5 comments about Ruth, A Portrait: The story of Ruth Bell Graham.

1. This book is great. It gives so much insight into Ruth Graham's life - both before and after Billy. Beginning with her early life in China, her tranision to life in the States, her meeting/dating/marrying Billy Graham and the effects of his journey with God on her and their family. I think it interesting that we see the demands that Billy made on this brave woman, as his spiritual journey of preaching took him all over the world. In some instances, I felt sorry for her because she wanted to be home with her children, and he refused to allow her to go- even canceling her traveling arrangements and ordering other staff members not to allow her to leave. Ruth hated the "media focus" on herself. A true behind the scenes kind of woman. Supporting her husband and trying to do her part with those who came forward to receive Christ. A wonderful book. I feel it is well written and gives the reader a rare glimpse of just what a special woman this lady was. She will be sorely missed.



2. I think this is Cornwell's best book, you can feel her love for Graham. Ruth Graham had an extraordinary life, her life in may ways is as interesting as her iconic husband. Her early live in China and how it enlightened her, it's interesting that such a forward thinking woman married the most famous evangelical. I found the information on her courtship with Billy fascinating, he really had to win her, she was beautiful and he know he had to be at the top of his game to get her. Ruth Graham was an amazing woman, though i was dismayed to see that she gave in and allowed herself to be buried in Charlotte instead of her chosen place Montreat, but ultimately she couldnt imagine not being next to Billy. Very good book on a singular American.



3. This is a great book if you want to learn about Ruth's life from the perspect of a close family friend, someone who knew her well. It's easy to read and very interesting. However, as I read the book, it felt like there was an important aspect missing: the faith of Ruth Graham. The author, who I don't believe is a Christian hereself, does an excellent job describing Ruth as an incredible person, wife, mother, and friend; but I perceive from her writing that the author never realized the value or importance of Ruth's relationship with God. I read this book hoping to find encouragement and insight from Ruth's walk with God. However, I was disappointed in that area. Although very accurate and full of wonderful details about the life of this great woman, the author thoroughly glorifies Ruth as a person (with no real credit to her faith) so much so that by the end of the book I felt that Ruth was described as almost superhuman, someone to look at on a pedestal rather than try to relate to and learn from.



4. I bought this because I'm a fan of Cornwell's other work, especially the earlier stuff. My expectations weren't very high, since most books about religious "greats" tend to be syrupy or on a witch-hunt.
   
   Instead, Cornwell brings in just enough of her personal experience with the Grahams to explain her adoring views of Ruth. But for the rest of the book, she manages to take herself out the story masterfully and give us a three-dimensional portrait of a strong, stubborn, soft-hearted woman's walk through life. Both of the Grahams are seen as normal, flawed, generous people with single-minded commitment to their lives' callings. The realistic presentation of both of the Grahams really highlights God's presence and action in their lives. I loved that Cornwall just trusted the facts to present a well-rounded picture, without inserting a lot of personal opinions. It's a perspective on Ruth that you won't find in a lot of simpering bios which show her as the ever-supportive, ever-submissive wife of an equally flawless evangelist. Here, you get to see her as a worthy match with a quick mind, a soft heart and sharp tongue.
   
   The most incredible chapter is the last one, where we see how Ruth's compassion and acceptance of wounded and lost people had such on effect on the author's life as well. Just a really great book. I'm officially gushing to everyone about it!



5. I don't enjoy reading the much and I'm also a slow reader in that I get lost in the content and descriptions. This is definitely not a Patricia Cornwell suspense novel. She was very close friends with the Grahams and begged Ruth to let her write the book for people to see the woman behind the man...Billy Graham. She did it so well that Ruth did not speak to Patricia for about 3 years after the book was published. Sometimes the truth hurts and sometimes it will set you free. It was an interesting, easy read for me. It was a book I kept picking up to want to read the next chapter...something that's very hard for me...something keeping my attention. I've loaned the book out to several friends and they have all enjoyed it. I read it about 3 months before Ruth died.

5 comments about Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II.

1. You get the picture. Get it. Read it and be changed and inspired forever! As the greatest Pope in world history, Pope John Paul II said: "Be Not Afraid." All your fears and anxiety seems to fade away after reading "Winess To Hope," by George Wiegel. The Popes Inspirationalism lives on. Thank you Pope John Paul II and thank you George Wiegel! Bravo! Encore!



2. Let's focus on some matters not elaborated by the many reviewers of this encyclopedic book.
   
   In the permissive, hedonistic west, discipline and doctrine are often belittled. Weigel, in contrast, writes: "To defend the truths of the Catholic faith was not to be `doctrinaire', it was to be doctrinally serious...He was the voice of an authoritative tradition." (pp. 354-355). Furthermore: "The pope is not an authoritarian figure who issues arbitrary decisions by virtue of his own unbridled will. The pope is the custodian of an authoritative tradition of teaching, a `magisterium', that defines the boundaries of the church. He is its servant, not its master." (p. 264) The legacy of Pope John Paul II follows this path: "To tens of millions of people, many of whom are not Roman Catholics, he is the great figure of our time, the defender and principal embodiment of a moral force that has led humanity safely through the bloodiest of centuries." (p. 4). This book includes a compare-and-contrast list of seven areas in which the thinking of modernity is at odds with the Christian faith. (p. 489)
   
   The photographic collection of this book alone is priceless and timeless. For instance, there is a photo of Pope John Paul II visiting the tomb of murdered Father Jerzy Popieluszko in Poland, and one showing the ordination of now-Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz.



3. This was a fascinating book that covered the life of Pope John Paul the Great as well as his Papacy. Many of the details of his efforts especially his world-wide pastoral ministry, an outgrowth of his work as a pastor and Archbishop of Krakow, were not well covered by the world media. Most of what we gleaned was the political-diplomatic side of the Vatican. The press, especially the U.S. press, had no understanding of the true meaning of his Papacy. Of particular note, was his endeavor to bring about the fulfillment of Vatican II, the close relationship with youth that we established throughout his life and ministry, and his aims and encyclicals that defined and raised up the dignity of the human person.
   
   If you want to see the Church as you will never see it reported, and understand your faith better, this is the book for you.



4. There is a fiery, mystical core to the young Wojtyla's faith. It is the deepest, darkest layer of the soil which has nourished him throughout his life. All his early heroes are passionate visionaries: the strange, otherworldly Jan Tyranowski; the Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross; the stigmatic faith healer, Padre Pio. Their emotional, poetic view of the world has sustained him throughout his life. This is a man for whom the great religious truths are viscerally experienced. Christ is alive and walks the earth; the Virgin is a real woman; the Devil is a person not an abstraction. Good and evil are powerful autonomous forces battling each other--the powers of darkness and light. As Pope, he has attended exorcisms, and even officiated at one.
   Arguably the most important of all his spiritual mentors was Jan Tyranowski. He met Tyranowski on a cold Saturday afternoon in February 1940, at a weekly discussion group in the parish church; it was a crucial moment in Wojtyla's life. Tyranowski was a strange man--a forty year-old tailor with white-blond hair, a high-pitched laugh and piercing eyes. Neighbors spoke to us about his oddness and his intensity. He was a bachelor who lived with his mother in a small apartment across the street from the Wojtylas. Tyranowski's small rooms were filled with stacks of religious books, sewing machines and several cats. He would stop young men on the street and try to interest them in joining his "Living Rosary," a praying circle and theology discussion group for young people. He recruited youngsters so aggressively that one of them, Mieczyslaw Malinski, the future priest and seminarian friend of Wojtyla, remembers being alarmed by his intrusive personal questions and worried that he might be a Gestapo agent. Father Malinski told us that it took him a long while to warm up to "this bizarre character who talked in a high-pitched affected voice."
   Wojtyla, however, was immediately gripped by Tyranowski's personality and the power of his ideas. Tyranowski and Wojjtyla spent an increasing amount of time together discussing the Scriptures and mystical philosophers such as St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. Malinski tried to argue with Karol about this strange man and even brought up rumors that he had been in a mental institution. Father Malinski wrote about Karol's response in his own biography of the Pope: "Tyranowski has gone through a major life-changing conversion. Look at what is inside him, not his outward experience. Yes, he speaks in a slightly odd, affected manner, but look beyond that. He is a man who lives truly close to God." For Karol, Tyranowski was aflame with God--and this closeness to the flame was an irresistible quality for the young Karol and would remain so for the rest of his life.
   Ultimately, Father Malinski grew attached to Jan Tyranowski and entered the rigorous world of The Living Rosary: "When Karol and I committed ourselves to this prayer group, it was all-encompassing. Every moment of the day was organized around activity and relaxation. We were asked to keep detailed records of our prayers and thoughts. Tyranowski took us through each stage very calmly and methodically until we reached the central core of his teaching--what he called the plenitude of inner life. His influence on Lolek was gigantic. I can safely say that were it not for him, neither Wojtyla nor I would have become priests."
   Wojtyla later wrote about this defining experience: "What Tyranowski wanted to do was work on our souls--to bring out the resources he knew existed within us." Karol was particularly struck by the quiet, mystical core of his teaching and he remembered vividly the day and hour when his teachings sank into him: "Once in July when the day was slowly extinguishing itself, the word of Jan Tyranowski became more and more lonely in the falling darkness, penetrating us deeper and deeper, releasing in us the hidden depths of evangelical possibilities which until then we had tremblingly avoided...Tyranowski was truly one of those unknown saints, hidden among others like a marvelous light at the bottom of life at a depth where night usually reigns. He disclosed to me the riches of his inner life, of his mystical life. In his words, in his spirituality, and in the example of a life given to God alone, he represented a new world that I did not yet know. I saw the beauty of a soul opened up by grace. "
   One of the Pope's most insightful biographers (and our consultant), Tad Szulc, believes that the influence of Tyranowski on the young Wojtyla flowed from their shared attraction to the mystical quality of spiritual life: "Tyranowski gave a wholly new dimension and understanding to Karol's instinctive mysticism and, as much as any profound experience of his young years, it set him on a course towards the priesthood...his mystical legacy to Karol Wojtyla was the 16th century poet and mystic, St. John of the Cross and the desire for the contemplative life." (In fact, after he became a priest, Wojtyla, on two separate occasions, requested permission from his superiors to enter a Carmelite monastery; each time they refused, believing his gifts lay elsewhere.)
   On February 18, 1941, exactly one year after he met Tyranowski, Karol suffered possibly his greatest loss--the death of his father. Unlike his calm demeanor and stoic submission to God's will following the deaths of his mother and brother, the loss of his father provoked a torrent of tears and visible pain. He lamented bitterly that he had not been present when his father died. His friend, Maria Kydrynska, was with Karol when they returned home to discover that Karol Wojtyla Sr. had died of a heart attack in bed. She described the scene vividly to Tad Szulc before she died a few years ago: "Karol, weeping, embraced me. He said through his tears, 'I was not present when my mother died, nor when my brother died.'" The apartment was too painful to stay in alone, so he moved in with the Kydrynskas. Years later, John Paul II told the writer Andre Frossard: "I never felt so alone." His friend Father Malinski observed him going to the cemetery every day to pray at his father's grave and said to us, "Karol was so distraught that I was truly worried about him."
   From that point onwards, Karol spent a great deal of time with his mentor, Jan Tyranowski, but it would take a year and a half for his vocation to take final shape. Years later the Pope would reflect on the mystery of his vocation in his memoir: "At 20 I had already lost all the people I loved. God was, in a way, preparing me for what would happen....After my father's death I became aware of my true path. I was working at a plant and devoting myself, as far as the terrors of the occupation allowed, to my taste in literature and drama. My priestly vocation took place in the midst of all that--I knew that I was called with absolute clarity."
   His reticence--or detachment--is exemplified in his friendship with the theater director, Mieczyslaw Kotlarczyk. Biographer Tad Szulc has described him as "Karol's intellectual, cultural and thespian mentor, the most important person in Karol's life after his father and Tyranowski." For an entire year during the Nazi occupation when all travel was restricted, Karol and Kotlarczyk wrote letters to each other that Halina Krolikiewicz, an actress in the Rhapsodic Theater, would smuggle back and forth from Krakow to Wadowice. Karol's letters were unusually revealing--up to a point. "I surround myself with Books. I put up fortifications of Art and Learning. I work. Will you believe me when I tell you that I am almost running out of time. I read, write, learn, pray and fight within myself. Sometimes I feel horrible pressures, sadness, depression, evil." What is striking about this letter is that Karol could not share, or would not share, his great inner conflict. His friend Lorenzo Albacete described Karol's unusual detachment: "He lived in the most intense solitude, a burning loneliness, and to some extent it was self-imposed...it all goes back to St. John of the Cross, to his exhortation of emptying yourself, stripping away ordinary human supports..."



5. This book is simply superb. It is very long, but the length is justified by the importance of the material and the quality of its handling. Wiegel gives you a long, slow build which describes in great detail every aspect of John Paul II's life. He balances the different aspects of his material extremely well; he will jump from a description of personal events, for example, to a detailed discussion of a philosophic or theological point, but he does so in a way that is easy to read and easy to follow.
   
   This book assumes very little knowledge on the part of the reader, but it conveys a tremendous amount of knowledge. This is a great service, because most of us know very little, for example, about early 20th century Polish culture, yet it is critical to understand this to understand John Paul II. In the same way, there are many subjects which you have to understand to understand John Paul II and Wiegel does a great job of explaining the basics of each, from 20th century philosophy to Eastern European communist politics, and from the political and theological leanings of the Amercan Church to the cult of Mary.
   
   Too much of the time we get bios by writers who know nothing about their subject's areas of activitiy. We get, for example, bios of Napoleon by writers who know nothing about military affairs. We get bios of Plato by people with little understanding of philosophy.
   
   This is not one of those books. Wiegel has made himself the master of all of the subjects needed to understand this amazing man. This book will take you a long time to read, but it is all time well spent.

3 comments about A Church of Her Own: What Happens When a Woman Takes the Pulpit.

1. IMHO, the name of this review should have been the title of this book... as I read through the first 3/4 of this book, I was struck by two things: how well-written it was, and how bitter the author was about her experience with trying to serve in the church.
   
   Turns out, writing the book was healing for her. In the final pages, she comes to realize her interviews with the women for this book have washed over her soul and made her long to be accepted or requested by a congregation. Her bitterness turns to grief. I was sorry she hadn't spent more time on this discovery, less on all the negative aspects of women in ministry. (I do know women who are serving, loving it, but have also had frustrations. That seems rather typical, I think.)
   
   This was not the kind of book I was expecting when I bought it. Often I wondered how young this author was--her contemporaries were women in their 20s. And, I'm sure it is hard to receive respect when one is a woman, that young, and as some of her friends did, look and act so contemporary that some might have thought they still belonged on a college campus.
   
   Still, she is a fabulous writer (or she has a fantastic editor, or both). She's obviously done tons of research that's invaluable. For years I struggled to find something contemporary on the shelf about women in the ministry... so a book like this was/is sorely needed.
   
   The slant is overtly liberal and gives ample space to the disenfranchised (gay/lesbian/transgendered/etc.). I did feel much compassion for, and learned more about those who are frustrated because the traditional church will not ordain them, yet God is calling them to serve in some meaningful way.
   
   I totally "get" the inclusive language she talks about. I'm a Cady Stanton fan, sat through many women's studies classes--yet I can't say that I have as strong of a revulsion to the male-only language (Father, Son, etc.). Although I do love the NRSV and the fact that it uses "brothers and sisters"!



2. Sarah Sentilles set out to be an Episcopal priest, attending Harvard Divinity School, and seeking ordination in that denomination. She found the ordination process difficult, because she did not conform to some rather narrow expectations of what a priest should be. She blamed herself for not being good enough, and so great was her pain, she completely withdrew from the Church.
   
   In A Church of Her Own, Sarah Sentilles studied in depth a problem that she sees to be of major importance in organized religion. She found that although more and more women are entering divinity schools and the ordination process, these same women are leaving the Church in even larger numbers. She wanted to find out how and why called and committed Christian women were becoming so discouraged and disillusioned in a very short time. [inset as quotation] "...I realized that the brightest, most creative women I knew were having trouble. Either they struggled through the ordination process like I did, or, once ordained and working in churches, they were silenced, humiliated, and abused. These women--women who were faithful, who brought the house down when they preached, who had dedicated their lives to serving God--were being driven out of churches or were leaving the ministry altogether." (p. 3)
   
   When I read this, I became very defensive and wondered if I wanted to read further. Having been in churches with female pastors and counting several as friends, my experience seemed the opposite of Sentilles'. Surely she exaggerated. But I read on--and as I read, I became persuaded. I also became angry and disillusioned. If churches can treat people like that, what hope is there for the world?
   
   The interviewees, from across the country and from different denominations, were honest and frank and needed little prompting to talk about their experiences. Some were still in the church and their real names were not used--their real feelings, however, came through in heartbreaking detail. They reported many incidents of sexism. One of the most common, seemingly harmless practices involved a woman pastor being complimented or criticized about her clothes, her hair style, her weight, or her "time of the month." Male pastors seem never to have that experience. Interesting, isn't it?
   
   Almost all women were offered lower salaries than their male counterparts because (it was rationalized) men were known to be the breadwinners of the family. Many congregations could not deal with a pregnant pastor. It makes everyone uncomfortable, they were told, to bring that "sexual connotation" to the pulpit. Do these same congregations think their male pastors are celibate? Of course not, but their sexuality was not so overt.
   
   Many women--and some men--come as new pastors, fresh from leading seminaries with a passion to serve. They might use what is called "inclusive language," terms which do not exclude or demean on the basis of race, religion, or gender. Most often, the women's efforts to speak inclusively were rebuffed. They were told that no one wanted to call God "She." (Sentilles argues that this misses the point, anyway: "Replacing one form of gender-exclusive language with another does not solve the problem." p. 138) The way we speak of God, she feels, goes to the heart of theology, regardless of denomination. "We will have to trust that God is bigger than anything we can say or write or sing about God. We will have to have faith in God."
   
   What first seemed to me to be Sentilles' angry and bitter criticism of an institution that failed her turned out to be a clearly stated and researched study, not just of the institutionalized church but those who attend and manage those churches. It truly does go to the heart of belief. What is religion? What is the Church? Who can fully participate? And, most important, what do our attitudes toward the clergy say about Christianity and those who profess to be Christians? Sentilles and the women she interviewed were very specific about ministry being a call to action--this is not religion of which they speak, but service, ministering to others. "Ministry is theology in action." (p.244) Sentilles and the other women ask this of organized religion, from which they often felt excluded or alienated: "What might empowering people to live their ministries in daily life look like? How would it change the church?...What might be lost? What gained?" (p. 247)
   
   Many of the women remain hopeful about the future. Many continue their ministry outside of the church, working with the homeless, abused women, the elderly. Interestingly, more than one finds she is most accepted in women's prisons. "It is a population that is vulnerable and needs help and is easily accessible...Women want to tell their stories. This is a place to hear women's stories." (p.278)
   
   Sentilles concludes that she has found a kind of faith in the writing of this book. "Yes, the church is sexist. Yes, the church is racist. Yes, the church is homophobic and classist and oppressive...and exclusive. And, at the same time, the church is filled with human beings ministering to one another, nourishing one another, challenging one another." (p. 309) "When I began writing this book, I was extremely angry. I was grieving. I wanted to write a book that would reveal how terrible religion is...But the women I interviewed changed my mind. Their stories, their energy, their commitment converted me. I began to feel strangely, unexpectedly hopeful." (p. 309)
   
   Having read this book, I feel hopeful, too.
   
   by Susan Ideus
   for Story Circle Book Reviews
   reviewing books by, for, and about women



3. I am thoroughly enjoying the book. The author deals with past and present patriarchal obstacles that would ordinarily prevent an elevated sense that there is true value for women to assume leadership roles within the church. A well written description of what to look forward to when women are finally accepted and valued in in true pastoral capacities in influencing a valued and healing role of the soul and the many dimensions overlooked in a male dominated profession.

5 comments about Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage (The Crosswicks Journal, Book 4).

1. This is a poignant tale of L'Engle's relationship with her husband. It shows what true, mature love is. If, however, you have read her "A Circle of Quiet" you will find some of the same vignettes here, albeit with a different perspective.



2. I enjoyed this book - it was an insightful look into L'Engle's life. I never knew that she had been an actress. I especially liked her stories about her theatre life. The fact that she was married to the actor that eventually played "Dr. Tyler" on All My Children was interesting too. She shares her views on things that matter to her, and tries to impart some wisdom upon the reader about living with an actor husband, doing what is best for her family, and ultimately doing what is best for her husband in his time of illness. I would recommend this book for anyone going through a difficult time with a gravely ill spouse, and anyone looking to find out more about L'Engle's life.



3. I have finished Predlude, the first 70 pages. I'm done. This is a step-by-step and quote-by-quote retelling of her love-life, courtship, etc. There are too many great books out there waiting to be read for me to waste my time waiting for this to get better. I don't really care how many times some suitor proposed to her and what her response was, nor how many dog biscuits she ate after taking a bath. The sentences are boring and so is the story. Farandolae are much more interesting.



4. A great read on the complexities of marriage, life and facing death. Two of my favorite quotes of all time are in this book.



5. (Two Part Invention) I was touched by the way this woman thought as she entered marriage; how she considered the marriage before any other factor in life. As someone born in the last 40 years, I have honestly never heard a woman talk about her marriage in those terms. I was humbled and thought what a shame...we have lost something very special and gentle: honoring marriage. I never did, never knew anyone who did, marriage for myself and those in my circle was more of a nuisance. After two painful divorces I could finally hear Madeline's voice and everything she said made such beautiful and perfect sense. I long for that type of life and marriage and never realized all along it had to come from me. I also cried after putting the book down and a tear often comes when the book comes to mind. I always remember her thought about moving into the city - where she didn't particularly want to live - so that she could be the wife "hosting the slumber party" when they were snowed in, rather than being the wife getting the call when the husband wouldn't be coming home to the suburbs. And how she adjusted her whole sleep schedule to accomodate her husbands' late work nights. Sigh. Thank you Madeline, thank you for a voice that is not often heard.

1 comments about Jesus and Paul: Parallel Lives.

1. Murphy-O'Connor is careful to say that there are parallels between Jesus and Paul.Paralleling two significant people is not new. It has its precedents in ancient literature. Murphy-O'Connor dazzles with intriguing information. A must read for those interested in the New Testament world.

5 comments about Things Seen and Unseen: A Year Lived in Faith.

1. Nora Gallagher's "Things Seen and Unseen" calls to mind Lauren Winner's Girl Meets God: Both are a series of vignettes about faith, structured around a religious calendar, and both women are exceptionally well-read.
   
   Gallagher, however, lacks some of Winner's spiritual angst; while Winner bounces back and forth between Judaism and Christianity, Gallagher stays in one place (the Episcopal Church) as she tries to figure out what it means to "love God and love thy neighbor." The book covers one year in the life of Gallagher's church, during which the parish sees the deaths of several parishioners, a furor over the soup kitchen, and a difficult-but-necessary forum on human sexuality.
   
   Gallagher is an articulate writer, who chronicles both the growth of her church and her own personal change with an honesty that makes her an immediately sympathetic narrator. However, she has some trouble "building" the world of her narrative; she mentions a profusion of people at her church, but there are so many of them, often described only in connection with their church activities, that it becomes difficult to keep track of them all. In short, I think the people of the story are so real and dear to Gallagher that she forgets to make them real and dear for her readers.
   
   Though she does grapple with fear and doubt, Gallagher usually comes back to the comfort of a relatively conventional faith; the book might have been more fulfilling had she pursued the ramifications of her problems just a little more aggressively. Her ruminations on faith sometimes wax sentimental, but Christians should welcome this approachable fellow-seeker.
   
   ~



2. While I appreciated the book as an Episcopalian who is very involved with my own parish, and one who is someone new to faith, I did find fault with her book. I felt it neeeded more structure.
   She tended to jump from person to person and from situtation to situation too quickly, leaving me with a long, dizzy list of people who mattered to her, but it seemed like I didn't really know too much about any of them. It would have have been better if she focused on a just a few people in the church and expanded more on her experiences with them. Still it is worth a read and an honest peak into what being involved in a church is all about.



3. A good Episcopalian who has returned to the Church after a decade-long hiatus, Gallagher examines Christianity in action using the liturgical calendar as a framework. Her bold voice is one of common sense and reason, always true to her innate feminism without becoming strident. Good for seekers and rock-solid believers alike.



4. "Sometimes I just can't stand church life," confessed Nora Gallagher to her friend Ann on the next-to-the-last page of her memoir. Baptized at the age of 15, she dropped out of church for about a decade, returned in her late twenties, then spent two decades negotiating a lover's quarrel with church life that she describes as both "familiar and a foreign planet. To cope we are often ambivalent." I suspect that a large part of this best-seller's success has been Gallagher's candor and the chord it has struck with readers who resonate with her experience.
   
   Gallagher came to Trinity Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara as a "tourist," she says, but narrates how five years later, much to her surprise, she discovered that she had stayed on as a "pilgrim." Trinity was struggling in many ways for many reasons. The sanctuary that held 400 people was three-quarters empty. Dysfunctions abounded. But a new interim pastor, Mark, heralded a new day and the ship began to turn around. Gallagher organizes her eight chapters according to the church liturgical year (much as Kathleen Norris did for her monastic year in Cloister Walk)--Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Eastertide, Pentecost, and Ordinary Time, and pulls back the curtain on every day church life at Trinity among ordinary people. She steps forward as a lay minister, serves communion, participates in a base community, and works at the church soup kitchen. She visits the dying, learns to love Republicans, attends meetings, and eats many a tuna casserole.
   
   At its best, she discovered, church can be a place where, as her friend put it, "you can bring your whole self." Like her brother's bladder cancer, her non-believing husband, the drug death of Ephraim (one of their homeless regulars), or their pastor's announcement that he was gay and how Trinity handled that explosive issue. Gallagher shows what it looks like to do your doubting inside the church, rather than taking pot shots from the outside. She describes a very imperfect human institution where honest people articulate genuine questions and differing opinions. In such a church, observed the English historian Esther de Waal, we encounter the "sense of allowing the extraordinary to break in on the ordinary" (p. 18). If that prospect sounds attractive to you, then read Things Seen and Unseen. Then do what I did; read her sequel called Practicing Resurrection (2003).



5. Ms. Gallagher's year long journey with faith was very inspiring. The book covers her year at Trinity Episcopal Church and her growing faith. The chapters follow the Christian calendar and each is filled with insight into the season as well as her personal journey. A very rewarding book.

5 comments about Finding Home: An Imperfect Path to Faith and Family.

1. Jim Daly's book is not just inspirational. It's important because it is real. It is as real as the chipped linoleum floor of a crummy kitchen in a lousy apartment building. And that's about as good as his future looks. How he overcomes betrayals, heart aches, deaths, and a slew of disappointments is amazing.
   
   It is THE amazing grace in the end that sends this story into a realm that couldn't just happen without some divine help.
   
   Focus on the Family is lucky to have this guy. He's the real deal. He's the genuine article, not fake, not flattering, not unfamiliar with real struggle. He knows how important a family is because he didn't have it.
   
   This would be a great movie; uplifting and meaningful...something movies have not been in a long time....and it's so gritty even Focus on the Family could not handle it.
   
   This book took courage and bravery to write. Read it because it will impart these traits to you.



2. Jim Daly and Bob DeMoss have combined their gifts to produce an excellent book for married couples and parents. Well-written and positive, the book constantly points us to enduring values --- and thus away from the stress and strain that so often sidetrack us.
   
   How do you see past the daily grind? The answer is a change of focus: Daly shows us what we ought to be thinking about, looking at, and considering as we raise children, manage a career, and forge a family.
   
   A great wedding gift --- helps new couples think about these issues on a pre-need basis. An excellent anniversary present --- shows couples how to unite around common goals and common ground.
   
   Well-written, encouraging and always realistic. A hope-filled book that lights your pathway to the family God wants you to be!
   
   Dr. David & Lisa Frisbie
   The Center for Marriage & Family Studies
   Authors of: Raising Great Kids on Your Own: A Guide and Companion for Every Single Parent



3. This was an excellent book. The author shares so much of his own personal life - much of which was heartbreaking. But he also shares how he was able to rise above his past to become the man God wanted him to be. This book will give you hope that you, too, can rise above your own past and have a fulfilling, life of purpose.
   It was definitely worth reading. I'm putting a copy in my church library to share it with others.



4. Jim Daly's early years read like the start of a sort of horror story that gets worse and worse a time goes on. If you have struggled with anything and become discouraged, get this book and see what faith can do for you (as it did for Jim Daly).



5. Finding a Home (literally and figuratively) for Jim Daly was not an easy task. Jim was the youngest of five children. His parents had met at Alcoholic Anonymous and alcoholism became an ongoing theme for the couple, particularly for Jim's father. Realizing that she had to choose between her children and her own issues, Jim's mom left his father and fled with the children. She had to work several jobs at a time just to make ends meet.
   
   Then tragedy struck. Jim's mom got sick. None of the kids really understood what was going on until cancer took her life. At this point, in their step-father abandoned them and left them to fend for themselves. Finding a place to live was difficult enough but the real trouble was finding a home.
   
   Finding Home is a wonderful read. The author's purpose for writing the book is to share his life lessons with the reader. In this, he provides a very open and honest story. He has been extremely careful to show his life in a balanced way: the good times and the bad times, his mistakes and his misjudgements, and the many times when grace stepped in. Extremely inspirational.

2 comments about Rebecca's Revival: Creating Black Christianity in the Atlantic World.

1. This was a great book overall. It was factual history that has been obscured and hidden for 400 years. We have been fed the stories of the "great white hope" who came to "save" the slaves from their heathenish African ways. This book clearly counters that claim by asserting that it was through the African slaves themselves that Christianity spread in the caribbean. It is well documented and purely factual. Anytime the author made a statement of opinion that wasn't quite factual he said "maybe", or "perhaps". Overall, it was an excellent book. It was somewhat of a difficult read, but it never hurts to expand your vocabulary!



2. This is a much needed study on the history of black evangelical Christianity in the black diaspora. As a black African evangelical Christian woman with ancestral ties to both Europe and the Caribbean, I have been informed, intrigued, amused, puzzled, saddened, challenged and overall inspired by the story of Rebecca Protten's life. The author has done a remarkably thorough job. Thank you!

5 comments about Journals of Jim Elliot, The.

1. When I was a student at Moody Bible Institute in the late 1960s hardly a missionary conference would go by without someone quoting Jim Elliot, a missionary who had been martyred by the Auca Indians. The quote was always the same: "He is no fool who give up that which he can never keep to gain that which he can never lose." This is a powerful quote and one worth repeating. He was saying to those that believe - everything on this earth is temporary and will pass away; what is done in the name of Christ will stand forever.
   
   What a surprise to learn that as a college student Elliot began keeping a journal and did so until his death. This in itself is mind boggling. The fact that the journals are now available is even more mind boggling. His wife, Elizabeth has taken all of his journals and with the exception of a total of two to three pages of total content has presented them to us as a legacy.
   
   There are hundreds who would say that Jim's story as told by Elizabeth in her book, "Through Gates of Splendor", was responsible for them dedicating themselves to Christian work of various kinds - especially missions. This book more fully reveals the man, who along with his flaws reveals an incredible heart. A heart that wanted to know God and who wanted to fulfill God's plan for him.
   
   From every-day life as a college student to the trials of being a missionary in a remote jungle - it's all here for you to read, reflect - and perhaps find some inspiration and guidance.
   
   Armchair Interviews agrees.



2. I bought this book not for the theology, but for the practical struggles revealed in the day to day life of a man of God as he sought to live by faith and find that very special Will of God for his life beyond salvation,separation and surrender.
   
   I would recommend this book for any saved person that wants to be encouraged to live daily in the will of God, for the Lord Jesus Christ, in a world that from a religious and secular stand point knows nothing of or very little about a real meaningful relationship with our risen Savior.
   
   The journals of Jim Elliot demonstrate, that inspite of the real daily struggles we all face, it is possible to live by faith in His written word and not just on mere feelings that can change from day to day.



3. This is a very impressive book. It is the honest writings of a hero to many. In the book, you see that he was just like the rest of us and that he had a great passion for God. I certainly hope that more will read this book to get a glimpse of what a life turned on to God can do.
   
   This book in many places is very good for personal devotions. There are also many sections that are great expositions of scripture. This book is biographical, devotional, and expository.



4. I'm a native missionary kid from India, and I would love to read this book. I searched and tried every possible way to get it in India, but couldn't. To buy online, the shipping charges are unaffordable for me. Do you know of any store that ships to India? I would deeply appreciate your help. Jim Elliot's life has been a challenge and example to me



5. "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

   And so was Jim Elliot, martyr at the hands of South American Indians who later gave their lives to Christ. In this, his autobiography via his journals, we see the life this young man led and the preordained road that led him to gain what he could not lose.

   "The Journals of Jim Elliot" had a profound effect on me as a young man as I happened to be at a similar stage in life as Elliot during most of the pages. What I found on those pages - the lifeblood of a man fully sold out to God - changed my life.

   A long book, "tJoJE" calls anyone who wants to know how to live a committed Christian life throughout the slow unfolding of Elliot's life. As an encouragement to young men, it is peerless. Its only detraction is due to the very nature of the autobiographical style as derived from journal entries. While you see God's hand moving in Elliot's life, sometimes the nature of the entries is lost, slow-moving, or repetitive. Such is the style of the book.

   However, what I found most helpful in reading this book is the stark contrast between Christian practice of fifty-plus years ago and today. Elliot was distinctly a man of his time, but he was not alone in his complete surrender to God. He was surrounded by many people who were like him. How he lived, thought, and died seems foreign to today's Christians. In fact, he shares more with a Christian of two hundred years ago in David Brainerd than anyone you typically find in a pew today. His example is so profound that it is hard not to feel that something has changed in the last couple decades. Somewhere there are men like Jim Elliot today; I hope I can find them and learn from their examples, as well.

   Anyone who stays with "The Journals of Jim Elliot" will find a great reward in its pages. It has always been one of my favorite Christian books. If you want a book that offers something different, it is a soul-stirring story made more compelling by its truthful historicity.

2 comments about Lost & Found: One Daughter's Story of Amazing Grace.

1. In an opening letter to her readers, Kathryn ("Kitty") Slattery says, "All of us have a story to tell. When we choose to share our stories, extraordinary things can happen." Most memoirs focus on a certain theme --- a thread that runs through the author's life. And here Slattery draws out "the story of my mother and me --- two very different people." In these pages, there is keen insight for daughters who have wished for better mothering. It's not that Kitty had a stereotypically abusive mother, but one with a perfectionist bent, a self-absorbed view.
   
   Kitty's childhood home looked a lot like that of other baby boomers --- a successful corporate father and a devoted wife who tended her family. (Did she really wear pumps as she vacuumed?) Kitty's one sibling was 10 years her senior, which plays into the family dynamics. One day young Kitty discovered a document that implied that her older sister was a step-sister, that her mother had been divorced before marrying Kitty's father. But Kitty's mother wouldn't answer her questions. "Don't be a snoop," she said. And, "This is none of your business... And it's certainly nothing for you to worry about." But Kitty was a worrier. "With the discovery of the birth certificate in the breakfront, my world had been turned upside down and inside out. The fact that things were out of order, and that things might not be as they seemed, scared me to death."
   
   Kitty obviously needed a mother who would listen to her, explain mysteries rather than withhold information, encourage her rather than ridicule. As Kitty saw it, "she was not exactly the kind of mother I wanted and needed." Nor was Kitty the perfect daughter, primed to catch the perfect man. "Oh, Kitty," Mrs. Mother said one day. "You think too much... Boys don't like girls who think too much." A little overweight (having once bought clothes in the "`Chubbette' department at Sears") in high school, Kitty felt parental pressure to take off the extra pounds. Dieting led to self-purging --- and this in the late 1960s, before magazine articles explained the phenomenon, before eating disorders took Karen Carpenter's life. It was Kitty's dark secret --- like her father's chronic drinking.
   
   In college Kitty committed her life to Christ, a turning point in her life, though not the end of her struggle with bulimia. That abated only after she realized it was a not uncommon disease; she no longer felt uniquely dysfunctional and found the inner resources and community support --- principally a secure relationship with the man she married --- to live on an even keel.
   
   In the last third of LOST & FOUND, after Kitty has children of her own, she works on mending her relationship with her mother, even bringing her into a "mother-in-law apartment" in her suburban home. Here she comes to a new understanding of her mother that one can hope for in middle age. She sensed God saying, "I'm giving you this time with her." For what purpose? Kitty wasn't sure, but, looking for grace, she eventually found out.
   
   --- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence



2. Each of us experience times in life when we feel alone and disconnected. The lack of relational intimacy with the people we love can be especially painful. It often contributes to unhealthy behaviors as a means to cope with the pain. In the stories of individuals who break their addiction, you will nearly always find one person or a group of people who helped heal the wounds of the addicted with love and encouragement.
   
   Lost & Found is the poignant story of Kathryn Slattery, a contributing editor of Guideposts magazine and author of several books. In the book, Kitty describes her disconnection with her mother and father, the onset of bulimia, how her husband Tom's love and encouragement helped her overcome bulimia, and finally how Kitty reconnected with her parents.
   
   I enjoyed this book. As a writer and speaker about the importance of connection in organizations, I was interested to see that some of the same dynamics that affect relationships in the workplace were also at play in Kitty's story. Lost & Found helped me see several examples of how connections are diminished and how they can be restored. Excessive criticism, lack of transparency, perceived indifference, geographic dislocation and alcohol are the agents of disconnection in Kitty's story. Kitty's husband Tom becomes the primary agent of re-connection and it is his affection, steady optimism and encouragement that help heal her wounds and give her the strength to overcome bulimia. Eventually, with time, healing and self-reflection, Kitty is able to reconnect with her mother and father.
   
   I recommend this book. On one level, this is Kitty's story; on another, it is a study of the powerful effect of relationships and connection in our lives. It will be especially valuable to those who feel disconnected from their parents or other family members. I imagine most of us feel that way with at least some of our family members. It will help you think about what contributed to disconnection in your own life and how to restore it. Lost & Found is an ideal book for a book group. It would stimulate a lot of discussion around the connections and disconnections in our lives. These conversations tend to be healing too.