Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Tea & Read: Welcome Home

Title: Welcome Home!
Author: Kimberley Woodhouse
Rating: Spend the Day Sleepy
I am primarily a pleasure/escapist reader. I love a story that takes me out of my life and transport me to another. Most of my book selections are based on how far it will take my from my own world, but occasionally, I read a book that causes me to look at my life in a different light. Welcome Home is one of those books. I haven't been gut-checked this hard since I read The Hole in the Gospel by Richard Sterns (see previous post).
The tagline to this book is "Our Family's Journey to Extreme Joy." Extreme is a perfect word to describe this journey. The Woodhouse family's story in this book drives home the point that bad things happen to godly people, but God is able to sustain them through them all.
I think that is greatest message I gained from this book. As I read this book, I thought to myself, I don't know if I could have handled all that. And Woodhouse makes it clear that she didn't think she could either. But the book is full of examples of God's ability to take care of His children.
The second greatest message of the book, for me, was that I need to stop whining about the challenges in my life. No, I don't have as many challenges as the Woodhouse family did, but I serve the same God. If God brought them through (and continues to do so), then He is able to handle my problems.
If you find yourself whining about the problems you have in your life, then this book is for you. It is a wonderful perspective change and it will show you how the possibility of having real, practical joy in your life.

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