Treasured: Knowing God by the Things He Keeps

I'm not big on devotional books, but I really enjoyed Treasured. Treasured is a book about getting to know God through the details of bible events. You'll be introduced to the fig leaves that Adam and Eve used to cover themselves; the knife that Abraham planned to use to sacrifice his son; and the riding crop that Balaam used to beat his donkey among many others. Each of these details are just a part of a bigger story that shows God's personality. If you like the Women of Faith, I think you will really like Leigh McLeroy. Unlike the WOF, she is rather serious, but she has a passion for introducing people to God, and she does it with ease. This book is a quick and easy read - I think it would make a good commuter book or gift book.

Treasured is perfectly subtitled with "Knowing God by the Things He Keeps." In this hard cover inspirational book, McLeroy shared how God is a collector of treasures. She shares how each treasure tells a story about God's heart. For me, this book was my kind of book because she used symbolism and imagery. I love visuals. Objects like a scarlet thread, an olive leaf, and a golden bell represent something to us still today. They provide us with hope and a picture to remember God's heart as we live our ordinary lives. Leigh shares her heart beautifully throughout each chapter. The way she writes feels soothing to the soul. She is honest and encouraging and vulnerable. All characteristics I look for in authors I enjoy. I loved this book. I would read it again. Especially certain chapters.

There is so much I want to say about this book- much I need to say about this book. It started out with an interesting vignette about receiving a box of her grandfather's things after he passed away. Nothing very exciting in the box, but precious because they belonged to him. I expected heartwarming little stories that would fit perfectly in Guideposts and similar things, sprinkled with coordinating homilies. Was I in for a surprise. I usually read these books, review them, and then give them away. My theory is, if I want to read them again, I'll buy them. It helps the author and I know that I want it because I've already read it. I'm not giving this book up. I'm going to need to read and reread it several times to get out of it what it has for me to learn and experience. The author, Leigh McLeroy, has the amazing ability to reach through the pages, brush the hair out of your pain-riddled eyes, and brush your heartstrings with the Word in ways you've never experienced. I want to sit and talk with her. I want to take her out somewhere semi-private (so I dont' creep her out!) and just talk. I want to pour my heart out to her and see what she thinks of what I have to say. Why? This woman touched a part of my soul that I didn't know exists. Through her experiences, her mastery with words, and her use of the Word, she opened a whole new part of me that I don't quite know what to do with yet. I keep wanting to ask her questions. Did she know this would happen? Did she know that her book had the ability to make such a huge impact on lives? Did she know that she'd leave women open, raw, and yet alive in whole new ways? I can't tell you what is in the book. I can say I didn't notice theology problems, undertones of feminism, or political issues that shook me and said "WHAT". Nothing. I know there are probably things in this book that I don't agree with, but I don't know them. My world has been rocked too deeply to see anything else. I keep finding myself praying, thinking, feeling- yes me, I've been feeling- and experincing life in a way I never have before. Buy the book. Read it. Then come back and tell me if it just happened to be the right words on the right day by the right person, or if this book is really as wonderful and special to anyone else as it is to me. To the author Leigh McLeroy, thank you for writing this book. I am so grateful, I can't put it into words.

Treasured: Knowing God by the Things He Keeps is a beautiful collection of memories, stories and artifacts by Leigh McLeroy. First off, Leigh is a very talented writer. I'm personally thankful that she passed through the Purgatory of ghost writing for others and is writing from her own heart. The inklings for the premise of Treasured happened when Leigh received a cigar box full of personal artifacts that had belonged to her recently deceased grandfather. She imagined the stories behind each of the items and why they were important for him to stash away and keep through the years. In the same way she began to wonder what God's treasure box would be filled with. Each chapter takes one item that Leigh has identified from Old Testament stories including, Noah's olive sprig, Abraham's knife, Balam's riding crop, and a shepherd's harp string. Beautifully intertwined in these stories are Leigh's own. She writes with longing and hope. I easily found myself mirrored in these pages, being both encouraged and challenged. Leigh also includes a chapter about what she has currently stashed away in her own memory box and the reasons behind each one. The book ends with a section for personal reflection and group discussion questions. This is the first of Leigh's books that I've read, but it certainly won't be the last.

Reading one of Leigh McLeroy's books is like having a conversation with a well-spoken, truth-telling, empathy-giving friend. Leigh's voice of honesty, comfort, and hope keeps readers of this generation afloat in the deep waters of real life and real suffering, while navigating us through the deep truths of theology from ages past. In many ways, Treasured seems to be a counterpart to Eugene Peterson's Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, as she takes the small occurrences of everyday life, its hopes and dreams and triumphs and losses and breathes God's miracles and mysteries into each one of them. At the end of the "conversation," the last page will have been turned, but your cup will not be empty. Like Peterson, Leigh's is a voice that bears repeating over and over again.