Hmm...is the best way to describe how I felt while reading this book. I was immediately taken aback by the title and thought it would be a guide for sinning. Instead, Cathleen Falsani calls her book a field guide for grace. Throughout the book, she goes on different adventures or has different experiences where she encounters grace.
Overall, the stories were interesting...with some being more Christian than others. I enjoyed my time reading her experiences and thought she had a good sense of humor and a very flowy writing style, but I guess ultimately I wouldn't use this book as a tool for growing my relationship with God. I think I would have preferred it if it was just a fictional book about her adventures and what she learned through them. It was a lot (not all) about her, and what she received from these experiences. It was as if she was trying to expand the reader's mind to show that grace comes in all shapes and colors. I felt like she was also doing a lot of soul searching. If something wasn't going her way, she would turn to other forms of comfort/panic/what have you. I just wanted to scream to her -- go to the Bible! Try the Bible! Try praying, try repenting....and God will most assuredly give you grace, the true grace you need for every day to live the Christian life.
We aren't perfect, we will never be on this earth, but God gave us His word, His Son, to help us through each day. And that is comforting for me, to know that I can find true grace in the God that loves me. I'm happy for the author and for all of her adventures, and the neat things she saw, but I don't think all of those instances and grace moments were unique to being a Christian. And although she was able to travel to many exotic places, or go on fun and unique trips, that is just not practical for my life. So how does a person like me find grace?
Thankfully, I don't have to travel to Africa or Graceland to find God's grace. It is with me each day. I need to live in obedience to His word and calling for my life, I need to seek Him, come to the throne of grace each day, and he will provide my life with the grace I desperately need.
To sum things up, it was an interesting book to read but it certainly didn't change my life.
4 comments:
Great review. I agree whole heartedly...off to write my review.
I enjoyed reading your review...you did a great job. My opinions were very similar to yours.
Oh gosh, I don't hate you! Thanks for the thoughts here.
Great Review Paulina! I have never heard of this book, and am inspired to not nessarily read this book, but to be bolder in voicing my views.
Mary
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