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cassiealexandra's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
4.75
I’ve read quite a bit from this author and this has to be in my top two. It and Here and Now are easy to read, simple to understand, and profound in application to everyday life. I loved Nouwen’s message of humankind’s belovedness. As someone who has spent a lot of time wrestling with proving myself (to whom, who really knows), the strong case for belonging and being loved before needing to behave or believe went a long way. I also appreciated the way the author discusses the divides between the secular and sacred, suffering and joy, etc. and shows these divides are not so great as we all might think. My few reservations come from theological differences or my lack of understanding of some concepts that may be distinctly Roman Catholic.
The bottom line: I can see this being a book I will come back to, recommend to friends, and think about for a long time to come.
— NOTES —
Genres: Christian nonfiction
Content: friend’s divorce, deaths of loved ones
— MY RATING CONSIDERATIONS —
(all out of 5)
Levity/Humility: 5
Information: 4
Transformation: 5
Gut: 5
Total: 4.75
The bottom line: I can see this being a book I will come back to, recommend to friends, and think about for a long time to come.
— NOTES —
Genres: Christian nonfiction
Content: friend’s divorce, deaths of loved ones
— MY RATING CONSIDERATIONS —
(all out of 5)
Levity/Humility: 5
Information: 4
Transformation: 5
Gut: 5
Total: 4.75
dkatreads's review against another edition
5.0
So far, my favorite Nouwen I've read. He writes to a longtime Jewish friend of his, sharing a deeply intimate vision of his own sense of spirituality, but also of the spirituality innate in us all. Most beautifully, he writes of the sacredness of the human life, in which is found nothing less than the very delight of God. This is what he means in naming us, his readers, as the beloved.
It seems to me that he toes a line here between (some sort of) faithful expectation of future conversion and subsequent assumption of these truths in his friend's life, and proclaiming a maxim of universality for a standing that is exclusively written about as for the children of God alone. Wasn't quite sure how to reconcile his intentions, though he speaks to this point at the end of the book.
Reading as a believer myself, his words spoke dignity and glory--the very glory of being a child of God--into my life in a time when I needed to hear it. They are true in all times and under all circumstances. In this life of tumult and disorder, it's an anchor of truth that Christ's love really is deeper than the heart can believe.
It seems to me that he toes a line here between (some sort of) faithful expectation of future conversion and subsequent assumption of these truths in his friend's life, and proclaiming a maxim of universality for a standing that is exclusively written about as for the children of God alone. Wasn't quite sure how to reconcile his intentions, though he speaks to this point at the end of the book.
Reading as a believer myself, his words spoke dignity and glory--the very glory of being a child of God--into my life in a time when I needed to hear it. They are true in all times and under all circumstances. In this life of tumult and disorder, it's an anchor of truth that Christ's love really is deeper than the heart can believe.
kirbyherzog's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
vkaz's review against another edition
5.0
Ah...I love this book. I had read a lot of excerpts from it, but never the whole book until now. It helped me to see Nouwen's whole train of thought. I appreciate how he wrote it as an encouragement to a friend who was seeking a relationship with God; it is written with such warmth. I know I will return to this book again and again. It is a sweet reminder of God's great love for us and what a sweet place He is to be.