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This is my first book review for Tyndale House Publishers. Honestly, when I was looking at the available books, I didn't recognize any of the authors and I almost waited to choose my first book until I saw something I was more interested in. But God had other plans.
I narrowed my choice to two of the three available books. I love to read and decided, why not try one of them. I almost chose one, but last minute went for the other. The other being Grumble Hallelujah by Caryn Dahlstrand Revadeneira. I fully expected some tiny little book with a bunch of fluff and I was a little disappointed went it arrived at 256 pages. Yikes. I have to read this whole book?
I sat down and started reading. Let me just say that my expectations and initial observations were quickly turned upside down and ripped apart.
Caryn's story is universal in so many respects. She speaks openly about things that most moms and most women, and honestly most Christians, don't want to admit. This book is not fluff. This book is filled with raw emotion, raw observations, and real Truth. Yes, Truth with a capital T.
We all face difficult things in our lives to varying degrees. We all have expectations. Sometimes our lives live up to those expectations and well, sometimes they don't. How do we respond when life doesn't go the way that we think that it should? In the five sections of her book, Caryn gives a suggested path. Through humor, life experiences, and scripture, Caryn shows that we can and should say hallelujah in the midst of our circumstances – even if we can only grumble it at first under our breath.
My favorite part of the book was the section on grief. That's the section that really hit me between the eyes. Many circles of Christ-followers down play grief, especially overly emotional grief. As strong believers or strong women, the norm is that we shouldn't cry over losses. But that's not the way that God created us. From the obvious loss of loved ones to the loss of what could have or should have been in our lives, God created us to grieve. Grieving is a God created response that cleanses us and allow us to move on with our lives. Thank you Caryn for exposing this.
An interesting connection for me in the book is when Caryn describes an encounter with what may have been an angel in, of all places, my hometown of St. Joseph, MI. Crazy. Funny thing is that I remember hearing stories of people encountering angels in the area 20-30 years ago when I was growing up there. Seriously. I don't remember details, but I remember hearing stories.
Mom, wife, woman. Stop trying to hold it all together and act as if things are always ok. They're not. Grumble Hallelujah and see what truly seeking after God has to offer.
This book gets 5 stars from me!
Let me leave you with an interview with Caryn:
{Disclaimer: I received this book at no cost to me in exchange for an honest review through the Tyndale Blog Network.}
