Knowing - A Series of Gifts

Thursday, December 27, 2012
Now, I stared out that window feeling melancholy. It was unfair that all of the joy and peace I felt last night could disappear so quickly. Something tickled at the edge of my mind. I stood up and paced my room, trying to remember what brought on such an intense reaction this morning. Something was different. Then I gasped as I remembered. It was different. For the first time ever, my nightmare had deviated from the usual path.

Book: Knowing - a series of gifts by Tammy Hill, Creation House Publishers, 2012
 

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Target Audience: Girls 13-19
Subjects: Spiritual Gifts, Charismatic Churches, Friendships, Dating Relationships
Summary: The tears she cried when she heard of her mom and step dad’s divorce weren’t tears of sorrow, but of relief. She had never really fit into the world of the rich anyway. Maybe now she could go back to just being herself – whoever that was. Unfortunately, the move to a small town, the new friends, new boyfriend and other improvements in her life don’t bring the peace she longs for. When she attends a youth group service with a new friend, she realizes that the peace she has been seeking can only be found in rededicating her life to Christ. Even after that though, there’s still a nagging hunger for something more, to be more, to be used of God for more, to make more of a difference somehow. A couple of contacts with old and new friends lead her towards a charismatic church service where her simpler, more calm life is gone forever.
Notes: This is sort of a coming-of-age story as we see the character grow and develop a lot throughout the story. She’s struggling hard with her identity, wanting to know who she is and who she is supposed to be. She knows that snobbish rich girl isn’t her, but if that’s not her, then who is? It’s also a look at different denominations of churches. She starts by attending what many would view as a “normal” church with a large active youth group. Then she gets introduced to a church that would likely be labeled as “charismatic”, one that believes in gifts such as healing, speaking in tongues, and other gifts of the Spirit that many churches don’t practice today. Her pastor explains that he and his church believe those gifts were only for the establishment of the early church and due to lack of necessity, aren’t around today. Some friends reject her because of her display of the gift of knowledge – knowing things about someone that only God could have known. The pastor of her church strongly encourages her to not look down on others for their differences, but rather, to appreciate the similarities. He encourages her to visit the other church instead of condemning them and even partners with her at the end of the book. So those are the two focuses of the book – finding identity and whether or not to judge someone who practices their faith differently than you.
Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5
Reviewer: J:-)mi

Romans 12:6 – We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.

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