Monday, February 25, 2013

The Sky Beneath My Feet - by Lisa Samson

When Beth hears that her husband is being told to take a month-long sabbatical from his position of Men's Pastor at The Community church, she first doesn't know what to make of it.  As she begins to dream of a Florida beach house, however, she finds that her husband, Rick, has instead decided to spend the month in the shed in their backyard, apart from his family.  Beth's brother, Gregory, suggests that perhaps this month is as much, or more, for Beth's benefit as it is for Rick's - a suggestion that Beth finds ludicrous.  At first.  As the month goes on, and Beth finds herself in new, and what some might call crazy, situations, she begins to look at life differently.  Maybe this month isn't as crazy as she thought, or maybe, it's just the right kind of crazy.

If you're looking for a romance book, or a mystery book, or any sort of fast-moving plot book, this isn't it.  However, if you're looking for characters that draw you in and make you think and keep you thinking about them even after you've put the book down?  This is the book for you.  Lisa Samson is so good at character development, that it's easy to forget that there isn't much "happening," per se, in the story.  Yet, the reader can feel the characters stretching, and growing, and changing, and it makes the reader want to change, too.  Beth starts as a pastor's wife who doesn't even want the Jesus fish on her car, to someone who begins to see just what it means to symbolize Jesus to others.  She watches her husband's "everything Fast," and wonders if it's wrong to isolate ourselves into seclusion "thinking [we can] find God if [we] can just shut the world out.  But what if God's waiting...not in here...but out there?"

You can't read this book and not wonder if there's not someone you should be helping, or wonder if your church is really being Jesus' to the world around him.  You can only hope to be changed through a journey like Beth's and have your own eyes opened to the people living around you.

I give this book 4 stars.  I think this one is going to stick with me for awhile.  

You can find The Sky Beneath My Feet HERE.
Lisa's website is HERE.

I received a copy of this ebook from Thomas Nelson, as part of their BookSneeze program, in exchange for my honest review..

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