{ Who are you following? by Sadie Roberston Huff - TLC Book Tour }

 

About Who Are You Following? Pursuing Jesus in a Social Media Obsessed World

Publisher: Thomas Nelson (February 1, 2022)

Hardcover: 224 pages

If influencers have power over us, who are you allowing to influence you?

In an online world obsessed with follows and likes, it’s important to consider what you’re really searching for. When you follow someone, it’s typically because you want to be like them or live like they do­–but who have you placed as your role models?

In Who Are You Following? bestselling author and social media personality Sadie Robertson Huff dives deep into exploring who we are allowing to influence our daily thoughts and actions. With an excellent grasp of scriptural truths, using current research, surveys, and personal and biblical stories, Sadie draws on her own experience as a social media influencer and addresses topics such as

• how to go from being liked to being truly loved
• our true motives for fame
• being seen from the outside versus being known
• comparing ourselves to others
• questioning why did I post that?!
• how to respond to cancel culture
• wondering does God still love me?

This book is perfect for young Christians wondering how they can live a vibrant, bold, and uncompromising life of faith in God by following the Messiah–the ultimate influencer. Discover the love, purpose, and fulfillment that is found only in Jesus.

About Sadie Robertson Huff

Sadie Robertson Huff is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, influencer, and founder of Live Original. Communicating as a sister and friend, Sadie is on a mission to reach the world with the message of Christ. The host of the popular podcast Whoa, That’s Good, which launched in 2018, she continues to top charts and minister to millions of listeners as she engages with current leaders, asking them to answer one question: “What is the best advice you have ever been given?” Live Original, Sadie’s blog, features encouraging and transparent messages from her and her closest friends, and she is also founder of the online community and app LO Sister, which are designed to cultivate sisterhood through Bible studies and workshops. Sadie, her husband, Christian, and their daughter reside in Louisiana.

 

 

REVIEW:

Ooohhh boy.  This is one book that had me nodding along from the beginning page, to the last word on the last page.

 

As a blogger, who started back in 2006 when blogging and social media was kind of taking off, I can tell you that I myself have noticed the strange patterns social media has taken over the years.  So, this book resonated with me on many fronts, and it really put into words the feelings I have had brewing inside me for so long.

 

Sadie Robertson Huff, is part of the well known Robertson family.  You know the Duck Dynasty?  That one.  So I first became acquainted with Sadie and the family many years ago, when the show was on the air.  I didn't keep up with it, and really haven't followed them at all for a long time, so truly didn't even know Sadie had become a bestselling author.  

This book came as a surprise to me, but a very much welcome surprise.

 

We are all aware of social media and the so called influencers.  I will tell you right off the bat, that I have never followed anyone online, that has influenced me to do this or that.  I enjoy the people I follow, but I don't look to them to influence me one way or another, or to buy something just because they said so, or cut my hair like theirs, or shop for their clothes and so on.  Never been my thing.

 

As a Christian woman, it has become increasingly hard to navigate social media.  For one, I do tend to feel out of place, singled out at times and almost shunned for my beliefs.  That and the fact that I find so many called Christian influencers, also falling into the trap of likes, visualizations and doing anything and everything just for some fan interaction.  That right there, turns me off completely.

 

Maybe because I've never been a blogger that thrives or only thinks of comments, or doing it for traffic.  Probably also why my blog has very much stayed the same concept since 2006, I have many blog readers who have been there from the beginning, and you haven't seen nor will you ever see ads and links to products and all that stuff.

 

Anyway, all that to say that Sadie's book was such a refreshing read.  The book itself contains so many good simple quotes, that really get you thinking.

 

We all want to be loved, but the like button has trained us how to be liked.  Being loved and being liked are two completely different things.

 

The book starts by giving us some statistics pertaining to social media, the time we spend on it, and the amount of videos and pictures shared just between Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and Snapchat.  I knew it was a lot but seeing it in black and white, on the page, was quite shocking.

 

Sadie touches on important issues such as who we are following, why we are following them and how it makes us feel.  Because honestly, I think we've all followed accounts that we thought were ok at first and then started feeling less than, jealous, unworthy, like they have it all together and we are just not anywhere near it.

 

It's toxic, like Sadie says, and I 1000% agree.

 

One quote that really struck me was this one:

 

I would rather be loved for who I am than liked for who I seem to be in the right light.  

 

She also focuses on our relationship with Jesus, and how sometimes we tend to project our daily relationships and interactions, into that important relationship with our Savior.  One thing she says that is so true is that our relationship with Jesus needs to be a commitment, not a convenience.  You choose to follow Him no matter what the world throws at you or uncomfortable or unpopular you become.

 

I've had to remind myself so many times, when I do get rude comments or hurtful comments here on my blog or Instagram, that not even Jesus was liked by everyone, and that is ok.  You don't need to like everyone or agree with everyone.  But the way you choose to approach that is what matters.

 

After reading through Who are you Following?, I sat and answered the questions in the back of the book, and I want you to read through these, and answer them honestly, to yourself.  

 

Who are the loudest voices in your life?

What platforms are influencing your life?

Where are you when you let these voices and platforms influence your life?

When do you find yourself giving time and space to follow those individuals?

Why do you follow those individuals?

Who do you want to influence in life?

What apps, platforms, podcasts, shows etc. do you need to get rid of, and which ones do you want to keep speaking into your life?

Where is the best place in your life to engage with those influences?

When is the best time for you to allow those influences in your life?

Why do you want to follow those people, both in your real life and on those platforms?

 

These may seem like simple questions, but when you really start thinking about what it's asking, and allow yourself to be completely honest about your answers, you will be shocked at what you discover.

 

I myself have unfollowed many people, I stopped using Facebook, I don't have snapchat or tiktok, and really only use Instagram.  Even there, I've done a huge clean up of who I am following or allow to follow me.    If I was doing it all for follows and likes and traffic, I would have a public profile and allow anyone and everyone to come along and see what I was sharing.  But, I don't, and I won't just let anyone onto my page.

 

If you're struggling with social media, influencers, the way they make you feel and how all of this affects your relationship with Jesus, please, please do yourself a favor, and get Sadie's book.  It is phenomenal and will really make you think.

 

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and Thomas Nelson for providing me a copy of the book, and a copy of the guided journal.