Calm My Anxious Heart ~ Book Review

Calm My Anxious Heart

(A book review by Kim Melton)

The book Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow is a must read.  I do not consider myself to be a book reviewer.  In fact, I can’t remember the last time I wrote a book review.  After reading this book, I feel compelled to recommend it to you. 

I picked up this book because of the title.  What woman doesn’t need to have her anxious heart calmed?  As I began to read, I realized that it had to deal with another issue that I never would have associated with anxiety:  contentment. 

Linda deals with topics such as being content with your circumstances, who you are, your role, and your relationships to name a few.   She points us to the only One who can meet those needs and satisfy our longings.  She draws us in and shows us the One who gives a “peace that passeth all understanding.”

“How does God enable us to be content? He infuses contentment into us through His Word. As it seeps into our minds, it transforms us. Just as a cup of tea gets stronger when we give it time to steep, so we become more content when we spend time in God’s Word and allow it to seep into our lives, transforming us to be like Him.”*  

While all of this is good, there is one element of the book that made me keep turning the pages.  Linda was a missionary wife.  Almost every single illustration in the book is from the perspective of being a missionary.  She served in Hong Kong and Romania. 

She suffered longing, pain, anxiety and fear just like you and me.  She had times when she felt like her family in the USA needed her, but she was so very far away.  She faced the fear of not knowing what might be lurking around the corner as she served in a country where many believers were jailed for what she was doing.  She endured loneliness.  She saw the Lord answer the same prayer for a missionary family one way and for her family in another, perhaps less desirable, way.   She understands our heart, dear missionary lady. 

A study guide accompanies this book to help you spend more time meditating on the truths in each chapter.  At the end, she closes with a personal letter.  I’d like to close this “review” with a paragraph from that letter. 

“When we’ve given all our questions to God, when we’re not grumbling about the past or anxious about the future, when our tomorrows are in His keeping, we are free to wake up every morning and say, ‘God, You’ve given me today as a  gift. Show me how to glorify You in it.’”*

~~~~~

*Dillow, Linda (2007-06-15). Calm My Anxious Heart: A Woman's Guide to Finding Contentment (TH1NK Reference Collection).  NAVPress - A. Kindle Edition.

My People (Book Review)

I don't do tons of book reviews. Matter of fact, this is my first on this blog. But every now and then I come across a book that is too good not to share.

A precious moment of reading pleasure... please excuse the alligator photo bomb.

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I love to read. I especially love to read nonfiction. And I really, really love to read things written by missionaries who keep things real, but keep them positive... pointing to the goodness of God instead of drawing attention to the "poor, suffering missionary."

It's no wonder I have fallen in love with this book: My People by Dr Mike Patterson.

My People

Right now my schedule is ridiculously busy. I homeschool my children, teach at the Bible college, go to language school, teach the children's class at church, and play the piano for each service. The schedule leaves little time to breath... much less read.

But this book fits perfectly! It is a collection of short stories and letters-- an anthology. Each one is short enough to squeeze in a section while I wait for something or someone. And the stories? Well, let's just say there was one section (A Missionary Daddy's Prayer) that was worth every penny I paid just by itself... three pages of some of the most powerful, convicting, and edifying writing I have ever read from a missionary. I wasn't sure if I should stand up and "amen" or crawl beside my bed to kneel in prayer. I must confess... I did a little of both. And the other stories are just as powerful. 240 pages of beauty.

Dr. Patterson keeps it very real. He exposes many trials and triumphs faced, many lessons learned, and many moments where there was no explanation other than the Lord did it. Some of the stories read like a blog post. Others read like a prayer letter. And still others read like a devotional. Many of the stories are perfect for missionary moments in Sunday school or in family devotions. They give a great inside look into the life of a missionary... as well as an inside look of how God works in the heart of the missionary and the missionary family.

This book is challenging and uplifting. Right now, our family and friends in this country are facing some pretty tough situations: shortages, a fuel crisis, protests, and more. It is such perfect timing to read the writings of a beautiful servant of the Lord who has experienced so much, and has testified that through it all... God was good!

Thank you, Brother Patterson. We have never met to my knowledge. But you taking the time to pen these things down sure has blessed this BMW. 

by Charity, Southern Asia