Hannah Anderson (1) (1979–)

I had a journey with this book. I requested it as an ARC because I’m a fan of Hannah Anderson’s writing. Even when she’s writing nonfiction there’s a beauty to her prose that I’ve always appreciated in addition to her ideas. My issues began because I’m used to reading books quickly and Turning of Days asked me to go slow. It asked me to take my time and let the chapters, which are basically short essays, stand on their own. I struggled with this. I didn’t want to take my time; I didn’t want to look up the extra scripture reading. But I realized that binge reading it wasn’t working for me either. I put it down for more than a year and I’m glad I did. Once I picked it up again, I was ready to take my time. I read a couple chapters a day, one or two in the morning and one at night. Sometimes I wouldn’t read any for a few days and then I would come back to it. It turned into a lovely routine that I was able to appreciate.

I have tried a couple devotionals in the past, but I never could get into any. I loved Anderson’s approach by starting in nature. She’s from rural Virginia and uses that landscape to inspire her reflections. These meditations are broken down into the four seasons reflect on nature to reveal the character of God and explore how nature can teach us about life and death, while pointing to the one who is to come again. I also appreciated the verses Anderson included for extra reading. It’s so easy to forget that the Bible is a beautiful piece of literature in addition to being the inspired word of God. It was nice to visit these verses that are either not read or get lost in the midst of a larger book.

If you love nature writings, I highly recommend Turning of Days. If you’ve never been a devotional reader, I would say this is a good one to start with. It worked for me. I feel like I would even read this again so I’m planning on buying a physical copy so I can have it on my shelf. If you enjoy this books, I would recommend Anderson’s [b:Humble Roots: How Humility Grounds and Nourishes Your Soul|28592793|Humble Roots How Humility Grounds and Nourishes Your Soul|Hannah Anderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1457527927l/28592793._SY75_.jpg|48761522] next as it is also very influenced by nature.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.… (más)

So.....I FINALLY finished this book. I have been meaning to read it for over a year but there was a little thing called college that got in the way. And a little trip to NYC got in the way of listening to Hannah Anderson speak at our retreat. BUt I have finally made it a priority to finish the book and it is a balm to my soul.

Was anything original? Eh. The concept of living the life God has ordained for you has been talked about in books a lot. But I really appreciated the talk of being an image bearer. It looks different for everyone....and it will look different during different seasons of life as well. Career or kids. I need to be living in the fullness Christ has for me. End of story.… (más)