Living with Mystery: Finding God in the Midst of Unanswered Questions

I see that some reviewers say it's written for women, but I think it's a great devotional for most anyone who wants to experience God deeply. It is jam-packed with great thoughts, scripture, and quotes. Chapter 10 - about the importance of taking risks - especially spoke to me (since I am from the school of "avoid even the appearance of pain").

Stacey Padrick has written a golden book for any Christian who has struggled with disappointment, whether it be romantic letdown or physical disablement. While written primarily for women, speaks to the human condition of any of us who, for one reason or another, have found our expectations of God's providence and his actual plan for us to differ greatly.While addressing the same theme as Philip Yancey's , LVM is a much more personal journey: Stacey draws us in and takes us through her personal life in order not to gain sympathy or to air grievances with God, but to point out how God has helped her replace her misconceptions of God's will (i.e. idols) with an understanding his perfect plan for her life.Chapters 2, 5, and 7 are alone worth the price of the book. These on unrequited love, suffering, and unfulfilled desires take us from the depths of the dark night of the author's soul up to the shining pinnacle of God's sustaining, empowering love in Jesus Christ. Finding self-sufficiency, health, productivity, and certainly self-love to be expendable idols, Stacey beautifully relates the super sufficiency of the Christian God.Each chapter is written from a biographical point of view for illustrational purposes. Stacey also draws from a wealth of eclectic Christian writings to both highlight certain points and to provoke the reader to further reflection. The only drawback here is that the sheer number of quotes is overwhelming at times; but one must simply pick and choose.Lastly, study questions at the end of each chapter make the book ideal for small group study. I highly recommend for counselors, pastors, and anyone who needs to be reminded that while God's ways are above our ways, they are also perfect.

I thoroughly enjoyed Stacey Padrick's book Living With Mystery. This is a well-written, enjoyable book to read which, by personal examples and self-introspection the author draws the reader closer to an understanding of Christ. This book is heart-warming to read-I spent one evening reading it--it was like an intimate conversation with a good friend. Thank you. Melinda Hamm (Legal Secretary, San Francisco)

I found Living with Mystery to be an excellent book that encouraged me to be "real" with my close friends and with God so I can approach life with boldness and not be afraid to take chances to become that person that God has put me on earth to become. Living in a hectic rush rush culture of the east coast, I also learned to do things that really make life meaningful, I need time to break away for solitude and to dream. I personally learned from the book that during our low points in life of an extended illness, tragedy, or personal disappointment is that we need we a variety of things to come back: close friends, time to be alone, time to dream, and the ability to step out in faith when the current circumstances seem bleak. Each chapter is well organized and is written in such as way where it can be read for pleasure or be used as a study guide for a person devotional or a small group study. At the end of each chapter there are questions that can be used for the reader to dig deeper in their own lives. In addition, there are appropriate verses from the Bible and quotes from inspirational writers that further go into the topics of each section. Stacey Padrick intermixes each chapter with teachings from the Bible and with examples from her own life.

Ms. Padrick has drawn together wisdom from the best of Christian (and other) contemplative thinkers, as well as her own, drawn from deep experiences of the Lord's presence, goodness, and love in her own life. She displays a disarming vulnerability and willingness to enter into the deepest questions believers face about who the Lord is. There is no question that this book, perhaps more than any other current devotional book, will draw you into a richer, closer relationship with Jesus, the First and Best Lover of your soul. Do savor it. You will be blessed. Thank-you, Ms. Padrick!