womankind: the perfect pair of jeans. We want jeans that “suppress the upper thigh, lengthen the inseam, and let you reveal your inner rock star. Because they look that good.” Jeans that are forgiving, particularly when it comes to the less than flattering parts of our bodies. However, if we are honest, we know that there is something of a dichotomy between what we know a good pair of jeans ought to look like and what we really look like in our everyday jeans. Bringing the metaphor home, Aughtmon says:
And it’s the same when we look at the rest of our lives. What we desire is not necessarily what we have. The person we are is not the person we long to be. Just as the perfect jeans seem to elude us, so do the obedient children, the perfect marital communication, and the conquering of all our weaknesses…It seems that we supergirls need some forgiveness in other areas of our lives besides jeans and outerwear. We need forgiveness for our lives in general. And what we really need is some grace. An ever-present shower of grace that we can sit under and soak up and let pervade all the areas of our life that seem to fall short of the glory of God.
And such is the premise and purpose of her book. All I Need Is Jesus and a Good Pair of Jeans: The Tired Supergirl’s Search for Grace provides an frank and vulnerable look at the struggles all women face, from insecurity to body image issues. Each chapter is a confession of sorts, often hilarious, sometimes painfully honest, sometimes so much a mirror reflection of my own failures and foibles that I wondered how Aughtmon got inside my head. Aughtmon is refreshingly authentic as she describes her inadequacies and imperfections with humor and honesty, deliberately pointing readers to the grace we all need, the grace that is found only in the person of Jesus Christ.
Like Aughtmon, I am a tired supergirl, weary of battling foes like Tired Lady, Compare-A-Girl, Miss No-Fair, Miss Do-They-Like-Me and the Diva. Like Aughtmon, I am oh so tired, I want chocolate to solve my problems, I am jealous of my friends, I don’t like to admit I am wrong, I am a people pleaser, and I have a long way to go (all of which are chapter titles). Like Aughtmon, I feel caught between who I am and who I long to be, and, like Aughtmon, I know that even tired supergirls can find grace as they turn to Jesus and the truth of God’s Word.
Author Susanna Foth Aughtmon has graciously volunteered to giveaway three copies of this book (U.S. or Canadian shipping addresses). If you would like to win a copy, please leave us a comment and we’ll announce the recipients on February 25.
The winner of the If I Were A. . . series is #51 Tammy Grady.
The winners of Your Roots Are Showing are
#57 jayne
#60 Nicole C.
#120 Angie P.
#73 Gabriel J.
#134 Angie LambIf you didn’t receive your notification email, send your name and address to 5minutesforbooksATgmailDOTcom.
Wife and mother, Bible teacher and blogger, Lisa loves Jesus, coffee, dark chocolate and, of course, books. Read more of her reflections at Lisa writes….
please enter me
That sounds like a mel type of book!!
My single girlfriends desperately need to read this!
Ouch! Some of that description looks mighty familiar. Thanks for the giveaway!
Oh, I definitely need this book! Thanks!
That sounds like just the thing I’d like to read. Please enter me in the drawing.
Love the title.I would love to win .
Please enter me into the contest.
Sounds great. Thanks for the giveaway!
Sounds like an awesome book, thank you for the contest!
Mariah
If there’s one thing I need in this world, it’s Jesus
This looks like a very fun read!!
enter me I’d love to read this
This looks like a great read. Count me in.
Count me in!
bebemiqui82(at)yahoo(dot)com
Enter me in the drawing. This seems like such a great, fun, read. I guess most women are juggling, jiggling, and trying to find those perfect pair of jeans.
Thanks for having this giveaway! I would love to win All I Need is Jesus and A Good Pair of Jeans. I posted about this contest on my blog: http://savingmoneyideas.wordpress.com/2009/02/20/book-giveaway-links/
I’d love to win this book
This sounds like a great book. I love the title! I would love to read it! Thanks!
Sounds like a great book! Thanks for the chance to win!
Well, I have one pair of jeans – and can live with that but I can’t live without ALL of Jesus. I’m glad I found your blog.
Looks like a great book – please enter me in the giveaway!
I’d love to read this.
I’d love a chance to read this book thank you!
enter me
Trying to feed my wife’s reading addiction.
This sounds like just the kind of book I need to read right now. I’d love to win…thanks for the chance!
This sounds like exactly the boost my self-esteem needs.
rsgrandinetti(at)yahoo(dot)com
I’d love to read this 🙂 *Thanks* for the giveaway!
After a long cold winter and no new reading material, I would very much like to be entered in the contest. Thanks!
Sounds like a book I’d love to read!
I suscribe.
I love to read and this sounds like a great book.
sounds like a great read! count me in
Sounds like my kind of book. Would love the opporunity to win this. Thanks.
This book sounds really interesting. I’d love to read it!
I’m always looking for a good Christian book to read. I commute to work on the bus and read a book a week.
Count me in, thanks so much for the giveaway!
I love the title of this book. Thanks for the giveaway
Great prize! Thanks for the giveaway!
What a great title and premise – thanks for a fun giveaway! 🙂
Looks like a good book – count me in! Thank you! [email protected]
Thanks for the chance to win! Looks like a great read!
I’d love to win this.
I like this title!
Sounds like a good book!
Sounds like a great book.
Just stubbled upon ya’ll today….I’ve gotten great ideas for some new reads. This book
All I need is Jesus and a good pair of Jeans, sounds great. Please enter me into the drawing.
Thanks,
Trish
Wow, this sounds like the a book I need to read!