Book Review: "And Still She Laughs" by Kate Merrick

By Ian Acheson

The Blurb

Kate Merrick examines the Bible’s gritty stories of resilient women as well as her own experience losing a child—a journey followed by more than a million on prayfordaisy.com—to reveal the reality of surprising joy and deep hope even in the midst of heartache.

Is it possible live fully—even joyfully—in the middle of overwhelming pain?

In the excruciating aftermath of her young daughter’s death from cancer, Kate Merrick struggled to find a way to live. Not just to survive or go through the motions, but to live fully. Faithfully. With real joy amid inevitable tears.

To discover how, Kate delved into the stories in the Bible of real women who suffered deeply and emerged somehow joyful. How did Sarah, after twenty-five years of achingly empty arms, learn to laugh without bitterness? How did Bathsheba, defiled by the king who then had her husband killed, come to walk in strength and dignity, to smile without fear of the future? In her encounters with these heroines of the faith, Kate discovered how to have contentment—and even joy—whatever the circumstances. 

By turns heartbreaking and humorous, And Still She Laughs reveals the secret to finding hope in the midst of devastation. In the end, no matter what hardships we face, we can smile, cry, and come away full—laughing without fear and eagerly looking for what is to come.

My Review

I first came to know of Kate Merrick when I stumbled across her husband, Britt, and their church in Carpinteria, California about 8 years ago. Soon thereafter I became aware of their daughter, Daisy's, illness. And so I joined the global army of prayers that stood on the watchtower for dear little Daisy and this gorgeous family.

After a few years of immense struggle, dearest Daisy passed away in the arms of her parents and brother, Isaiah. The family held a wonderful memorial service for their little girl, which those of us from far way were able to watch.

And then the family went off the grid. For years.

They bunkered down in their grief and loss. I was one of those who from far away wondered from time to time how they were doing.

Until February this year. I was watching IF Gathering annual event and lo-and-behold Britt and Kate step onto the stage and both speak. Britt ministers in the Word (golly gosh can this man preach!) and Kate shared as only she can. And then she mentioned this little book she'd written that was coming out in a few weeks.

It's a wonderful book. As another reviewer states so eloquently: "She (Kate) writes from a depth of understanding grief and from an inspiring place of understanding how to grieve but still live life fully and with joy."

Daisy's presence is threaded throughout every page ... the first few chapters are intense as we read how grief knocked Kate down. But ever so slowly the Lord in all His tenderness lifted this wonderful lady back on her feet. Through His Words and gentle touch.

Kate shares the stories of 3 great women of the Bible who also suffered much: Sarah, Abraham's wife, Bathsheba and Mary, mother of Jesus. Kate's retelling of their stories brings them alive in a way I'd never experienced. Especially, Mary. Chapter 6 is a very powerful chapter. Mary, this teenager, who had everything to lose, says 'Yes" to Gabriel, when he informs her she is to birth the Messiah. How she must have suffered. Her family, her betrothed, her community would have all scorned her.

But she still said: "Yes"

I want her faith.

This is a book about so much more than grief and loss. It's also about the discovery of leaning into the mystery of walking with the lover of our souls, Jesus. It's a book that often brought me to tears but also made me laugh and laugh. Death of a loved one, especially one so young, doesn't make any sense. And even though Kate doesn't know the answer to why Daisy passed away much too young, she knows the lover of her soul is always close, always tender, always loving and suffered as much as Kate did.

Read this book especially if you're struggling with grief and loss but even if you aren't you'll find this a wonderful book that opens one's eyes to the immensity of Jesus' love for each of us and through all of life's ups and downs He gives us hope and a reason to laugh.

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Sydney. Ian's first novel of speculative fiction, Angelguard, is available in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Angelguard was recognised with the 2014 Selah Award for Speculative Fiction.You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter

Book Review: Things Not Seen: A Fresh Look at Old Stories of Trusting God’s Promises by Jon Bloom

Blurb

God is doing far more than we can see in our pain.

We plead for God’s deliverance from our pain and wonder why he keeps letting it go on. We are not alone. A cloud of witnesses surrounds us and they help us understand. In these 35 creative retellings of Bible stories, Jon Bloom explores the hope and joy that Abraham, Moses, Naomi, John the Baptist, and others experienced in the painful process of discovering that God’s promises really are more trustworthy than our perceptions.

My Review

Jon Bloom is one of the authors and Board Chair of John Piper's Desiring God website, a site I frequent one or two times a week.

I found this series of 35 sketches of Biblical characters to be so encouraging. Bloom explores matters of the heart by shining new light on some of the better known biblical stories. They are short with a brief introduction on the truth being explored followed by the vignette and each ends with a short commentary on the story and truth.

All of the stories and truths are topical and very relevant for us all. I so appreciated the story of Jonathan and David. Bloom introduces the sketch with the notion that yielding power can be a tremendous challenge. We are then transported to the time when David is on the run from Saul. Bloom depicts the beauty of their friendship and in particular Jonathan's humility in yielding his succession to the throne to David.

Samson's story was another one that particularly touched me: "the gifts God gives us are about God's greatness not ours. They should keep us humble …"

It ends with a few pages of great encouragement. Our journey with Christ is a hard one and Bloom acknowledges this with a series of verses that he connects with a relevant angst that we all contend with most days. The sketches “remind us that God hides His most precious treasures in our most difficult and painful experiences.” Bloom’s parting words of "Don't give up" sum this magnificent work up so well.

It’s a quick read, each sketch being only three to four pages. I'm sure I'll be reading this again before too long and will be sharing it with others. BTW, the PDF of the book is accessible from desiringgod.org. 

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Northern Sydney. Ian's first novel of speculative fiction, Angelguard, is now available in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter

Book Review: Bystanders by Valerie Volk

Review by Paula Vince

Bystanders is a collection of short stories, each one exploring a minor or incidental character in the Bible. It is a work of fiction written to encompass the Bible's information and extend it by imagination, to flesh out the people and enable readers to see the similarities between these people of long ago and ourselves.

At the end of the book there is a resource for further study, particularly for small groups, with questions to stimulate thought and discussion, furthering the reflective process the stories naturally stimulate.


MY THOUGHTS:
 
Fifteen Bible stories are retold from the points of view of observers who didn't have pivotal roles. This shift makes the stories multi-faceted, showing them in a whole new light.

Some of the bystanders are close to people who did feature most strongly. Esau's wife, Basemath, quietly fumes about the stunt her husband's twin and their mother pulled on him. The mother of Elisha's servant, Gehazi, wonders if her son's attraction to material goods was partly her fault. The father of the former blind man doesn't feel completely willing to thank Jesus for his son's healing, since it brought a decrease in begging earnings and trouble with the authorities.

Other bystanders happened to be nearby for whatever reason, perhaps in their line of work. The soldier who delivered messages between David and Joab gives his opinion on the king's dealings with Uriah and Bathsheba. The son of the bandit who attacked the Good Samaritan lurks in the shadows, watching the aftermath of the mischief.

Revisiting action through the eyes of people we wouldn't expect packs a powerful punch. They sometimes highlight how crazy the ways of God can strike people, compared to human wisdom. Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, ponders what appears to be a suicide mission to move the Israelites out of Egypt, when the only reasonable response would seem to be, 'It's not going to happen.' The man who could have won Ruth's hand explains why he chose to waive his family rights and let Boaz make the move as kinsman redeemer instead. A servant in the household of Mary and Martha describes the general sense of disbelief when the respected Teacher turns out to be a simple, uneducated country yokel from Galilee with a rough rabble of followers, who twists the prophets' words until they make more sense than before, if possible.

The bystanders also give the stories a feeling of immediacy, evoking time and place so vividly. I found it worth jotting down a few quotes from the unusual perspectives.

Pontius Pilate's wife, who'd known him since childhood, explains how he became a man 'whose name will be remembered in ways that he'd flinch at.'

A man waiting in the crowd to stone the woman caught in adultery looks at Jesus and reflects, 'If he truly wants to be seen as a man of God, he needs to pick up a stone himself.'

My favourite perhaps, is the line ex-Persian queen Vashti says of Esther. 'She might have saved the Jews, but she didn't do much for women.' That was quite thought-provoking, and got me laughing. The discussion questions at the end are worded in such a way to stimulate deep thought, rather than simple answers, so I'd recommend the book for any group or person who wants to delve beneath the superficial.

Paula Vince is a South Australian author of contemporary, inspirational fiction. She lives in the beautiful Adelaide Hills, with its four distinct seasons, and loves to use her environment as settings for her stories. Her novel, 'Picking up the Pieces' won the religious fiction section of the International Book Awards in 2011, and 'Best Forgotten' was winner of the CALEB prize the same year. She is also one of the four authors of 'The Greenfield Legacy', Australia's first and only collaborated Christian novel. Her most recent novel, 'Imogen's Chance' was published April 2014. For more of Paula's reflections, please visit her blog, The Vince Review.