Found Faithful: The Timeless Stories of Charles Spurgeon, Amy Carmichael, C.S. Lewis, Ruth Bell Graham, and Others

These short stories, about some of our best-loved Christian family members, are easy to read and especially interesting if you've already read or are familiar with some of their own work.

What makes Found Faithful thought provoking is Elizabeth Skoglund's viewpoint as a family counselor. Her book takes an honest look at famous Christians in a way that highlights their humanity. We look at imperfection through the writings of C. S. Lewis. We learn how Charles Haddon Spurgeon lived with depression. F.B. Meyer puts the Bible into shoe leather and Amy Carmichael triumphs over suffering. Each of the individuals profiled is examined in a chapter. Hudson Taylor, Geraldine Taylor, Isobel Kuhn and Ruth Bell Graham round out the list. Rather than being merely biographical, the author focuses on a particular theme in each life. Hudson Taylor learned to trust God to meet his needs. The frequent excerpts from each person's writings serve to develop the main idea. The book also features one to two page "vignettes" in between the chapters. Each one provides a brief overview of another faithful Christian and gives a sample of their writings. We get a snapshot of D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Andrew Murray, Frances Ridley Havergal, Handley C. G. Moule, Dwight L. Moody, Brother Lawrence, H. A. Ironside, Arthur T. Pierson, George MacDonald and G. Campbell Morgan. The chapters and vignettes serve as a wonderful introduction to believers that have much to teach us. Skoglund espouses a positive view of counseling in the book. She believes that many Christians who could benefit from counseling are discouraged from getting it. They may be too proud to admit they need help or they are led to believe that all they need is in the Bible. It's the subtle notion "that people need only to confess their sins, and then their problems will vanish." Sin is seen as the root of all emotional problems. Skoglund believes that "sound psychology and the Bible are not in conflict-not unless we leave biblical principles and distort the Scriptures or unless the psychological principles we espouse are not truly sound. For the Christian, biblical truth must always take the position of highest authority." The book should be a comfort to those going through suffering of any kind. The quotations from Spurgeon are especially moving. Practical ways of dealing with adversity are found throughout the book. This book is a treasure of devotional and biographical writing. It's a fascinating look at the lives and ideas that are presented. It can serve as a starting point for further study.