kara4's review against another edition
5.0
This is absolutely a must read on suffering from a Biblical perspective. This is an encouraging and heartfelt read from someone who has suffered greatly, and writes in a way that encourages others to suffer well while trusting in the sovereignty of God. You believe her because you know she has done it herself, and she gives no easy pat answers. These are the stories I want to read and know from other believers because they help me draw closer to Christ in my walk when I encounter suffering, and it encourages me to pray for others as you never know what circumstances someone else is going through.
bookrecsondeck's review against another edition
4.0
Inspirational stories of how God used her painful experiences for His purpose. Got closer to God through trials. Good idea of making an ebenezer board to remember sacred moments with God
isabelchang5's review against another edition
3.0
As a former Christian, once in a while, I read Christian literature without the dogma of religion. This book is a great story of resilience, despite disagreeing with the author regarding how faith in God is more effective than stoicism to achieve resilience, and how emotional pain is something to be embraced rather than something to healthily deal through with, I find fascinating how it is embedded in human nature to find one way or another to deal with such pain.
The book is extremely easy to read, but I found it repetitive at times, it felt like journal entries just stacked together without any editing.
The book is extremely easy to read, but I found it repetitive at times, it felt like journal entries just stacked together without any editing.
rdubbaneh's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. Not much else to say after this one. This is a woman who has known true suffering, and yet can still look back and declare God as good and all her pain as worth it. Such a reminder that all the joy and grace that come to us out of suffering can and will redeem every ounce of grief and pain. Super simple read - Vaneetha writes in a very intimate and personal way, and breaks each chapter down into only a few pages making for easy digestion. The truth extracted out of this isn't as easily digestible, but wow is it good for the soul.
alangmaack's review against another edition
4.0
Risner has a beautiful view of suffering. The truth of who God is as he enters into our suffering with us and how we ought to respond to him as a result.
The one disappointing thing for me was that the blog was all individual blog posts. It made reading and putting the book down easier, but made continuity a struggle. It becomes repetitious in many places.
Still, it's worth the read.
The one disappointing thing for me was that the blog was all individual blog posts. It made reading and putting the book down easier, but made continuity a struggle. It becomes repetitious in many places.
Still, it's worth the read.
s_mack_'s review against another edition
3.0
This book was an easy read. Very personal. There were a couple of chapters that I felt were deeply personal to me and encouraging. Specifically, seasons of suffering are not the scraps we get when we don't get what we really wanted, but instead suffering is the times in our life when God often grows us into HIM. A time to worship for his goodness especially when we don't understand all of it instead of worshiping the gifts we really wanted.
“Life is full of pain. Sometimes God miraculously delivers us. When he does, we rejoice and give him glory. He makes all things new and brings beauty from ashes. Sometimes we aren’t delivered, but he gives us true contentment in our circumstances, so the world can see his peace and satisfaction. And sometimes he leaves us with a constant ache, a reminder that this world is not our home, and we are just strangers passing through."
“Life is full of pain. Sometimes God miraculously delivers us. When he does, we rejoice and give him glory. He makes all things new and brings beauty from ashes. Sometimes we aren’t delivered, but he gives us true contentment in our circumstances, so the world can see his peace and satisfaction. And sometimes he leaves us with a constant ache, a reminder that this world is not our home, and we are just strangers passing through."
littlecornerreads's review against another edition
5.0
”Those of us with scars should wear them like jewels, treasured reminders of what we’ve endured. It’s okay to show our imperfections. It is even courageous. And perhaps we’ll discover the beauty in our scars.”
A misdiagnosis leaving her paralyzed as an infant.
Twenty one surgeries by the age of thirteen.
A limp that left her bullied and isolated.
Three miscarriages.
A two-month old son's death caused by a doctor's mistake.
Limited energy reserves and the challenges of post-polio syndrome.
An unwanted divorce.
Any one of these things would be enough to make me want to curl up into a ball and beg the Lord to take me home, but Vaneetha Rendall Risner has endured all these things and continues to praise God in the midst of her suffering.
This is a book that everyone needs to read at least once because suffering will come for all of us, and the truths in this book are footholds to cling to when waves throw us against the Rock of Ages. I read this book towards the tail end of a global pandemic and my own personal bout with illness. During this awkward in-between period of being better but not quite well, Vaneetha's book has been such a blessing to me. It's filled with Scripture but also deeply personal. She encourages and bolsters her readers but is raw and honest as she address the pain and struggle of suffering. She tells her readers, "I have been there, but God has seen me through the storm" and shows them the way back to the cross. Her example of joy and hope in the midst of unimaginable affliction is such an encouragement because if God can preserve and sustain her through all that, I know He can and is doing the same for me.
Each chapter is short and can stand on its own, which is especially helpful because it can be hard to read or process a ton of information when you're already going through a lot. In the grand scheme of things, this is a quick read but so, so good. Vaneetha is economic in her use of words made me, and I found myself wanting to highlight everything because each page was filled with nuggets of wisdom and insight.
*How I read this book
This is definitely a book I will come back to. It sits with readers in their tragedy while remaining fixed on Biblical truth. This could easily have devolved into an autobiographical book highlighting Vaneetha's experiences and exalting her endurance, but instead she spends most of the book pointing to Jesus. This isn't a book filled with trite advice or platitudes. There are no rose-colored sermons on God's sovereignty in the midst suffering. Vaneetha speaks of suffering with the kind of gut-wrenching emotion that can only come from personal experience. Like the lamenting psalmists, she pours her heart, her messy emotions, her anguished sobs out onto the page, but after the tears come truth, and after the truth come praise. She shows us how to fight for joy in the midst of affliction by the example of her life. She is a lone figure, often with tears in her eyes, standing firmly grounded in God's character and promises, pointing the weary to Christ.
”As I look back over my life, those simple, lighthearted days are not the ones for which I’m most grateful. I’m most grateful for the days when I’ve had to fight for faith. The days I’ve called out to God in desperation and pain. The days I have barely survived, struggled to make it through, wondered if life was worth it, after all. The days that have driven me to my knees. These have molded my character, grown my dependence, and made me see Jesus.”
annascottcross's review against another edition
4.0
This is an excellent book. Vaneetha is so real with her pain and raw in her writing style, making her easy to relate to. Yet at the same time, her faith is so deep and her points are so scripturally strong. She highlights a beautiful point that is often missed in Christian culture - it's ok to be heartbroken and angry, it is ok to lament to God, and it is ok to admit defeat. She so eloquently removes the need to shove aside our feelings in order to be "content," and shares what a blessing it is to be real. My only complaint about this book is that it felt a bit disjointed in its writing - more like a collection of blogposts instead of a cohesive book - but that is a minor complaint, and overall the book is still wonderful.
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