"Same Life, New Story" by JanSilvious has good topics but needed more depth 3 stars

I have mixed feelings about this book. I can't decide whether I like it or am just OK with it. That ambivalence results in the 3 star rating. What I like about it is the variety of bad stories we can find ourselves stuck in and the opportunity we have to make a new story out of our situation or our reaction to a situation that can't change. Each chapter is illustrated with the life of a woman in the Bible as well as real life examples from the life of the author or people she knows.


What I found lacking was more practical application on how to move from a bad story into a new one. The author too often made is sound like it was as easy as "just" changing your thinking, but that's often the hardest part. There were a couple chapters where I thought -- this is me in that old story, how do I get myself to the new one. But the author just moved on to another example of someone else who made that move without a lot of depth on how to do it. Even though I wanted more depth, I am going to loan it to someone in my Bible study who is in difficult life circumstances. I hope it will give her the ability to see the different ways she can write a new story with her life.

The chapters (and illustrative Bible woman) are: (1) Realize It's Time to Get a Life and Tell a New Story (Naomi), (2) Don't Be Held Hostage by the Past (Leah), (3) Ask Yourself the Good Questions Only You Can Ask (Rahab), (4) Change Your "I Can't" to "I Can" (Deborah), (5) Delete the Drama of the Day (Hannah), (6) Forget the What-might-have-beens (Anna), (7) Discover the Power of Wisdom and Courage Combined (Jehosheba), (8) Get Past the Resistance of Fear (Abigail), (9) Choose to Bounce Back (Naaman's servant girl), and (10) The Last Chapter Has Not Been Written Yet (Elizabeth).

At the end of each chapter, there are 8 questions of personal reflection and a journaling exercise. For use in a group setting, there are also a number of group discussion questions. The cover calls this a 10-week Bible study. I'd call it a Christian book study, not a Bible study but my definition of a Bible study is something more like the Precept program or a Beth Moore Bible study where you really get into the Bible for the homework like Breaking Free: The Journey, The Stories. That being said, it would be a good thing for a group of women to read and discuss.

I was given this book by the publisher for purposes of giving a review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

"Plan B" by Pete Wilson is a "must read" when you hit hard times.

This book, as one might guess from the title, is about those times when our life doesn’t go the way we planned (and not in a positive direction) and we wonder why God allowed these bad things to happen to us. The author wrote it to help people in Plan B situations move past the feelings of crisis, see God in their circumstances, make peace with doubt, find hope, and learn how to find spiritual transformation out of shattered dreams.

I loved this book as much as I hated being in circumstances that made it essential reading for me. I feel like I have been in Plan B so long I’ve exhausted the alphabet letters for “plans” and am hitting Plan B for the second time. The day I received this book, I had gotten discouraging news about a job I really wanted (and thought could be the job God wanted for me). I sat down to read it and wept as I read because it addressed the discouragement and anxiety I was feeling about my situation.

There are a couple things you need to know about Plan B:

1. It is unabashedly Christian and Bible based. The author brings it back to God again and again.

2. There are no easy answers or magic pill. This isn’t a Christian version of “The Secret” and there is no secret promise in the Bible for you to pray and claim to get out of your Plan B circumstances. The author says he doesn’t know why these things happen, how long they’re going to last and if we will ever understand the reasons they did. But what he does do is turn our focus back to God.

For me, the most important parts in the beginning of the book were the descriptions of people in the Bible whose lives went into Plan B mode (David, Joseph, Job, Naomi, Mary & Martha) and how God was with them during those times. And about halfway through the book, the author turns the focus away from the devastating effect of Plan B events and toward God – what He did for us on the cross, the power and hope of the resurrection (and how God works in hopeless situations) and the transformation that can come from tragedy. It helped me and I expect I will re-read parts of it periodically until I get out of my Plan B situation.

If you are frustrated, discouraged, angry at God, anxious, or whatever emotion you might be feeling because your life isn’t going in the direction you expected, you should read this book.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for purposes of writing a review.  You can download sample chapters at:  http://booksneeze.com/blogger/download/9780849946509 .