Amy Boucher Pye

Category: Book Reviews

  • Review of the best book on unanswered prayer

    God on Mute: Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer

    Pete Greig (Survivor/Kingsway, ISBN 9781842913178)

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    Some years ago, my  faith was seriously rocked when I thought God was telling me to move from one city to another, and then everything fell through with the move. I didn’t know what to believe. Was God out there? Did he care? Was he speaking to me? What was I hearing?

    I would have loved to have been able to read God on Mute back then. Through God’s grace I was able to mature in my faith, but it was a long and lonely road to travel, filled with hurt, questions, doubts. Perhaps Pete’s book will shorten the path of others. I hope so; because of God’s seeming silence, many Christians lose their faith or allow it to be it watered down to an insipid state.

    Pete Greig is a co-founder of the 24-7 Prayer movement, which has touched people around the world. He’s written about this prayer movement in another book, but this one is a profoundly personal yet deeply biblical exploration of unanswered prayer.

    Just weeks after the birth of their second son, Pete’s wife Samie suffered a horrible seizure. After rushing her to the hospital, they learned that she had a tumor in her head the size of an orange. As Pete says, “Why, I wondered darkly, hadn’t my prayers made any notable difference when Samie and I needed God’s help more than ever before?” And, “Here I am, one of the leaders within a prayer movement … and (dare I admit it?) my deepest prayers are impotent…” (p. 38-39)

    Pete searched for answers to the profound question of unanswered prayer, and determined that the book needed to be written that would fit between his wife’s “Reader’s Digest and a cappuccino.” God on Mute is the result of their years of prayers, searching, and reflection.

    It’s been a few years since I read this book, and I’d love to read it again, slowly. First time round I was propelled by the story of Pete’s wife, Samie, as she discovered the brain tumor and her subsequent epilepsy. I was gripped by this human drama, especially as my brother has struggled with epilepsy nearly his whole life.

    A book I will give to others and reread. It’s a treasure trove of wisdom which also poses the questions some are too afraid to raise.

     

    This book has been out a few years; have you read it? What stories do you have of unanswered prayer?

  • Review of a fab novel about spiritual formation

    Sensible Shoes: A Story about the Spiritual Journey

    by Sharon Garlough Brown (IVP, 978-0830843053)

    Some books come with a buzz. I don’t mean that reading them will cause an altered reality, but that people become so gripped and changed by these books that they want to share them with others – resulting in a buzz. Sensible Shoes is such a novel. I first heard of it on social networks, for Kathy Lee Gifford recommended it on one of the influential US talk shows. Intrigued that a book about the spiritual journey would receive such a big mention, I got myself a copy. From the promotional material I thought it was a how-to book about the spiritual disciplines, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found it was a novel.

    9780830843053The story charts the journey of four unlikely friends who bond through a spiritual formation course. Each woman is running from wounds of the past. Through their friendship and their engagement with spiritual practices such as lectio divina, praying with the labyrinth and imaginative prayer (Ignatian practices), they find peace. They also move into the adventures of a life partnering with God.

    I could relate to each of the women’s struggles as those I’ve addressed in my own journey of faith. Such as Hannah, who tries to prove her worth to God by serving others unswervingly, to the point of exhaustion and ignoring her own needs. Or Mara, who, feeling rejected, turns to food for comfort. Or Meg, who battles a critical voice in her head. Or Charissa, who seeks perfection and loves a controlled environment.

    One point that the author makes is that God often uses the irritants in our lives to wake us up to the issues we should face. As one of the spiritual directors says: “Remember, Charissa – the things that annoy, irritate, and disappoint us have just as much power to reveal the truth about ourselves as anything else. Learn to linger with what provokes you. You may just find the Spirit of God moving there” (p. 80). The prayer of examen, in which we look back at our day in the presence of God, can help us as we bring to mind those things or people that made our blood pressure rise. We can ask God to show us why we lost our temper – was it something physical like we were tired or hungry? Or something deeper, such as one of the deadly sins – pride, envy, anger and so on. When we’re transparent before God, he can bring his healing touch, filling the places that are yearning for love and affirmation. And he can lead us to repent, or spur us on to love our neighbor.

    And Sensible Shoes? Although they could have called it something with a bit more zing, it’s a book I’ll keep recommending.

  • Review of a non-typical novel from the Christian-fiction genre

    Babe’s Bible: Gorgeous Grace

    Karen Jones (Darton, Longman, Todd, ISBN 978-0232529203)

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    A couple of years ago I examined Christian fiction for Christian Marketplace, the then magazine of the trade. Before this article, I would read Christian novels here and there, forcing myself to pick them up with a hint of disdain. But reading twenty or so books in one go opened my eyes and rid me of any condescension. These books known as Christian fiction (those published expressly by Christian publishers, mostly coming out of the States) had matured. Characters felt real and authentic. Plot-lines no longer seemed false, such as last-chapter conversions. I found myself reading these books not only when I had to – for reviews – but now because I wanted to.

    Gorgeous Grace, the first installment of Babe’s Bible, not only doesn’t fit my previous view about Christian fiction but in the first couple of pages explodes any stereotypes. In fact, I’m not sure if would have continued reading if I hadn’t seen a review by Jennifer Rees Larcombe, a Christian author I trust. For the book opens with a group of women enjoying an evening out, fueled with wine and flirting, and continues with scenes of, shall we say, a sexual nature.

    Should so-called Christian books include sex, drinking, smoking, and the like? It’s an interesting question to consider. In the States, for instance, a debate has raged over what has been called censorship as a major conservative evangelical bookstore chain has refused to stock a book which refers to the author’s vagina. Those against claim they want their books “clean,” while those for say that it’s an anatomically correct way to refer to a woman’s private parts.

    At first I wondered if the sex and stuff in this book was gratuitous – a way to draw in an unsuspecting reader. But having read further along, I saw that the author’s treatment is helpful, for it shows the consequences of sin, such as how adultery can rip apart families and communities and yet how God can bring healing.

    You’re probably wondering what the novel is about! A modern-day woman is ordained in the Church of England and in her curacy finds herself amid a pastoral breakdown. Her outlet is to write fictional accounts of some of the women in the New Testament, including the woman caught in the act of adultery. As she writes, she finds the biblical story speaking into the real-life crisis – including the hurts from her own life that she had buried years ago.

    Not everyone will agree with the author’s biblical treatment, but I enjoyed how she brought the days of Jesus alive and fleshed out some minor characters. I felt her writing was strongest, however, in the story of the curate and her friends.

    What do you think – should fiction published by a Christian publisher pass a so-called clean test? Why or why not? Have you read Gorgeous Grace, or the second in the trilogy, Sister Acts? If so, what did you think?

    (Note to my friends outside of the UK: I’m afraid these books aren’t readily available outside these isles… Sorry.)

  • Review of Bill Hybels’ book on hearing God

    9780310318224The Power of a Whisper

    Hearing God. Having the Guts to Respond.

    Bill Hybels (Zondervan, 978-0310318224)

    I’ve long been fascinated by the subject of hearing God. In my twenties I edited Leanne Payne’s book on the subject, Listening Prayer. Engaging with her manuscript set me on a path of seeking God’s voice fervently. I felt awe the first time his whisper reverberated in my spirit: “I love you, beloved. You are mine.” But eventually my unbridled excitement that the God of the universe would actually speak to me led me to ignore the practice of testing what I was hearing (even though Leanne Payne counsels against this). For instance, I believed I heard God tell me to move cities to work with a Christian ministry, a place that conveniently was home to the man that I believed God was telling me to marry.

    You can probably guess that none of that happened – the move or the marriage. My hopes and faith splattered when my plans came to naught. I didn’t know what to think or believe.

    And yet I couldn’t give up listening to God. I tried, but I couldn’t cut the lifeline that had been giving me hope and love and affirmation – even though I had messed up in the interpretation. That major crash helped me to mature as I learned to wait before God, asking him to clarify and affirm what I was hearing – through the Bible, through his still, small voice, through trusted friends and family.

    I still gobble up books on this topic, always learning something new about our mysterious relationship with our Creator. When I heard about Bill Hybels’, I was surprised. I thought of him as a high-powered pastor and founder of the massive Willow Creek empire. My husband, also a pastor, has enjoyed his books, but I haven’t read any closely. Yet when I picked up The Power of a Whisper, I didn’t want to put it down. He tells the story of how God’s whispers have changed the course of his life, including creating Willow, learning how to parent, aching for the poor and so on. God has continually shaped him through these sometimes gentle, sometimes persistent communications from above. This book has mellowed my perception of him as an author.

    I thought his book could have been reduced by about a third – it started to feel a bit too long and unwieldy towards the end – but would recommend it as an introduction to hearing God. It’s especially suitable for any type-A guys in your life (I passed along my copy to the vicar with whom I sleep, and he’s loving it).

    Other books on the topic? Leanne Payne’s, as I mention above, as well as Dallas Willard’s Hearing God and Joyce Huggett’s Listening to God.

    What words will God have for you today?

     

    This review originally appeared in the March 2013 Woman Alive Book Club.

  • Two novels with a difference

    With summer coming, it seems time to delve into a good read. Here are two novels, but with a difference.

     The Sky Beneath My Feet, Lisa Samson (Nelson, ISBN 978-1595545459)

    A few years ago, I featured Embrace Me by Lisa Samson in the Woman Alive book club. I rave about her writing when given the chance; she’s one of my favourite Christian novelists. She fills her stories with real characters who could be living next door to you – such as the protagonist of The Sky Beneath My Feet: Beth, the wife of a pastor at a huge church. She’s a mother with teenaged sons and a wife whose husband experiences a sort of midlife crisis, where he retreats to the shed in the back garden to get in touch with God. How Beth deals with this absent husband/father/pastor makes up the novel’s storyline.

    The author manages to weave searching themes into the story: community, intimacy, envy, identity, love and commitment. For instance, in terms of identity, who are we, and who are we made to be? When we marry, do we morph into a different person – one our younger self might not recognise? What is intimacy in marriage, and how can we stop killing our marriages with “the death of a thousand cuts”(nagging)?

    One to read slowly and to ponder. And to enjoy for the author’s evocative use of language: “Like whisky in a sauce, Jed’s wrath will burn away quick enough” (page 53).

     

    Wings of Glass, Gina Holmes (Tyndale, ISBN 978-1414366418)

    Wings of Glass is another novel dealing with real-life issues. This one exposes the lies, fear and pain of an abusive marriage. As I read it, I thought back a few years to the pain of witnessing a friend who endured a long, protracted divorce from an abusive husband. And I thought about how that could have been me too; one of my relationships in my twenties, in particular, could have turned out nasty.

    Every couple’s story is different, but similar themes often emerge. Wings of Glass recounts how Penny fell prey to the charms of Trent when she was just 18. She marries him, delighted to leave her parents’ home, but doesn’t reckon on his verbal and physical abuse. Only the impending birth of their child after 10 years of marriage, and the help of some newfound friends, can make her face the reality of her husband’s brutality.

    It’s a gritty novel, but is marked with the hope of change as rooted in the Gospel. I agree with Liz Curtis Higgs, who says on the cover: “… so real that it reads like a memoir”. One to read prayerfully, asking God if there’s a woman near you who might be suffering in silence, and who might need a friend.

    Have you read either book or books by these authors? If so, what do you think?

     

    Join the Woman Alive Book Club, including our Facebook group. Giveaways, great discussion, interesting viewpoints. (This review originally appeared in the May 2013 print issue of Woman Alive.)