"When God Weeps" by Joni Eareckson

"When God Weeps" by Joni Eareckson

This isn't exactly what one would call a 'light read'. This is very heavy stuff and should probably come with a health warning, that at times you will feel a bit despairing about the world. However, Joni Eareckson is an authoress well qualified to write about such things. She suffered a sporting accident in her teen years and has been paralysed from the neck down ever since. She has devoted her life to spreading the gospel out of this experience, and in this book she explores human suffering and why it matters to God.

At times I found this book very frustrating because there seemed to be a lot of dire situations with no real clear cut answers, only hypothetical conclusions that may or not be true. But then I realised, is this not true of life? When we go through trials, we may have inclings as to why they are happening but we are surely not given full avail of the facts! This book does a good job of outlining some of the reasons for suffering, while not pigeon holing God as a deity who needs to act in a certain way and leaving the freedom that his power commands.

The main thing that I took away from this book is that God cares. Yes, he allows suffering to happen. Ultimately, he causes it (debate that statement if you want!). But he cares and our suffering causes him much sorrow. But in the eternal perspective, it is for our good. A good book on suffering that outlines some of the reasons, the hardships, and the benefits.

7/10.

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"The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lencioni

 

"The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lencioni

An excellent book about team building. Lencioni has a great reputation for business books and this one is no different. His writing style means that two thirds of the book is actually a fictional story, about a new CEO and the task she faces in bringing a very dysfunctional team together. One criticism you could therefore chuck at this book is that the dysfunctions (and therefore how you overcome them) is all fiction, and so it may not necessarily be realistic. But having had a few jobs myself, the points behind the story ring true and it was very illuminating.

Additionally, having been a business undergraduate for four and a half years (cannot wait to finish), it was refreshing to read a business book which had it's own ideas and was not referencing five million article on every page. In addition, it gets down to practicalities rather than sticking on theory, and actually gets off the fence and puts forward an opinion: something that many business academics would do well to take heed of.

Overall, a good book for anyone who is in or leading a team. Which is most people then. Very good.

7/10.

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'Trusting God' by Jerry Bridges

"Trusting God" by Jerry Bridges

You really cannot go wrong with anything by Jerry Bridges. He is a wise old man who has lived life, been through some incredible hard times, yet has walked faithfully with God throughout. And this book is about how to trust God through those hard times, as the strapline 'even when life hurts' indicates. This book is all about how to trust God in those hard times, looking at why God is trustworthy, why life sometimes hurts, and exactly what it means to trust him.

Put simply, this book is gold, and will help any Christian in their faith. Bridges writes with such clarity, and you cannot help but be encouraged. Read it. One of those absolute must haves.

9/10.

To purchase, click here -