Thursday Review—Seriously God?

Seriously God? By Jenny Smith

I don’t often review resources that don’t deal directly with writing, but I’ve enjoyed this study so much I wanted to share it with you. It’s written by a woman I met last year at the Christian Devotions Writers Advance! Boot Camp.   Jenny Smith and I didn’t get to spend as much time together as I’d hoped, but I got to know her well enough that when she asked if I’d look at her study, I jumped at the opportunity.

Seriously God? is a study that asks all the messy questions we tend to shy away from. And it goes even further, suggesting the questions shouldn’t end with what and why, but explore deeper, into the depth of Who. 


Here’s an excerpt from the introduction:

As I sit looking over my backyard, I realize my arms are feeble and my knees are week. Life is hard. May I be honest? Hard, I can deal with, but lately life feels like a roller coaster ride I didn’t want to get on....In times past, many of us living right here in the United States experienced an abundant existence. If we wanted a job, we had a job....Not anymore—at least not where I’m sitting, looking over my garden. Now jobs are scarce, gas prices change daily, and groceries are skyrocketing. The general feeling for many of us is a little bit of disbelief mixed with a little fear and a side of, “What’s next?”

Jenny has, at least for me, captured my mood and that of those around me. In this study she’s opening honest about her own struggles, and the answers she’s found. In each chapter she includes a question to start us on that week’s journey, and at the end of the chapter are a couple of questions to ponder. She also ends each chapter with a status quo challenge—I found it a great way to incorporate what I’d read into my life.

The book is available online through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, as well as others. I also encourage you to visit Jenny’s website, Keeping Stride Ministries. You can also follow her on Twitter @keepinginstride and on her Facebook page, Keeping Stride.