Life is hard...

Romans 5:3

The Message (MSG)

 ^3-5There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

Sweet Sanctuary by Sheila Walsh & Cindy Martinusen Coloma

Sweet Sanctuary centers around fictional character Wren; a single mom who suddenly finds her life turned upside down with the arrival of her elderly grandmother.  Wren is forced to face a very painful past, dysfunctional family relationships, and uncertainty in her future.  Through these trials, Wren explores what God's role is in her life and finds answers to some difficult questions.

The thing that I loved most about this book was its character development.  The authors really dig deep into the inner workings of the mind and human heart.  Throughout the book, as the main character Wren transforms we see the value of our thoughts, and how they affect our feelings and circumstances.  Sweet Sanctuary does not shy away from really portraying a believer's struggles, and the messiness of life.

This book has many universal truths and many of the circumstances are relevant to the body of Christ today.  Although I feel the book could of connected a little deeper with some of those truths, the authors did an amazing job melding together the message, the characters and the storyline.  The book flowed well, and it was difficult to put down!


I also really loved the ending, and although I won't give anything away, you can walk away from this book feeling uplifted and not taken from.  In general, I liked this book and am giving it a 4 stars out of 5.  

This book was provided to me free from Book Sneeze, pending an unbiased review.