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Sunday, March 17, 2013

currently reading: Learning To Love

Learning to Love: Passion, Compassion and the Essence of the Gospel is written by Heidi and Rolland Baker, the founders of Iris Ministries.  Heidi and Rolland have been missionaries for many years.  They are currently based in Mozambique where their work includes building churches, digging wells, evangelizing and running children's homes.

Throughout the book, the Bakers share many stories of God's miraculous provisions - healing from physical ailments, food supplied for many, safety in dangerous situations and thousands of people meeting Jesus.  It is clear that the Bakers take their work very seriously and that they care deeply for the people of Mozambique.

One theme that was seen throughout the book is the idea that "love looks like something".  For instance, at one point Heidi writes that "love looks like a new roof before the rainy season" (p. 74).  The Bakers are constantly looking for ways to make Jesus' love tangible to the people of Mozambique. This could be a challenge to many readers if they too decide that "love looks like something".  To use an example from my personal life, today love looked like taking a homemade meal to someone could use a little help.

Although I appreciated the stories and the passion that the Bakers possess, I will say that this book was a struggle to get through.  The stories were wonderful, but altogether the book felt disjointed.  I wondered many times if it was simply a series of blog entries that had been pieced together into book format.  It is divided into four parts, each with a different emphasis, but I doubt I would have picked up on that if it wasn't written out.  The writing and "blog entry" format of the book were both distractions for me.  I wish that these issues had been addressed before publishing so that I could give it a higher recommendation.

**I was given a copy of this book by Chosen Books in exchange for an honest review

1 comment:

  1. I like the "love looks like" idea. I'll have to see how I can work that into how I treat each of the kiddos in our health room every day! :o)

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