Monday, November 12, 2007



*Brave Hearts: Unlocking the Courage to Love with Abandon by Sharon A Hersch*


I had several non-fiction books "in progress" and decided it was time to finish them all up. This is one of them.
A dear friend loaned this book to me as I was processing a relationship that was perplexing me. I think my discussions with the friend (you know who you are) were as helpful as the book. ::snort::
There were things in this book that I loved. Sharon clearly brings out how it is God's will for us to live in relationship, to love others with abandon, that He has placed that desire for relationships in our heart and that it is worth the effort.
I've never really done a lot of reading of the Message and a few times the verses quoted from the Message simply didn't mean what they were translated to mean. Often one phrase from a verse was pulled to prove a point - this sort of proof texting doesn't work for me. BUT the thoughts and such in this book were helpful. At times I felt that the author was leaning a bit too much to the psychology side of the spectrum....but never so much that I thought "WHAT - I'm done". LOL
I do think this is a worthwhile read. The illustration of the shoeless girl will stick with me - I even gave out shoes and told the story at the start of our Bible Study on friendships. LOL Hmmm....I can't remember if I ever shared that illustration on the blog....
I think that many have mistaken Jesus' call for us to live in relationship (with Him and others) and instead we try to retreat. In other words we see retreat as spiritual where God calls us to live out our walk with Him in relationship (with times of retreat, of course). This author clearly portrays how brave it is for women to continue to love with abandon and to pursue in-depth, relationships.
Yes, another fall reading book.
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