Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

faith & spirituality

When familiar words become fresh: Review of God Is Able by Priscilla Shirer {plus a giveaway}

Two verses. One powerful message.

In her new book, God Is Able, Priscilla Shirer breaks down Ephesians 3:20-21, familiar words from the apostle Paul, in a fresh and encouraging way. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for my review.)

Here are the words on which she bases the book:

Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

god is ableI will confess: this book made me nervous at first. I wondered if she was going to promise that God would answer every prayer if we just had enough faith to believe, or something along those lines. And I wondered if she had any hard places from which to draw her experience. It’s easy to place a Bible teacher, speaker or author on a pedestal of ease, thinking they’ve never had to deal with hardship.

I’m glad to say I was wrong on both accounts.

Shirer makes it clear from the beginning that she has experience with seemingly impossible situations. She lists some of them. And that she’s not promising results. She writes:

Just because God can doesn’t mean He will.

But just because He hasn’t doesn’t mean He won’t.

The bottom line is that He is able. (p. 13)

And it’s that theme, the title of the book, that carries through the book. Each chapter focuses on a word or a phrase from the verse in Ephesians, and I appreciated the chance to dig in to a set of verses that I sometimes gloss over.

Shirer is realistic and encouraging. She exudes hope, which is hard to handle sometimes when you’re in the midst of hopelessness, but doesn’t deny that life doesn’t always work out the way we want it to.

Whether or not God CHOOSES to do something is a question of His sovereignty, not His ability. Whether or not He WILL do it is His business. But believing that He CAN–that’s our business. (p. 62)

A tough assignment, especially for those of us with a tendency to want to fix and do something about our problems.

Shirer writes with boldness, humor and honesty. I appreciate her authenticity, and the book was so encouraging I wish I’d had a copy a year ago when life seemed impossible.

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Are you in the same boat? Because I’ve got a copy to give away. Leave a comment on this blog post. You can share about your impossible situation or simply tell me that you need this book. I’ll pick a winner on Sunday night, November 24.

How I'm learning to love the dying season

A few weeks ago, the trees around here were breathtaking in their fall colors. I’m learning that Lancaster County is a beautiful place to live in autumn. No matter which direction I drive, I see color and mountains and streams and rivers.

Beauty.

Some days, I’ve felt like I live in a painting, but no picture can quite capture it. Even if I was an award-winning photographer with professional equipment, the result would be inadequate.

fall color

Now, the leaves are falling. And the weather is turning colder. (Sort of.) And the days are shorter, the sunshine lacking.

I always get a little sad when the seasons change because, well, change is hard. When you get used to one thing–leaving the house without jackets, mittens and hats–and you have to switch suddenly, it’s jarring. I’ve sent my daughter to school without a winter coat on a cold day because I just didn’t think about her being outside for recess. And I forgot my coat when we went to the park on Saturday because it had been warm during the day. News flash: when the sun drops in the sky, the temperature goes with it. Live and learn.

And my eye is drawn to color. I notice the reds and pinks and yellows and differing shades of green. Sometimes I can’t believe there are so many different colors in nature, that trees that all look green in the summer display the whole palette of colors come fall.

So, winter, with its whites and grays and browns seems dreary.

But this year, I’m noticing beauty in the barren.

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Because what looks dead isn’t really dead. It’s dormant. Resting. Waiting.

If the trees were dead, there would be no hope. But they aren’t dead. They’re alive, and this is just a season. A part of the natural rhythm of life. Necessary, even, for the new life to come.

I have felt it in my days, those spring and summer seasons of life and fun and fullness, when everything seemed new and bright. And I have felt the dying seasons of change and loss and bleakness.

In the life seasons I rejoice, and I think things could stay this way all the time. In the dying seasons, I  wonder if spring will ever come again. If it will always be this way.

And, of course, it never is. Life, death, life again. The seasons change, in nature and in life, and we do well to find the joy where we can.

I can’t yet say that winter is my favorite season. Maybe none of them are my favorites anymore. Maybe they all hold their own special charm. And maybe I wouldn’t appreciate them at all if not for the others.

Without winter, would I anticipate spring? Without fall, could I endure the heat of summer?

“There is a time for everything,” the wise man writes. Living, dying, laughing, crying.

This winter, instead of moaning and whining about the cold, I want to find the beauty. Seek the joy.

Will you join me?