skip to main |
skip to sidebar
It is not often I think of all 66 books of the Bible as love letters from God. Frankly, not all of them leave me with that warm-fuzzy feeling associated with love.
However, the author of 66 Love Letters summarized the Bible book-by-book into a dialogue with God that reveals His love for us throughout all of Scripture. I believe one of the main points of the book is that God has a specific purpose for each book of the Bible - not just as a collection of spiritual guidelines, but as one Truth with one integral message of Love.
To be honest, I found this to be a hard read for mixed reasons. I found it awkward reading a constant dialogue between God and the author. The conversations between God and the author do provide a great contrast between Holiness and humanity. I just felt like if I was having the conversation, God and I would be talking about things differently.
The book was also hard because I did not entirely agree with the author’s view and understanding of Scripture. In an extremely condensed summary of what I mean: he emphasized God’s “tough love” and down-played His tenderness. The reason for this disconnect could relate to my first point – the book reflected the author’s relationship with God, whereas my relationship with Him is in a different place, focused on different lessons to be learned at this stage in my life.
This book did challenge me in a positive way too: the author emphasized God’s will for us to desire intimacy with Him above all else. The book helped me see this in places in Scripture I had overlooked before. I am also challenged to reconsider what I value most.
I recommend this book if you are ready for a challenge. Do not read this if you are seeking entertainment or even the warm-fuzzies expected from a love letter. Be ready to consider the words of this book carefully and apply them only prayerfully.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Where has my time gone?
Why do I feel so unaccomplished when my schedule is full of good and productive activities?
When will I ever get time to rest?
These are all questions I have asked myself more than once in my life and I know I am not alone in entertaining these thoughts. One reason I am so sure I’m not alone is because Ordering Your Private World is a book that addresses the root to these questions: the lack of order within one’s private self.
In his book, MacDonald provides chapter after chapter of practical truth and application for anyone wishing to get their inner lives in order. He uses Biblical wisdom as well as personal experience to explore and explain why people struggle with setting priorities and finding peace in the midst of daily routine.
There are only a couple of principles I was able to fully digest this first time reading it. Not because MacDonald is hard to follow or understand, but because of the depth of the wisdom within the book. One of these principles I picked up early in the book and found some relief and peace in: As a Christian I am called to a particular purpose and pursuit; therefore it is important I live as one who is called and not as one who is busy, distracted or driven by selfish ambition. This challenged me to assess how I spend my time – do my tasks contribute to my calling or my own ambition? What a great way to identify the time-wasters in life!
The other principle relates well to the first and I found it at the end of the book: Keep the Sabbath holy. What this means is not simply go to church on Sundays. This means understanding what the Sabbath is – a day of rest implemented and commanded by God for us all to observe. A day filled with church service (during which I work), eating out, finishing forgotten chores, making lists for the week and meeting up with friends, is frankly, not a day of rest. Rest is found is quietness, reflection, spending time in God’s presence. It is found in taking time to understand why we do what we are called to do; remembering our purpose and responding to God’s leading.
I found myself wishing I had taken notes while reading this book, something I hate to do since it feels so…academic. I was glad to discover there is a study guide in the back of the book which I plan to use my second time through. Once again, quite academic but something I believe is entirely necessary. It is the type of guide one cannot read, understand and implement all at one time. I hope to gather all the wisdom I can from this book so that I not only know what an ordered private world should look like, but so I can experience it as well.
Book My Shelf. I love to read. And any opportunity I have to add books to my library, I'll take it. This includes borrowing books from friends or the library. At least the book is on my shelf temporarily! Since I enjoy reading books and sharing them with others, I thought it would be fun to start a blog where I shared my thoughts on what I read. Hopefully it will help you as you seek out your next read. Mostly, it will spur me on to add more books to my shelf. Enjoy!
