Scan barcode
kritter513's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
nrichtsmeier's review against another edition
4.0
The danger of leaving a book in your "to-read" list for too long is I develop a bit of a complex about it. Particularly if I engage that author in other places (like Twitter) then I start to fill in the gaps of what I think the book will be, write it in my mind, and come to it with less than the openness it requires.
I fear this happened to me a little bit with The Ministry of Ordinary Places. I was ready for the prophetic word, game-changing realizations from Shannan about how useless our suburban acquisitiveness is and how social justice is the work we must be doing. I perhaps projected onto her a piece of my self-shaming of my own situation, wanting her to agree that I was wasting my life on frivolous things. I needed to move to the city and learn how to be a real boy.
Disappointingly--and stunningly--Shannan instead rushed me to her kitchen table and told me stories of soup (there's lots of references to soup in this book), the recently incarcerated, small church normalcy, and the struggles of maintaining relational faithfulness in a world collapsing under disappointment.
She told me how we need not to go looking for another life, but to find the Spirit of Life in the one we are in. To stumble into our next things rather than strategically planning them, and to savor a sense of calling in every moment. Shannan will do nothing for your sense of self-importance or your demand for life-worth-living. She instead will remind you that being a Gospel person means that every life is worth living, and therein lies both the rub and the resurrection.
The book is wondrously ordinary. Simple in its prose, deeply mundane in its prophetic wisdom. It is the prosperity gospel printed in inverse. Instead of promising a world of greatness and earned blessing for the faithful, it shows the real world of unearned suffering for the faithful and faithless alike, and the beauty of God inexplicably shining through the dark cracks. Where other writers claim that God's light shines brightest in the dark places, Shannan takes winsome escapism out of that phrase and simply plants us in the dark and serves us soup, with a laugh and tightly held hand.
Sometimes books aren't what we expect, but they are what we need. Shannan's deeply grounded insight and benevolence is the heroism we need right now. I'll be looking for more of it in myself and in others, right where I am.
I fear this happened to me a little bit with The Ministry of Ordinary Places. I was ready for the prophetic word, game-changing realizations from Shannan about how useless our suburban acquisitiveness is and how social justice is the work we must be doing. I perhaps projected onto her a piece of my self-shaming of my own situation, wanting her to agree that I was wasting my life on frivolous things. I needed to move to the city and learn how to be a real boy.
Disappointingly--and stunningly--Shannan instead rushed me to her kitchen table and told me stories of soup (there's lots of references to soup in this book), the recently incarcerated, small church normalcy, and the struggles of maintaining relational faithfulness in a world collapsing under disappointment.
She told me how we need not to go looking for another life, but to find the Spirit of Life in the one we are in. To stumble into our next things rather than strategically planning them, and to savor a sense of calling in every moment. Shannan will do nothing for your sense of self-importance or your demand for life-worth-living. She instead will remind you that being a Gospel person means that every life is worth living, and therein lies both the rub and the resurrection.
The book is wondrously ordinary. Simple in its prose, deeply mundane in its prophetic wisdom. It is the prosperity gospel printed in inverse. Instead of promising a world of greatness and earned blessing for the faithful, it shows the real world of unearned suffering for the faithful and faithless alike, and the beauty of God inexplicably shining through the dark cracks. Where other writers claim that God's light shines brightest in the dark places, Shannan takes winsome escapism out of that phrase and simply plants us in the dark and serves us soup, with a laugh and tightly held hand.
Sometimes books aren't what we expect, but they are what we need. Shannan's deeply grounded insight and benevolence is the heroism we need right now. I'll be looking for more of it in myself and in others, right where I am.
thebookwormkatie's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
smartieceesagoodbook's review against another edition
5.0
Shannan Martin’s new book “Ministry of Ordinary Places” touched my soul. Her simple, yet powerful words encouraged me to pay more attention to the “ordinary” places around me and appreciate how God’s love helped create them too. The day I finished the book, I also read a commentary on Romans 1:20 that says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” God led me to those words, on that day, because He wanted to highlight to me what great insight Shannan has poured into her writing. God could have created the world in a black and white palate, but instead He designed a world so beautiful that words often can’t describe. Unfortunately, many of us take the beauty of this world for granted—the radiant sunrises, early morning dew shimmering off the grass, the purple glow of a summer sunset, the beautiful vining flowers that line our fence lines. In her new book, Shannan challenges us to seek out the ordinary things of this world and find God’s beauty in them. He designed everything in this world for a reason, and His reasons are beautiful!
I received an advance copy of this book from Harper Collins Christian Publishers.
I received an advance copy of this book from Harper Collins Christian Publishers.
carlydanae's review against another edition
5.0
Shannan’s words always sit with me. Whether on her blog or in Falling Free or this book, her words stay with me long after I’m done reading. She beautifully tells stories about her life that also gently challenge my thoughts and the way I live my own life. The Ministry of Ordinary Places was no exception.
There is no other author that I find more consistently challenging, beautifully written, and encouraging
I received an Advanced Readers Copy from Harper Collins Christian Publishing.
There is no other author that I find more consistently challenging, beautifully written, and encouraging
I received an Advanced Readers Copy from Harper Collins Christian Publishing.
amykwrites's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Beautiful writing for nonfiction
emiwhip's review against another edition
5.0
This book is amazing. We often picture ministry as a certain way in our minds. This book takes you back to the simplicities of showing the love of God to your neighbors
margueritelu_'s review against another edition
4.0
"...the smaller my world and my work become, the more grounded I am in God's vast kingdom." pg 169
"God uses the willing hearts of his imperfect body to turn us back to him." pg. 183
"God uses the willing hearts of his imperfect body to turn us back to him." pg. 183
alltheradreads's review against another edition
5.0
I’m not quite sure how to put into words just HOW MUCH I loved this new book from Shannan Martin. I mean, I have two whole pages in my journal of quotes I just HAD to copy down so I wouldn’t forget them. It’s convicting in all of the best (and most blessedly uncomfortable) ways. It has stirred me to actually look around my ordinary places and see the beauty there, and has invited me to a deeper, truer, richer way of life that looks a whole lot more simple than I tend to make it, but is a lot more meaningful than shallow living ever could be. Goodness, I’m challenged and changed by this one, and so grateful Shannan has let us in on this glorious truth we so easily miss, that the best place for us to be and love and serve is right where we are, right in our ordinary places, right now. You’ll want to RUN and preorder this one before it releases on October 9, and snag your preorder freebies too (they're so good)! You’ll be so glad you did. 🙌🏼 So thankful this one was sent to me by the publisher as I’m part of the launch team!