Publisher and Publication Date: B&H Publishing Group. 2016.
Genre: Christian Living.
Pages: 224.
Source: Self-purchase.
Rating: Excellent.

Twitter: Amanda Bible Williams @biblewilliams

Twitter: Raechel Myers @raechelmyers

Amazon

Community: Webster’s New World Dictionary. “All the people living in a particular district, city etc. A group of people forming a smaller social unit within a larger one, and sharing common interests, work, identity, location, etc.”

It is explained in the opening pages, “She Reads Truth was a community long before it was a book.” She Reads Truth is a website with the focus of encouraging women to read Scripture.  The She Reads Truth community has grown and branched out to Bible studies, an app, a Bible, and books. She Reads Truth is women encouraging other women to read and study God’s Word. The current study is hymns: Go Tell It On The Mountain. They just finished a study of Romans.

Summary:
She Reads Truth: Holding Tight to Permanent in a World That’s Passing Away is memoirs of the two founding women of She Reads Truth; and answers the foundational questions of why God’s Truth matters and how God’s Truth transforms us. God’s Truth-God’s Word does not change. The world changes. Our lives change. We change. But God’s Word does not change.

“Introduction: Passing Away”—Amanda
“ONE: What’s in Your Cup?”—Raechel
“TWO: The Stack”—Amanda
“THREE: Remember Whose You Are”—Amanda
“FOUR: A Blue-Ribbon Girl”—Raechel
“FIVE: Exquisite Mercy”—Raechel
“SIX: Fresh Out of Hope”—Raechel
“SEVEN: Take a Seat”—Amanda
“EIGHT: Truth in the Dark”—Amanda
“NINE: Decaying Treasures”—Raechel
“TEN: She Is Me”—Amanda

We cannot know the eternal weight of this temporary life we’ve been given unless we understand that it is, indeed, temporary…But God and His Word will never pass away (Matt. 24:35). He is the one permanent thing we find when we frantically grasp in the dark of our doubt and fear. He is the perfection we long for in the midst of our suffering and brokenness. He is the one sure thing we seek in our uncertainty. God is our only immovable mountain, and we can find Him in His Word. Pages 6-7.

My Thoughts:
The above quotation is beautiful. And I say loudly and with great expression, Amen!

Myers and Williams have shared their life stories but with deep insight and reflection. They know God has been at work, through their pain, sadness, uncertainty, and insecurity God has remained constant. God has not faltered or changed. Several ideas are examined in the book:
1. Praising God during the hard times.
2. Only God’s promise to us is important. Any promises we make to God does not compel Him.
3. Legalism.
4. To accept what God has placed in our cups, whether it is sour or honeyed .
5. True contentment despite what is going on in our lives.
6. We are not in control.
7. “Faith is a gift.”
8. The things that are permanent.
9. Jesus is our answer-not something or someone else.

If anything, our own ever-changing journey of joy and sorrow has made plain the unchanging steadfastness of our God. It’s as if a time lapse of our lives is the only way to truly see all that is always changing, and the One who was permanent all along. That is our hope. Not that things will work out for our benefit. Not that our lives will look the way we wanted them to. And not that we would be spared from suffering. Our hope is in the One who has never failed to fulfill His promises to us. We hope in the One who has only ever been faithful in our own lives, and since the beginning of time. Our hope is in God alone. Page 102-103.

She Reads Truth has been one of my favorite reads this year. This book spoke to my heart. Myers and Williams shared parts of their lives that are relatable. When women open up and then relate to one another a trust and comradeship develops. The feeling of isolation disappears. That is community!

She Reads Truth is a perfect book for a women’s book club.