North of Hope by Shannon Polson

When I was offered the opportunity to read and review North of Hope by Shannon Huffman Polson I could not have known that my ailing mother was soon to take her last breath.  I am certain that God did know, and this was not circumstantial timing.

North of Hope is a story of pain, an adventure through the Alaskan wilderness and the barrenness of loss.  The author skillfully shares her journey to find healing after the senseless and brutal deaths of her father and his wife.

There was much here for me to digest and learn from as I began my own travel through the shadows of death.  Polson writes:

I envied cultures that have mourning traditions, wearing black or rending garments.  Then people would know; they would understand.  Why had our culture done away with all that?  To spare the majority the discomfort that each of us must one day face?  And by doing so robbing every one of us of the space to grieve and neutering society's ability to mourn with the bereaved, our chance to appreciate life more for knowing death?  I felt cheated.  And it occurred to me that grief is something imposed, but that grieving is something that must be learned and, like anything of consequence, would reveal its realities slowly, over a lifetime.

There is hope.  There is light.  There is life.  In the telling of her tale, Polson leads us along the way.


I received a complimentary copy of this book from Zondervan. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist

The title of Shauna Niequist's new book Bread and Wine a love letter around the table with recipes promised tasty morsels about both food and life.  This is a collection of essays about love shared with each forkful.  It is real, true, funny and warm, a mixture of spices that leaves me wanting to follow her advice:

Gather the people you love around your table and feed them with love and honesty and creativity. Feed them with your hands and the flavors and smells that remind you of home and beauty and the best stories you've ever heard, the best stories you've ever lived.

We come to the table because our hunger brings us there.  We come with a need, with fragility, with an admission of our humanity.

I do indeed set my table with love
blend my flavours with the same creativity
I use to mix my words
I am open and honest and real
I offer the spice of my life in exchange for yours
to walk together, up to the hills
and in the valley's shadows

I found delight within the covers of this book.  I know that you will too.

I received a complimentary advance reading copy of this book from Zondervan.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Connecting Church by Randy Frazee

The back cover of this updated book by Randy Frazee states:

The development of meaningful relationships, where every member carries a significant sense of belonging, is central to what it means to be the church. So why do many Christians feel disappointed and disillusioned with their efforts to experience authentic community?

First-century Christians knew what it meant to live in vital community with one another, relating with a depth and commitment that made ‘the body of Christ’ a perfect metaphor for the church. What would it take to reclaim that kind of love, joy, support, and dynamic spiritual growth?

I have long sensed the need for true connection between people. I have seen how our facades have kept us from each other and from God.  It seems to me that real relationships are impossible without getting down and dirty about who we really are.

Frazee discusses how we have become a society focused on individualism and that stands in opposition to functioning as a community.  I was struck and stung by the following:

What the church urgently needs is to reconnect to its core mission of making disciples. We need to get back to the basics: Why did God create the church? Why does church even exist? As a community of Jesus followers, we must learn to see that our corporate mandate is "to be Jesus" to each other and to the world. As the one body of Christ, we await the second coming of Jesus himself, but until that day we are called to represent his presence, his purposes, and fulfill his plans in the power of the Holy Spirit.

But Frazee does more than identify the problem, he points to a variety of approaches to a solution.  If your heart has been searching for community and if you have longed to see help for the broken church of Jesus, this is a great place to start!

I received a complimentary copy of this book.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.

 

Half the Church - Carolyn Custis James

I have recently completed reading the words of Carolyn Custis James in her new book Half The Church - Recovering God's Global Vision for Women.

I agreed to read and review this book for Zondervan with some trepidation, for indeed the debate about women and the church rages hot, as the author explains:

Since the late twentieth century two polarized groups - complementarian and egalitarians - have defined the evangelical landscape for women, particularly in the West.  The debate between the two groups creates a fault line that runs straight through the body of Christ.  Evangelical churches, denominations, and individuals have taken sides.  It is a cause of profound division among us.

Instead of taking one side or the other, James attempts to present a complete overview of the issue.  What most connected with my spirit was her cry for those so often forgotten in the debate, women from outside our Western world.

Bringing these women into this discussion changes everything.  In our culture, the church has tended to concentrate on a tiny segment of the female population - a narrow, prosperous, protected, well-educated female demographic located in the comfortable midsection of human society.  The prosperity we enjoy shapes both the questions we ask and the answers we embrace.  And we - both the women who are asking and the Christian leaders who are defining the answers - are clueless that this is happening.  We can ask questions like, "Do I plan to use my college degree or set it aside?" and "Should I be a stay-at-home mom, or work outside the home?"  But for the rest of the world, these questions are unimaginable luxuries.  For them, education is a lifeline that promises a better life for a woman and her children and will doubtless benefit her community.

Working outside the home is not an option where grinding povery exists and there are hungry mouths to feed.  Everybody works.  Our cloistered discussions about God's purposes for women and the resulting infighting that ensues among us leave women elsewhere in the world scratching thier heads.

No matter what side you may find yourself on today, you can find insight and truth in James exploration.  You may find that God moves your heart in ways aligned with the beating of His own, and that, indeed, makes the investment much more than worthwhile.

I received this book free from Zondervan. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.