Book Review: Angry Conversations With God

Note: I'm continue to be on hiatus from this blog, but have paused briefly to share a book with you here.I'm still breathless from reading Susan Isaacs' book, "Angry Conversations With God: A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir." I'm not sure where to begin describing it, but "highly intelligent, insightful, funny and heartbreaking" is a good way to begin.

Isaacs, an actress, comedian and scriptwriter, refers to the book The Sacred Romance and relates that in her life she came to the realization that if her relationship with God was like a marriage, God was a deadbeat spouse and she and God needed to go for couples therapy.

And so Susan and God meet for counseling. Susan chooses Rudy as their counselor. He is a disillusioned former Baptist preacher, and his fees are cheap because he's trying to rack up counseling hours for his licensure. They meet in the corner of a cavernous Baptist church basement with pictures of "nice Jesus"--the Sallman painting--on the wall.

As Susan works her way through recalling her life with God, she also recognizes her issues with her father, her mother, her siblings, her art, her spiritual search, her addictions, and her unrequited longing to find the love of her life. Along the way, Isaacs' characterizations of American Christianity (at least, in southern California) are incisive, funny, and in my opinion--having lived in that area during the era she describes--dead-on.

Let me clarify, lest you be misled: reading this book is not simply walking through a counseling series with Isaacs while she "deals with all her ugly junk." Instead it's a journey of discovering who God really is and taking responsibility for our own characterizations and resentments towards Him. I found myself rounding a corner or two in her story and being surprised at what I found. I have not lived a life like Susan Isaacs' life, except for a few little pieces, and yet I had some opportunities to confront my own self, coming to some new understandings about my own story. And the experience of doing so has been exciting and hopeful.

Here's one little interaction from the book that may not have the punch for you that it had for me, coming into it on page 224 within the context of the whole book preceding it, but let's try it, because it hit me in the stomach:

Rudy: Does that mean God might be coming back to counseling?
Susan: I don't want to rush him, or me. I have to count the cost.
Rudy: Are you afraid to find out what God is really like?
Susan: Uh-oh. You mean he might really be evil or something?
Rudy: No. He might really be good.

What a devastating thought. If God really was good, then I had to let go of every expectation and every grudge. I could no longer defy him or manipulate him. I might even have to let him love me.

So there you are. The subtitle is truly representative; it's both snarky and authentic, something a conservative, traditional Christian might wince at now and then. And I could hardly put it down in the two days it took me to finish it. Two thumbs up, still shaky from the impact of such a good, meaningful read.


**Snarky, according to the online dictionary, is a word derived from "snide remark." God says repeatedly in this book, "Sarcasm is a viable form of communication," a comment that became increasingly delightful as I read.

Taking a Break

I'm taking a break from this blog. I have some other writing and things I need to take care of. The activity I'm willing to name is the writing of a textbook I've been wanting to create for about 15 years now. It's about time, n'est-ce pas? It's all in my head from teaching the class so many times, so it should go faster than one might think.

Thanks for dropping by, and especially to those who leave comments. Don't know when, but I'll no doubt be back. If you need to find me, and you're not already someone who knows how to do so, leave a comment on this post.

And while I'm gone, listen for those sacred echoes, sing a good hymn or two, and keep me in your prayers.

Cheerio!

Book Review: The Sacred Echo

I became aware of the book, The Sacred Echo, from an interview with Margaret Feinberg in the last issue of "Today's Christian Woman," a magazine that has shut down this year. (By the way, they've started up an online magazine, blog and resources at kyria.com, should you want to check it out.)

It has been a lifelong, heartfelt quest for me to figure out how I can hear God's voice in my life, so I was immediately interested in Feinberg's interview on the topic. She has come to an understanding that God's voice is heard in her life through "sacred echoes," themes that pop up and repeat themselves through Bible study, the comments of others around her, and her life events. We're not very good listeners, Feinberg points out, so God uses repetition to get our attention. I would add that we're not very good learners, either, as it seems we have to learn the same lessons over and over, sometimes painfully, before we "get it."

So I ordered the book. I loved it. Feinberg is open, personable, and a good storyteller. She simply tells the story of the times in which themes have been repeated in her life, painful or otherwise, and takes the reader on the journey with her. I felt she spoke my language, but I think she was really speaking the common person's language.

What were some of the themes God sent her way in sacred echoes? She addresses ten of them, chapter by chapter: I love you, Sing it again, How long? Read it again, You follow me, If you don't wear your crown, Surrender, Take care of my people, Bring them to me, and You are not alone.

I started, after picking up this book, to look for sacred echoes in my own life. I shared the concept with the young women in my Bible study group, and they, too, have started paying attention to the sacred echoes. The messages are not always welcome, but they become clearer in the repetition, in the way in which they bounce around the walls of our lives.

Here are some quotes I underlined as I read the book, to give you a flavor of it:

And like an echo, God often uses the repetitive events and themes in daily life to get my attention and draw me closer to himself.

I call them sacred echoes because I noticed that throughout my relationships, daily life, and study, the same scripturally sound idea or phrase or word will keep reappearing until I can no longer avoid its presence.

If God can do so much with so few words, then I can't afford to miss a single one.

And finally, speaking of a woman in a dream she had, Margaret says:

She walked toward me, looking me straight in the eye. She held up her index finger and middle finger in the shape of a "V" and pointed at my eyes, then her own. Drawing a straight line back and forth between her eyes and my own, she said, 'This is the most important thing. If you lose this with Christ, you lose everything."

I have thought of that many times in the weeks since I read it. Wow. Are your eyes that well locked in with the gaze of Jesus, every moment of the day? What would life be like if they were?

Annotated

FROM MRS ANN WILLIAM So do I know you?

Greetings, Hi.

For sure this mail would definitely come to you as surprise, No kidding, but since it came into my inbox, it MUST be for me and it MUST be important, right? but do take your good time to painstakenly go through it before disposing it. "Pains takenly?" That's pretty clever. It's a long letter you've sent me, so pains must have been taken. And I'm takin' pains to go through it. Trust me, I can be counted on to "dispose it" when I'm done, per your careful instructions.

As you read this, I don't want you to feel sorry for me, because I believe everyone will die oneday. Uh, I don't know you so I'm not likely to feel sorry for you. And I have to agree, with few exceptions, about that last part.

l am MRS ANN WILLIAM, am married to MR CAMPBELL WILLIAM Why are you shouting your names? who worked with GAMBIA EMBASSY here in COTE D'IVOIRE nine years before he died in the year 2006. You're still shouting. Quit it. I've never been to either place, but my friend Susie went to Cote d'Ivoire, and she died young, too. Must be a dangerous place. We were married for eleven years without a child. he died after a brief illness that lasted for only four days. And this is important because...?

Before his deathwe were living together in good harmony. When my late husband was alive we deposited the sum of $4.5 Million (FOUR MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ) in the BANK here in COTE D' IVOIRE . Well, I have two thoughts about that. First, what embassy worker can afford to save up $4.5 million? Second, you'd have to be nuts to not put it in a more secure bank. How about Switzerland?

Presently, this money is still with the BANK. Recently, My Doctor told me that I would not last for the next ONE MONTH due to cancer problem. Sorry to hear that. If I would not last the next ONE MONTH, I wouldn't be yelling, though. Seems like you ought to conserve your energy.

Though what disturbs me most is my stroke. That would indeed be disturbing. Having known my condition I decided to donate thisfund to Ophanage (less previlages) or to an individual that will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct here acording to mydesire. Very magnanimous of you.

I needed good partner that will use this fund for the helping orphanages,Research centres and widows.I took this decision because I don't have any child that will inherit this money and my husband,s relatives are not good and never loved me for once through out mymarriage expereince with my late husband. That can happen. More often than you think.

Therefor, I don't want my family hard earned money to be misused by wickeds men. I'm with you there. Wickeds men must be avoided at all costs. And wickeds men must be prevented from getting their grubby hands on your dollars. Hence thereason for taking this bold decision. What bold decision? To donate to orphanages? I'm struggling to understand what's bold here. I am not afraid of death hence I now where I am going to. Where? Do tell. If you need my telephone for communication in regarding the transaction you let me know. What transaction? Your transaction from earth to wherever you're headed? A telephone won't help a whole lot, you know.

As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the BANK who will assist you and work with you concerning the money at the BANK. Oh, I see! You want me to help with disbursing your FOUR MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS from the BANK (See? Isn't it annoying when people yell?). Well, I'm on it like a ton of bricks. I'm into helping orphans and widows and pre-empting wickeds men, too. You got a friend here, Mrs. Ann William. I'll hit the Reply button right away, right after I drop by the pharmacy to get my anti-malarials in preparation for my trip to Cote d'Ivoire, which of course will come right after I wire you all the money in my bank account for some obscure, badly-spelled reason.

REGARDS, I'm always suspicious of people who end with "regards." Like, what kind? Ill regards? Bad regards? Good regards? Best regards? You sort of want a modifier on that one, else it might conceal a knife in the back, you know?

MRS ANN WILLIAM

P.S. Odd. Your e-mail address indicates that you're writing from South Korea. You sure do get around.