Tuesday, January 8, 2019

The Golden Thread - Darlene Zschech

This book about the author’s walk with God was interesting, as it talked about the challenges of following God, such as being surprised in good ways and bad by adventures, including moves, new ministries, and health crises. Much of the writing aims to encourage others in their journeys through life, to lean on and learn from God. That being said, this book was not quite my cup of tea for a couple of reasons. One was that it tended to be wordy, as exemplified by this paragraph from page 46: “I am humbled when I think of the times God spoke to Abraham and Moses and Joshua and David and His prophets, how Jesus drew near to an outcast woman at a well, how God spoke to a young virgin through an angel, how He spoke and created the earth and the planets and every living thing above and under the earth through His word. And yet, He still longs to dwell in me and you, and lead us in the way that only He can.” That paragraph reminds me of how people speak, not how they should write; there are a lot of “and”s and a lot of topics in that first very long sentence. Much of the book reads this way. Another reason this book was not a good fit for me was that I come from a different church tradition than the author. On page 143, Darlene Zschech said three people during one shopping trip asked to “pray with me or prophesy over me.” One said, “I have asked my pastor that if ever I saw you here, could I please give you this word that I feel is for you. I see and hear thousands of regal horses galloping up the freeway toward the Central Coast. This picture represents strength and leadership, literally galloping together in response to the many prayers that have been prayed over this region for many, many years. God has said that you are here as a part of this prophesy.” I am not familiar with people prophesying over others or giving “this word.” Because of this, there were aspects of this book where I questioned whether I understood what was written; words I thought were common were used in ways I did not know. Still, there were lessons offered and encouragements written that can be helpful. It is not a book I recommend, but if my two criticisms above do not resonate with you, this may be a book you will enjoy. I received this book for free in exchange for my unbiased review through the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze Program.