We desire to earn our place and standing, but at the feet of Jesus we truly have nothing to offer. Grace is simple to know, difficult to accept. But as I finished the book, I sat in the discomfort of conviction and the unease of realizing my own areas of striving that need correction. I read this book expecting God’s truth in action to everyday problems and encouragement to look to Jesus and not to the world for belonging. I purchased When Strivings Cease because I was interested in hearing the story of another Asian-American woman. With personal story, biblical insights, practical applications, and original artwork by Ruth, this book helps us see the truth that God's favor is the only currency we need, because in Christ we are enough. She shows us how to examine the ways we look to superficial means of acceptance and belonging, and find relief in realizing we can't be so amazing that we won't need grace stop seeing God as someone we perform for and start finding delight in responding to God's welcome and find relief from running the hamster wheel of relying on our own strength, our own abilities, and our own savvy-and always coming up short-by truly understanding the freedom Jesus purchased.

In When Strivings Cease, Ruth guides us all on a journey to find freedom from the never-ending quest for self-improvement.

Until she came to truly understand the one thing that changes everything: the extravagant, undeserved gift of grace from a merciful God. As a Taiwanese immigrant growing up between two cultures, Ruth was always on a mission to prove her worth. Ruth Chou Simons knows something of feeling measured by achievement, performance, and the approval of others.

And we end up constantly feeling behind, lacking, and like we're failing-at home, at work, with friends, with God. Despite all the affirming memes and self-reflections that dominate social media feeds, approval and worth often seem assigned to what we do rather than who we are. In this hustling, image-forward age of opportunity, women are more anxious than ever.

This is not a call to get busy it’s a call to get discerning.

When strivings cease book