A FIERCE LOVE by Shauna Shanks

This is a memoir of one Christian wife's marriage and how she saved it. Shanks begins her book with Acknowledgments of those who have made her book possible. She spreads her content in 30 chapters and ends with Notes for the sources she used for the book. Each of her chapters begins with a Bible verse that fits with the chapter. In addition to being a wife and mother, Shanks is an entrepreneur. She started a health food cafe called Smallfolk.

This book was quite what I expected. Shanks get quite personal about her struggles with her husband. She doesn't gloss over his failings or her own. As her book (and the experience of too many of us shows), there is nothing like a bad or challenging marriage to surface our moral and spiritual failings. While the author is quite pro-marriage, she places no guilt trip on those who can't make their marriages work but choose divorce instead. She endorses the Sarah Young devotional, JESUS CALLING, with its questionable theology of relying on feeling and experiences at the expense of Scripture. Shanks claims an intimacy with God that consists, if we can believe her account, of personal communications. She also talks about experiences with dreams and professes having dreams and visions. To be sure, Scripture teaches about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, of which the supernatural is integral. It is just that I grew up in a tradition that has edited out the supernatural, relegating it to the Bible days.

I recommend this book for any woman who wants to save her marriage. I recommend it even for girls and women who are engaged to be married. They can maybe get a stronger start in their marriages. But this book is one-sided, addressed only to wives. Someone needs to write a counterpart book for husbands in challenging marriages. It seems that more wives than husband have motivation plus resources, to fight for their marriages, than husbands do. This needs to change. Maybe the husband of this author can write his book one day? That would be awesome if he would.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through BOOKLOOKBLOGGERS, in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to give a favorable review of this book.

Divided by Bill Delvaux

This book falls in Thomas Nelson Refraction series books, just as is a book that I had reviewed, months ago, for this blogspot. This collection of books stated mission is to offer Biblical solutions to topics that were once taboo or ignored. This book begins with an introduction. It is arranged in three parts. Part One provides an analysis of the problem, with examples from the author's life and from the lives of people whom he knows. Part Two continues with how to deal with the problem, again using examples from the author's life and from the lives of those whom he knows. Part Three concludes with the resolution of the problem, once more using examples from the author's life and from the lives of others. He ends with a conclusion, with an appendix of suggestions for application of the principles in this book, followed by a couple of pages of endnotes. This author has served as a Pastor and a high school Bible teacher. Currently, he serves as retreat speaker and a small group coach.

I chose this book because of the concept of the disconnect between what we know in our heads and appreciate in our hearts. As I read this book, I did not expect this author to link head knowledge of truth with what he calls inauthenticity of one's life. But that makes sense. As he provides many examples from his own life and from the lives of people he knows, I found myself wondering how attempting such level of transparent sharing of our deep needs would sell in many of our churches. We have been conned into thinking that people with deep needs need to be referred to professionals for "extra support," when the Bible calls us in the Christian community to "Confess our sins to each other and pray for each other, so that you may be healed." (James 5:16). The sad truth is that such sharing is discouraged in local church fellowships. At least in my experience, the sharing of deep needs is exceedingly rare, so that you can attend any local church fellowship, encounter many people even week after week, without anyone getting to know you or you them. The deepest sharing of needs that is typically done in these settings concerns illness, loss of loved ones by natural causes, and maybe unemployment. It is leadership in local congregations who set the tone for how deep we can go in small group settings. Aside from this issue, this author is very honest about his own life and past, setting an example. And he admits that he still struggles so he cannot be faulted for the self-righteousness that I see in so many Christian writings. Yet the focus on feelings gives the reader the idea that our feelings can be used as a measurement for our level of growth in the Christian life. The emphasis of the book is on our experiences. This is not surprising, as this author cites Sarah Young, author of JESUS CALLING, in his preface. He credits her as an influence on his writing. In the focus on seeking a "deeper walk with Jesus," we do indeed see that sin affects us at a far deeper level than we care to know. This author claims that sin is to blame for the great disconnect between our head knowledge and our heart knowledge and he uses the "great divide" as the metaphor of our fallen sinful condition. This book seems to be directed to Christians who are more mature in the faith and are able to detect more subtle sin in their lives. Many Christian teachers may think this book is too "therapeutic" in approach to be Biblically sound, including those who call themselves Nouthetic Counselors. It isn't a balanced approach to the Christian life but focuses on our relationship with God. As with any book that claims to represent God, check what this author says with the inspired Word of God.

I recommend this book for Pastors and their families, as this book was written by a Pastor who makes very personal confessions about his life and his past. It should be read by those in church leadership, including church Board Members and Small Group Co-ordinators, who set the tone for small groups and how deep we can go in "building community" in our small groups and carrying out the command to the Christian community to mutually love each other as Christ loves us. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the deeper life of the heart. I would like to see a youth version of this book, as many youth like to discuss these issues.

I received this book free of charge through Booklook Bloggers, in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to give a positive review of this book.