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Confessions of an Amateur Believer
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£ 8.49
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Item description for Confessions of an Amateur Believer by Patty Kirk...
Overview
An entertaining collection of inspirational, gritty, challenging writing that follows an unwilling atheist's first encounters with God, her ensuing struggles and progress as a reluctant believer, and her ultimate discovery of contentment and rest in faith.
Publishers Description
An entertaining collection of inspirational, gritty, challenging writing that follows an unwilling atheist's first encounters with God, her ensuing struggles and progress as a reluctant believer, and her ultimate discovery of contentment and rest in faith.
From Publishers Weekly
Kirk came to Christian faith kicking and screaming after years as a
lapsed-Catholic atheist, but once in the fold she embraced her newfound
relationship with God with passion. That passion, however, wasn't all
happiness and love. Kirk's candor, humor and sarcasm show us a woman who
struggles to understand how God would have her live each day as a parent,
teacher, wife and daughter. "My own experience of getting to know him has been
more about moving toward him-and often away from him-through conflict and
questioning and struggle," she says. Her 33 brief essays are divided into four
sections: Meeting God, Struggling, Progress and Rest. Kirk's thoughts on
concepts such as servanthood, intercessory prayer, fairness and priorities
glitter with humor and honesty. On a deeper level, her ruminations shine with
a heart-deep knowledge that God understands her struggles, and that her trials
are made easier by knowing him. This is a lovely book both for Kirk's fine
writing and for her search for God that encompasses all readers. "If, in the
darkness, I stop worrying to listen-which I often don't, or can't, or won't-I
hear God's voice under the narrative of my own worries and accusations: That's
enough." (Jan. 2) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
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Item Specifications...
Studio: Thomas Nelson
Pages 288
Dimensions: Length: 8.4" Width: 5.44" Height: 0.75"
Weight: 0.65 lbs.
Binding Softcover
Release Date Jan 1, 2007
Publisher NELSON BOOKS #75
ISBN 0785220410
ISBN13 9780785220411
UPC 020049058268
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Availability 1 units.
Availability accurate as of May 24, 2012 07:28.
Usually ships within one to two business days from Carlisle, UK.
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More About Patty Kirk
Product Categories
Christian Product Categories
Books > Christian Living > Spiritual Growth > General
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Reviews - What do customers think about Confessions of an Amateur Believer?
 | IF ONLY MORE CHRISTIANS WERE SO HONEST... Mar 21, 2007 |
| The title is what caught my eye, and I must say the cover was catchy as well, but what's inside is worth every piece of paper on which Mrs. Kirk's faith journey is printed. Although I'm usually only a page-turner with very good fiction, I had a hard time putting down this honest and very real account of seeking and finding God. | | | | A WOMAN'S FAITH: LOST AND FOUND Mar 7, 2007 |
This book is a spiritual memoir of someone brave enough to admit she doesn't have all the answers and never will.
Although Patty Kirk grew up going to Catholic church, she fell away from her early faith and became an atheist for over a decade. Two tragic events occurred in her personal life that cut to the very core of her being, and she didn't see how God could let these things happen.
She became a drifter, wandering from country to country overseas, longing for what she lost, yet not knowing how to get back home. She rediscovered her faith in her 30s through the witness of her husband, who prays daily in his walk-in closet.
Now a professor at a Christian college, Kirk's lyrical essays are fresh and edgy, offering a peek into her current role as mother, wife, and amateur believer. Fans of C.S. Lewis' nonfiction will find delight in Kirk's writing.
--Christian Women Online Book Buzz | | | | Made me cry, made me laugh, made me mad - - just like real life! Jan 30, 2007 |
I loved Patty Kirk's Confessions! I started with the idea that one chapter at a time would make a nice bedtime reading before falling asleep. Instead I found myself drawn to the next chapter, and the next... and the next...
The use of everyday life and everyday events of a daughter, sister, wife, and mother made the book seem very personal. Other accounts of places and experiences I've never dreamed of made the reading intriguing. The questions and doubts the author admitted to were often those I have secretly harbored though often kept to myself. The 'theology' reflects that of a genuine new believer (passionate, questioning, searching, sometimes immature), but with frequent insight and inspiration that would be expected of a much deeper understanding of God and Truth. I loved the frankness, openness, and startling honesty she shows as she tells her story.
I eagerly look forward to more Patty Kirk books! | | | | Great writing, great insights Jan 27, 2007 |
I loved this book. It doesn't hurt that Kirk is an outstanding writer; reading her is effortless and I found it tough to put her book down. But more important, I heard the "click" of recognition and truth frequently as I galloped through it.
For instance, she talks about the kinds of longings expressed in contemporary Christian songs these days, longings that evoke "cozy firesides, gazing at each other, asking no questions" ... and contrasts these warm-and-fuzzy emotions with the "love wrestling ... hard questions and paradoxical answers" she finds in the Bible and in older hymns. (Her example: "prone to wander," presumably from "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.") In just a few paragraphs, she explained why I find myself reaching for hymn collections these days while my CCM CDs gather dust.
Another thing I really liked about this book is that Kirk is so refreshingly honest about herself. One example: "This time, though, after smugly reflecting that I don't really think that much about money..." Another: "I am ashamed that I always believe I'm right and everyone else is wrong." And then there's what she says about her prayer life and about ruing vs. repenting. These are some of the same things I struggle with, and it is a relief to read about another Christian's experiences.
Another thing: She writes about everyday events and issues, some of which she loses sleep over. It was with a smile of recognition that I read her description of her middle-of-the-night fretting over the need to back up her computer ("I made a few rules about cut off dates. Nothing older than a year, unless it's my own writing. Or unless it's really important and I just know I'll forget it. Or unless ... It was no use. The more I thought of it, the more tangled my mind got, and the less likely I was to fall back asleep.") How nice to know I'm not the only one who engages in this sort of 3 a.m. mental wheel-spinning.
Kirk also does a lovely job of analyzing various Bible passages, from Ruth and Amos to Matthew and the epistles of John, and applying the lessons therein to her life - to our lives, really.
These examples may seem trivial -- but the cumulative effect is, in my opinion, like spending an afternoon or two or three with your best friend after a separation of 20 days or 20 years. I've never met Patty Kirk, but I already feel like I've known her forever. Which is why I'm so looking forward to her next book.
| | |  | so good Jan 27, 2007 |
i loved this book. it's smart, true, funny, and interesting. i think it's perfect for anyone who falls off the christianity wagon from time to time, either because of christians or the church or personal questions or doubts. and instead of trying to fix any of those things for a reader, it serves to remind of what is beautiful and true about faith and how struggle is a sign of vitality. ah...i found it so encouraging and delightful, really.
one of my favorite essays in it is "stairs," which gets into questions of the places in the bible where "people do really bad things to one another" (81). not something the church talks about much. refreshing to hear intelligent and earnest thoughts on how these incidents affect a person's faith.
i saw on patty kirk's blog--[...]--that she has another book with an anticipated jan. 08 release. i can't wait. | | | Write your own review about Confessions of an Amateur Believer
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