Synopses & Reviews
Throughout the past two decades, Renita J. Weems has been noted and praised for her writing, galvanizing national speaking, and pioneering scholarship in the field of Old Testament studies. Yet in the midst of her celebrated work, she was experiencing a profound spiritual crisis permeated by a hollow, painful silence that seemed, at times, to mark an irreparable rupture in her communication with God.
In this deeply affecting book, Weems addresses the believer's yearning for God through periods of inconstancy, vacillation, and disenchantment. Her own spiritual disquietude will be familiar to all who struggle to maintain faith while the details of daily life -- negotiating with children and spouses, caring for ailing parents, living up to professional expectations, developing hobbies, managing finances, and planning for the future -- compete for energy with one's relationship with God. In sharing her own strategies for redefining mundane rituals so that they contribute to reverence and devotion, Weems offers a beacon of light for all believers struggling to listen for God amidst the din of worldly demands and distractions.
Review
Colman McCarthy The Washington Post Book World Weems' book, a deep well of reflective and often uplifting prose, shows a writer confessionally and candidly explaining the burdens of believing....While Weems listens to her Almighty, readers can listen to her -- and hear the voice of a wise and doubt-challenging woman who writes as powerfully as she believes.
Review
Essence Anyone who has fought to hang on to faith amidst life's difficulties, large and small, will find this book a gem worth keeping.
About the Author
Renita J. Weems is a writer, Bible scholar, and minister, and the author of Just a Sister Away and I Asked for Intimacy. She lives with her husband and their daughter in Nashville, Tennessee, where she also teaches Old Testament studies at Vanderbilt University Divinity School.
Table of Contents
ContentsPreface
Chapter One: The Mystery of Silence and Prayer
Stumbling in the Silence
Around and Around
Surrender to the Silence
Believing in Believing
A Chance Encounter
Teach Us to Pray
I Know Why Sarah Laughed
Simplicity
The Longest Prayer
Ordinary Time
Blessed Quietness
Saint Fallow
Come Sunday
Chapter Two: The Mystery of Ministry
And the Word Became Flesh
Revival
I Too Have a Dream
The Welcome Table
The Tap of an Angel
Holy Ground
The Itinerant Journey
Chapter Three: The Mystery of Marriage and Mothering
Behold, I Show You a Mystery
Mother's Day
The Grace of Daily Obligation
If I Knew Then What I Know Now
Fidelity
Chapter Four: The Mystery of Miracles
Eternal Life
The Music of Noise
Lord, There's Been a Great Change in Me
Emmaus
The Last Day for Miracles
Behold, I Show You a Mystery
When the Bush Stops Burning
Bibliography