I Give Up: The Secret Joy of a Surrendered Life

The Grammy, Billboard and Dove Award–winning singer-songwriter Laura Story, known for such hits as “Blessings,” “Indescribable,” and “Mighty to Save,” thought she had her life and everything in it under control…until she and her husband, Martin, had to face a brain tumour, infertility, and a son’s birth defect head on.

In her new book, bible study and CD, I Give Up: The Secret Joy of a Surrendered Life Laura shares her powerful story of finding blessing in her deepest pain by choosing to hand over the control she thought she had to God and instead pursue a life of surrender.

“When we surrender, we invite God into our story as our King, and we take our rightful place in his story as beloved children and heirs,” says Laura. “That kind of surrender is the real secret to joy – joy that is never threatened by circumstances that change day to day. It leads to a life that is ‘adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike, ‘What’s next, Papa?’” (Rom. 8:15–17 The Message). Who wouldn’t release their attempts to control life’s crazy twists and turns to live like a fearless, well-loved child, instead?”

As Laura knows all too well, we all want to be in the driver’s seat of our own lives, thinking the more control we have, the more we’ll gain. But in Laura’s story, readers experience the opposite. They see how surrendering that control is the first step in becoming something greater than themselves.

In I Give Up, Laura explores what surrender is and how to pursue it by discussing the following:

How to delight in God’s gifts no matter your circumstances
Why waiting on God is a daily decision, not a step-by-step process
The strength we find from meditating on God’s Word
Why surrendering to God leads to reconciliation with others
How the things we consider to be losses are ways for God to display his glory

“What do I know is true?” adds Laura. “I am extravagantly loved. And I am not in control. Not even a little. Who is in control? God is. He has my good in mind, and he is 100 percent ready to display his glory in and through my weakness. My only job is to trust him. To surrender.”

LAURA STORY is a songwriter, worship leader, author, artist and Bible teacher. Her Grammy, Billboard and Dove Award-winning songs include “Blessings” and Chris Tomlin’s “Indescribable.” “Blessings” was certified gold in 2011 and inspired her first book, What If Your Blessings Come Through Raindrops. Laura’s music and writing show God’s love and grace intersecting with real life and serve as a reminder that despite questions or circumstances, He is the ultimate Author of our story, as told in her second book, When God Doesn’t Fix It. Laura has a masters of Theological Studies and a doctorate in Worship Studies, and has served as a worship leader at Perimeter Church in Atlanta since 2005. Her greatest joy is being a wife to Martin and mother to Josie, Ben, Griffin, and Timothy.