Promises to Keep, by Ann Tatlock

Promises to Keep, by  Ann Tatlock, is the story of a broken family trying to rebuild their life.

I struggled over whether to give this 3 or 4 stars.  Some parts of the book were truly excellent, but the plot falls short.  The story is told through the eyes of 11 year old Roz, and the author does a delicate job of showing the conflicting points of view of the different characters, especially the mother and the daughter.  The competing agendas of family bonds versus family safety provide tension. The mother struggles to protect her daughter and maintain her innocence, yet that very innocence sets her up for misinterpretations and danger. Even the gentle warnings of her slightly savvier friend don’t succeed in making her confide in her mother.

The differing perspectives (rather than the plot) provide the true suspense and momentum in the story.  Each character speaks from his or her own life experience. Tatlock does a masterful job at communicating each one’s emotions and thoughts and reasons.  This, in fact, was the best part of the book.  The plot, on the other hand, teeters between expectable and unrealistic. 

Ultimately, the ending proves disappointing, with too much sudden drama. This is ironic, because you are waiting for the crisis, and then when it comes it is over the top.

[Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers as part of their Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ] 

Transforming Prayer, by Daniel Henderson

Transforming Prayer, by Daniel Henderson, offers a fresh look at an old practice. The subtitle says it all “How everything changes when you seek God’s face”. I’m probably like most believers in that I pray daily, still feel that I don’t pray enough, but am not motivated enough to make the life changes necessary to have time to pray more. Henderson takes a different approach. Rather than making us feel guilty for not praying more, he declares that prayer can be interesting and enjoyable and transforming. It’s not a question of trudging through dry, obligatory prayer sessions, it is a matter of actually connecting with the Lord. As I read the first few chapters, I found myself eager to learn more, and to experience this transforming prayer myself.

His descriptions of how to improve our standard prayer methods were thought provoking. “We pray about personal problems, while most of the biblical prayers focus on Christ’s purposes.”(p.87) I checked this myself and found that he is right. My own prayers (and most of the prayers I hear around me) tend to be disproportionately about my own needs and the concerns of people around me. He explaines that it is not bad to pray for these things, but that our prayer lists risk superseding the Holy Spirit. 

My main complaint was that I would have liked him to give an extended example of what worship based prayer would sound like. While the book contained a lot of instructions, and model sentences, and suggestions for how to begin, I would have liked to see a sample that put it all together. Of course, the risk of publishing such a sample is that the freshness would be lost, but even a historic snapshot would be helpful.

[Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers as part of their Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ]