ugh, you published THAT?!?

and i quote: "I used to think that to speak, to write books, I needed to generate knowledge from other places and use that material to speak to others. But I've learned that the only real material I have to deal with is my life and what God is doing in me."

while the author is commendable in her assertion of sufficiency in Christ, foibles of diction, redundancy, and a convoluted message plagued her book.

i sound like the wicked witch of the east, and i promise you i do not have on striped socks, but my GOD have mercy! this is the stuff that is getting published.

again, i quote from the author above (whom i don't want to embarrass by naming):
"That afternoon, as I was getting ready for Christmas and got sidetracked reading my old journals, I realized how quickly the years went, and I was overwhelmed with gratitude for my children. I had an irresistible urge to telephone each one (although I didn't!)."

um, excuse me, but wouldn't that be a resistible urge then? ugh.

"She had faith for a certain amount of oil--her dreams went so far, and that was it. We often put limits on God, and we can let people pour cold water on our dreams."

okay, here it seems like she is saying [i am sure you know she is referencing the widow w/the debt and oil in the OT], but i don't read this passage to be so much about the widow not having enough faith/trust in God, but as her running out of vessels. sounds like the author is here attributing something that may be true, we limit God, to a passage that doesn't argue that point, in fact, i think it argues the contrary.

the author tells a story about a woman on the prairie whom the husband had to literally pick up and carry on his horse after she burned her wagon in an effort to go no further. she argues, "Abraham didn't have to do that with Sarah; she willingly followed him to new places for better grazing, followed God as he led them closer to the Promised Land."

does your bible say that? mine doesn't. i believe this is called making an argument from silence, and it troubles me. not so much the point that she makes, but that she makes the point from silence. if this author will infuse these passages with her interpretation, speaking as if they were there in indelible ink, what else will she infer and pass off as Truth? causes me to question the author here. and that is troubling.

all in all, i gave a mediocre recommendation for this book. it is the kind of book that might have helped me as a sapling christian, but i wanted so much more from the author and the cover is so pretty (contemplated keeping it just because i liked the cover so much, but then all i'd have is this reminder of misplaced hopes, and i have enough reminders of that in my life, thank you).

in one other passage, there is discussion of finding the things you do well and doing them. and not doing the things you don't excel at. great. for the empty nester, this may be possible. i don't enjoy cooking, it is pure drudgery for me. if i were to take this example and apply it carte blanche to my life, it would be the foolish woman pulling down her house with her own hands. some may argue it is still that way, but i think the great failing of this author/editorial team is failing to direct the book at any one particular reader. it is written is such a way as to appeal to the greatest possible number of women, and left me feeling it appeals to no one in particular.

when choosing an audience, avoid exclusive language, but don't dilute your message so much it tastes like nothing in particular. that is pointless.

hope this has been helpful. it helped me get it off my chest. on to the next book review. fortunately it is C. Peter Wagner, a professor type. no mucky-muck highbrow writing there, he has a comfortable, easy as sunday morning writing style that i've grasped since i was 19. go figure. it is the simplicity on the other side of complexity i believe. makes all the difference in the world and is in stark contrast to the author quoted above.