Monday, September 3, 2012

Book Review - Story by Steven James


Story: Our Journey of Heartache and Grace from Eden to Evermore by Steven James is a book unlike any I've read before.  If you are someone who enjoys the art of language (words choice, imagery, voice), you will be amazed my the skill of author Steven James.  I was caught time and time again going back to read a paragraph just to unpack the beauty of his words and meanings. 

If you like poetry, unlike me, you may find the poems sprinkled throughout the text intriguing.

But there was a lot more to this book than just the language.  The ideas were ones that were fresh to me.  In the familiar biblical stories I've known for years, I saw things in new ways.  New perspectives.  New insights.  I would not allow myself to read more than one chapter, or sometimes part of a chapter, just to give me time to digest and reflect on what I had read.  I figured this would just be a summary of Genesis to Revelation but it was so much more.  God's character was exposed again and again.  His power, majesty, and grace shined throughout.  His mercy, humility, and gentleness were hard to miss.

I could see countless discussions coming from a group reading this book.  It would be ideal for a book club or a small group study.  It's also great for personal study time which is how I used it. 

It was a truly captivating book.

This book was given to me to review by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.  All opinions are my own.  I was not paid to write this review.

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