SPIRITUAL FOCUS ON BOOKS April 27, 2009 Issue

GOD IS IN ALL THE DETAILS OF OUR DAYS

KIM SHIPPEY, SENIOR WRITER

IT'S NOT OFTEN that we get to read two inspirational books published in the same year, by two teaching pastors who happen to be husband and wife, and who along with their church, writing, and public speaking engagements are also raising three children.

But John Ortberg (author of If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat and nine other books) and his wife, Nancy (author of Gifted to Lead), have pulled it off. They are both natural storytellers, born spiritual leaders, and write with engaging simplicity—straight from experience and the heart. They both draw heavily on the observations of world-respected theologians, while finding ways to weave the quotations unobtrusively into their own texts.

There's a little of Venus and Mars in their writing styles, with Nancy leaning a bit on the tear-jerking front, and John leaning a bit on sporting analogies. But both manage to be funny and poignant, gritty and tender, honest and spiritually insightful, as they explore—in refreshingly different ways—some of life's most searching questions. And in so doing, they are likely to stir readers of many religious persuasions into seeing more deeply what they already know.

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