Amy Grant

My friend Linda passed along this book to me and I am so loving it! I am really surprised by Amy Grant's ability to say so much in so few words. She truly has a gift, not only for song writing, but also in her ability to connect with the reader almost immediately. She seems to have "eyes to see", and brings to reader right along with her. Authentic and vulnerable are words that come to mind.

The stories are super short, great for those of us who have little pockets of reading time here and there throughout the day.

In one of the first stories she describes the experience of bringing her 3 teenage nieces to see the ocean for the first time in their lives. The story was sweet in itself, but then she ends it, as she does all of the other stories, with a memorable truth:
"Salt water is the greatest component of our world, yet some people have never seen an ocean. That doesn't change the ocean. It is constant and powerful, and like the love of God, whether we're immersed in it, standing on the shore, or a thousand miles away, it remains."

She ends a story about her daughter and horse named Jack with a reflection on the ways we brand ourselves and others. She says:
"I've decided it's time to start reminding myself of some other words that are true. Today as I was brushing my teeth, I saw my reflection in the mirror...no contacts yet, so I looked softer around the edges. Before my mind started assessing the toll of time, I spoke in an early morning whisper to my forty-six-year-old reflection: "You are made in the image of God. You are the salt of the earth. You are like the starlight shining our in the darkness. You're the light of the world." What is it about these words that is so mysterious and powerful? I am just repeating what has already been said. What is already true."

Thanks Amy (see, we're friends now), I needed that.

I really expected the book to be a collection of sweet, interesting stories, but it is much more.

Piper is still sleeping, so I'm going to settle in and read another chapter!